Skyline Drifter
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Posts posted by Skyline Drifter
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10 minutes ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:
His arm is at a right angle. I’m not entirely sure how it’s physically possible to make yourself any more “unnaturally bigger” than that? Unless he channels his inner stretch armstrong.
This is all a red herring. It's not handball if you accidentally play the ball off your own arm / hand from another part of your body UNLESS that's the scorer. In which case it should be ruled out as even accidental handball isn't allowed by the scorer of a goal.
The question here (and I haven't seen it other than that still above) is whether it was deliberate or accidental. If it's accidental it's not handball.
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2 hours ago, JS_FFC said:
Just over a month until the hard deadline now. Steve Clarke will have a strong idea of who his 26 are and who might come in if any of the doubts don’t make it. That report about Doak and Forrest won’t have come from nowhere.
Goalkeepers: Angus Gunn, Craig Gordon and Zander Clark (3)
Defenders: Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey, Ryan Porteous, Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna, John Souttar, Tony Ralston, Grant Hanley and Liam Cooper (10)
Midfielders: John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Christie, Stuart Armstrong, Kenny McLean, James Forrest, Ben Doak and Ryan Jack (10)
Strikers: Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes and Lawrence Shankland (3)
That’s my 26 for now based on the optimism that Hickey, Tierney, Armstrong and McTominay will make it. Ferguson is already ruled out whilst Patterson and Brown are less likely to make it than the others.
I’ve left out Ryan Fraser as he was notably omitted from that record piece that is tipping Forrest for a recall and Doak to make the plane.
If that is the squad, then I think Greg Taylor (Tierney), Max Johnston (Hickey), Tom Cairney (McTominay) and Ryan Fraser (his teammate Armstrong) would be your standby guys, but with the 26 man squad I think Clarke will err on the side of taking players even if they might struggle to be fit for the opener.I'm yet to see a convincing argument beyond sentiment that Craig Gordon will be picked ahead of Liam Kelly. A few folk on here were touting that he'd get games post split but here we are three games left in Hearts season and he's played ONE league match in 18 months and four Scottish Cup ties. He's 41, he's barely seen competitive football and Clarke himself chose not to even give him half a game in two recent friendlies to have a look at him. I'd pick Gordon but I don't think Clarke will.
Ryan Jack hasn't seen a football pitch for two months either. If he doesn't play for Rangers before the season end he's not going IMO. Taking a punt on Hickey who is far more critical is one thing, taking it on Jack (and Grant Hanley assuming he doesn't play Norwich's playoff games) is another. Although he may have some sympathy for Jack missing the last Euros with injury too.
The Doak thing is interesting but I can't see why Clarke would take a teenager who hasn't played in 6 months. Given three extra slots he may have done so if the boy was fit as he did with Gilmour last time, but whilst acknowledging the paper talk probably has some source somewhere, it seems a reach to me. I'd expect Taylor to go. I also think Ross McCrorie would go before Forrest or Doak.
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16 hours ago, Calz said:
They’ve had to setup another fanzone up for the cologne game and potentially they’re setting one up for stuttgart aswell Scotland fans only holding up to 50k because the one big fanzone wasn’t enough no other nation is needing an extra fanzone setup that speaks volume of the sheer number of fans that will be there next month all the media outlets like stv the Scottish sun the record all saying 150k fans from Scotland will travel that’s not taking into consideration people travelling from outside Scotland
Seriously, are you like 12 years old or something?
The only nation with 0.75 MILLION people in Germany will be Germany.
I'd be surprised if the 150,000 figure was anywhere near accurate, and even if it was it wouldn't be 150,000 DIFFERENT people. We barely get 50,000 people go to Glasgow for a game. You think three times that are going to travel to Germany?
I suppose 50,000 a game could be feasible though it still seems a bit high to me. We've got what, roughly 8,000 to 10,000 tickets a game including those who got through UEFA direct. Can see 2 or 3 times that traveling certainly. Personally I know a couple of dozen people going but barring one family they've all got tickets.
