Kieran Tierney

[The Moonster]

6 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

Tierney has only played about 3 or 4 full games for Arsenal and they seem to have been slow in bringing him in due to his injury issues and the amount of time he was out.

I expect they just don’t want him rushed back and that includes playing for Scotland.

If that was the case, why wouldn't Arsenal and Clarke say so? If Clarke came out yesterday and said "Kieran's been out with a serious injury, likely caused by him playing too many games for Celtic previously, so we've taken the decision to let him rest over these next two fixtures". Clarke's words read like he feels he's being fed some bullshit but is willing to let is slide this time ("lets see what happens in March" suggests that he's losing patience). Arsenal said no one was injured, then backtracked with an "ongoing issue", which begs the question, why haven't they dealt with the ongoing issue before now instead of playing him for the previous 4 weeks? Surely if they didn't want to rush him back they'd have just delayed his return until after this International break?

On a related note - can we have a show of hands for the number of people still in favour of dropping Robertson for Tierney?

[Gordopolis]

5 hours ago, LinkinFighter said:

I thought arsenal requested he wasn't selected? The games are meaningless anyway.

Not when you consider that it means we won't get a chance to try Tierney in Clarke's setup until the playoffs come round. There's no chance Robertson will be getting dropped so he can play at LB for those monumentally important games. How confident will Clarke be now about putting him straight in at RB or CB or whatever instead? I could still see him getting into the XI in either of those positions  simply because he's a much better player than the alternatives, but it's far from ideal preparation having him coming in cold.

[Blootoon87]

Starting for Arsenal today. Shock.

[Burnie_man]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

On a related note - can we have a show of hands for the number of people still in favour of dropping Robertson for Tierney?

Me, if he made himself available, in order for Clarke to see what he had to offer.  Too late for that now, he won't be playing LB in March unless Robertson is injured.

[Jambomo]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

If that was the case, why wouldn't Arsenal and Clarke say so? If Clarke came out yesterday and said "Kieran's been out with a serious injury, likely caused by him playing too many games for Celtic previously, so we've taken the decision to let him rest over these next two fixtures". Clarke's words read like he feels he's being fed some bullshit but is willing to let is slide this time ("lets see what happens in March" suggests that he's losing patience). Arsenal said no one was injured, then backtracked with an "ongoing issue", which begs the question, why haven't they dealt with the ongoing issue before now instead of playing him for the previous 4 weeks? Surely if they didn't want to rush him back they'd have just delayed his return until after this International break?

On a related note - can we have a show of hands for the number of people still in favour of dropping Robertson for Tierney?

As far as i could see, he's played in their last few EL/cup games and one PL game, so he hasn't been playing particularly regularly. Why they have all said what they did, I have no idea, I don't think he appears to be injured so who knows what the "issue" is. 

I'm not trying to defend Tierney or Arsenal, just more observing that he isn't all that long back and i could imagine it being the case that they don't have an especially good reason for not wanting him to play beyond not wanting him to play loads of games in a short period - something that generally won't wash with fans. I would have thought that if Tierney didn't want to play or be selected he'd just say so, he doesn't strike me as a bullshitter, but who knows. As Clarke says, we'll see in March.

[The Moonster]

3 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

As far as i could see, he's played in their last few EL/cup games and one PL game, so he hasn't been playing particularly regularly. Why they have all said what they did, I have no idea, I don't think he appears to be injured so who knows what the "issue" is. 

I'm not trying to defend Tierney or Arsenal, just more observing that he isn't all that long back and i could imagine it being the case that they don't have an especially good reason for not wanting him to play beyond not wanting him to play loads of games in a short period - something that generally won't wash with fans. I would have thought that if Tierney didn't want to play or be selected he'd just say so, he doesn't strike me as a bullshitter, but who knows. As Clarke says, we'll see in March.

I agree. I just think Arsenal could be honest in that situation and folk would be more understanding. When they use a vague phrase like "ongoing issue" whilst simultaneously starting him in European matches, it's obviously going to lead to fans thinking it's bullshit. 

[Savage Henry]

47 minutes ago, Blootoon87 said:

Starting for Arsenal today. Shock.

He wasn't held back because he's unfit to play.  

[Kuro]

35 minutes ago, Savage Henry said:

He wasn't held back because he's unfit to play.  

Exactly,.nowhere was it suggested this outgoing issue would prevent him playing tonight. They said they planned to.address it in the intl break, after this game.  It may be just a niggle they want a break for him to get rid of, people here are confusing injury with issue they're not the same thing.

[Robin.Hood]

Starting for Arsenal today. Shock.

Aye. Certainly not up to much

[Bishop Briggs]

45 minutes ago, Kuro said:

Exactly,.nowhere was it suggested this outgoing issue would prevent him playing tonight. They said they planned to.address it in the intl break, after this game.  It may be just a niggle they want a break for him to get rid of, people here are confusing injury with issue they're not the same thing.

If it's only a niggle, he should be fit for the Scotland bench at the very least.

Arsenal are taking the piss out of Clarke and the national team.

Perhaps Tierney isn't bothered. Nae passion and nae baws?

GTF!

