TrebleTwenty Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 9 hours ago, Cptn Hooch said: Craig Halkett Not a bad shout, at least your coming out with a option, unlike that other clown. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velo army Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Sir Steve on the BBC saying he won't chase down retired players, but will leave the door open for them to "un-retire" themselves. He will also have a chat with players who may have pulled out of squads "a little too easily" and will tell them of his vision for Scotland and the direction he wants to take. He only wants players who are "100% committed to Scotland". He reckons we have "slipped up" and that we need to start putting points on the board. "The two games in June are crucial". It doesn't sound like he's treating Belgium as a free hit either. I like the sound of this man already. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Sir Steve on the BBC saying he won't chase down retired players, but will leave the door open for them to "un-retire" themselves. He will also have a chat with players who may have pulled out of squads "a little too easily" and will tell them of his vision for Scotland and the direction he wants to take. He only wants players who are "100% committed to Scotland". He reckons we have "slipped up" and that we need to start putting points on the board. "The two games in June are crucial". It doesn't sound like he's treating Belgium as a free hit either. I like the sound of this man already.All of that is entirely what any new manager would say, surely? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 1 hour ago, D.A.F.C said: Clutching at straws not like looking up Icelands friendly results? Quarter finals of a major tournament. We are nowhere near that level and yet they hardly have any professional players. The Scottish game is totally overrated and deluded to how we should be doing. What happens if we get scudded by Cyprus? You're floundering all over the shop here. How can we be nowhere near Iceland's level if we've got more professional players playing at higher levels? It's been clear as day since Eck took over we've had no organisation, Clarke looks like he'll offer that. It's not deluded to think we should qualify for tournaments when there is shite like Wales, Northern Ireland, Romania and Albania getting there. What happens if we scud Cyprus and take something from Belgium? I understand you want investment in youth, we'd all welcome that, but you get a shitload more money qualifying for tournaments which makes it easier to invest in that stuff. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.A.F.C Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Shite like Wales. Deary me. This is what I'm talking about. When have we ever produced a player like bale? -3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velo army Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 10 minutes ago, Savage Henry said: All of that is entirely what any new manager would say, surely? Not exactly. Previous managers have been very non-committal regarding the fate of retired players, or even of players who have called off. In fact, other previous managers have avoided the subject or obfuscated it with what amounts to a "we'll see". Clarke has stated an intention. This has actually been rare of late. Regarding the games in June. Other managers have sought to dampen expectation. Clarke seems to be taking charge. He has a vision. He wants to take Scotland to a major finals. He presents as a man confident in his own ability. Burley presented as weak and a bit terrified. Levein was insecure bluster. Strachan, if I remember correctly, was confident and did his usual bobbing and weaving with the media. I still think Strachan is unfairly maligned given some of the performances (Ireland at home, the Poland games and the Germany games) were excellent. Clarke saying that "we have to start picking up points and the June games are crucial" tells me that he thinks he can send a team out to get something. Other managers would have said "the game against Cyprus is crucial" and would have skipped over the Belgium game, talking about their quality etc. I could be projecting a bit and we'll see what he says nearer the time, but we haven't had a world class coach in charge for, arguably, decades. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 2 minutes ago, velo army said: Sir Steve on the BBC saying he won't chase down retired players, but will leave the door open for them to "un-retire" themselves. He will also have a chat with players who may have pulled out of squads "a little too easily" and will tell them of his vision for Scotland and the direction he wants to take. He only wants players who are "100% committed to Scotland". He reckons we have "slipped up" and that we need to start putting points on the board. "The two games in June are crucial". It doesn't sound like he's treating Belgium as a free hit either. I like the sound of this man already. Yeah, I saw his interview on the Scotland National Team FB page and he said something along the lines of "we've dropped three points already, so we might need to win in Belgium". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambomo Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 1 hour ago, D.A.F.C said: Iceland have a better tournament record than Scotland yet have a smaller population than Edinburgh. I would say that's impressive. I'm not sure that Iceland is the best comparison to make to be honest. They are an outlier, being substantially smaller than the majority of nations and having one absolutely outstanding tournament skews the data to some extent - a bit like comparing all Premiership teams to Leicester and asking why they aren't winning the league as well. The truth is that international football has some very fine margins given the few games they play in order to try and achieve qualification. Most teams need a bit of luck in terms of who they are drawn to play and how each game goes. It is much more than just "Do we have a good manager?" or "How good/bad are our players". They don't have to be world beaters, they just need to be capable of stepping up on the day. Strachan was probably the best of the managers in recent times and got a good amount out of the players he had available to him. That is not to say he should have been kept on, it was the right time for him to go because equally, doing the same thing time and time again won't bring about a better cause and he had made mistakes that cost us some points. I think he showed what a good, competent manager can do though, and I hope Clarke can be the same. He sounds promising so far. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 21 minutes ago, D.A.F.C said: Shite like Wales. Deary me. This is what I'm talking about. When have we ever produced a player like bale? We haven't. Can you show me when the Welsh FA invested hundreds of millions of pounds in youth coaching and facilities that led to producing a player like Bale? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.A.F.C Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/construction-starts-new-national-development-centre/ -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 1 minute ago, D.A.F.C said: https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/construction-starts-new-national-development-centre/ That new and unfinished development centre must've been crucial to Bale's development to be fair. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moonster Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 2 minutes ago, D.A.F.C said: https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/construction-starts-new-national-development-centre/ What a fucking muppet 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velo army Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 1 minute ago, D.A.F.C said: https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/construction-starts-new-national-development-centre/ So your answer to "when have they ever done this" was "they're about to". Talking of outliers, have a look at a team whose main clubs don't play in their own national league. Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham have played for virtually their entire histories in English football. Bale is a product of Southampton's youth system (not knocking that, necessarily) and clubs like Cardiff and Swansea got the money to develop the likes of Ramsey from the TV money given to English league clubs. They now have the money to put into a national development centre because of the money they get from qualifying. The welsh FA haven't invested a lot in their game and haven't needed to. Their big brothers next door have done the spadework for them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarf Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 The Welsh FA did fuck all to develop Gareth Bale. Southampton and Spurs did. Likewise Ryan Giggs at United. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsr Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Bale was developed in England by Southampton from the age of 9/10 and happens to have been born in Cardiff. Wales just got lucky. It's the equivalent of some English mob spotting at a young age and bringing through a brilliant player who happened to have been born north of the border and identified as Scottish. Nowt to do with our setup. On the subject of Iceland, I've been there and they have no grass. I don't know how they even play football outside of proper facilities. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlipperyP Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 Talking aboot Wales, while we have just appointed the best manager in 20 years. Fook Off. Positives & Positives Then, we will talk about winning games. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAFC. Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 1 hour ago, D.A.F.C said: Shite like Wales. Deary me. This is what I'm talking about. When have we ever produced a player like bale? Robertson could play for Madrid. Separate position, yes, but he's one of the best left-backs in world football. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 1 hour ago, nsr said: On the subject of Iceland, I've been there and they have no grass. I don't know how they even play football outside of proper facilities. Red. Fucking. Ash. Get it in yer knees, son. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 D.A.F.C's superego on pulling a stunner: "aye, but ye'll probably no' be able tae get a stauner, and it's tiny anyways." Following Dunfermline Athletic does terrible things to a man. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.A.F.C Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 ....as could Tierney. Hahahahaha -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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