Players who routinely get selected despite not proving their worth.

[Mastermind]

Right, so what team do you support and what forum do you use?

If the top league is "pointless" I wonder what that makes the rest.

Don't really support any Scottish team, just watch a lot of junior football, better value for money than paying £25 for a game in an empty 'Premiership' stadium in a league everyone knows who has won before it starts.

Any further questions?

[rainbowrising]

James Forrest is one of the most naturally gifted players in that squad as far as i'm concerned. Probably the fastest player on that pitch last night but rarely given a chance to show it in attack and what's the point when Fletcher is who's waiting.

He makes exciting runs but he doesn't have a football brain. He lacks understanding of what goes on around him. Usually he makes a run that ends with either a poor cross, a poor pass or being dispossessed. He basically makes exciting runs in to dead ends. He does it at club level for Celtic regularly.

[Whitnail]

Don't really support any Scottish team, just watch a lot of junior football, better value for money than paying £25 for a game in an empty 'Premiership' stadium in a league everyone knows who has won before it starts.

Any further questions?

Doesn't support Scottish team. Doesn't seem to support Scotland - posts on Scottish football forum.

It's just a strange way to spend your time, is there really not any other forum more suited to your interests?

[PrestersKTID]

The thing for international managers is he has a preferred team as do most club managers, the problem then is his preferred players like Hutton, Brown, fletcher etc etc can go out of form or get injured in between international games.

Fletcher for his poor performances in the last 2 games, contributed a lot in the earlier games. Maloney made himself undroppable with his form in this campaign. If you don't have players of top quality in the team its difficult to maintain form.

[forameus]

I'm probably in the vast minority, but I thought Fletcher did pretty well last night considering the job he was there to do. He was terrible against Georgia, that's a given, but yesterday he chased down when he had to, and provided the link-up play that saw him be so important earlier in the campaign.

The only mark I'd have against him would be that ball through that he passed BUT, the way he was facing and way the ball was pinged in, If he'd turned the ball would've been miles away, if he'd taken a touch he's still not the quickest so may have been charged down anyway, but more accurately, I think he thought he was offside. He certainly looked a good 5 yards off from where I was sitting, so maybe that was playing on his mind.

I don't think Leigh Griffiths would have provided what Fletcher did last night, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have had the chances to do what he does best.

In a more general sense, I'd say that most of the players that came out of Georgia rightly criticised answered the criticism last night to a point. Forrest was absolutely rotten though. Those that didn't play to their abilities last night at least worked very hard. Forrest did neither, and at times in the second half looked to be actively avoiding doing either.

[Dudu Dahan pal]

Morrison was our best player last night, by a distance.

[Savage Henry]

Morrison was our best player last night, by a distance.

Yup. He's also comfortably our most (only?) comfortable-on-the-ball central midfielder

Hutton hasn't really let us down either.

James Forrest ought not to even be at Celtic, let alone Scotland. It completely bewilders me that he, Forsyth and Greer are anywhere near the squad. I'd probably add the Thumb to that, but he's clearly included to placate the fans.

The other names mentioned in this thread are pretty tragic.

[forameus]

Yup. He's also comfortably our most (only?) comfortable-on-the-ball central midfielder

Hutton hasn't really let us down either.

James Forrest ought not to even be at Celtic, let alone Scotland. It completely bewilders me that he, Forsyth and Greer are anywhere near the squad. I'd probably add the Thumb to that, but he's clearly included to placate the fans.

The other names mentioned in this thread are pretty tragic.

The thumb is a good player, and I think if it came down to someone played over the top, with time, one-on-one, I'd much rather have him on the ball than Fletcher, or any striker we've called up really. But we're not really the sort of team that's going to have those chances. Definitely a good option to have on the bench I'd say, until we unearth someone better.

Also echo the Hutton one. I think he deserves a lot of credit for still putting in very good performances despite not playing regularly at club level. I can almost hear the howls of derision from some as I type that, but it's similar to the Kenny Miller situation. He's hardly going to turn down a call-up, and most of the time, he performs well when called upon. Like a lot of players, I imagine if we had a player that was better ability-wise, and a better fit for the system, he'd be playing instead.

I wasn't going to jump on the Forrest bandwagon, but having seen him play as close-up as I did yesterday (row A of the North, so a wonderful view of him shiting himself all through the second half), I fully support anyone who says he should be nowhere near the squad, except possibly as a 85th minute sub to run the ball into the corner and out of play to waste some time.

[Skyline Drifter]

Morrison was outstanding last night though he had a pretty rare poor game in Georgia.

I thought Forrest was dreadful last night. One decent run with the ball where his cross hit the near post defender was all he had to show in a positive way. His defensive side isn't even as good as headlessly following the ball. The left back had acres of space all night. If he's a better option than Anya I'm a Chinaman as the saying goes.

