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Cowshed Chris

By Cowshed Chris
in Tartan Army Ramblings

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Mon_The_Bairns

Mon_The_Bairns

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Shame about Fletcher. Good job we have a perfect replacement in Paul Hartley! ;)

Canni say that hartley is same quality as fletcher.

Still would like to see him as a replacement as he deserves his chance and may prove to be a very important player for us if he can cope with international football.

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codfish

codfish

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After this weekend's performances, my goalkeeper would be anyone except from Douglas, and I'd replace Fletcher with Andy Liddell of Sheffield United, as he has looked pretty good in the cup games I've seen him in this season.

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Chris

Chris

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After this weekend's performances, my goalkeeper would be anyone except from Douglas, and I'd replace Fletcher with Andy Liddell of Sheffield United, as he has looked pretty good in the cup games I've seen him in this season.

Is he not a striker? He certainly used to be... :huh:

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Mon_The_Bairns

Mon_The_Bairns

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Liddell was playing wide right for United on Saturday, and Andy Gray looked to be playing up front :unsure:

I think that andy gray should be given a start at some point. He has been playing regularly and scoring goals for a side doing reasonably well in the chamoionship. May give us a bit of prescence up front as well.

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Chris

Chris

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Liddell was playing wide right for United on Saturday, and Andy Gray looked to be playing up front :unsure:

That's odd, because Gray was a right winger (see earlier in the thread :rolleyes: ) and Liddell definitely played up front for Wigan, that's where I remember him from. I think he also used to play up front for the U21s.

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Tormod Macleod

Tormod Macleod

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Can't believe Davie Weir is anywhere near the squad. If Gary McAllister got booed by the Tartan Army then God alone knows what Davie Weir deserves. I never expected Smith to improve on the good foundations Berti left him but this is a joke. Davie Weir GTF!

As for my preferred lineup:

------------------------Gordon------------------------

--McNamara---Anderson---Pressley---Naysmith--

--Fletcher------Ferguson---Quashie----McCann----

-----------------Dickov-------Riordan----------------

To be honest I really wanted to play a 3-4-3 but the personnel available kind of dictates a 4-4-2 formation.

From back to front: Gordon has proved himself to be a more reliable keeper than Marshall (Falkirk Brain come on admit it) and moreover is playing week in week our for Hearts. He's young and very promising. He's also a wee bit galous and has a confidence/arrogance/presence about him. Douglas and Sullivan have had their chances and whilst they're both solid have never set the heather on fire. I believe Gordon has the potential to be world class but will only get there if he's given the experience necessary

McNamara has been superb for Celtic for sometime now. I used to think he was total gash and don't mind admitting that je's proved me wrong. Steady, comfortable in possession, playing regurlarly in a decent Celtic team with bags of experience. He's an absolute dead cert for a start.

Anderson has had an excellent season at Aberdeen and by all accounts they've been dodgy at the back when he's been missing. I also thought he played well last time he played at Hampden (can't remember who against) and deserves to get in ahead of Webster who hasn't seized his opportunity nor fulfilled his potenial.

Pressley has to start for me. He's not getting any younger but his experience will be quite essential in what is a relatively youthful defence. Hopefully he can groom Anderson as his succesor. He's been a good servant to Scotland and hasn't spat the dummy when things were going bad for us. A stick on for a jersey.

Naysmith can be dodgy defensively at times but if you're gonna play 4 at the back, he is our best option as left back. Gives good over-lapping options in attack (not that Walter will allow that).

Fletcher is an injury doubt I believe and whilst I'm not his biggest fan he clearly has quality. Can be a wee bit lightweight at times and lacks the pace I would want from a player in his position. However his final ball at times is quality and he can hopefully grow into something like a world class footballer.

Ferguson has shown a real desire to be a part of the Scotland setup siince he left Rangers. Hopefully now that he has returned to Scotland he will show the same desire. He has improved as a player in his short time in t'Premiership and more importantly he now believes that he can cut it at that level. We'll need his arrogance in there against the Italians.

