If we don't make it....

[Big Fifer]

Crazy to see how much buzz was around the national team a few months ago. Crazy how a couple of results change everything but that's the way of international football. If you only play a couple of games every few months, every game is massive. We had a solid start in a tough group, but have had our usual slip up that other sides have enough spark to get over.

Sacking Strachan doesn't achieve that much though. The calibre of manager we'd be able to get wouldn't be great. Also reading an article in the Herald (I think) the other day, discussing what it takes to be an international manager. Majority of the article was going on about how WGS had ticked the boxes he wanted to in club football so no longer had the urge to go back to the 7 days a week job at club level.

Who, from the calibre that we'd be able to choose from, would actually stick around in the job if they had some success and EPL teams were sniffing about? Very few.

[Bully Wee Villa]

We should save the money on sacking Strachan and hiring a new manager and give it to Putin on condition he uses it to buy weapons to flatten Georgia so we never have to play them again.

[The Moonster]

We will finish 4th therefore he will have failed so ultimately has to pay the price with his job simple as that.

Anyone who thinks we will get something on Thursday is smoking or taking something illegal. Minimum 2 or 3 goal victory for the Poles and then we will end with a limp 2-0 zzzzzzzz win against Gibraltar wondering what if...........

The draw against Ireland and defeat against Georgia has cost us and ultimately will cost him his job, that and his often contradictory selection policy.

I need to smoke something illegal to read your mind numbing posts. We're more than capable of beating Poland. The draw away at Ireland hasn't cost us anything. One bad result in Georgia has put us in this position.

What footballing genius do you want to replace him?

[forameus]

Did we ..... ????!.

We.ll never Qualify for fuk all wae that attitude BWV.

Except 4 points was a good result against Ireland. It's revisionist to say that that's where the failure lies, given that if we had beaten Georgia, we'd now be looking at the possibility of one point from the next two games being enough to put us through in third on head-to-head. A win against Gibraltar would have meant Ireland would have to win one of their games, and four points would mean Ireland would have to match it.

We didn't fail against Ireland. We failed against Georgia.

We will finish 4th therefore he will have failed so ultimately has to pay the price with his job simple as that.

Anyone who thinks we will get something on Thursday is smoking or taking something illegal. Minimum 2 or 3 goal victory for the Poles and then we will end with a limp 2-0 zzzzzzzz win against Gibraltar wondering what if...........

The draw against Ireland and defeat against Georgia has cost us and ultimately will cost him his job, that and his often contradictory selection policy.

Aye, because berating everything and ripping the heid off of it at the thought of us losing is totally the right viewpoint to have. Christ you're tedious.

[bigmacDFC]

What footballing genius do you want to replace him?

Ian Murray

[SilverWolfe]

We will finish 4th therefore he will have failed so ultimately has to pay the price with his job simple as that.

Anyone who thinks we will get something on Thursday is smoking or taking something illegal. Minimum 2 or 3 goal victory for the Poles and then we will end with a limp 2-0 zzzzzzzz win against Gibraltar wondering what if...........

The draw against Ireland and defeat against Georgia has cost us and ultimately will cost him his job, that and his often contradictory selection policy.

Wow!!

I don't see any reason to fear Poland, in the past 18 months we have gone away to them twice and not lost so we are certainly capable of beating them at Hampden.

So much nonsense because of one bad result against Georgia.

2-1 Scotland on Thursday then hope that Ireland don't beat Germany and we are in the playoffs (assuming we will beat Gibraltar of course). Simples

[Scary Bear]

I`d keep Strachan on even if we don`t qualify.

So would I. However, I'd sack McGhee as he's a p***k. Can we make him the scapegoat?

[mizfit]

I've no problem with Strachan, the players seem to respect him, the fans have time for him, His contract ends on Sunday night, after then the balls in his hands, but if he leaves i can guarantee you we won't get Moyes in. We'll be left looking around for an out of job Scotsman.

