Scotland squad

[tom_widdows]

1 B Portugal        7 6 0 1 22 4 +18 18

2 G Italy         7 4 2 1 11 8 +3 14

3 A Sweden            7 4 1 2 17 7 +10 13

4 E Denmark          7 4 1 2 12 5 +7 13

5 C Northern Ireland 7 4 1 2 10 5 +5 13

6 H Greece             8 3 4 1 9 5 +4 13

7 D Wales                 7 2 5 0 7 5 +2 11

8 I Croatia                 7 3 2 2 6 4 +2 11

9 F Scotland            7 3 2 2 8 9 ?1 11

 

Updated table. Teams in bold are guaranteed at least a playoff spot

Greece play Gibraltar in their last game so they are now relying on other results to stay in.

Croatia play Ukraine needing a draw to finish 2nd but a win to guarantee a playoff spot. If Ukraine win they take the playoff spot.

Welsh need to beat ireland to guarantee the playoffs. If Ireland win they have to hope the Croatians draw.

Northern Ireland need a draw in Norway to guarantee their spot

Denmark need a draw at home to Romania

Sweden just need to avoid a heavy defeat in Amsterdam

And we all know what Scotland need

 

[LA-Don]

The draw will be seeded but it doesn't matter that much. I'd hope to avoid Portugal or Italy, but the rest we can take on our day and don't see any of them much different to Slovenia or Slovakia. We're well overdue a World Cup but, fuck, would be amazing to finally be in a major tournie. No doubt we'd get Italy.

 

Interesting to note, Slovakia are FIFA ranked 19, Scotland 43, Slovenia 55. We can take them!!

[BigAl]

Griffith's 1-0 if anyone has any interest

[Kowalski]

Griffith's 1-0 if anyone has any interest

 

You do obviously 

[BigAl]

Normal service resumed

[donsdaft]

Shame

[OxfordDon]

Yay, glorious failure.  The sooner we get back to club football the better.

[BigAl]

Just call time now.

Sure the deluded will trot out the hard luck story and get Strachan the chance for a hat trick of failures

[Madbadteacher]

No "glorious failure" OD, just poor tactics from poor players, wrongly selected by a poor manager

[BigAl]

Two each

 

[BigAl]

Surely the end for Chesney

 

Old with the old, in with the new hopefully

[Madbadteacher]

Don't share the optimism Al, WGS likely to still as likely to be kept on. Unless some blazers have a pal who needs a job and won't upset the apple cart. (Probably Coisty and Durranty)

[Elgindon]

Was gloryhunting down at the local watching a Scotland game for the first time in around 5 years.

 

They were tidy,but no great shakes,we looked Highland league. A limp way to go out of the tournament .

 

  Ah well,bring on the Hibeez

[donsdaft]

Strachan

 

Bigger boys !!

[donsdaft]

[rocket_scientist]

I take it that Strachan failed to front up for the post match interview?

 

Hilarious and predictable if true. What a fud.

 

His biggest error - apart from the obstinacy in his nature - was the loyalty to Dingus.

 

When an AFC phone captured McGhee's true nature in times of adversity, he should've been finished.

 

Strachan should never have started. Weirdo Embra tink.

 

 

[francis_begbie]

I really don't think we will be there and if we do I expect to be embarrassed. Plenty Scottish sides with far greater talent than the current one did the square root of f@ck all at championship finals in the past. But I suppose if we did fluke our way there and WGS decided to act in the greater good by picking a young squad and exposed our obvious talents such as the 2 young left backs ( I think long term Tierney will go to centre back rather than right back) and McGinn to games against the very best in the world then I could accept the inevitable horsings. If he fills his squad with past it dross like Russell Martin and Lee Wallace then he can disappear to a Siberian concentration camp though.

 

I accept the SFA are a corrupt bunch of self serving arse cheek worshipping twunts but I'd always want the team to do well....

 

Very sensible post, all of which I agree with. We were mince last night. Was at the game on Thursday and although we played well in parts, we were lucky. Last night, everything bad about the team was exposed. Slovenia were fitter, more technical, better organised and hungrier. Strachan paid for having average players in the squad as back up. Our back up players should be youngsters picked on form. Crystal Palace have been horsed in every match this season. James McArthur shouldn't have been anywhere near the squad let alone the team.

 

And yet, we know hee haw will change. We get shown up time and again by smaller countries with 21st century ideas about football. It's easy to see why so many Dons fans are in the 'meh' camp.

[donsdaft]

.......and Slovenia are nowhere as good as Slovakia.

 

Yes we had a fair few shots on target against 10 man Slovakia but folk got carried away with the last minute goal and claimed we were the better team.

 

As long as that's the way we look at our teams performance then prepare for another 20 years without a finals appearance.

 

Slovakia would have beaten us 9 times out of 10

 

It was just the 10th on Thursday night, that's all.

[OxfordDon]

Our back up players should be youngsters picked on form.

 

I'd go further and say that a much larger proportion of our 1st team should be youngsters picked on form.

 

Then at least the senior Scotland squad would have a purpose by encouraging, rewarding, and showcasing emerging talent - the same as the national youth squads do, but as the highest level they can play at.

 

We're never likely to win the world cup, so let's give real meaning to the "reward" of being called up.

[donsdaft]

......and.......STOP PLAYING ENGLISHMEN

[Madbadteacher]

According to the BBC his facile genetics answer is actually SHITE

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-41549709

 

[OxfordDon]

 

Strachan managed to set up and disprove his argument in one sentence.

 

"Genetically, we are behind - in the last campaign we were the second smallest, apart from Spain."

[donsdaft]

The saddest thing is that Scott Brown will never play in a major finals.

 

;D

[LA-Don]

Would love us to play players who play week in week out, are proud and true Scotsmen, are on form, and genuinely care. Add a coach/manager who can really get them playing for the jersey. Does that even exist any more??

[Nips_and_Tatties]

For a moment there Strachan actually redeemed himself and made us think he had learned a lesson.

 

Then he totally fucks up and goes back to fletcher...plays Martin from the start when he's more a super sub.

 

Plays 4-4-2 instead of the better 4-5-1 with Griffiths up top.

 

Doesn't use the in form subs McGinn or McGregor (incredibly bad choice).

 

 

And DD, did you watch the Slovakia game, we ran Slovakia rugged.made them look shite.we were far far superior.

 

Time for Strachan to go and get a foreign manager.

 

It's a hard one to take since we JUST missed out. a little clip here or there with the last couples of chances at goal and we may have made the play offs or World Cup.thats nothing to be embarrassed of.

 

how many last minute goals did England score. I think they were lucky bastards to be honest and not much better than us.

 

Craig Gordon needs to be dropped for his criminal play in not coming for the ball in the England game and Slovenia game.fucking awful and probably thinks he's a Celtic team primadonna.

 

Let's get rid of the old dross and rebuild now.give the new manager time to create a decent unit where players play in their positions and are on form.