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20 hours ago, Butters Scotch said:
Yes our midfield is our strongest area of the first 11 but his game really suits the way Scotland play and we really should be starting him once he has recovered from his injury as I think he will make us a stronger unit.
No doubt you'll have the naysayers on here saying he's "no done anything for us" or "who do you drop out" and will want to continue sticking with the same 11 as we've done well in one Euro qualifying group.
Every team needs to involve so we don't become predictable and one dimensional which has already started to happen IMO.
But this is still a valid question if it's not just that you want change for change's sake. He may well merit a place, I don't watch Italian football, but if he's to be considered a starter for Scotland who exactly ARE you dropping out?
McGregor?
McGinn?
McTominay?
Gilmour / Christie? (who are already job sharing).2 -
4 hours ago, 2426255 said:
I didn't think he needed to say it, he wasn't asked - the interviewer clearly didn't know about eligibility for Ireland.
I therefore interpreted that as being a bit manipulative because as you've said it's clear he'd rather play for Scotland and so it's creating a pressure. I think it counts against players when they start playing games - just get on with your football and see if it's enough. It was similar with the Ryan Gauld hinting that he might switch to Canada to force Clarke's hand.
I don't object to him being called up and barring that I think he seemed like a nice guy, reminded me of his manager. So good luck to him whether it's with Scotland or Ireland.
Might he have said it to put it on the Irish radar? Appreciate his agent is likely making Ireland aware of it in the background anyway but once you mention it publicly then the Irish media might start to speculate, etc..........
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8 minutes ago, JS_FFC said:
The way West Ham and Chelsea are playing at the minute I think the battle for 17th/18th will go to the last day. Chelsea look to finally be improving and should win at the City ground whereas West Ham players have completely mailed it in on Moyes. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if Luton get a result at West Ham.
Burnley will probably be relegated this weekend. As awful as Tottenham are playing just now, I can’t see Burnley having the quality to go an win there on Saturday.
Not so sure. As occasionally ropy as Forest can be, their home record is good. I don't think it's anywhere near a given that Chelsea will win there albeit I appreciate their current form is very good. A point will be enough to take Burnley out of the picture, as of course would Burnley not winning at Tottenham. Hopefully if they are down anyway the last week is a much easier task for Forest.
I think West Ham will have a point to prove this weekend in their last home game but you never know. Wins for Luton, Chelsea and Burnley will make for an incredible last weekend.
Just very frustrating that Forest were denied three penalties at Everton, lost a point to the last minute Liverpool nonsense and three when they had to play 80 minutes against Bournemouth with 10 men thanks to another awful refereeing decision that wasn't reviewable. Even leaving referees out of it they should have had something off Manchester City a week ago. Of course all clubs will have some sort of similar tale. Burnley would be closer if their keeper hadn't recently chcuked two in his own net. I seem to recall a farcical early season penalty against Luton for handball.
Big weekend ahead anyway.
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53 minutes ago, JS_FFC said:
Nottingham Forest appeal rejected. Four point deduction stands.
Rightly so. And I say that as a Forest fan. Ridiculous appeal.
I know the idea of dignity and Nottingham Forest have been pretty alien since Marinakis took over but if they'd any dignity at all they should have accepted the original punishment without appeal and got on with it.
Need another point or possibly even three against either Chelsea or Burnley now, though Tottenham (v Burnley), and West ham or Fulham (v Luton) can do the job for us without another point.
EDIT - Of course we might be safe already but for VAR shenanigans.
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30 minutes ago, FFC 1876 said:
What should we expect from Stone?
IF he ends up confirmed as joining you then you'll get a very good goalkeeper. He's 6'5" but agile with it and seems to have no issue getting down for low shots either. It seems pretty incredible now that he was a late window 'panic' signing after Hibs made it clear Murray Johnson wasn't immediately coming back as soon as they were out of Europe and the fact our other keeper was suspended meant we had to bring someone in. At the time we assumed only to Xmas. He took a month or so to properly settle and even lost his place for a few weeks around October but he got back in and the Dundee United Scottish Cup game cemented his standing as our No 1 for the rest of the season. His performance that day was sensational and he took it into the rest of the season.
