Scotland Squad

[manc_don]

Possibly feel a bit bad for our boys but in the grand scheme of things I'm not that bothered. Rather they stay fit for our domestic treble 

 

[Jute]

Bit of a joke the Shinnie cannot get in to the squad but apart from that think its a decent squad.

[tlg1903]

Aye you could argue Shinnie for Whittaker but little else.

[manc_don]

Im still amazed Greer and Hanley get games. Horrible excuses for defenders.  Even Topcorner could do better jobs than them!

[thestooge]

Christophe Berra - 30 Caps

Grant Hanley - 17 Caps

Russell Anderson - 11 Caps.

 

[Goldie03]

Utter disgrace that Anderson never got more caps 

[BigAl]

Im still amazed Greer and Hanley get games. Horrible excuses for defenders.  Even Topcorner could do better jobs than them!

 

Greer must be about forty by now.

Hardly one for the future and as far as I can see his only qualification to play for Scotland is that he plays in The Championship down south.

[manc_don]

I see Brown had an injury scare on the weekend, hopefully he recovers and then gets fucked in the last minute against Germany 

[Tyrant]

I can certainly see the up side of that, Manc! 

 

The cunt seems to excel for Scotland.

[manc_don]

Excellent:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2560458-marco-reus-injury-updates-on-borussia-dortmund-stars-toe-and-return

 

One down!

[RicoS321]

Excellent:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2560458-marco-reus-injury-updates-on-borussia-dortmund-stars-toe-and-return

 

One down!

 

Nae really. If Poland get anything against Germany tonight then - assuming we win tonight but don't get anything against Germany - we'd have to beat and also need Ireland to take at least a point off them in the final game. We really need Germany to win tonight to give us the best chance of qualifying. If we win tonight and Germany do, then the game on Monday is essentially a free game for us, where anything we get is just a bonus. If Poland take a point or more tonight, then we really need to do the same on Monday. Best would be we win and Poland lose. Assuming results go as expected on Monday, that means we can go through with a win, or a draw less than 2-2 against Poland in the next match. I think that's what we need to be hoping for after this round of games. Or we both tank Germany and knock them out of course.

[Madbadteacher]

Scotland: Marshall, Hutton, Russell Martin, Mulgrew, Robertson, Anya, Brown, Maloney, Morrison, Naismith, Steven Fletcher

 

Does nothing to excite me or fill me with any confidence we'll score 

[manc_don]

Alan Hutton always has been, always will be, shite (unless he scores the winner then he's a world beater...)

[tom_widdows]

Scotland: Marshall, Hutton, Russell Martin, Mulgrew, Robertson, Anya, Brown, Maloney, Morrison, Naismith, Steven Fletcher

 

Does nothing to excite me or fill me with any confidence we'll score 

 

Really need to get to half time without conceding again. 2-0 and I say it is over (and not just this match)

[tom_widdows]

jesus fuck watching scotland reminds me far too much of pretty much most of the aberdeen teams of the pre mcinnes era.

 

I know very little about tactics so can someone explain the logic of bringing on a defender when you are a goal down midway through the second half and then putting on a goal-poaching striker with 10mins to go but taking off possibly the one player who will be able to create an opportunity for him?

[Jute]

That's us out. Very flat performance. How Brown came out for 2nd half is beyond me. Totally ineffectual. Substitutions reeked of McGee's influence.

[Edinburghdon]

That's us out. Very flat performance. How Brown came out for 2nd half is beyond me. Totally ineffectual. Substitutions reeked of McGee's influence.

 

Brown was dreadful, morrison anonymous and the rest weren't much better. Bringing Robertson off was shocking too, he was the only player putting in dangerous crosses.

 

France is a shitehole anyway, not qualifying is no loss. 

[manc_don]

Brown was dreadful, morrison anonymous and the rest weren't much better. Bringing Robertson off was shocking too, he was the only player putting in dangerous crosses.

 

France is a shitehole anyway, not qualifying is no loss. 

