Time to go Steve Clarke

[Gordopolis]

Aye, you make your own luck, and all that shite.
We're undeniably better now than when Clarke took over, despite this recurring issue of starting with misfiring tactics and being slow to change them. Unless we start regressing, it's a matter of whether he can sort that out and we can get results like the Denmark game more regularly.
I'm a bit curious about how well people think this squad should be performing, considering that we're still a bit wobbly at the back, struggle to create chances, and don't have a goalscorer (although the first two have improved a fair bit). If Clarke manages to get us winning crunch play-off/tournament group games, he'll literally be the greatest Scotland manager of all time.

That last bit made me smile, and pretty much sums up where we are - it'd be crazy to jettison the guy who's got us back to being within shooting distance of achieving this.

[Detournement]

I'd stick with him but I think he has to take some responsibility for the other night.

Robertson out drinking on the Sunday rather meeting up with the squad is a poor reflection on the manager and being overly deferent to English clubs has been a feature of his time in the job. John McGinn is a huge player for us but I thought he looked overweight playing for Villa vs City and he was piss poor in the playoff. Villa probably started winding their season down at the beginning of May and it seemed with McGinn and also Adams, Hanley and Gilmour that they were miles below their top top level. That's two Junes in a row where Clarke has completely failed to get the players to perform in huge games at Hampden.

We don't have great attacking options so writing off Ryan Fraser and not bringing Turnbull into the playing pool were mistakes. It seems like it's a tradition for Scotland managers to fall out with players but we need all our resources if we are going to achieve anything.

[Gordopolis]

I'd stick with him but I think he has to take some responsibility for the other night.
Robertson out drinking on the Sunday rather meeting up with the squad is a poor reflection on the manager and being overly deferent to English clubs has been a feature of his time in the job. John McGinn is a huge player for us but I thought he looked overweight playing for Villa vs City and he was piss poor in the playoff. Villa probably started winding their season down at the beginning of May and it seemed with McGinn and also Adams, Hanley and Gilmour that they were miles below their top top level. That's two Junes in a row where Clarke has completely failed to get the players to perform in huge games at Hampden.
We don't have great attacking options so writing off Ryan Fraser and not bringing Turnbull into the playing pool were mistakes. It seems like it's a tradition for Scotland managers to fall out with players but we need all our resources if we are going to achieve anything.

I completely forgot Turnbull was even in the squad. Surely this is the time to find out where he fits in for us.

[Bing.McCrosby]

15 minutes ago, BFTD said:

 

I'm a bit curious about how well people think this squad should be performing

Simply competing alot better in the ukraine game. Not even necessarily winning it. Just performing better than that.

Not playing such poor negative long ball football and frankly embarrassing ourselves.

[John Lambies Doos]

Big Jakey drunk eck got us to euro playoffs.
Stevie Clarke won 2 pen shootouts.
We were shite in euros.
Stevie Clark got us 2nd in WC Group, only seeded as Denmark had nothing to play for.
Stevie Clarke bottled it against Ukraine.

He deserves the nations league chance but its delusional to think he's done well considering talent we have.
I'm with Highland on this, the big games he's absolutely bottled it and been found wanting.

[BFTD]

24 minutes ago, BingMcCrosby said:

Simply competing alot better in the ukraine game. Not even necessarily winning it. Just performing better than that.

Not playing such poor negative long ball football and frankly embarrassing ourselves.

A slightly better performance in a single game?

That's some narrow margins.

[BFTD]

1 minute ago, John Lambies Doos said:

Big Jakey drunk eck got us to euro playoffs.
Stevie Clarke won 2 pen shootouts.
We were shite in euros.
Stevie Clark got us 2nd in WC Group, only seeded as Denmark had nothing to play for.
Stevie Clarke bottled it against Ukraine.

He deserves the nations league chance but its delusional to think he's done well considering talent we have.
I'm with Highland on this, the big games he's absolutely bottled it and been found wanting.

As craigkillie already mentioned, Denmark fucked their chance of being seeded at the World Cup draw due to losing to us.

How much better than the Czechs, England, Croatia, and/or Ukraine do you think we are?

[John Lambies Doos]

As craigkillie already mentioned, Denmark fucked their chance of being seeded at the World Cup draw due to losing to us.
How much better than the Czechs, England, Croatia, and/or Ukraine do you think we are?

We are good enough to get something from the Czechs and Ukraine at home, these were big games and we were dreadful.

[Ken Deans]

Everyone but Stevie knew after 3 mins a change was needed. That's it

[Chewing Taffies]

Wales have set up much better than Clarke despite having lesser players at their disposal. Get Clarke to f**k

[betting competition]

5 minutes ago, Chewing Taffies said:

Wales have set up much better than Clarke despite having lesser players at their disposal. Get Clarke to f**k

They have been very lucky to be in the lead. Been a bit like the Scotland match with Ukraine the better side and should have had a pen

[Chewing Taffies]

1 minute ago, betting competition said:

They have been very lucky to be in the lead. Been a bit like the Scotland match with Ukraine the better side and should have had a pen

yeh it's all about the luck

[RandomGuy.]

