Squad Vs Denmark

[ErsatzThistle]

24 minutes ago, mcnish said:

Yeah shame his first choice didn't work out. Life can be cruel sometimes but sometimes you gotta make compromises.

Oh great another "Ye should only play fur Scotland if yir born in Scotland !" fanatic.

That article was from when he was fifteen years old. He's been committed to us for a few years now.

Stuart McCall and Andy Goram both accepted call ups and almost ended up playing for England at youth level, some people conveniently forget that or brush it under the carpet. Should that have barred them from selection for Scotland ? 

Hope Oliver Burke has a long and productive Scotland career 

[er yir macaroon]

McGinn our best player - as I've previously said, a bit of a cross between Roy Aitken and John Collins. Tierney was excellent, but a shame he doesn't have that extra bit of pace that would put him on a different level. Ritchie seems to be getting a lot of praise - he put in some good crosses in the first half, but gave it away often in the second and he's so unbelievably slow. We can't play him and Snodgrass in the same team. Our level dropped when Fletcher went off. Greer was quite impressive. I'm hoping Burke can get plenty of club games in before the qualifiers. His power and pace can buy us some cheap goals instead of relying on glorious 8 pass moves.

[adamntg]

2 hours ago, ErsatzThistle said:

Oh great another "Ye should only play fur Scotland if yir born in Scotland !" fanatic.

That article was from when he was fifteen years old. He's been committed to us for a few years now.

Stuart McCall and Andy Goram both accepted call ups and almost ended up playing for England at youth level, some people conveniently forget that or brush it under the carpet. Should that have barred them from selection for Scotland ? 

Hope Oliver Burke has a long and productive Scotland career 

Wikipedia says he was born in Kirkcaldy. 

I'm not bothered, if he wants to play for Scotland and he qualifies that's good enough for me. I just wish he wasn't called Ollie....

[Parklife]

8 hours ago, scotlad said:

Positives from tonight:

Tierney and McGinn both played really well.  Tierney looked as good defensively as he did going forward.  McGinn fully deserved him MOTM award; you would never guess you were watching someone who plays in the second tier of Scottish football and I doubt he'll be doing that for much longer.  He reminded me a wee bit of Paul McStay at times tonight.

Craig Gordon was excellent when called upon tonight.  Having three good keepers is a major bonus for Strachan - shame he can't play them all at once!

Matt Ritchie showed himself to be a creative force in the first half tonight.  It would be good if Strachan could find some way to fit him and Snodgrass into the same time.

Now the negatives:

We give away possession far, far too easily!  Slovenia and Slovakia, never mind England,  will rip us to shreds if we do that against them.  We struggled to string two passes together at times, although, as Strachan said post-match, that is partly due to some players not getting much recent game time at club level (Maloney was uncharacteristically sloppy with his passing on occasions).

I don't think we're good enough to play with only two men in midfield.  We found ourself badly outnumbered at times tonight.

Bridcutt's tackle!  

Agree with most of that. Although i think you're a bit too fulsome in your praise of McGinn. He played well but on a few occasions he went chasing the ball to try and win it back and got caught of position when Denmark broke forward (most notably when the ball was slipped through and Hanley missed it and Teirney came and made a saving tackle when the Denmark man was clean through). 

It was back to the old days of Shaun Maloney last night, contributed absolutely nothing and blew an excellent chance to send Griffiths clean through by playing an abysmal pass. 

Steven Whittaker offered us nothing going forward (possibly lack of fitness?) and Mulgrew didn't offer much of an outlet going forward in the 2nd half. 

Our ball retention was truly awful. Against a better side who were more clinical in front of goal, we'd have lost comfortably last night. We cannot afford to give up possession so easy against good teams. 

8 hours ago, runningtings said:

Looked a fair tackle from where we were. Was it a bad yin?

 

8 hours ago, Squirrelhumper said:

I actually thought it looked a decent tackle from the West Stand! 

 

7 hours ago, hannibal smith said:

I thought it was a great tackle 

not seen a replay though

Guys, it was an absolute shocker. In any competitive game he'd have been red carded. Aside from that shocking tackle he's just not an international standard player. 

