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U21 Squad V Ukraine


wanderer

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Andy Robertson's inclusion seems a strange one

Hasn't been to great in the full squad. Probably a bit of man management... Put him in the U21s as a 'senior' to give the others a boost and give him a shot under less pressure?

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Hasn't been to great in the full squad. Probably a bit of man management... Put him in the U21s as a 'senior' to give the others a boost and give him a shot under less pressure?

The u21s need some results and the senior team isn't playing. He's clearly our most promising u21 player at the moment.

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Andy Robertson's inclusion seems a strange one

I don't see the logic in this one whatsoever. Robertson is an established A squad member and is playing regularly for his club. He will gain absolutely nothing from playing at this level, he's moved way past that. Once a player has stepped up a level he shouldn't go back, that should be a point of principle. Clearly I'm not talking about Strachan's policy of calling up promising young players to give them a feel for being part of the A squad, I think that's a positive move.

It's also the wrong thing for the Under 21s as it means a player who might benefit from playing won't have that opportunity.

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I don't see the logic in this one whatsoever. Robertson is an established A squad member and is playing regularly for his club. He will gain absolutely nothing from playing at this level, he's moved way past that. Once a player has stepped up a level he shouldn't go back, that should be a point of principle. Clearly I'm not talking about Strachan's policy of calling up promising young players to give them a feel for being part of the A squad, I think that's a positive move.

It's also the wrong thing for the Under 21s as it means a player who might benefit from playing won't have that opportunity.

Better to play our strongest team to allow the whole squad an opportunity to play in a finals. Plus Robertson has lost his starting place and could do with more experience against European players.

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Better to play our strongest team to allow the whole squad an opportunity to play in a finals. Plus Robertson has lost his starting place and could do with more experience against European players.

He's playing against European players - proper experienced ones - every week for his club.

The Under 21s should be about youth development first and foremost.

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Out of interest, who is being dropped to accommodate Robertson?

Stephen Hendrie and Stephen Kingsley were both dropped, they are both left backs. Hendrie hasn't played at all for West Ham since he went down there and Kingsley is playing in a bottom of the league Crewe Alexandra team on loan from Swansea.

Edited by ErsatzThistle
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I see Barrie McKay has been called up.

I like the boy, and posted recently praising him for his performances in previous Scotland youth games I'd been to. (at U17 or U19 level, I think). There is potential there.

However, he's a First Division - sorry Championship - player. And as someone who watches Championship football every week, it annoys the hell out of me that McKay gets in, while Craig Sibbald is continually ignored. Sibbs is one of the most skilful players I've seen in the flesh during 35 years of watching football. What does he have to do to get recognised?

Edited by Snapperone
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I see Barrie McKay has been called up.

I like the boy, and posted recently praising him for his performances in previous Scotland youth games I'd been to. (at U17 or U19 level, I think). There is potential there.

However, he's a First Division - sorry Championship - player. And as someone who watches Championship football every week, it annoys the hell out of me that McKay gets in, while Craig Sibbald is continually ignored. Sibbs is one of the most skilful players I've seen in the flesh during 35 years of watching football. What does he have to do to get recognised?

But because McKay "plays furra Rangurz" he simply must get picked !

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Stephen Hendrie and Stephen Kingsley were both dropped, they are both left backs. Hendrie hasn't played at all for West Ham since he went down there and Kingsley is playing in a bottom of the league Crewe Alexandra team on loan from Swansea.

I'm going to Crewe on Saturday, I'll keep an eye out for him.

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I'm going to Crewe on Saturday, I'll keep an eye out for him.

Poor bugger !

Crewe are the worst team in League One, bottom of the league. Bradden inman plays for them now, he was the one that played for us until Australia came calling and we weren't good enough for him anymore. What a superstar he turned out to be :-))

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I see Barrie McKay has been called up.

I like the boy, and posted recently praising him for his performances in previous Scotland youth games I'd been to. (at U17 or U19 level, I think). There is potential there.

However, he's a First Division - sorry Championship - player. And as someone who watches Championship football every week, it annoys the hell out of me that McKay gets in, while Craig Sibbald is continually ignored. Sibbs is one of the most skilful players I've seen in the flesh during 35 years of watching football. What does he have to do to get recognised?

I was going to say Sibbald is too old, but looked it up first. I can't believe he's still only 20 - he seems to have been around forever! How/why he's not been picked up by a bigger club I'll never know.

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I also feel it is worth commenting on the quality of the squad. I remember well what it was like back in the early noughties; looking at squads and never having heard of large numbers of the players, who had never played a single game of first team football.

Now we have got to the stage where we can argue over inclusions or exclusions, and we can see very good players being left out - it really is very promising.

The next step, for me, is to start bringing these guys into the first team more consistently (or at least consistently moving them on to top class pro status). If we look at the best teams in the world, their conversion rate from great U21 to great senior pro is far better than ours. If part of that process involved them playing more games against their peers at U21 level to help them understand that they are well beyond most players of their age, then I am all for that. It wouldn't hurt for us to regain a bit of our swagger. Success breeds success, starting with the youth teams is as good a place as anywhere.

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