Quashie was almost left out as I tried desperately to play a 3-4-3. However, despite the fact that he is english, I can't leave him out as he's got the kind of quality we lack. Moreover, he's shown more desire to be part of the Scotland setup and many Scottish players have and therefore merits his inclusion on account of his talent AND his desire. Personally, I feel he can form a partnership with Ferguson in the middle of the park which will offer good protection for the back four and offer a bit of quality going forward.

McCann has been injured for sometime but (not sure) I think he's been playing regularly for Saints and possesses real pace down the wing. He can be frustrating at times when he seems to take the easy option and rather than skinning the fullback with skill he decides to kick the ball 10 yards in front of himself and beat him for pace. He has the skill and is a better player when he chooses that option. IMO he's one of the few players who has always performed better at international level than he has for his club and sometimes his crosses are first class. I'm thinking of his cross for Hutchison at Wembley. Put simply, the Italians won't fancy his pace.

Dickov has to watch his temper but his tenacious nature can be a real asset for us. He really let us down when he got sent off at Hampden. It was almost as if he was trying to get sent off and I think we could all see it coming. I for one was fu<king furious at him! The Italians will probably be aware of this and will try everything they can to wind him up. You may wonder why I have included him but his goalscoring record for Blackburn is good and moreover Mark Hughes seems to rate him. He's also a true penaly box striker and may just be able to convert some of the few chances we'll get in the game. He's also reasonabley good at holding the ball up and giving the midfield time to join in .

Riordan is IMO an absolute joy to behold. I'm gutted that I'll miss the ICT v Hibs game on Wednesday night as much for not having the chance to watch his sublime movement off the ball and finishing as I'm about missing the chance to see my own team play what is a quality FOOTBALL team. IMO if we don't play Riordan we're passing up an enormous opportunity. For me this is one of these "Cometh the hour, cometh the man" games and Derick Riordan could well prove to be THE man. The boy has real pace, a bit of vision and something we haven't seen from Scottish strikers for a while, HE CAN FINISH. Any ICT fans remember his goal against us at Easter Road earlier this season? If you don't there are loads of other, possibly better, examples of the boys class. We're not gonna get many chances and in my veiw, we'll get less if Riordan's not on the pitch. HE@S GOT TO START!

Right folks, that's it for me. Just to say, I half thought about playing Gary O'Connor but I don't feel he's quite there yet but a possibility coming off the bench.

That's my longest post ever and only one swear word in it!

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Kilo

Kilo

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Can't believe Davie Weir is anywhere near the squad. If Gary

As for my preferred lineup:

------------------------Gordon------------------------

--McNamara---Anderson---Pressley---Naysmith--

--Fletcher------Ferguson---Quashie----McCann----

-----------------Dickov-------Riordan----------------

I agree with most of that but not sure about Neil McCann. Probably McFadden would be a better option. Otherwise I agree with the team exactly. (Stevie Hammel would be a decent left-back, but Naysmith should get the nod at the moment.)

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Chris

Chris

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Neil McCann was Scotland's best player for a year or so until injury struck, remember his goal in Germany? He's hardly played for Southampton this year, 5 starts in the league, so considering he's both out of favour and has been injured a fair bit, I don't think we could throw him straight in against Italy. In any case, he wasn't even in Walter's training squad, was he? :unsure:

I would hesitate to leave out McFadden too, as he's one player capable of changing a match.

I would also be very reluctant to play two tiny lightweights upfront. Can't see us playing all that much football, so we may as well have a big man up there who can take some pressure off the defence. Would have to be Thompson I would have thought.

Riordan has also been very out of form for a while now, he was absolutely awful on Saturday, and this is not the game to throw him into, at least not from the start.

Tormod - you make the point about McCann playing better at international level than at club level. I think the same applies to Douglas, can't remember him making howlers like he seems to for Shellik. The converse also applies to Gordon, sadly.

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