Steve Clarke

[Bing.McCrosby]

1 hour ago, velo army said:

I actually don't think Leighton would make it mainly as he was the world's worst with the ball at his feet, and that's a big part of being a keeper in our system.

Who would Collins come in for? Perhaps McGinn, but not for wee Billy or McTam.

In terms of striker aye, MoJo mibbe, but not super. 

While Hendry would be a shoo-in, I don't think any of the rest of your mentions (or mine) would be guaranteed to get in. It's a great feeling tbh.

 

The John Collins when he was Monaco was a top class operator. Its all about opinions, id say he could swap in for any of them. Easily McGregor.

Gilmour could and probably will be better in future, but right now Collins would be a guy he would be learning from.

I'd agree Mccoist would maybe struggle in our one striker system.

[Gordon EF]

1 minute ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

The John Collins when he was Monaco was a top class operator. Its all about opinions, id say he could swap in for any of them. Easily McGregor.

Gilmour could and probably will be better in future, but right now Collins would be a guy he would be learning from.

I'd agree Mccoist would maybe struggle in our one striker system.

Aye. I think the likes of Lambert and Collins at their peak are too good to write off. They were operating at the top level and whether you'd come down on one side or the other, swapping either of them for McGregor in the current side is a very reasonabel shout.

[Bing.McCrosby]

4 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

I remember watching teh Euros in 96 and world cup in 98 but was probably a bit young to have a real appreciation of how good some of the players then were compared to now. But looking back at players who made their Scotland debuts from 1990 onwards, I think this is the list that would at least be in with a decent shout of getting in the current team at their peak

• Gary McAllister
• Colin Hendry
• Paul Lambert
• David Weir
• James McFadden
• Darren Fletcher
• Scott Brown
• Allan McGregor

I've tried to err on the side of being a bit generous. It really does show how good the current team is when I can only come up with just over half a dozen names for a period of about 25 years worth of Scotland players.

There were some really decent players not on the list tbf. I think Gary Naysmith was a class act but there's no way he's getting in ahead of Robertson. Guys like Craig Burley and Alan Hutton also wouldn't have been ridiculous to include I don't think.

Yeah Fletcher is one, he would take McTominays position.

Brown, not for me. Always got the run around when against decent opposition.

McAllister, dont get me started Craig Browns love child, never played anything like he did at club level.

Lambert would be in our squad for sure.

Even having these types of discussions shows how fortunate we are at the moment tbh.

[Gordon EF]

1 hour ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

 Im 40ish

I've always assumed you were much older, probaly becuase there's some part of my brain that actually pictures you as Bing Crosby.

[velo army]

8 minutes ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

Yeah Fletcher is one, he would take McTominays position.

Brown, not for me. Always got the run around when against decent opposition.

McAllister, dont get me started Craig Browns love child, never played anything like he did at club level.

Lambert would be in our squad for sure.

Even having these types of discussions shows how fortunate we are at the moment tbh.

Aye this is exactly it.

Fletcher is probably exactly the same as McTominay. Same type of player, same skill level and same gangly b*****dness too. 

I would put Ferguson before Brown any day of the week, but I'm not sure who I'd take him for, perhaps McGregor, but he wasn't as quick or athletic.

Christian Dailly too, just because we seem to be lacking in a loveable big huddy since O'Donnell was last capped.

I bloody love this team. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by velo army

[Gordon EF]

3 minutes ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

Yeah Fletcher is one, he would take McTominays position.

Brown, not for me. Always got the run around when against decent opposition.

McAllister, dont get me started Craig Browns love child, never played anything like he did at club level.

Lambert would be in our squad for sure.

Even having these types of discussions shows how fortunate we are at the moment tbh.

Aye. Brown was the one I swithered in the most. Probably benefist from being a bit of a standout in a horrendous Scotland team. McAllister I don't remember that well. Mostly just going by a fairly impressive club CV tbh.

[Bing.McCrosby]

5 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

I've always assumed you were much older, probaly becuase there's some part of my brain that actually pictures you as Bing Crosby.

I like to think I actually look alot younger than 42

[Ludo*1]

I think if we are looking individually over the past 40 years, most of the players in our current squad could probably be replaced bar maybe Tierney, Robertson & possibly McGinn (but we've had some cracking CM's tbf).

The thing with this squad is that we've never seen depth like it. If one, two or three players are missing, an equally able player steps right in and that applies to almost all the positions in the squad. We've not had anything like that in my lifetime. I think Clarkes' biggest asset is his tactical nous but secondly, he has built a squad spirit that's made players want to play for Scotland whereas under managers like Vogts, Burley, Levein & McLeish the second time round, there's too many that didn't give a f**k. Under Strachan, he had the right idea but the way he kept the squad united was just by picking a base from Celtic (not sure if he had much options otherwise tbf).