[ErsatzThistle]

4 minutes ago, Parklife said:

Agree with most of that. Although i think you're a bit too fulsome in your praise of McGinn. He played well but on a few occasions he went chasing the ball to try and win it back and got caught of position when Denmark broke forward (most notably when the ball was slipped through and Hanley missed it and Teirney came and made a saving tackle when the Denmark man was clean through). 

It was back to the old days of Shaun Maloney last night, contributed absolutely nothing and blew an excellent chance to send Griffiths clean through by playing an abysmal pass. 

A wee bit harsh on McGinn, he played very well and it was debut too so he was bound to be a wee bit nervous at times. 

Agree on Maloney. Time to move on from him. He had a great revival at international level for eighteen months or so but he's just turned thirty three and is not getting regular football anymore. We can do without him now.

[Parklife]

4 minutes ago, ErsatzThistle said:

A wee bit harsh on McGinn, he played very well and it was debut too so he was bound to be a wee bit nervous at times. 

It was just naivety and hopefully it'll be pointed out to him and he'll learn from it. 

[Third Lanark]

3 hours ago, mcnish said:

Yeah shame his first choice didn't work out. Life can be cruel sometimes but sometimes you gotta make compromises.

FFs he was born in Kirkcaldy! Folk should think afore opening their mouths.

[Parklife]

2 hours ago, ErsatzThistle said:

Oh great another "Ye should only play fur Scotland if yir born in Scotland !" fanatic.

I honestly can't recall more than one or two folk ever saying that on here. Your line of "argument" is often trotted out by folk who don't actually understand the debate though. 

[Third Lanark]

21 minutes ago, Parklife said:

Agree with most of that. Although i think you're a bit too fulsome in your praise of McGinn. He played well but on a few occasions he went chasing the ball to try and win it back and got caught of position when Denmark broke forward (most notably when the ball was slipped through and Hanley missed it and Teirney came and made a saving tackle when the Denmark man was clean through). 

It was back to the old days of Shaun Maloney last night, contributed absolutely nothing and blew an excellent chance to send Griffiths clean through by playing an abysmal pass. 

Steven Whittaker offered us nothing going forward (possibly lack of fitness?) and Mulgrew didn't offer much of an outlet going forward in the 2nd half. 

Our ball retention was truly awful. Against a better side who were more clinical in front of goal, we'd have lost comfortably last night. We cannot afford to give up possession so easy against good teams. 

 

 

Guys, it was an absolute shocker. In any competitive game he'd have been red carded. Aside from that shocking tackle he's just not an international standard player. 

Forget who he made his debut against but I remember Pat Nevin going crazy about this new 'discovery'. He did seem to keep possession very well in that first game; not sure about last night. Him and McGinn in the centre? Broon past it now I fear.

[Parklife]

4 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

Forget who he made his debut against but I remember Pat Nevin going crazy about this new 'discovery'. He did seem to keep possession very well in that first game; not sure about last night. Him and McGinn in the centre? Broon past it now I fear.

Bridcutt? Yeah, that was bamboozling to me at the time. He played no better than average in his first game and folk got all excited because he wasn't completely shite. 

He's never an international level player. 

Darren Fletcher is still our best central midfielder. I think McGinn staked a decent claim for a berth beside him last night, as did McLean on Thursday (although he played further forward, i think he's better playing deeper). Unfortunately Scott Brown will keep playing every game and Strachan will again relegate Fletcher to the bench. 

[ErsatzThistle]

9 minutes ago, Parklife said:

I honestly can't recall more than one or two folk ever saying that on here. Your line of "argument" is often trotted out by folk who don't actually understand the debate though. 

I never said it was what many have said on here though.

I have however encountered that daft argument about eligibility plenty of times talking to mates, family or reading it on other sites.

Oliver Burke didn't deserve that ridiculous abuse.

[Parklife]

4 minutes ago, ErsatzThistle said:

I never said it was what many have said on here though.

I have however encountered that daft argument about eligibility plenty of times talking to mates, family or reading it on other sites.