[forameus]

I've no problem with Strachan, the players seem to respect him, the fans have time for him, His contract ends on Sunday night, after then the balls in his hands, but if he leaves i can guarantee you we won't get Moyes in. We'll be left looking around for an out of job Scotsman.

Who the majority will think is a good choice, before that same majority turning on him in around 2 years time

[Straven50]

I've no problem with Strachan, the players seem to respect him, the fans have time for him, His contract ends on Sunday night, after then the balls in his hands, but if he leaves i can guarantee you we won't get Moyes in. We'll be left looking around for an out of job Scotsman.

Didn't relies his contract was up on Sunday I think he will take it on for another campaign

[Bully Wee Villa]

I've no problem with Strachan, the players seem to respect him, the fans have time for him, His contract ends on Sunday night, after then the balls in his hands, but if he leaves i can guarantee you we won't get Moyes in. We'll be left looking around for an out of job Scotsman.

Please not Lambert, I've suffered enough.

[Gordopolis]

I've no problem with Strachan, the players seem to respect him, the fans have time for him, His contract ends on Sunday night, after then the balls in his hands, but if he leaves i can guarantee you we won't get Moyes in. We'll be left looking around for an out of job Scotsman.

If that's how he chooses to spend his Sunday night, who are we to object?

[Guest]

I think the media and some on here believe Poland are much better than they are. Yes, they have a few good players and a couple of very good players however as a team they are pretty mediocre and we shouldn't forget that we were very unfortunate to only get a point against them in Warsaw.

Having said that, we are currently in a perilous position on the main due to an absolutely shocking performance in Georgia and for that both the players and Manager must shoulder the blame. There was absolutely no fight or interest and the post match interviews with both Brown and Strachan were nothing short of disgraceful. I'm never one for demanding change with knee jerk reactions to results however some of the team and pool selections recently have completely beggered belief and for that wgs must take full responsibility.

Let's be clear on this, Scotland does not have any real top class players (Craig Gordon aside), however we have guys who play at a decent level and similar countries such as Ireland, Iceland, Turkey, Slovakia and of course Wales seem to manage ok with arguably less resources, so personally I believe that if we don't make it through this group that wholesale changes must be made as we simply can't keep going on accepting failure and pointing to the size of our population as an excuse.

[forameus]

Having said that, we are currently in a perilous position on the main due to an absolutely shocking performance in Georgia and for that both the players and Manager must shoulder the blame. There was absolutely no fight or interest and the post match interviews with both Brown and Strachan were nothing short of disgraceful. I'm never one for demanding change with knee jerk reactions to results however some of the team and pool selections recently have completely beggered belief and for that wgs must take full responsibility.

I see where you're coming from, but what would you have liked them to have said at the post-match interview? What good does coming out and reading the riot act do? I'd rather they tried to pick positives, than fall into the trap of eternal despair that a lot of fans seem to do. This isn't like a club team where the manager can dig players out, then get them in again the next day to plan. We had a big game (made even bigger by the woeful result) coming up a few days later, and I don't think publicly chastising the players would have done much good.

Let's be clear on this, Scotland does not have any real top class players (Craig Gordon aside), however we have guys who play at a decent level and similar countries such as Ireland, Iceland, Turkey, Slovakia and of course Wales seem to manage ok with arguably less resources, so personally I believe that if we don't make it through this group that wholesale changes must be made as we simply can't keep going on accepting failure and pointing to the size of our population as an excuse.

What "wholesale changes"? That always seems to get trotted out, probably because it's very easy to say without putting anything forward. I'd say the best plan for an international side from a short-term perspective would be to call up the best players we have (shock horror) and if you can, build up a system that fits those players best, so that we can have a level of consistency.

I'd say we've pretty much done that. The "best players" part is arguable, but not by much. And we now have a system that makes the most of our strengths and tries to protect our weaknesses. Nothing wrong with that.

[Guest]

I see where you're coming from, but what would you have liked them to have said at the post-match interview? What good does coming out and reading the riot act do? I'd rather they tried to pick positives, than fall into the trap of eternal despair that a lot of fans seem to do. This isn't like a club team where the manager can dig players out, then get them in again the next day to plan. We had a big game (made even bigger by the woeful result) coming up a few days later, and I don't think publicly chastising the players would have done much good.