 

Who needs a pointless distraction like that when we'll have champions league qualifiers to worry about that summer anyway 

[Madbadteacher]

Once upon a time I would have been upset, but, shamefully(?) for many years I have given less than 2 fucks about Scotland. Yes I'd like them to win, but successive managers poor tactics, poor squads and poor excuses have made it all a bit "meh"

 

Maybe I'm some sort of tactical dinosaur, but I would pick players in form, playing regularly, then play them in the right positions.

[tom_widdows]

11 years ago Northern ireland broke the record for the longest run without scoring a goal. They were 124th in the world at the time and when they eventually scored they were 3-0 down at home but the celebrations were like they had won the game.

 

A re-building process started with Lawrie Sanchez, Nigel worthington and currently Michael O Neil (with Jimmy Nichol assisting).

 

Their squad does not have any big names. 5 ply their trade in the SPL (2 of their 3 goalkeepers included)

They have 7 players who currenlty play in the english premiership but only one plays for a 'big club'

However they are 1 win away from their first tournament in 30 years.

 

Just 4 years ago Wales were ranked 117th in the world. They were in danger of dropping into the pots with san marino etc. They hadnt reached a major tournament since 1954 and the closest they had come to qualification for any had been back in 1993 and 2003 when they blew it on their own patch.

 

Yes they are fortunate to have one of the most expensive and talented footballers in the world to work around but the rest of their squad doesnt really have world class talent. Good solid players it would appear most of which ply their trade in the english lower leagues (Like NI 2 of their Goalies play in the SPL).

I seem to recall the old welsh teams basically relying on Ryan Giggs to drag them through. It appears they have learned you cannot rely on one man to get you through qualification so get a team together who the superstar can play off and yer laughing

 

Lets look at Scotland

 

Last tournament was 1998 and the last time we were even close was losing heavily to the dutch in the euro 2004 playoffs.

The current Scotland squad like the Welsh and Northern Ireland mostly ply their trade in the english leagues however we have more EPL players than our smaller neighbours. The only scottish based players in the squad play for one club. A club with players I would suggest are more interested in champions league football than representing their country.

Cast your minds back a few years and where did most if not all of the scottish based players come from. The gruesome twosome. We had incidents such as McCulloch, Boyd, Ferguson etc turning their back on the national team and the fans. Far more interested in high club wages and champs league football to give a fuck about the national team.

We came close to reaching euro 2008 but bottled it against the fucking georgians.

We even came close to reaching the playoffs for south africa except Kenny Miller managed to hit the collapsed dutch keeper instead of the entire empty net from  total of 8 yards out,

 

Perhaps the problem is the Scottish national team has never really hit absolute rock bottom. Even with the 4-6-0 debacle our lowest FIFA ranking ever is 88th and we usually managed to finish 3rd in qualifying groups containing 'big teams' so there was always an excuse even though our fuck ups usually came against teams like the Faroe Islands.

The cracks are always papered over and the same sort of people are still allowed to continue having influence. How Mark McGhee got involved and in the past the likes of Alex Miller says it all. That's not even mentioning our current u19 coach's attitude that height it more important that playing talent.

 

Of course a scrappy 1-0 win over the germans (or even a draw) and the cracks will be papered over again. 

[rocket_scientist]

Excellent post Tom.

 

It's been the first very poor display under Strachan, although I could be corrected on that. I just can't remember one nearly as bad. But perhaps it was coming? Maybe we were due it?

 

When Strachan got the job, I was pleased. Not because I thought he'd do any good. I didn't rate the players at his disposal and wasn't expecting anything. I was pleased because he would at least be entertaining in his interviews. His iWatch this week was class, as mad as a box of turtles and whilst not as snappy as his genius "velocity", very funny in its insanity and the idiosyncrasy of the perpetrator's mind.

 

But then he appointed Dingus and that other useless fucker, McCall. Again reasons to expect fuck all and despite a bunch of journeymen, has beens and never will bes, got some remarkable performances out if them.

 

But something went very wrong last night against a shit opposition. Niall Quinn and Neil McCann were spot on in their post match comments.

