Czech Republic v Scotland

[G51]

Weird that I'm less confident about this one than I was about the Israel game.

[HuttonDressedAsLahm]

25 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

I actually thought we did go after Israel right from the start on Friday, it was just that we gradually stopped doing it as the game went on.

Thought they pressed us far more...

[ArabFC]

1 hour ago, HuttonDressedAsLahm said:

The formation is irrelevant. We need to attack from the first minute. 
 

We too often let teams settle down and play the long game.  Fair enough against better teams where we don’t want to be punished. But utterly inexcusable against weaker opposition.

When Clarke said this the other night I was screaming into the void.

Same now. Of course it's important. Robertson has never had a good game at LWB in life as far I'm aware. Forrest playing RWB? WTF?!

McGinn who'd been playing brilliantly behind the striker now pulled out wide.

etc etc etc etc etc etc

We had a good system in place before the Covid-19 mess, but Clarke spent months overthinking a way to get both Tierney and Robertson into the team and screwed it all up.

[staggy1929]

I'm less confident for this game than I would be if it was a full strength Czech side. If you had to plan out a game from scratch that Scotland would lose this would be it.

I hope we'll win but can not see us turning this side over by any means.

[The Moonster]

The more I think about that 3-4-3 formation on Friday the angrier I get. I honestly find it absolutely bonkers that Steve Clarke, who has bemoaned the amount of time he has to work with the players on more than one occasion, would decide to try out a 3-4-3 with about 6 players playing in positions they aren't used to. I'm starting to wonder if Steve Clarke is cut out for this, but a victory tonight is now a must, especially with the shape of the Czech side.

[DiegoDiego]

I'm less confident for this game than I would be if it was a full strength Czech side. If you had to plan out a game from scratch that Scotland would lose this would be it.

This sort of thinking is pure nonsense.

[staggy1929]

3 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said:

This sort of thinking is pure nonsense.

for as long as I've been alive Scotland have played well in games they're expected to lose and had memorable shockers against poor opposition. It is what it is, I'm not saying I want us to lose or anything like that. Just can't knock the feeling of this being a massive banana skin game for us.

[Adolfo Rios]

I think the Czechs starting lineup probably won't be too far away from the standard of Israel. The main issue for them will be lack of preparation together but we aren't playing amateurs here. There will be decent players in their team. Are their centre halves going to be much worse then McKenna for example? I doubt it.

[G51]

11 minutes ago, staggy1929 said:

for as long as I've been alive Scotland have played well in games they're expected to lose and had memorable shockers against poor opposition. It is what it is, I'm not saying I want us to lose or anything like that. Just can't knock the feeling of this being a massive banana skin game for us.

100%.

It's not our fault, it's the fault of the football gods.

[craigkillie]

58 minutes ago, ArabFC said:

When Clarke said this the other night I was screaming into the void.

Same now. Of course it's important. Robertson has never had a good game at LWB in life as far I'm aware. Forrest playing RWB? WTF?!

McGinn who'd been playing brilliantly behind the striker now pulled out wide.

etc etc etc etc etc etc

We had a good system in place before the Covid-19 mess, but Clarke spent months overthinking a way to get both Tierney and Robertson into the team and screwed it all up.

Robertson played wing-back for most of his time at Hull, and Forrest has played there a little bit for Celtic. The positions aren't totally alien to either of them, though I agree it didn't get the best out of either of them.

[the snudge]

For what its worth. 

[TheScarf]

The problem with the Nations League is that there isn't friendlies anymore (someone correct me if I'm talking shite ) so there's no games to try new stuff.

Unfortunately for Clarke, that means no fucking mental 3-4-3 with almost everyone playing out of a position in a competitive, and IMO more important than the normal qualifiers, game.

[Donathan]

I’d go

Martial

Tierney - Cooper - McKenna - Robertson

McTominay - McGinn

Forrest - Christie - Armstrong

Dykes

[munro7]

Can’t believe people are putting Forrest in their team. He’s now had 35 caps and has had exactly 2 good games.
For me it has to be Armstrong, Christie & McGinn behind the front man. McTominay and one other sitting behind them.

[HuttonDressedAsLahm]

1 hour ago, ArabFC said:

When Clarke said this the other night I was screaming into the void.

Same now. Of course it's important. Robertson has never had a good game at LWB in life as far I'm aware. Forrest playing RWB? WTF?!

McGinn who'd been playing brilliantly behind the striker now pulled out wide.

etc etc etc etc etc etc

We had a good system in place before the Covid-19 mess, but Clarke spent months overthinking a way to get both Tierney and Robertson into the team and screwed it all up.

Nonsense. The fact we didn’t create a single chance on Friday is not because of the formation. 
The idea that we just play 4-4-2 and everything will be fine is ludicrous.  Mentality is a much bigger issue. It always has been for us.

We’ve been playing 4-2-3-1/4-3-3/4-5-1 for years and been plenty incompetent. We’ve done well when we take the game to the opposition.

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by HuttonDressedAsLahm

[Moomintroll]

8 minutes ago, Donathan said:

I’d go

Martial

Tierney - Cooper - McKenna - Robertson

McTominay - McGinn

Forrest - Christie - Armstrong

Dykes

 

Bold move on the goalkeeping front, suspect the French Federation might not approve however.

[Guest bernardblack]

It has to be a back four tonight.

No other nation would continually play their best player out of position like we do with Robertson.

Genuinely worried Clarke will pick the exact same eleven/formation as Friday

[The Moonster]

18 minutes ago, HuttonDressedAsLahm said:

Nonsense. The fact we didn’t create a single chance on Friday is not because of the formation. 
The idea that we just play 4-4-2 and everything will be fine is ludicrous.  Mentality is a much bigger issue. It always has been for us.

We’ve been playing 4-2-3-1/4-3-3/4-5-1 for years and been plenty incompetent. We’ve done well when we take the game to the opposition.

 

Mentality is obviously a big issue but it's easier for players to get their heads right when they aren't playing in weird positions. Tierney, Robertson, Forrest, McTominay and McGinn were all playing in positions that don't suit them. 

"Formations don't matter" is also a really stupid thing to say. Craig Levein lost his job over a formation. And if they really didn't matter we'd just field Robertson and Tierney at the back and play 8 midfielders. Of course where your players are on the pitch matters.

[TheScarf]

7 minutes ago, bernardblack said:

It has to be a back four tonight.

No other nation would continually play their best player out of position like we do with Robertson.

Genuinely worried Clarke will pick the exact same eleven/formation as Friday

I think he knows he fucked up on Friday.  I don't see him falling into Strachan territory in being a stubborn cunt and playing players soley to piss the fans off.

[diegomarahenry]

A back three with wing backs isn't the worst formation. I felt that the problem on Friday was playing McTominey and Forrest out of position on the right side. If he had played Tierney, McKenna and Cooper, with Palmer at right back it may have been better. 

If you are playing 5 at the back and one up front, it means that the four in the midfield need to keep out the way of wingbacks and cover for them when they move forward. sticking to a back five might be the way forward to accommodate both Tierney and Robertson but it way just move the problem further up the pitch.