What "wholesale changes"? That always seems to get trotted out, probably because it's very easy to say without putting anything forward. I'd say the best plan for an international side from a short-term perspective would be to call up the best players we have (shock horror) and if you can, build up a system that fits those players best, so that we can have a level of consistency.

I'd say we've pretty much done that. The "best players" part is arguable, but not by much. And we now have a system that makes the most of our strengths and tries to protect our weaknesses. Nothing wrong with that.

Only my opinion, however I believe we must start looking at the future and indeed the present. I've nothing against the likes of Maloney or Hutton, however both are either not playing regularly or at the top level for their clubs and both are nearing the twilight of their careers. We also have Mulgrew who appears untouchable for some unknown reason and takes up a place in the squad even when he's injured. Add to that a completely out of form Steven Fletcher who also is a guaranteed pick and you start to see the problems. I would add that I fully acknowledge that Maloney and Hutton have been among our very best performers over the past few years but I'm afraid that time may now be catching up with them.

Let's be honest, we have an abundance of players playing in the SPL, the English Premiership and Championship who ARE in form, ARE younger and who also want to play for the jersey but for some reason they just aren't quoted.

Whilst we're on the subject It also annoys the life out of me when I hear the nonsense about being unable to afford a "luxury player", on the contrary I believe we NEED a luxury player to set us aside from the likes of the Georgias of this world. That's why I can never understand not including in form players in the pool with that touch of quality that our journeymen warhorses just don't have. Ok, with our style of play they maybe wouldn't get 90 mins, however I just think that a Charlie Adam or a Ryan Gauld or a Ryan Fraser COULD have made a difference when the game was quite obviously going nowhere for us.

[forameus]

Only my opinion, however I believe we must start looking at the future and indeed the present. I've nothing against the likes of Maloney or Hutton, however both are either not playing regularly or at the top level for their clubs and both are nearing the twilight of their careers. We also have Mulgrew who appears untouchable for some unknown reason and takes up a place in the squad even when he's injured. Add to that a completely out of form Steven Fletcher who also is a guaranteed pick and you start to see the problems. I would add that I fully acknowledge that Maloney and Hutton have been among our very best performers over the past few years but I'm afraid that time may now be catching up with them.

That's fair enough, I suppose, but just saying "play younger players" isn't going to work. If the players are good enough, they'll be called up. WGS is already doing that, giving a few spaces in squads for highly rated youngsters to get a feel for the setup. Are you suggesting we just forget that and play the younger players instead, results be damned? That just won't happen, nor should it. Any manager who did that would get rightly slaughtered, because I can say with some degree of certainty that if we did, we wouldn't stand a better chance of qualifying. Worst case, we get horsed by the bigger teams, and still get beat by smaller ones, and end up tumbling down the seedings into a decade long road back to where we are now. Not really worth it just to play some younger players.

Let's be honest, we have an abundance of players playing in the SPL, the English Premiership and Championship who ARE in form, ARE younger and who also want to play for the jersey but for some reason they just aren't quoted.

Who do we have in the Premier League (England) that doesn't get a game? Any players in the Championship (England) and Premiership (Scotland) that are eligible are probably not considered because they're not good enough. Maybe they have potential - if they do, bring them in in a supporting role alongside the better option that will probably play the game. Don't just say "oh, that guy's over 30, too old, where's the under 21 player we called up?"

Whilst we're on the subject It also annoys the life out of me when I hear the nonsense about being unable to afford a "luxury player", on the contrary I believe we NEED a luxury player to set us aside from the likes of the Georgias of this world. That's why I can never understand not including in form players in the pool with that touch of quality that our journeymen warhorses just don't have. Ok, with our style of play they maybe wouldn't get 90 mins, however I just think that a Charlie Adam or a Ryan Gauld or a Ryan Fraser COULD have made a difference when the game was quite obviously going nowhere for us.