Edited November 6, 2019 by Bishop Briggs

[Bishop Briggs]

Arsenal have made their 3 subs tonight so Tierney is fit to play 180 minutes in 5 days.

Yet he's not fit to play for Scotland.

Not fit to wear the Scotland shirt! 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Bishop Briggs

[Robin.Hood]

Arsenal have made their 3 subs tonight so Tierney is fit to play 180 minutes in 5 days.
Yet he's not fit to play for Scotland.
Not fit to wear the Scotland shirt! [emoji107]

Was a bit of a struggle against this Portuguese team however

[Burnie_man]

2 hours ago, Kuro said:

Exactly,.nowhere was it suggested this outgoing issue would prevent him playing tonight. They said they planned to.address it in the intl break, after this game.  It may be just a niggle they want a break for him to get rid of, people here are confusing injury with issue they're not the same thing.

A niggle is an injury FFS

[King Kebab]

As far as i could see, he's played in their last few EL/cup games and one PL game, so he hasn't been playing particularly regularly. Why they have all said what they did, I have no idea, I don't think he appears to be injured so who knows what the "issue" is. 
I'm not trying to defend Tierney or Arsenal, just more observing that he isn't all that long back and i could imagine it being the case that they don't have an especially good reason for not wanting him to play beyond not wanting him to play loads of games in a short period - something that generally won't wash with fans. I would have thought that if Tierney didn't want to play or be selected he'd just say so, he doesn't strike me as a bullshitter, but who knows. As Clarke says, we'll see in March.

And that compares to Naismith by how many minutes of game time since his injury???

[Bishop Briggs]

2 hours ago, G_Man1985 said:

3 hours ago, Bishop Briggs said:

Arsenal have made their 3 subs tonight so Tierney is fit to play 180 minutes in 5 days.
Yet he's not fit to play for Scotland.
Not fit to wear the Scotland shirt! 

Was a bit of a struggle against this Portuguese team however

Arsenal were poor tonight. Tierney must be match fit if he can play 180 minutes in 5 days. If he's got "an issue", it must be a minor one. Taylor, who is the second choice LB in the Scotland squad, can't even get on Celtic's bench. Has he even played a few minutes of a league game.

Tierney, even if he is under pressure from his club, has failed to turn up for his country. If Robertson gets injured, Taylor could struggle badly because he's been stuck in the stands this season.

After joining Arsenal, Tierney talked about his fantastic relationship with the odious Green Brigade. Says it all really. 

[craigkillie]

Taylor played 5 games for Killie before he got injured. He was still recovering from that injury when he signed for Celtic, but was probably fit around mid-September and has been fighting for his place since. He made his debut last week, but then missed the League Cup game at the weekend because he was cup-tied. I have absolutely no concerns that he'll struggle against Cyprus or Kazakhstan if called upon - he has plenty of experience and a couple of months out is not going to suddenly turn him into a bad player.

[Kuro]

7 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

Taylor played 5 games for Killie before he got injured. He was still recovering from that injury when he signed for Celtic, but was probably fit around mid-September and has been fighting for his place since. He made his debut last week, but then missed the League Cup game at the weekend because he was cup-tied. I have absolutely no concerns that he'll struggle against Cyprus or Kazakhstan if called upon - he has plenty of experience and a couple of months out is not going to suddenly turn him into a bad player.

Aye hut he's pish though.  And by 'fighting for.his place' you mean sitting in the stand.  There's no prospect of him being first choice there, they didn't spend 3.5 million on a LB for.himmto.he backup.  Taylor has been signed to be their second choice.

[0Neils40yarder]

Tierney should be told to gtf... A total bawbag of a boy 

[craigkillie]

Aye hut he's pish though.  And by 'fighting for.his place' you mean sitting in the stand.  There's no prospect of him being first choice there, they didn't spend 3.5 million on a LB for.himmto.he backup.  Taylor has been signed to be their second choice.

They didn't spend £2m on a LB not to play him either. Celtic will play over 60 games this season, so both of them will play plenty of games.

[Bishop Briggs]

37 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

Taylor played 5 games for Killie before he got injured. He was still recovering from that injury when he signed for Celtic, but was probably fit around mid-September and has been fighting for his place since. He made his debut last week, but then missed the League Cup game at the weekend because he was cup-tied. I have absolutely no concerns that he'll struggle against Cyprus or Kazakhstan if called upon - he has plenty of experience and a couple of months out is not going to suddenly turn him into a bad player.

A couple of months out affects match fitness and a player's mentality. 

Taylor can't get on the Celtic bench as Hayes is the back-up LB.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/4883422/celtic-neil-lennon-greg-taylor-talks-playing-time/

Taylor has only made the bench once but Lennon... said: “Greg has to be patient.  He hasn’t played yet and it’s difficult for him as Boli Bolingoli has come in and been consistent..."

Lennon says he's had a talk with the full-back. “The fact he’s not in the squad is because he knows we have Jonny Hayes who can double up positions — right wing, left wing or left back. So it’s pointless having one bona-fide left back when you have a player who can factor a couple of positions for you."

He is now Robertson's back-up as it seems that Tierney just wants to play for Arsenal. It's utterly pathetic!