He didn't have a good time of it at Thistle the year before I believe and with keepers, especially young ones, a lot of it is about confidence and how they start but he's been very, very good for us. So good that I'd think he's probably the longer term replacement for Craig Gordon at Hearts. I liked Kevin Dabrowski last season but given a straight choice between them right now for next year I'd take Stone ahead of him every time. We've had a lot of good loan keepers here recently with Robby McCrorie and Sol Brynn for half seasons each and slightly further back Zander Clark for a year and a half. Stone's absolutely in that class.
Absolutely appreciate why it was inevitable a full Falkirk team got picked for the PFA squad, Burrell apart, but in reality Stone's been the best keeper I've seen at this level this season. Playing for us in the bottom half he's never going to get the votes to acknowledge it but he should have. I can't think of much I'd directly blame him for all season.
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29 minutes ago, Moysterclass said:
Just playing Reegan Mimnaugh at all is a piss take. Mental how he, Ronan Hughes and Kyle Munro started for us in the premiership against teams like Celtic and Rangers.
It's far from the only reason but losing Reegan Mimnaugh for the season in September is a big part of the reason we ended up in the bottom half and mounted no challenge at all. He was very comfortably our best player in the first 6 weeks and his style was crucial to the way Bartley wanted to play.
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1 hour ago, JS_FFC said:
Ideally we should be aiming for a better goalie than either of the Hogarth/Long pairing given that it’s a league above and Hogarth would be a very decent #2 in the championship, however if we end up signing a keeper that’s roughly the same level as Hogarth then there’s benefit to the monthly rotation in that if one of them gets injured or suspended you’re not having to bring in a player that completely lacks match sharpness.
I wouldn't be worrying about your goalkeeper position.
1 hour ago, Taxi for De Massis said:"I CAN'T SPEAK, I CAN'T SPEAK!" - priceless!
It's "I can't spake, I can't spake"
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6 hours ago, Bring Back Paddy Flannery said:
Does the suspension carry over into the playoffs?
6 hours ago, O'Kelly Isley III said:Calling @Skyline Drifter
Cant see why it wouldnt. Certainly used to do so.
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5 hours ago, welshbairn said:
That hotel looks great for getting back after the game, half hour walk or a few stops on the tube.
Yeah, it claims 1.7 miles from the ground. Not much further than the walk from where I park at Hampden to be honest. Pretty sure we'll just walk it. Only potential downside is a 3pm check in time when the flight gets into Karlsruhe at 9:15am. Even allowing for time to find the train station and catch a train and then get to the hotel from wherever the train chucks off at Stuttgart that's potentially a good 3 hours we'll need to fill.
Mind you flight is Ryanair. Fair chance we'll fill them in Edinburgh Airport waiting for it to take off!
1 hour ago, Don Diego De la Vega said:There is still availability at motel-one near the main train station £426 for the 2 nights
The Motel One Hauptbahnhof in Stuttgart? No availability when I check it now, though it may have changed since you posted this I guess. Far further away from the stadium too. Thanks though.
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6 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:
Thanks. Don't have time to worry about this today but looks like travel between the two cities is regular and relatively cheap (€15 - €22) each give or take.
I'd really rather stay in Stuttgart I think but I'll look into it. There's a new (about a year old I think) Premier Inn at Bad Cannstat which appears to be about 3km from the stadium I can get for €598 for the two of us for two nights. Ultimately it's not going to get massively cheaper than that and it's pretty convenient.
Ach I caved and just booked it. It's full refundable up to day of arrival anyway.
Tickets sorted
Flights sorted
Hotel sorted
Still to sort:
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16 minutes ago, welshbairn said:
I shouldn't have thought there would be a problem, only difficulty might be connecting 2 different emails to the same app, but plenty people use multiple accounts so It's probably not an issue. The SSC tickets will have the transfer button greyed out, the new ones won't.
