The Next Five Years

[MarkoP]

7 hours ago, Binos said:

Winning the group I think would top it but we won't 

The Spanish are gonna go at us hammer and  tongs in Seville

Any result there will be a massive achievement 

I’d say the biggest of Clarkes tenure

The next 3 games are gonna tell us a lot about where we actually are in the bigger pecking order 

Im scarily confident we’ll come out relatively well

[Binos]

8 hours ago, MarkoP said:

The Spanish are gonna go at us hammer and  tongs in Seville

Any result there will be a massive achievement 

I’d say the biggest of Clarkes tenure

The next 3 games are gonna tell us a lot about where we actually are in the bigger pecking order 

Im scarily confident we’ll come out relatively well

There's no way anything other than a defeat will happen in Spain 

They will put their strongest 11 out, not the experimental side we played at hampden 

 

[djchapsticks]

On 09/09/2023 at 13:15, Binos said:

The current is bright,  not so sure about the future 

I look around the Scottish top flight and I don't see hardly any young Scots getting game time 

The future is bright as well. St. Mirren have  lost 17 year old Dylan Reid to Palace and 17 year old Murray Campbell to Burnley recently.

This can be replicated across Scotland where the prime 16 and 17 year olds are being scouted to academies with a comparatively endless amount of resources.

A blow to our domestic game but a proper and sustainable boost to the national team as this will continue to happen year on year and I'd hope/expect a conveyor belt of 2-3 national team quality footballers in any given season are likely to emerge from all the young players headed south and receiving world-class coaching and facilities.

[ClydeTon]

1 hour ago, djchapsticks said:

The future is bright as well. St. Mirren have  lost 17 year old Dylan Reid to Palace and 17 year old Murray Campbell to Burnley recently.

This can be replicated across Scotland where the prime 16 and 17 year olds are being scouted to academies with a comparatively endless amount of resources.

A blow to our domestic game but a proper and sustainable boost to the national team as this will continue to happen year on year and I'd hope/expect a conveyor belt of 2-3 national team quality footballers in any given season are likely to emerge from all the young players headed south and receiving world-class coaching and facilities.

Somehow, it never occurred to me that the reason (younger) Scots hardly get game time in Scotland is that they don't play here, but in England or whatnot. (even though I am fully aware many have made such moves)

We'll never really have the conveyor belt up to notch 11 like The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, etc. have, but someone seems to have finally found it's power cord for Scotland. 

[Sortmeout]

On 09/09/2023 at 12:50, deadasdillinger said:

Guys like Ferguson and Doak still to break through. The future is bright!

Young centre midfielder at Rugby Park looks a good prospect as well…….

[Sortmeout]

On 10/09/2023 at 08:22, Binos said:

There's no way anything other than a defeat will happen in Spain 

They will put their strongest 11 out, not the experimental side we played at hampden 

 

I said to someone on Saturday that I wouldn’t bet any team against Scotland just now, even Spain in Spain.

To say it’s a guaranteed defeat is pretty poor in my opinion. Players deserve more respect than that.

 

[forameus]

I don't think it's a guaranteed defeat, but I think 7 or 8 times out of 10, they're going to win.  We absolutely deserved our win at Hampden, and we properly rattled them.  We're in great form.  But when Spain want to turn it on they absolutely can and come the next window Norway could well still be breathing down their necks.  They play us and then go to Oslo, so a really pivotal window.

We obviously stand a chance, we've already beaten them, but I don't think a defeat is the end of the world.  Our par this campaign was qualification through any means.  A bonus would've been qualifying from the group and not needing a playoff.  As it is, I could see us only losing to Spain, finishing level on points but 2nd (not extending our 3-0 lead when Spain won 7-1 could bite us), and that would be an incredible achievement.

[Self-raising Lazarus]

35 minutes ago, forameus said:

I don't think it's a guaranteed defeat, but I think 7 or 8 times out of 10, they're going to win.  We absolutely deserved our win at Hampden, and we properly rattled them.  We're in great form.  But when Spain want to turn it on they absolutely can and come the next window Norway could well still be breathing down their necks.  They play us and then go to Oslo, so a really pivotal window.

We obviously stand a chance, we've already beaten them, but I don't think a defeat is the end of the world.  Our par this campaign was qualification through any means.  A bonus would've been qualifying from the group and not needing a playoff.  As it is, I could see us only losing to Spain, finishing level on points but 2nd (not extending our 3-0 lead when Spain won 7-1 could bite us), and that would be an incredible achievement.

I think another important factor is we play georgia in November, not the heat that's traditionally cost is in away fixtures in Eastern Europe. 

That said, I fancy our chances of a point in Spain 

[KirkieRR]

Germany 2014 - hammer 7 past Brazil (while wearing Kirkie Rob Roy taps) and go on to win the World Cup. Pretty much dugmeat since and have just sacked their manager.

 

Italy 2020 - win Euro 2020, then fail to qualify for the World Cup and aren't looking too convincing in the Euro 24 group either.

 

Iceland - amazed us with their improvement, delighted us by stuffing England, a golden generation for a nation of around 300,000. Now getting beat by Luxembourg (who I concede seem vastly improved).

 

I don't know why it is - however good you are, you're not guaranteed to build on it in the short-to-medium term. In five years we could be back to nervously hoping to break the deadlock at home v the Faroes. I hope not.

