Scotland name squad

[Londonwell]

5 minutes ago, senorsoupe said:

I guess we can call this squad a bit experimental?  I'm surprised that John Souttar has been left out though given the form he's in.  You would figure that if the new manager was giving a good look at younger players he would deserve a call-up over a Charlie Mulgrew or a Russell Martin.  

Is it just me that thinks John Souttar still looks quite pish?

His defensive capabilities are regularly shown up by SPFL diddies. He’d get torn a new one in the International scene imo.

[The Moonster]

I'd liked to have seen Lindsay in there but on the whole I quite like the mixture of players we have. Should give McLeish plenty of scope to try things out. 

Has Kevin McDonald been in great form?  He seems a slightly strange inclusion but I concede that I didn't even know he was playing for Fulham so I'm probably not the best judge.

[forameus]

4 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

Grant Hanley and Liam Lindsay are both regulars for teams in the same league, and Hanley's side have conceded fewer goals than Lindsay's side.  They're less than 4 years apart in terms of age.  I haven't seen either of them play this season, but it's hardly like it's some affront to common decency that Hanley has been picked ahead of Lindsay.

My post was largely tongue in cheek.  It's not exactly the worst thing in the world he's not been called up, but must be galling for him to see such an experimental side being given and he's not in there in a position we're particularly weak in.  

I imagine he'll get his chance, at least I hope so.  It was probably far from the only reason, but he left us to hopefully get a decent chance of representing his country, so if McLeish doesn't fancy him he should tell him, then obviously he'll be back up the road in the Summer.  Aye.

[Jan Vojáček]

Hanley over Lindsay aside I quite like the look of that squad. Fair play to Mcleish for being a bit more bold than he could've been in choosing it. I mean it's not exactly inspiring or exciting, but it's not too stale either.

[DanMc99]

quite like that squad , hopefully do themselves justice 

[Kyle]

I like the look of the squad. I'm a bit disappointed to see that none of Lindsay/Hendry/Souttar made it but Mulgrew/Martin did. They've both been good servants to Scotland but we know what they can do already. One of those guys could have sat this out and given one of the 3 young guys a shot in the full squad. Aside from that, no real complaints with some senior members of the squad missing out in favour of others with potential who will be trying to impress.

I'd hope that to thank that each of the non-capped players will get at least one run out. Quite excited at the prospect of our midfield going forward. Looks pretty dynamic to me and a lot of years for them to form understandings with each other.

[skippy2015]

My post was largely tongue in cheek.  It's not exactly the worst thing in the world he's not been called up, but must be galling for him to see such an experimental side being given and he's not in there in a position we're particularly weak in.  
I imagine he'll get his chance, at least I hope so.  It was probably far from the only reason, but he left us to hopefully get a decent chance of representing his country, so if McLeish doesn't fancy him he should tell him, then obviously he'll be back up the road in the Summer.  Aye.

Maybe he’s spoken to José Morais the Barnsley manager and as they are locked in a relegation battle it has been decided that Lindsay should miss out these games. 32 games already this season so he’s likely to play 40 plus games this season. In saying that Mcburnie is in squad however I’m pretty sure Swansea want a call up to add value etc.

[harry94]

3 minutes ago, skippy2015 said:

Maybe he’s spoken to José Morais the Barnsley manager and as they are locked in a relegation battle it has been decided that Lindsay should miss out these games. 32 games already this season so he’s likely to play 40 plus games this season. In saying that Mcburnie is in squad however I’m pretty sure Swansea want a call up to add value etc.

That's kind of what I was maybe thinking.

Not seen him this season but really hoping that regular football has fixed Grant Hanley this season and he's back to the player when he was breaking through at the national set-up.

[harry94]

16 minutes ago, Londonwell said:

Is it just me that thinks John Souttar still looks quite pish?

His defensive capabilities are regularly shown up by SPFL diddies. He’d get torn a new one in the International scene imo.

I don't think he's a bad player but I would be worried about him playing internationally anytime soon. I may be harsh on the guy but I wouldn't be playing him ahead of the centre-backs we have yet, it seems a campaign too early.

I think he'd benefit tremendously if he found a good Championship team fit next season.

[senorsoupe]

3 minutes ago, harry94 said:

That's kind of what I was maybe thinking.

Not seen him this season but really hoping that regular football has fixed Grant Hanley this season and he's back to the player when he was breaking through at the national set-up.

I think Newcastle did a lot of damage to his confidence, he wasn't getting much game time and Newcastle is a mess of a club at the best of times.  Now that he's at Norwich and getting regular game time he is apparently playing quite well.  

[gav-ffc]

Would much rather have Lindsay/Soutter over Martin/Hanley but that aside can’t complain.