It does talk about "your guests" and transferring additional tickets to them but it being not allowed to "buy tickets on behalf of someone else". Will you be able to transfer ALL the tickets bought in yesterday's sale without leaving one for yourself?
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59 minutes ago, JagsCG said:
That’s quite harsh. James Forrest was unplayable for about 2/3 games under McLeish, but other than that he was mostly disappointing in a Scotland shirt. We’ve beaten Israel since his hat trick (not including the penalties game).
Mmm, you're right that he had a short lived burst of form under McLeish where he was outstandingly good but it was a burst of about two months in practice. I remember before that being utterly convinced he had incriminating photos of Strachan in some compromising pose as he kept getting picked time after time and had done about as much as me in a Scotland shirt.
I agree his Scotland career before and after that short burst of form has largely been forgettable.
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5 hours ago, PSJ.84 said:
6am of Matchday to 6pm the following evening, although that’s only on the regional network. Unfortunately the one in Stuttgart doesn’t stray far outside of the city so Karlsruhe won’t be covered. You’re probably better with an ICE train regardless, it’s only about €15.
3 hours ago, Pie Of The Month said:The free transport is just the local region from 6am on the morning of the game until 6pm the following evening, you'll find the map here - https://www.euro2024ingermany.com/travel/transport-networks
If the train you need to book is more than 29 euro then it might be worth searching the DB website for the reduced train tickets for match ticket holders but I think Karlruhe to Stuttgart might be cheaper than that.
It's worth looking at the map of the local Stuttgart S-Bahn on the link above as it extends out to towns surrounding Stuttgart and the trains run late so you wouldn't be missing out on the atmosphere even if you stay out on the Saturday or after the game on Sunday. We're in Ludwigsburg, know a ton of Scotland fans are staying there and a quick check on has the ibis budget there at around £140 a night and it's 6mins on the regional train or 16mins on the S-Bahn to Stuttgart Hbf.
Thanks. Don't have time to worry about this today but looks like travel between the two cities is regular and relatively cheap (€15 - €22) each give or take.
I'd really rather stay in Stuttgart I think but I'll look into it. There's a new (about a year old I think) Premier Inn at Bad Cannstat which appears to be about 3km from the stadium I can get for €598 for the two of us for two nights. Ultimately it's not going to get massively cheaper than that and it's pretty convenient.
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21 hours ago, 2426255 said:
There's a lot pessimism at the moment. I don't share it personally.
- I thought we saw the best and maybe worst of Scotland in March.
- On the injury front Lewis Ferguson is the only player definitely ruled out. Nathan Patterson probably also and no-one knows for certain with the rest.
- I don't think results have matched performance over the 'winless run'.
I also think regardless of our 'form' and with all the preferred players available we'd be doing well to qualify from the group.
The only genuinely bad performance was the Northern Irish one (I accept that's also the last one).
Georgia away wasn't great certainly and neither was Norway at home but they were shadow sides and both had some positive spells. Don't think the games against England and France matter a jot and we were encouraging for long spells against Spain and Netherlands even in defeats.
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1 hour ago, DG.Roma said:
Jump at it! The Ryanair prices will rise (they will anyway if you add bags and want to guarantee sitting next to your son.) Early start but it gives you a full day to get your bearings and watch Saturday's games in a fanzone. There's a lot to be said for direct flights and avoiding the hassle of changeover, either between flights or between airport and train(s)
You might find cheaper hotels, but if you're willing to pay that for a Premier Inn then you know you're getting a comfortable and reliable place to stay, whereas a cheap local could be a bargain, or a risk.
Well done on getting the tickets, delighted for you and the (now rather big) wee man!
Booked the flights. Not booked the hotels yet but I likely will. I'm not sure how much cheaper we'll get hotels in Stuttgart itself and I would rather stay there for the atmosphere on the Saturday night and for the ease of getting back to our hotel after a 9pm match on the Sunday night.