 

For me, the volatility of the nature of the small man with ginger hair was always going to show up some time. He failed massively last night when it mattered. He's got form for inconsistency.

[Jute]

11 years ago Northern ireland broke the record for the longest run without scoring a goal. They were 124th in the world at the time and when they eventually scored they were 3-0 down at home but the celebrations were like they had won the game.

 

A re-building process started with Lawrie Sanchez, Nigel worthington and currently Michael O Neil (with Jimmy Nichol assisting).

 

Their squad does not have any big names. 5 ply their trade in the SPL (2 of their 3 goalkeepers included)

They have 7 players who currenlty play in the english premiership but only one plays for a 'big club'

However they are 1 win away from their first tournament in 30 years.

 

Just 4 years ago Wales were ranked 117th in the world. They were in danger of dropping into the pots with san marino etc. They hadnt reached a major tournament since 1954 and the closest they had come to qualification for any had been back in 1993 and 2003 when they blew it on their own patch.

 

Yes they are fortunate to have one of the most expensive and talented footballers in the world to work around but the rest of their squad doesnt really have world class talent. Good solid players it would appear most of which ply their trade in the english lower leagues (Like NI 2 of their Goalies play in the SPL).

I seem to recall the old welsh teams basically relying on Ryan Giggs to drag them through. It appears they have learned you cannot rely on one man to get you through qualification so get a team together who the superstar can play off and yer laughing

 

Lets look at Scotland

 

Last tournament was 1998 and the last time we were even close was losing heavily to the dutch in the euro 2004 playoffs.

The current Scotland squad like the Welsh and Northern Ireland mostly ply their trade in the english leagues however we have more EPL players than our smaller neighbours. The only scottish based players in the squad play for one club. A club with players I would suggest are more interested in champions league football than representing their country.

Cast your minds back a few years and where did most if not all of the scottish based players come from. The gruesome twosome. We had incidents such as McCulloch, Boyd, Ferguson etc turning their back on the national team and the fans. Far more interested in high club wages and champs league football to give a fuck about the national team.

We came close to reaching euro 2008 but bottled it against the fucking georgians.

We even came close to reaching the playoffs for south africa except Kenny Miller managed to hit the collapsed dutch keeper instead of the entire empty net from  total of 8 yards out,

 

Perhaps the problem is the Scottish national team has never really hit absolute rock bottom. Even with the 4-6-0 debacle our lowest FIFA ranking ever is 88th and we usually managed to finish 3rd in qualifying groups containing 'big teams' so there was always an excuse even though our fuck ups usually came against teams like the Faroe Islands.

The cracks are always papered over and the same sort of people are still allowed to continue having influence. How Mark McGhee got involved and in the past the likes of Alex Miller says it all. That's not even mentioning our current u19 coach's attitude that height it more important that playing talent.

 

Of course a scrappy 1-0 win over the germans (or even a draw) and the cracks will be papered over again. 

 

Excellent post Tom.

 

When Strachen was first appointed I had hoped he would challenge the way the national team was being run. Instead he embraces the old boy net work by appointing McCall and McGhee and continued with the policy of not selecting non old firm Scottish based players. Very little has improved under him and we are on course to finish in the same position as our last campaign. The only reason we are still in the hunt is 24 teams qualifying this time round.

 

[manc_don]

Take a bow Tom, excellent post and couldn't have put it any better myself. Embarrassingly, we are now on course to be the only home nation not to make it to France. Feel for the guys that actually paid money and used holiday to go watch that insipid display. Deserved far more.

[Madbadteacher]

Excellent post Tom.

 

When Strachen was first appointed I had hoped he would challenge the way the national team was being run. Instead he embraces the old boy net work by appointing McCall and McGhee and continued with the policy of not selecting non old firm Scottish based players. Very little has improved under him and we are on course to finish in the same position as our last campaign. The only reason we are still in the hunt is 24 teams qualifying this time round.

 

This

 

[Madbadteacher]

Am I right in thinking a certain ex Dundee Utd player got hid first call up as soon as he signed for ratimmy?