Jump to content

Playoff Semi Final , 18th October 2020


Recommended Posts

10 minutes ago, BrigtonClyde said:

That's how I saw it.  Israel just the latest to first touch, pass & move much better and quicker than us.  2nd choice Czechs did it, Cyprus did it, they all do it.  That's coaching at youth & club level.  We're slow & laboured by comparison, ended up long balls to bypass their midfield because we just couldn't play through it.  Not even sure if any midfielders from the regular picks would make that much difference, maybe 1 or 2, most are much of a much.   Only hope longer term these kids we've got with clubs in England & overseas learn how to play properly there.

Decent choice of defenders now right enough, but must be a difficult shift for the forwards feeding off next to nothing.  Half time the Sky presenter giving it "Steve Clarke has plenty of firepower to call on if need be" was the best part of the whole night.  Who's that exactly, Callum Paterson ?!  You'd need to get the ball to them first.....

I just don't buy that though. We've got McGinn (who the English rave about), Armstrong and Tierney (although missing last night) are playing at the highest level as is Fraser, Christie (again missing) is one of our most important players and most definitely is a top player technically, McTominay is playing at one of the top club sides in the world and Robertson has been talked about as being one of the best attacking full backs in world football, so really it's got nothing at all to do with coaching or indeed even that particular personnel. It can only be style and tactics.

There's no pace in the play, no tempo and no movement, however watch these same guys playing for their club sides and it's like different players. You also have national sides such as Northern Ireland who have a collection of 2nd and even 3rd tier players but who perform much better than ourselves time and time again.

If we were doing a market valuation, then last nights team were probably worth at least 20 times more that the Israelis on the transfer market, however the best player on the pitch (by a mile) was the boy who plays for Vitesse Arnhem  but I doubt if anyone in football would rate him worth more than Andy Robertson or the absent Kieran Tierney.

I really wish I had the answer as I believed SC was a good appointment, however I'm just not accepting that our current plight has anything to do with poor coaching as that simply holds no water at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wary of players getting better the more often they miss out, but Stuart Armstrong surely has to be a better option in the midfield than McGregor. McGinn certainly wouldnt then be the only one looking to move the ball forward or get into the box.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, microdave said:

I'm basing it solely on the fact they don't have Haaland. I thought the winner of their semi will be the qualifiers and I haven't changed my mind on that. Serbia are obviously a good team and we'll have to play to a high standard to have any chance. Hopefully I'm wrong but I can't see it happening.

Despite having Haaland they had to try and qualify via the playoffs. Having one standout player can only take you so far.

He might have missed the game through injury or COVID anyway.

Doesn't really matter though, as either side would have easily beaten us.

1 hour ago, Blootoon87 said:
3 hours ago, DA Baracus said:
I've seen a few folk say this.
Why? Serbia just beat Norway in Norway. They have quite a few quality players. They are a decent side.
They will destroy us.

Bookmarked.

What, am I supposed to be embarrassed or something if we win? Do you think I'll be somehow upset if I was wrong?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although the criticism of McGregor is warranted, the shape meant there was nothing going forward! Dykes and McBurnie offered very little, they  were similar and I didn't really see one or the other coming deeper that often.

 

Look, if we absolutely shitfest our way to qualification then none of us will complain about that. If we somehow shitfest our way to qualification there will be genuine concerns regarding performances. We look like a team relying on a set play and if it works, so be it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Serbia finished 3rd in qualifying in an easier group than ours and across the Nations League and Euro qualifying group they didn't win a single game against the middling to good teams they came up against (Romania, Ukraine, Portugal). Prior to last night the last team at Scotland's level or above who they beat in a competitive match was Costa Rica at the World Cup over two years ago.

They're probably a bit better than us, but on paper it's not an enormous mismatch and we definitely have a chance.

Edited by craigkillie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

you don't want us qualifying for the next one 

 

Please point out where I've said that.

As I say, you're either thick as f**k, or purposely missing the point.

All I've said is I'm not excited about the prospect of qualifying as there's not much hope of doing anything exciting at the actual tournament. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Please point out where I've said that.

As I say, you're either thick as f**k, or purposely missing the point.

All I've said is I'm not excited about the prospect of qualifying as there's not much hope of doing anything exciting at the actual tournament. 

Not saying we would win the tournament but we would have a home game against the Czech Republic. Win that and don't get horsed in the other two games and that might be enough to get one of the best third places.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Please point out where I've said that.

As I say, you're either thick as f**k, or purposely missing the point.

All I've said is I'm not excited about the prospect of qualifying as there's not much hope of doing anything exciting at the actual tournament. 

It could be a starting point for further progress

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Please point out where I've said that.

As I say, you're either thick as f**k, or purposely missing the point.

All I've said is I'm not excited about the prospect of qualifying as there's not much hope of doing anything exciting at the actual tournament. 

You can't get excited about Scotland qualifying for a major tournament after 2 decades - I don't think it's me who's thick as f**k here.  Maybe International football isn't for you. At this point, Scotland actually qualifying for a tournament is well worth celebrating regardless of how they do while they are there. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not saying we would win the tournament but we would have a home game against the Czech Republic. Win that and don't get horsed in the other two games and that might be enough to get one of the best third places.


Genuinely couldnt give a f**k if scotland got horsed 3-0 every game at the euros. Just qualifying for a tournament would be fucking magic. Spent a fortune travelling to see Scotland mostly getting hammered all over europe.

Although it is typical that we will qualify and there will be no fans allowed at the games.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, greenockraver said:

I honestly think we could have the beating of england at wembley. They are in a transition period 

I think 99 times out of 100, England would beat us, and the majority of those would be comfortable.  But I'm here for that 1 outlier.  It would by no means be a foregone conclusion if Clarke could get them believing they could do something.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...