You were right of course that Ryanair hammered me for another £27 each for the right to make sure we were sat together ((and extra baggage allowance but I don't need that). All in £607 for the two of us. I'll need to look into how we get from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart. Does the free transport on trains thing only work the day of the game?
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35 minutes ago, DG.Roma said:
Jump at it! The Ryanair prices will rise (they will anyway if you add bags and want to guarantee sitting next to your son.) Early start but it gives you a full day to get your bearings and watch Saturday's games in a fanzone. There's a lot to be said for direct flights and avoiding the hassle of changeover, either between flights or between airport and train(s)
You might find cheaper hotels, but if you're willing to pay that for a Premier Inn then you know you're getting a comfortable and reliable place to stay, whereas a cheap local could be a bargain, or a risk.
Well done on getting the tickets, delighted for you and the (now rather big) wee man!
Thanks. Might just stick thr pc on and book the flights then. My best mate lives next to Edinburgh Airport too so can leave the car on his drive and he'll take us to the airport. No parking charges.
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So been researching. By miles the most reasonable flights I can find with least hassle are Ryanair 6:20am on the saturday to Karlsruhe, returning Monday lunchtime for £240 or so each. Would intend to stay in Stuttgart. Looks like nice but not luxury standard hotels (Premier Inns or Holiday Inns) will be about £250 to £300 per night while there.
Regular trains between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart for about £25 each.
Thoughts anyone? Couldnt see much better without basically flying into a different country and getting a cross border train.
Edit - direct flights too which is unusual. Most flights to Stuttgart or Karlsruhe needed a stopover somewhere.
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5 minutes ago, welshbairn said:
2 please, but I think they're gone
4 minutes ago, ChrisMFCfan1886 said:I'm looking for two for Hungary but still got a few mins till I can get back into the site
Yeah, fixture isn't even available on the list now. You can force it to list but it says "Full" and you can't select it. I'm just floating around in here but there's nothing much relevant. Munich is a vague possibility for a last 16 if we're 3rd Can still get Prime Seats for that. and for the Q-F that game leads to in Berlin. But you can't get any other potential Scotland game and can't even get the other Q-F's that the Scotland games could route to.
Think I'm just going to close this. Nothing useful for me in it.
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3 minutes ago, welshbairn said:
I just finished spending half an hour in the sales bit clicking refresh, I don't think any Scotland tickets are still resting in someone's basket.
Even Hungary which is still showing a Few Cat 2's left?Anyone still needing Hungary Cat 2's if so?Ignore that I'm in now. Not available.
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1 minute ago, Glen Scotia said:
No one likes a smart arse!!
TBF I'm home before the Hungary game
Certainly appeared as if there were none for the other two well before 12. Switzerland went earlier. Germany was still showing Cat 1's available at that time but couldn't get them when you tried to buy.
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1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:
Yeah, I actually restarted the queue in case I could get anything for the Germany game, albeit it's now changed status to no tickets available anyway. I haven't actually closed the portal window though. It's still sitting at about 10%. I assume it will be at least two hours before it gets back in. Expecting nothing though.
Haven't actually closed this yet, it's still sitting in the background. It's 30 mins to get in now. I'm assuming it will eventually chuck me out. Not expecting to achieve anything by it. Germany and Swiss games aren't even on the available list now.
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Who’s on the plane?
in Tartan Army Ramblings
Posted
But Jack hasn't kicked a ball since the 1st week in March and there's been no suggestion he's back imminently. I'm not ruling him out yet, I agree if he's fit and plays 2 or 3 games for Rangers before the end of the season he would go. But I'm not sure how you can claim he's 80% to go when he's not seen a football for two months and the suggestion is he's unlikely to play again this season.
As I said on previous page, I accept Hickey hasn't seen a ball for far longer but he's far more important to us. Hanley's in a similar boat of course but at least he actually made Norwich's bench last weekend. There are signs he may be fit.