Clarke has the side drilled like a club team and has built a tremendous spirit. Two things that are integral to international success.

[accies1874]

Yeah imo it's hard to say that, for example, Russell Martin wouldn't get into this team as he didn't benefit from playing under a Scotland manager as good as Clarke. Hendry and Porteous have been brilliant lately and Grant Hanley looked like the best CB at the Euros ffs - it's clear that this system's getting the best out of players. 

[Andy_K_97]

I maintain that there is no "right" way to play football other than the way that wins you games. For some teams who are blessed with world-class players, that may be tiki-taka. For us, it's the current system that affords versatility in going from defensive to attacking phases of play. Add to that, Clarke's coaching sessions are so good because by the day of the game every player knows the system and exactly where they fit into the system. It was the same at Kilmarnock - and while things changed more quickly at Rugby Park, the impact that Clarke has had on Scotland is nothing short of seismic. This team is so composed on the ball and has a definite swagger against most sides we come up against. 

I was gutted to lose him at Killie, but I had the best consolation of all when he went to Scotland. Now everyone can enjoy the fruits of his labour. This is the best Scotland team I have ever seen and I absolutely cannot wait to see us playing again in September. I love this team, I love these players and I love Steve Clarke. There may be bumps in the road, but I have every faith in him to overcome them like he did last summer and have us coming back stronger.

[TheScarf]

Indeed.  I'm 38 this year and this is easily the best Scotland team in my lifetime, without question.

[Comrie]

On 23/06/2023 at 18:16, velo army said:

I've been thinking this for a while. We're the best we've been in my lifetime (I'm 40) and across the board we're excellent. The question for me is who would you swap in from past sides? Perhaps Willie Miller or Andy Goram, but even then Goram couldn't kick. Perhaps Joe Jordan or Mo Johnstone? Dalgleish instead of Christie?

Not sure, but I think we're a top side now. More importantly, we believe that we are.

I was thinking this in my head the other day, but was going from post Craig Brown to roughly when John McGinn broke through and the only players I could think of who'd potentially get into our squads were:

McFadden

Miller
Anya

Darren Fletcher

Scott Brown

[Self-raising Lazarus]

44 minutes ago, Comrie said:

I was thinking this in my head the other day, but was going from post Craig Brown to roughly when John McGinn broke through and the only players I could think of who'd potentially get into our squads were:

McFadden

Miller
Anya

Darren Fletcher

Scott Brown

I would add Hutton to that, wing back would've suited him perfectly.

Honourable mentions for:

Morrison

Snodgrass at his peak

Naismith

Fletcher (Stevie)

[TheScarf]

20 minutes ago, Self-raising Lazarus said:

I would add Hutton to that, wing back would've suited him perfectly.

Honourable mentions for:

Morrison

Snodgrass at his peak

Naismith

Fletcher (Stevie)

All 5 of those players were starters in Scotland XIs who regularly shat the bed when it mattered.  Not for me.

[craigkillie]

So were Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley and Craig Gordon, but they were also in teams that did well when they had a good manager and better teammates.

[ArabFC]

2 hours ago, Self-raising Lazarus said:

I would add Hutton to that, wing back would've suited him perfectly.

People seem to forget, but there was a period of a couple of years where Hutton was legitimately one of the scariest attacking full-backs in world football.

[Mark Connolly]

2 hours ago, Self-raising Lazarus said:

Snodgrass at his peak

Snodgrass was one where I just never got the hype. Even this season when he was being lauded as a wonder signing for Hearts, I've always felt he was one who flattered to deceive

[Self-raising Lazarus]

2 hours ago, TheScarf said:

All 5 of those players were starters in Scotland XIs who regularly shat the bed when it mattered.  Not for me.

That would count for ferguson fletcher Gordon and even solid players like Gary naismith.

You can't argue all of those were poor or not good enough surely?

[Willie adie]

That 86 squad for me would have been strengthened if Archibald, Souness, Sharp and McAvennie 

Those 4 should never have gone, the former two suffered badly in the heat, 

The latter two for me there were  no better or as good players not selected.

McCoist, Robertson, Black, McDougall.any two of those four were a better choice for me,

Of course Black was never going to get picked by Ferguson after his acrimonious departure from Pittodrie that spring, and indeed I believe that Ferguson saw to it that he never got any meaningful games for the national side,

Graeme Sharp was much like McClair good at club level, but woefully inadequate at international level.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Willie adie

[Snobot]

1 hour ago, ArabFC said:

People seem to forget, but there was a period of a couple of years where Hutton was legitimately one of the scariest attacking full-backs in world football.

Yes, he was totally unplayable around 2007 even against elite opposition and would have been amazing in this system with less defensive responsibility.