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That's why I mentioned Scotland. They will have the same problem an averagey side in the EPL/EFL have this summer. It will be decided on the results by the fans, with hindsight whether we should have 'had a go' or been more pragmatic - that's basically it, that's how fans by and large work.

It depends, when it works it looks great. Playing out from the back isn't necessarily patient, controlled pass you to death kind of stuff. It can be rapid almost counter-attacking. Obviously the clip below doesn't show the f**k ups. It's about expectations rising. First fan's want winning football, then they want style - in that order. Look at David Moyes, winning isn't enough anymore.

I understand, Why not use the bomber lane, do a full loop of the roundabout, exit the 'North' exit and crack on. That's what I'd do. I know you shouldn't have to, but it's just a practical way of keeping the blood pressure down and avoiding a smash.

Playing out from the back is about trying to keep the ball, possession and control of the game rather than scoring goals. The alternative of clearing your lines just tends to give the ball straight back to the opposition. It's a risk/reward thing. Scotland will face the same problem at the Euro's against Germany. Do Scotland try control the game with the ball (The Netherlands) or do we try to control the game without the ball (Spain). I couldn't really say what the best approach to take is.

Aye, it's annoying. One solution is to block them off by occupying that lane. At that roundabout it would mean you either do a full loop before you find your exit, you take the wrong exit or you copy their behaviour. It's very effective at traffic lights at stopping similar behaviour, the downside being that you rely on someone to let you in. It just comes down to how much it annoys you or what your mood is like on the day. I tend to just let it go mostly, but have it in my back pocket if I'm in a bad mood anyway.

It’s around the midway point from the disappointment of the March camp to the June camp. The excitement will ramp up as the media spotlight turns towards the tournament so probably the best time to do this type of post before the frenzy hits. So what are you expecting from Scotland at Euro-2024 and does it match what you think our aim should be? I don’t have any expectations for the tournament. I think the aim should be to qualify from our group, but if we fall short it wouldn't necessarily be failure. Steve Clarke suggested for the most part that the aim is just to be competitive and see where it takes us although has also touched on trying to get out of the group. Clarke did an interview with Tom English that was released today which touches on the aims for the tournament amongst other things. Most of the comments made by Steve Clarke on the subject since we qualified back in October:

Just drive as if you always have right of way even if you don't. That's the key. I quite like them as it's chaos rules and you just go for it and see what happens. It's like when a pundit says if you don't commit fully to the tackle you're more likely to get injured. Just pile on in there, take a leap of faith even if cars are flying past you/in front of you.

Sack the manager, sell all the players.

Guess he was wrong about this as well then. 2 for 2, some guy. What's the value in an opinion if it doesn't stand the test of time and if you change it every five minutes.

I was just being silly, but I've edited it for Ryan Fraser. Irving has done his compatriot a favour. Helpful result for Max Johnston and Sturm Graz that Klagenfurt managed to beat Salzburg. They have a head to head this weekend, but it's in Salzburg. 4 games to go, 3 points ahead.

Not maybe as conclusive as I remember, but here's the quote I referred to earlier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIFafl72pcs I wonder if a player who would have been picked in the 23-man squad might lose out when it goes to a 26-man squad for the Summer. Euro-2020 could be an example of where that happened if Nathan Patterson and James Forrest ticked more boxes than Liam Palmer (+1). If for example Anthony Ralston (+1) were to miss out in favour of Ryan Fraser and Max Johnston - that sort of idea in terms of the combination of players rather than just direct 1 for 1 swaps.

aye, KT's off to Arsenal and Ryan Fraser's off to Newcastle in the summer too so looking forward to that too!

He's on loan from West Ham

Not getting a load of game time. I think he's around 10% of the minutes available to Real Sociedad.

Never seen that before, but knew a guy who originally came from a traveller community who would try to catch them in the New Forest area in the south of England.

No carry on, please. I'm enjoying the discussion.

I did think that until fairly recently. Clarke has subsequently said [recently] that the additional three spaces were used for those three. I dont have the quote to hand - but ill find it, post it and you can make up your own mind. I understand the point re: Patterson. It's possible Fraser and Forrest were O'Donnell's cover. I believe Forrest played RWB when he came on (for O'Donnell) against Czech Rep.

You can tell John boy here doesn't have a working knowledge of Scottish Football. Shame as it would have been interesting to see the fan & media circus and collapse. Think of all the terrible journalism we've missed.

A couple of articles for the collection this morning. Thought this article was a whole heap of crap. 'Right-back crisis possible' - how Scotland squad is shaping up'. A journey across to the main page reveals Phil McNulty's latest effort: Tremendous Havertz no longer Arteta's vanity project. More bad than good on the BBC sport page. Where's the analysis, the research and hard work to build a logical conclusion? It's just words on a page around a general theme. What's the point in an opinion piece if it's not backed up with reasoning? and what's the point of the article if the reasoning doesn't have some originality? As soon as I hear phrases such as "vanity project" or "crisis" I know the article won't be for me.

Clarke definitely has the capacity to make surprising selections. If you look back you'll see that showing the pathway hasn't tailed off on a year by year scale even if we haven't seen it so much in the past two camps. Clarke has talked in detail about avoiding a 'hard reset' and 'having ones for the future' (e.g. McCrorie) or 'ones for the future and for now' (e.g. Hickey, Gilmour). You can go back further than 2021 and see Porteous and Robbie McCrorie being included and maybe there are others. Maybe these Euro's aren't good in terms of timing, but I don't see any basis to rule it out personally just now. It's been discussed in a little more detail here. https://forum.pieandbovril.com/topic/288796-the-next-five-years/

I understand that, my point was more if Steve Clarke decides he would rather just do what he did at Euro-2020 and take 3 younger players along then Johnston would be one that is young, has been involved before and can cover an area where there is potential for a shortage. So it would just come down to that unanswerable question of how Clarke chooses to use the three additional spaces.

Don't worry about it, it's a lot of names. I only saw it as I was checking the names off my spreadsheet to see who maybe hadn't been thought of. The others were Dom Hyam and Robbie McCrorie who haven't any chance of being selected. So the rest is spot on. If the squad goes up to 26 it becomes more unpredictable. Who would have predicted Gilmour, Patterson and Turnbull in Euro-2020? The unanswerable question is what 3 extra spaces will be used for? Younger players to show the pathway (Johnston, Conway). Cover fitness doubts (Fraser, McCrorie, Johnston etc). Players who've earned Clarke's loyalty or are good around the squad. (Jack, Brown, Taylor). Mixture of the above or players that tick more than one of the above boxes.

As @AndyDD suggested, does right back? Hickey may have to cover left back, Hickey might not be 100%. Two reasons why it wouldn't be a great surprise to me if we took a utility player who can cover that area as well as elsewhere (McCrorie) or a younger player (Johnston) to show the pathway from the 21's. Taking either player would serve multiple purposes. Both have been involved recently.

I think you've missed out Billy Gilmour who maybe fits best under 'Currently Injured but Certain Picks if fit'.

Russell and Morgan were in Steve Clarke's first squad. Russell was playing in the MLS, Lewis Morgan was at Sunderland (maybe on loan from Celtic). AFAIK Johnny Russell is the only player to have been called up by Clarke whilst playing in the MLS.