Bad as Forrest was I'd rank Mulgrew worse, though I was shocked to get home last night watch the goals back and find he had a part to play in both ours so I'll slightly forgive him. However, his defending was criminal at times last night and his first touch was abysmal. Mulgrew's problem is he's a jack of all trades and master of none. I accept Andrew Robertson's defensive side is lacking but for all Mulgrew gave us last night we may as well have played him, though it would have cost us height at set pieces I accept.

[MarkoRaj]

I fully support anyone who says he should be nowhere near the squad, except possibly as a 85th minute sub to run the ball into the corner and out of play to waste some time.

Not having that. He's the last person you'd want taking the ball into the corner, given his penchant for running straight out of play

[thisGRAEME]

I'm probably in the vast minority, but I thought Fletcher did pretty well last night considering the job he was there to do. He was terrible against Georgia, that's a given, but yesterday he chased down when he had to, and provided the link-up play that saw him be so important earlier in the campaign.

The only mark I'd have against him would be that ball through that he passed BUT, the way he was facing and way the ball was pinged in, If he'd turned the ball would've been miles away, if he'd taken a touch he's still not the quickest so may have been charged down anyway, but more accurately, I think he thought he was offside. He certainly looked a good 5 yards off from where I was sitting, so maybe that was playing on his mind.

See, that was kind of my thinking too. He competed against Hummels in a way that Griffiths can't.

That said, I'd still have taken Naismith over Fletcher. It's a shite shift to have, yes, that was a horror of a pass he made, but aside from that, I thought he did okay.

FWIW as well, I'm actually quite surprised Ritchie didn't start last night, I thought he'd be nailed on.

[Blootoon87]

Hutton had a good game last night, the best he's played in a while.

[Whitnail]

Hutton had a good game last night, the best he's played in a while.

He was doing the "running into the defender to get myself out of a bad touch and con the ref" act he's been pulling for years.

It was working too.

[LinkinFighter]

The only right back I'd possibly have ahead of Hutton is Bardsley.

[Mr Romanov]

We need to start blooding young players who are in form (and there are a few about) or we are going to end up in the Craig Brown situation where the next manager inherits a team full of shite who are well past it and we will go through another Vogts period of capping any c**t to find a decent player.

I'd have a lot of the current 21s getting regular game time now. What's the worst that can happen? We fail to qualify for yet another tournament?

Or we can stick with Maloney, Fletcher and all that shit and experience the same failure every single time. Yes, lets go with that.

[Guest DAVIDB69]

We need to start blooding young players who are in form (and there are a few about) or we are going to end up in the Craig Brown situation where the next manager inherits a team full of shite who are well past it and we will go through another Vogts period of capping any c**t to find a decent player.

I'd have a lot of the current 21s getting regular game time now. What's the worst that can happen? We fail to qualify for yet another tournament?

Or we can stick with Maloney, Fletcher and all that shit and experience the same failure every single time. Yes, lets go with that.

Agree fully apart from Robertson no one has come through for years. He does seem to a Strachan scapegoat

Too old for under 21s Armstrong, Mackay-Steven, Russell to name but three and you generally go into the wilderness for about 4 years.

You maybe get a brief chance at 26 where you will still be called a young player.

However you will generally be overlooked for a mid 20s English born championship player with work rate

[Mr Romanov]

Agree fully apart from Robertson no one has come through for years. He does seem to a Strachan scapegoat

Too old for under 21s Armstrong, Mackay-Steven, Russell to name but three and you generally go into the wilderness for about 4 years.

You maybe get a brief chance at 26 where you will still be called a young player.

However you will generally be overlooked for a mid 20s English born championship player with work rate

Exactly.

The players you mention should have 10 caps each minimum by now.

[Skyline Drifter]

The only right back I'd possibly have ahead of Hutton is Bardsley.

If Bardsley is still available to us then I'd have him at left back, certainly in games where the full back needs to defend.

[Skyline Drifter]

Or we can stick with Maloney, Fletcher and all that shit and experience the same failure every single time. Yes, lets go with that.

Maloney has flattered to deceive for years but he has been head and shoulders our best player in the current campaign. Calling for his early departure now is ridiculous and undermines your point.

[Mr Romanov]

Maloney has flattered to deceive for years but he has been head and shoulders our best player in the current campaign. Calling for his early departure now is ridiculous and undermines your point.

I'm calling for a complete revamp in the whole thing. He's been fannying about in America for a while and has now moved to Hull, he isn't in the squad on merit. He's played 15 games this year. We've stuck with guys like him for years and fail time after time. Surely something different is worth a go?

It's radical, but pick players who are playing well for their teams. Even if they happen to be SPL players. I hate this culture of picking the same group of pish with priority going to anyone in England regardless of their form/ability.