[Dunning1874]

The only bizarre thing there is the centre backs. If Berra is just being rested because we're already well aware of what he can do then fair enough, but if that's the logic then picking Martin and Mulgrew is strange, particularly when Lindsay and Souttar could both be argued to be as deserving of a chance as McKenna.

McArthur and Morrison missing out is unexpected as well, but with Brown retiring and Fletcher's age you can see the logic in leaving the experienced players out to give as many alternatives in that position as possible some decent game time.

I'd also still like to fire Matt Ritchie into the sun along with Barry Bannan, but I entirely accept that this is my own personal vandetta and no manager is likely to bin both of them. There are no ridiculous inclusions there.

[Ira Gaines]

No complaints from me here. There's picks that are a bit questionable at the very most, and that's pretty good going.

[accies1874]

I would've liked to have seen one more younger centre-back in there just to have two from the last batch and two from #OperationExperimental. Has Martin been doing well since moving to Rangers? Can't say I've really noticed him. Three left-backs is a bit strange but you can't say that any of them don't deserve it. 

I'm excited to see what this midfield can do, and it's good to see that Ritchie hasn't chucked Scotland contrary to what was said last year - although that could have just been about Strachan. 

[Virtual Insanity]

I think part of McLeish's reasoning is he'll want to try and get his defence set up and working together ASAP before any competitive games start. I suspect this is an area of the team that, despite our limitations, he will think he can have a significant impact on. 

Not sure Cummings/Murphy have done much other than the obvious to justify a call up. 

[No_Problemo]

Not overly bothered but would have liked Darren Fletcher to be in there as his experience could be invaluable for the younger midfield players.

Strange that Russel Martin is there.

[Slacker]

I've only watched Lindsay once this season (vs. Leeds Utd on Sky Sports) but have regularly looked at Barnsley forums to see what they're saying about him. The common consensus seems to be that he's been very good this season. And obviously he was in the Scottish Premiership team of the season last year. So in my (somewhat biased) opinion this would've been an ideal time to look at him. Could say the same for the Peru/Mexico trips so hopefully he'll be included there. He's only 22 though so plenty of time to get him involved in the national team. 

Otherwise it's a decent enough squad.

[Londonwell]

Listening to Big Eck’s presser just there, its clear he see’s Tierney playing as a centre back for Scotland. That would suggest to me that we shall see a 5-3-2 (3-5-2) more often than not- as you would assume Tierney would be more comfortable in that role.

On that basis, you  would perhaps be looking at something like the below come qualification time:

                                 Gordon

                Mulgrew Berra Tierney

  Paterson                                      Robertson

    Mccarthur Mctominay Armstrong

                                Griffiths

[Armand 2]

On the whole, it's a fresher looking squad but I think a few guys can count themselves unlucky not to be called up.

It does highlight the dearth of genuine forward options though - Cummings has yet to hit his stride at Rangers and has barely played this season. Surely McLeish saw the last game where Phillips played up front!? McBurnie in great form however and will be interesting to see how he performs.

Also, it surely must be breaking some kind of record for the most "Mc"s in one squad.

51 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said:

The only bizarre thing there is the centre backs. If Berra is just being rested because we're already well aware of what he can do then fair enough, but if that's the logic then picking Martin and Mulgrew is strange, particularly when Lindsay and Souttar could both be argued to be as deserving of a chance as McKenna.

As far as I know, Berra has been carrying a knock for a while so I imagine he's not been selected through necessity. Think it's important to have at least a couple of older heads about what is quite a young and inexperienced squad, at international level at least.

On current form, I think Martin is fairly lucky to be called up but has the added benefit of being able to cover right back where we only have Paterson. Mulgrew though, he's scored a dozen (possibly more) from centre half this season and is captaining a table topping side. Also the only left footed centre half in the squad. I don't think there would have been any harm in calling up another centre half (Lindsay, Souttar, even Hendry) but on the whole, I'm on board with McLeish's defensive choices.

 

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

I'd liked to have seen Lindsay in there but on the whole I quite like the mixture of players we have. Should give McLeish plenty of scope to try things out. 

Has Kevin McDonald been in great form?  He seems a slightly strange inclusion but I concede that I didn't even know he was playing for Fulham so I'm probably not the best judge.

McDonald has been a mainstay for a Fulham team playing the best football in the Championship this season. Fully deserving of a call up, in my opinion. Probably unfortunate not to get a proper chance before now.

[Marshmallo]

Jamie Murphy getting picked ahead of Robert Snodgrass (7 goals and 12 assists for the best team in the Championship this season) tells you everything you need to know about how and why the squads will be picked. Embarrassing.