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Fucking hell mate. You sound like a Rangers fan. Listen to yourself. We have to be at our best in tournament football to get out of a group, assuming one of our competitors doesn't implode, even with three qualifying. If it was only two getting out of the group our odds would decrease significantly. Every measure available points towards Scotland being the weakest team in this group including how Scotland have performed in the last tournament. We played nearer our minimum than our maximum against Germany and were well beaten. Even if we play close to our maximum against Switzerland and Hungary there is a fair chance we won't win. We have some good players, so do all the other teams in our group. If we play to our best we have a chance, that's all. You can't just mentality yourself over the line. As a Stenhousemuir fan you should know all that.

The last good moment I could find from Porteous. He tracks a player into midfield: balances the numbers and with the help of Adams, Scotland turn the ball over. He was decent off the ball up until the red card incident. Where he disappointed (apart from the red card incident) was his play on the ball. I'll probably put some clips of that up tomorrow.

Let's be honest. It's not going to matter what the fans want at this stage. If we go out of the tournament disappointingly the whole thing will play out like after Euro-2020. Clarke might not get a new contract in August this time, but he won't be sacked - he'll be under pressure. Fans and the SFA look at it completely differently. That's the reality. It's an expectations thing with the fanbase. Fans always expect one step beyond where the team currently are and a straight line progression, which obviously never happens and hasn't happened under Clarke. The teams maximum capability is always the minimum expectation for supporters - that's why they're a miserable bunch. We all should know that progress is 2 steps forward, one step backwards.

Too soon. If we get a result against Switzerland you'll look like a fud. The SFA have zero interest in sacking Clarke as he's been bringing in the pennies, helping improve the game up here and so he would have to resign or take another job which is possible given the intensity of the Scotland job. Scotland are trying to break through a glass ceiling from pot-2 to pot-1. It might not happen at the first attempt. "The last step is the most difficult" remember that? I would keep him on until the end of his existing contract and re-evaluate from there. If he starts poorly in World cup qualifying that's when I would be open to the discussion.

Dalgleish in for Adams

It's also the reason he didn't start away in Germany, Spain or Norway. He doesn't have the not so unique skills that help us control a game without the ball which is also a part of the game and yes it could be argued neither did any of the players taking to pitch on Friday. Gilmour is an excellent player, but playing with the ball is only part of the game of football. He has improved the other side of his game since he was at Norwich. That has to be said.

To be fair Clarke wasn't a million miles away from placing most of the blame on the players. He basically took some responsibility and then said that he had a word with a few of the players to remind them of where they went wrong or words to that effect. I don't have an issue with that particularly if the players accept that and the manager was clear with them beforehand. If they don't then it can cause trouble.

If you want to get predictions right, listen to Clarke - he tells you a lot, he really does, not explicitly. I am extremely confident Gilmour will start against Switzerland. I'd put money on it. At the end of the day if Clarke wants to leave it's up to him and he should be able to do so on his own terms.

I know you're just having fun, but you were certain Gilmour would start against Germany. "you don't leave out your best players" You also had a feeling Clarke would do something out the box against Germany. "watch this space", "hatching a secret tactical plan" Not having a go, just saying. I suppose it could be argued what we saw on Friday was out the box, but you get what I mean.

I'm not a fan of big Zander Clark. Gunn all day for me. You're letting club bias make the choice for you. I quite like Shankland to be honest. I think he'll start on Wednesday. 31 goals in the Scottish Premiership isn't that impressive, but POTY is good. He's a decent player, good enough to play for us and hopefully he can help us on Wednesday.

Get him in the Euros squad. Let's have a wee look see.

Have to agree with this. There is often a different dimension to a press conference or even post match interview than just a question and answer session. Sometimes it's a bit like walking into a room where two people have just finished an argument from a viewers perspective. There are contexts that are not explicit. It's not always just an information exchange, that's for true. They can play out in odd ways.

Fair enough. I'll take that at face value. Enjoy your evening.

Why do you hate Steve Clarke so much is what I'm looking for an answer for? You've been on his case for years now. Has it been something personal? I actually have it on record that you just wanted to be seen as being in the right on the TA board over the manager issue, but it can't be that. I don't think it's that. Is it? I just want to know where this is all coming from, that's all. You've been tirelessly campaigning for him to go for years now and pretending you're hoping he turns things around. Come on, stop trying to kid us all on. Just be honest with us.

A bit premature to be discussing a new manager. I believe you made the same mistake before in the past when you were quite keen on Slaven Bilic and Marcelo Bielsa. That must have been a bitter blow to you. You'll be keen for it to finally happen. Make sure that Champagne is nice and chilled, you'll be wanting to get everything right for the big moment. https://forum.pieandbovril.com/topic/268036-time-to-go-steve-clarke/page/74/

Sorry to hear that. It's just one of them you have to try and forget about it and move on as hard as that might be to do. The whole Nation is try to do similar after Fridays game so you're not alone.

Yeah I understand that. Probably no easy answer to your dilemma. I always try to back the team particularly in difficult periods, that's when they need it most. Good luck with whatever road you decide to go down.

I have to say what appears to have escaped attention is the fact that Porteous is the first player to be red carded in Steve Clarke's tenure. That's impressive from a discipline standpoint.

We used it for both the Norway and Georgia games, so for the whole camp and it was okay. We also go to a back-4 if we need to chase the game. We did it famously in Oslo, but also less famously against Northern Ireland, Spain from memory and if you want to go back to 2022 we used it to beat Ukraine and Ireland in Sep-22 along with an excellent draw against Ukraine in Poland. For what it's worth Clarke is probably looking to use it more in the future and he said that was part of the thinking behind using it in the Gibraltar game. The general point I'm trying to make was simply that we have seen what you're asking for, it's in the toolbox. Obviously not used as much as you'd like and with caveats when it is, but it's definitely in there.

You can't wait can you. I bet you have champagne on ice.

To be fair we played with a back-4 against Georgia and played precisely that midfield that you wanted. We played well enough, but needed Shankland to score a last minute equaliser. It might look good on paper, but that doesn't mean anything as we all are well aware. It's not a silver bullet.

Ross McCrorie is playing more as a wing back/full back with Bristol City as far as I'm aware. I've taken that on trust as I don't have time to watch Bristol City, maybe you know better? As a whole I accept Steve Clarke's loyalty system and decision making and don't think I know better than him. If Clarke thinks that it was better to start McCrorie instead of Ralston against Gibraltar then it's not something I object to. I don't have access to the data and medical information nor do I have access to the decision making process. Most things with him I'm happy to take on trust essentially. I trust him to make decisions like that because I believe him to be a very capable manager with the best interests of the team at heart. He has earned my loyalty you might say. Think about how you felt about Walter Smith when he was in charge of Rangers. You trusted him. It's like that for me with Clarke and Scotland.

He's just joking around. Did you lose your wallet on the piss?

Zander Clark and Lawrence Shankland to start? No prizes for guessing the team you support.

I sense some bitterness directed towards me. Well best of luck with your campaign to oust him. To be fair Steve Clarke's had a great run and has been our best manager in decades, so while it's my preference for him to continue I'm not overly bothered if he chooses to leave as it's an intense job and it would be understandable if he wanted an easier life..