Because, recurring theme here, we don't have a luxury player that is good enough to be worth putting in the side. Charlie Adam could have delivered a brilliant set piece, of course he could, but he could just as easily get robbed of possession and hack someone down (Hiya Bale, Hiya Pal!) or just not chase back when he needs to (Hiya Bale, Hiya Pal!). He's just not good enough to be worth that danger. Ryan Gauld has the potential to be much better than that, but he's not there yet.

[Guest]

Charlie Adam appears to manage ok for Stoke who unless I'm mistaken are above the majority of teams in the league that most of our pool is picked from ? and of course we can talk about his specific mistakes and shortcomings but to balance it we should also mention his 30 and 40 yard wonder strikes which would be foreign to most of our current squad as they appear incapable of having a shot on goal.

As for younger players doing well in England, let's start with Johnny Russell, Ryan Fraser, Scott Arfield, Jordan Rhodes, Tom Cairney and even Tony Watt has been receiving rave reviews. Would any of them make a huge difference ? well, who knows but we do know that if they don't get a chance then we will never know...........

[forameus]

Charlie Adam appears to manage ok for Stoke who unless I'm mistaken are above the majority of teams in the league that most of our pool is picked from ? and of course we can talk about his specific mistakes and shortcomings but to balance it we should also mention his 30 and 40 yard wonder strikes which would be foreign to most of our current squad as they appear incapable of having a shot on goal.

As for younger players doing well in England, let's start with Johnny Russell, Ryan Fraser, Scott Arfield, Jordan Rhodes, Tom Cairney and even Tony Watt has been receiving rave reviews. Would any of them make a huge difference ? well, who knows but we do know that if they don't get a chance then we will never know...........

I understand that Charlie Adam has scored those kinds of goals, but I just don't see him as worth the risk when that's a pretty rare occurrence. He's a deep lying midfielder, and of the two spots we have for those kinds of players, I'd rather they went to players who can shield the defence well and will work. I'm not saying Adam couldn't do that, but it's not his strength.

So no-one from the Premier League then? Rhodes and Russell are in the current squad, and the others have been talked about. Plus it's the bolded part that really gets to me. I just can't see beyond the faith part. It's all well and good saying that we should give them the chance just to see what they can do, but it's a results business. I want the best players in their respective positions to be put on the pitch with some kind of science or thought put behind it, rather than just putting someone in because they played not bad a couple of weeks earlier for their clubs.

As we've seen in this campaign - and so many others I might add - one bad result out of the 8 to 10 that you play is often enough to derail your entire campaign. In those cases, I'd be massively against just throwing people in to see what they can do in those games. Friendlies, fine, but not competitively. Maybe the upcoming Nations League tournament is the sort of one we use to assess our options. We'll start that in 2018 (I think) with the Euro 2020 qualifiers coming just after. That'd be the perfect time to see a few new options. Pity there's not one before the upcoming campaign really.

[Guest]

In all fairness I would concede that we don't have anyone totally outstanding who isn't getting a game or that should clearly be getting a game ahead of the current incumbents, perhaps Craig Gordon ahead of David Marshall but that would be harsh as he hasn't ever let us down. I suppose I'm just annoyed at our style of play as I'd prefer to see some flair in the team with guys who are capable of taking on someone and firing over a cross or taking a strike. We've become very one dimensional and I really don't buy the rubbish that everyone trotts out about modern football and having to play a certain way. On the contrary, I'd actually argue that the modern tactical tippy tappy rubbish has actually been found out and that most teams have now adapted to combating this. What this has created is a complete bore added to the fact that tackling appears to have been outlawed and in it's place shirt pulling and bear hugging legalised.

As the great man Ally once stated, football is about entertainment and giving the fans excitement for their hard earned cash, unfortunately that seems to have been completely forgotten in this current era.........

[Guest DAVIDB69]

If we fail to make it the many time multi tournament failures need cleared out

Morrison, Fletcher s and d, Maloney , Hutton and many more