Oliver Burke didn't deserve that ridiculous abuse.

I've encountered many folk (including myself) who don't want folk who aren't Scottish playing for Scotland, where they are born means hee haw though. I've very rarely encountered folk who don't want folk who weren't born in Scotland playing. 

[Mazziessc]

13 minutes ago, Parklife said:

 

Darren Fletcher is still our best central midfielder. I think McGinn staked a decent claim for a berth beside him last night, as did McLean on Thursday (although he played further forward, i think he's better playing deeper). Unfortunately Scott Brown will keep playing every game and Strachan will again relegate Fletcher to the bench. 

Hopefully your wrong here. IMO Fletcher should be the first name on the team sheet. He is, and has been, when fit our best mid for long enough. His club form this season in a mid table team in the premier league has been exceptional, arguably playing the best football of his career. We should then be looking at who plays with him,not who plays instead of him, and it shouldn't be Brown. He is someone we should be turning to in the last fifteen or so when we need to keep the ball and see out a win. We need to be starting someone who will go on the front foot a wee bit more when we go forward.McGinn gets the shout from me, alot of who he moves to in the summer will have an impact on his chances of starting in Malta however.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Mazziessc

[Dalgety Bay TA]

33 minutes ago, Third Lanark said:

Forget who he made his debut against but I remember Pat Nevin going crazy about this new 'discovery'. He did seem to keep possession very well in that first game; not sure about last night. Him and McGinn in the centre? Broon past it now I fear.

Serbia away. No one was great that night, played on a bog of a pitch, Bridcutt was ok, but nothing more. IMO.

[Dalgety Bay TA]

We are actually quite well stocked in the central midfield deeper roles - Fletcher, Brown, Mulgrew, McArthur have all done well over the last couple of years. Add in McGinn as an option as well as Bannan who added something a bit different to that role in terms of passing/ball retention and there are plenty of options. We should really be looking for one player as ball winner and one player as a play maker. Who fills each role I am not sure.

What it should mean is that we don't need to play James Morrison in that role, a role he has never really looked comfortable in IMO. I have always thought he would be better in a more attacking role. He is an option for one of the 3 behind the forward but IMO there is only one space there as Snodgrass and Ritchie should be two the starters when available.

[Bannannan]

If Barry plays it has to be in the"three" where his passes do the damage.He isnt good enough defensively to play in the"two".A distinct lack of one on ones last night,Ritchie too slow,Anya looks nervous to me,pity Burke didnt get a bit more time,we need a dribbler

[aaid]

58 minutes ago, Dalgety Bay TA said:

We are actually quite well stocked in the central midfield deeper roles - Fletcher, Brown, Mulgrew, McArthur have all done well over the last couple of years. Add in McGinn as an option as well as Bannan who added something a bit different to that role in terms of passing/ball retention and there are plenty of options. We should really be looking for one player as ball winner and one player as a play maker. Who fills each role I am not sure.

What it should mean is that we don't need to play James Morrison in that role, a role he has never really looked comfortable in IMO. I have always thought he would be better in a more attacking role. He is an option for one of the 3 behind the forward but IMO there is only one space there as Snodgrass and Ritchie should be two the starters when available.

Totally agree about Morrison we don't get the best out of him playing him as a DM.  It's not only that he looks uncomfortable there it's more that we miss him where he does his best work, which is further forwards  

A lot of competition for the midfield places which is a good problem to have.  If everyone is fit and on form I'd go for Fletcher and McArthur as the first pick its the holding pair with Brown, Mulgrew and McGinn as backup. For the 'three' I'd go with three from Morrison, Snodgrass, Ritchie, Anya and Naismith depending on the opposition. 

 

[SMcoolJ]

I think the luck that completely eluded us during our last qualification campaign showed up in abundance over the last two friendlies. Typical - when is doesn't matter.  How Denmark didn't win by a few last night remains a mystery to me. Appreciate that these games were very experimental, but they were for our opposition too.  I continue to be concerned by our lack of ball retention and our seeming willingness to just sit in.  That all said, a real positive for me last night was McGinn.  Think he has potential to become very good.  Him and Fletcher in the holding two give me some optimism.  I think Tierney did well, however (and as many feathers as this may ruffle), he isn't as good as Shinnie.  Burke needed longer.  Not sure why Maloney played 70 minutes.  Almost as strange as having Mulgrew at left back.

