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Scotland Squad: Sep-2023 (Cyprus, England)


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1 hour ago, Tartan Blood said:

I agree. And Gordon, Hanley and Cooper aren't even available. I'm excited to see what our final 26 will be at the Euros.

If Clarke has a fully fit pool of players to choose from then some very good players will miss out on the squad 

 

My guess would be the squad could look like this if all are available

 

Goalkeepers - Gunn, Gordon and Clark (3)

 

Defenders - Robertson, Tierney, Hickey, Patterson, Ralston, Porteous, Hendry, Hanley and McKenna (9)

 

Midfielders - McGregor, McGinn, McTominay, Gilmour, McLean, Jack, Armstrong, Ferguson and Anderson (9)

 

Forwards - Dykes, Adams, Christie, Stewart and Nisbet (5)

 

Would leave the likes of Liam Kelly, Greg Taylor, Dominic Hyam, Liam Cooper, John Souttar, Josh Doig, Calvin Ramsay, David Turnbull, Ben Doak, Jacob Brown and Lawrence Shankland on the outside looking in 

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8 hours ago, Donathan said:

If Clarke has a fully fit pool of players to choose from then some very good players will miss out on the squad 

 

My guess would be the squad could look like this if all are available

 

Goalkeepers - Gunn, Gordon and Clark (3)

 

Defenders - Robertson, Tierney, Hickey, Patterson, Ralston, Porteous, Hendry, Hanley and McKenna (9)

 

Midfielders - McGregor, McGinn, McTominay, Gilmour, McLean, Jack, Armstrong, Ferguson and Anderson (9)

 

Forwards - Dykes, Adams, Christie, Stewart and Nisbet (5)

 

Would leave the likes of Liam Kelly, Greg Taylor, Dominic Hyam, Liam Cooper, John Souttar, Josh Doig, Calvin Ramsay, David Turnbull, Ben Doak, Jacob Brown and Lawrence Shankland on the outside looking in.

That's a very strong squad. I'm not sure Ralston will make the cut though. Patterson and Hickey would be the first choice right backs. And I think Hendry could slot in there if needs must. Having 2 players for every position is the norm. So I think it would be Cooper before Ralston. So 6 CBs for 3 positions. Could easily be Souttar, depending on how his season goes.

I do think Jack will make the finals squad, but he's hanging on by a thread. The Euros may be his last inclusion. 

In my opinion, every squad needs a wildcard, which is the main reason I'd take Doak. And we need to have something a bit out of the ordinary coming off the bench when plan A isn't working. Depending on if either end up having a good season, that could be Fraser or Turnbull. 

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9 hours ago, Donathan said:

If Clarke has a fully fit pool of players to choose from then some very good players will miss out on the squad 

 

My guess would be the squad could look like this if all are available

 

Goalkeepers - Gunn, Gordon and Clark (3)

 

Defenders - Robertson, Tierney, Hickey, Patterson, Ralston, Porteous, Hendry, Hanley and McKenna (9)

 

Midfielders - McGregor, McGinn, McTominay, Gilmour, McLean, Jack, Armstrong, Ferguson and Anderson (9)

 

Forwards - Dykes, Adams, Christie, Stewart and Nisbet (5)

 

Would leave the likes of Liam Kelly, Greg Taylor, Dominic Hyam, Liam Cooper, John Souttar, Josh Doig, Calvin Ramsay, David Turnbull, Ben Doak, Jacob Brown and Lawrence Shankland on the outside looking in 

Why Ralston ?

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Interesting comments. I'm sure music to the ears of many Scotland fans. I wonder if given the high number of attacking players combined with a minimum number of defensive players will result in us starting with 4 defenders.

Quote

If you notice, I’ve probably gone a little bit top-heavy with more forwards than I normally do because I want to go to Cyprus and win the game. So I’ve gone top heavy, but I always have good cover in the left-back area. Obviously, I’ve got Kieran (Tierney), Andy (Robertson) while Aaron Hickey can go there if required. I spoke to Greg, he’s fine. He’s not too far away from selection. If I pick up an injury in one of those defensive positions then he can be in the squad before we meet up.

Steve Clarke

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/international/steve-clarke-removes-shackles-in-top-loaded-scotland-squad-how-cyprus-win-could-seal-euro-2024-qualification-4271357
 

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1 minute ago, 2426255 said:

Interesting comments. I'm sure music to the ears of many Scotland fans. I wonder if given the high number of attacking players combined with a minimum number of defensive players will result in us going with 4 defenders.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/international/steve-clarke-removes-shackles-in-top-loaded-scotland-squad-how-cyprus-win-could-seal-euro-2024-qualification-4271357
 


Cyprus play a really deep block and at times we struggled to break them down in March. In the end it was a comfortable 3-0 win but that was with two very late goals when they’d tired out. I would be quite tempted to sacrifice one of the back three for an extra forward player but the downside of this means it’s either Tierney as a proper back four LCB (which hasn’t typically happened), or you’re leaving out one of Robertson/KT.

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14 minutes ago, Doonhame Buddie said:

I haven’t read all the posts so apologies if this quest had already been asked and answered.  Why is Lewis Morgan not a regular in the Scotland team?

Only Stevie Clarke can say for sure, but like Gauld, Doak.....a large number of players that a section of our support want to see, he feels like there are better options away from them at this moment in time.

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35 minutes ago, Doonhame Buddie said:

I haven’t read all the posts so apologies if this question had already been asked and answered.  Why is Lewis Morgan not a regular in the Scotland team?

I'd imagine the answer is because we actually want to do well and qualify for tournaments. 

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39 minutes ago, 2426255 said:

Interesting comments. I'm sure music to the ears of many Scotland fans. I wonder if given the high number of attacking players combined with a minimum number of defensive players will result in us starting with 4 defenders.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/international/steve-clarke-removes-shackles-in-top-loaded-scotland-squad-how-cyprus-win-could-seal-euro-2024-qualification-4271357
 

I didn't get that impression at all from the squad selection but the quote does suggest something a wee bit different. How would you see it panning out?

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If I were to make an educated guess then 352 or 442.

Steve Clarke moved on from the 3421 since the last Cyprus game and opted to use the 541-flat (Spain, Norway) and 352 (Cyprus, Georgia). I think we'll see two strikers, whether that's Adams+Dykes, McGinn+Dykes etc...

We also played something close to 442 when chasing the Norway game which we have seen before in games away to Turkey and Ukraine which would probably see Robertson playing left midfield. @accies1874

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1 hour ago, Doonhame Buddie said:

I haven’t read all the posts so apologies if this question had already been asked and answered.  Why is Lewis Morgan not a regular in the Scotland team?

As a fellow St. Mirren fan I also have a high regard for Lewis Morgan, but I wouldn't say he's anywhere near a call up.

I could be wrong as I only dip in every now and then, but the last few times I've looked at New York RB's results, Morgan hasn't even featured in the squad? Don't know if he's injured or something?

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