Remarkable how every player in our squad is shit and hopeless, until the managers up for criticism, at which point they become world beaters.

[Theroadlesstravelled]

48 minutes ago, Chewing Taffies said:

Wales have set up much better than Clarke despite having lesser players at their disposal. Get Clarke to f**k

Clarke's tactic of 5 at the back and shelling the ball 40 yards up the park to Dykes was a embarrassment.

Kilmarnock was his level.

[gerrymcc1978]

he gets these nations league games for me, no improvement time to go

[Bing.McCrosby]

50 minutes ago, BFTD said:

A slightly better performance in a single game?

That's some narrow margins.

Thats how football works sometimes, you either succeed or fail. That one game you may not be aware was a world Cup play off game.

Edit, you said slightly not me. A vastly better performance

Edited June 5, 2022 by BingMcCrosby

[craigkillie]

he gets these nations league games for me, no improvement time to go

No improvement on what? 6 wins out of 7?

[Dunning1874]

Obviously individual games and managerial decisions can alter this, but broadly what should performing to par for Scotland be seen as, and therefore when is a manager failing?

In an era of a 24 team Euros, failing to qualify will obviously always be unacceptable. The manner in which a manager fails to qualify is relevant here, but failing to even make the playoffs for the Euros should clearly be an instant sacking, and failing to get through the playoffs should often be as well. It was an absolute scandal that Strachan was actually given a new contract after finishing fourth when he should have been told in no uncertain terms to f**k off for that humiliation.

Qualifying for a World Cup is clearly a much tougher challenge which can never be taken as a given. Failing to make the playoffs at all would have to lead to serious questions being asked, and if we were to have repeated problems in easily winnable playoffs that'd be an issue - you take the circumstances of the failure into account every time - but I think it would be reactionary nonsense to say any failure to qualify for a World Cup needs a manager to be sacked.

By finishing second in a group to make these playoffs, Clarke has already achieved something no Scotland manager had for 18 years, and even that was a stupidly easy group in comparison. If we make second again in the upcoming Euros campaign, and don't forget that we just absolutely cantered to it by 7 points, that's automatic qualification there.

[BFTD]

30 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

No improvement on what? 6 wins out of 7?

Yeah, I'm really struggling with this concept. We played poorly against Ukraine, but that happens. The only nations who can do that in qualification games and be pretty sure of getting away with it are much better than us.

I've been thinking this for quite a while now, but some Scots are right up there with England fans in terms of delusion. We've better players than we've had for a long time, but nobody's going to be thinking it's a shame that we didn't qualify for this World Cup. There's no European qualifier that we're clearly better than. We've no goalscorers. It's touch and go at the back. We could switch manager after every poor performance and it still wouldn't change those things.

We've had six permanent managers since the '98 World Cup and, perhaps aside from during Berti Vogts time, the call has always been "we're so much better than this". We're clearly not. Despite the hopelessness of the SFA, there's a reason why the top coaches aren't applying for this job.

[Bing.McCrosby]

Just now, Dunning1874 said:

Obviously individual games and managerial decisions can alter this, but broadly what should performing to par for Scotland be seen as, and therefore when is a manager failing?

In an era of a 24 team Euros, failing to qualify will obviously always be unacceptable. The manner in which a manager fails to qualify is relevant here, but failing to even make the playoffs for the Euros should clearly be an instant sacking, and failing to get through the playoffs should often be as well. It was an absolute scandal that Strachan was actually given a new contract after finishing fourth when he should have been told in no uncertain terms to f**k off for that humiliation.

Qualifying for a World Cup is clearly a much tougher challenge which can never be taken as a given. Failing to make the playoffs at all would have to lead to serious questions being asked, and if we were to have repeated problems in easily winnable playoffs that'd be an issue - you take the circumstances of the failure into account every time - but I think it would be reactionary nonsense to say any failure to qualify for a World Cup needs a manager to be sacked.

By finishing second in a group to make these playoffs, Clarke has already achieved something no Scotland manager had for 18 years, and even that was a stupidly easy group in comparison. If we make second again in the upcoming Euros campaign, and don't forget that we just absolutely cantered to it by 7 points, that's automatic qualification there.

Thats alot of words to say very little, all the groups are relative. And our players (in my opinion, and the opinion of the majority) is the best weve had in a long time.

Do you think playing ukraine at home is a game that we could realistically win?

Do you think the performance against ukraine was good?

This is a manager whos been in charge for 35 games. We were like a Sunday league team playing against professionals.

If thats his tactics in these games then I dont care about other managers 10 years ago. We have to look out for our best interests now, having a guy in charge who thinks that's decent football in 2022 is not in our best interests.