[McToot]

Agree Fletcher is our best midfielder. Brown was disappointing last night and looked slow towards the end. 

McGinn had a great first half I thought.

When it comes to the qualifiers though, there are games certain personnel are more suited to. 

For example id play mcarthur if fit v England, but swap him for Bannan v Malta/Lithuania where we'll need someone more creative to break them down. 

[aaid]

22 minutes ago, Bannannan said:

If Barry plays it has to be in the"three" where his passes do the damage.He isnt good enough defensively to play in the"two".A distinct lack of one on ones last night,Ritchie too slow,Anya looks nervous to me,pity Burke didnt get a bit more time,we need a dribbler

Not for the first time I'm going to disagree with you as regards Bannan.  I actually thought he looked okay when he came on in Prague - which given that my general view is he shouldn't be anywhere near the team should be taken as a compliment - where he slotted in to replace Mulgrew in one of the defensive two.  

I think that's a position that could suit his range of passing - which is his strongpoint - and where he could be the point that starts attacks.  However he would seriously have to up the defensive side of his game, which should be possible as it's more a matter of being disciplined, not being caught out of position and tracking back.

 

[sbcmfc]

5 hours ago, mcnish said:

Yeah shame his first choice didn't work out. Life can be cruel sometimes but sometimes you gotta make compromises.

Don't think it says anywhere in there that he'd rather play for England...

Just that he was involved in their unders teams.

[Bannannan]

16 minutes ago, aaid said:

Not for the first time I'm going to disagree with you as regards Bannan.  I actually thought he looked okay when he came on in Prague - which given that my general view is he shouldn't be anywhere near the team should be taken as a compliment - where he slotted in to replace Mulgrew in one of the defensive two.  

I think that's a position that could suit his range of passing - which is his strongpoint - and where he could be the point that starts attacks.  However he would seriously have to up the defensive side of his game, which should be possible as it's more a matter of being disciplined, not being caught out of position and tracking back.

 

Wasted in the "two" if not good enough for the three better he doesnt play at all.C'est la vie.

[Auld_Reekie]

Between Fletcher, Brown, Snodgrass, McArthur, Morrison, Ritchie, Anya, Bannan, etc, Im reasonable comfortable with the competition for places in there. 

Our inability to keep possession and control the game is down to the defence though and there's far fewer options there. 

[munro7]

I don't get all the Ritchie praise. He took his goal well and put in a couple of decent crosses but his all round game is pretty poor. He's too slow to actually capitalise on his flashes of ability. Anya & Snodgrass every time for me.

Regards the Bannan debate I'd play him as one of the 2 in the kind of games we struggle to break down the other team. A wee bit of creativity from deep would do us no harm at all.

Oh, and can we please end this Chris Martin experiment now? Utterly honking yet again and never an international player in a million years.

[Parklife]

34 minutes ago, aaid said:

A lot of competition for the midfield places which is a good problem to have.  If everyone is fit and on form I'd go for Fletcher and McArthur as the first pick its the holding pair with Brown, Mulgrew and McGinn as backup. For the 'three' I'd go with three from Morrison, Snodgrass, Ritchie, Anya and Naismith depending on the opposition. 

 

I forgot about McArthur. It should be him and Fletcher starting every time for me. I'm not keen on either Mulgrew or McGinn in there at this moment. McGinn was okay last night but his poor positional sense and discipline might cost us in future games. I'd have been keen to have seen Shinnie given a chance in there (i'm still genuinely stunned that the 2nd best player in the SPFL this season wasn't called up for experimental squads). 

Agree about your attacking three too. Although it's a shame Ryan Fraser wasn't fit for these friendlies as he's someone who could force himself in to the reckoning in the wide positions (where with Snoddy, Anya, Ritchie & Fraser, we have some decent options!).