[effeffsee_the2nd]

20 minutes ago, KirkieRR said:

Germany 2014 - hammer 7 past Brazil (while wearing Kirkie Rob Roy taps) and go on to win the World Cup. Pretty much dugmeat since and have just sacked their manager.

 

Italy 2020 - win Euro 2020, then fail to qualify for the World Cup and aren't looking too convincing in the Euro 24 group either.

 

Iceland - amazed us with their improvement, delighted us by stuffing England, a golden generation for a nation of around 300,000. Now getting beat by Luxembourg (who I concede seem vastly improved).

 

I don't know why it is - however good you are, you're not guaranteed to build on it in the short-to-medium term. In five years we could be back to nervously hoping to break the deadlock at home v the Faroes. I hope not.

Yeah but the age profile of the squad says the next 5 years will be just as good if not better 

 

[Squirrelhumper]

On 09/09/2023 at 13:15, Binos said:

The current is bright,  not so sure about the future 

I look around the Scottish top flight and I don't see hardly any young Scots getting game time 

Lennon Miller & David Watson are 17 and 18 and playing every week in the top flight. Both will get big moves within 12 months. Same way Max Johnston, Hickey, Ramsay et al did.

[Squirrelhumper]

On 09/09/2023 at 13:15, Binos said:

The current is bright,  not so sure about the future 

I look around the Scottish top flight and I don't see hardly any young Scots getting game time 

Lennon Miller & David Watson are 17 and 18 and playing every week in the top flight. Both will get big moves within 12 months. Same way Max Johnston, Hickey, Ramsay et al did.

[bleedingums]

The thing that gives me hope is that there are several very good prospects on the horizon. In the previous 20-odd years we’d be talking about 1, maybe 2 young players that had a high ceiling. We’re now consistently talking about many more than that almost every year.
 

The u21s and u19s have several recognisable players that are already establishing themselves in first teams. Some of them won’t make it to the level that we’re hoping, of course, but the chances of a few getting there are much higher when there’s a bigger pool. IMO that’s the result of the performance schools and other club schools that have also improved.

 

For the last 2/3 years, the squad has improved each year by a combination of adding higher quality players and the current squad members themselves also improving.

[Binos]

7 hours ago, Sortmeout said:

I said to someone on Saturday that I wouldn’t bet any team against Scotland just now, even Spain in Spain.

To say it’s a guaranteed defeat is pretty poor in my opinion. Players deserve more respect than that.

 

More respect?

We are playing awesome at the moment but it's my opinion that Spain in Spain full strength will win

[Ewanandmoreagain]

8 hours ago, ClydeTon said:

Somehow, it never occurred to me that the reason (younger) Scots hardly get game time in Scotland is that they don't play here, but in England or whatnot. (even though I am fully aware many have made such moves)

We'll never really have the conveyor belt up to notch 11 like The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, etc. have, but someone seems to have finally found it's power cord for Scotland. 

Apparently , iirc , Celtic could not hold onto Ben Doak

 

[Binos]

8 hours ago, ClydeTon said:

 

We'll never really have the conveyor belt up to notch 11 like The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, etc. have, but someone seems to have finally found it's power cord for Scotland. 

I  don't see why not 

But we do seem to have accepted that we will never produce players like these nations do

[ClydeTon]

15 minutes ago, Binos said:

I  don't see why not 

But we do seem to have accepted that we will never produce players like these nations do

Native club (i.e. SPFL) infrastructure just isn't good enough to pump players out the way they do, imo.

[craigkillie]

10 hours ago, KirkieRR said:

Germany 2014 - hammer 7 past Brazil (while wearing Kirkie Rob Roy taps) and go on to win the World Cup. Pretty much dugmeat since and have just sacked their manager.

 

Italy 2020 - win Euro 2020, then fail to qualify for the World Cup and aren't looking too convincing in the Euro 24 group either.

 

Iceland - amazed us with their improvement, delighted us by stuffing England, a golden generation for a nation of around 300,000. Now getting beat by Luxembourg (who I concede seem vastly improved).

 

I don't know why it is - however good you are, you're not guaranteed to build on it in the short-to-medium term. In five years we could be back to nervously hoping to break the deadlock at home v the Faroes. I hope not.

We're unlikely to have as good a manager in 5 years' time too, which could be a major factor.

[BB_Bino]

7 hours ago, craigkillie said:

We're unlikely to have as good a manager in 5 years' time too, which could be a major factor.

Not sure who the natural successor to Clarke will be, I've always had a wee hunch that it will be Moyes, even more so since he announced on the BBC Euro20 podcast that he "would like to do it one day". I think the SFA need to get it right though, and should probably be looking to identify his successor well in advance of Clarke actually leaving (whenever that may be). I wouldn't be against Moyes, but then, I also think that McInness has proven to be a very astute manager, over time, and that he is someone who can get players playing for him, and that's what we need, not someone who is simply flavour of the month.

[forameus]

9 hours ago, craigkillie said:

We're unlikely to have as good a manager in 5 years' time too, which could be a major factor.

Presuming we don't have a massive dive in form that sees him being sacked, do you see Clarke deciding to leave of his own accord?  Is there another step he'd take in management beyond us?  Unless there's some kind of career goal he's not met yet, I wouldn't have thought there would be much interest in leaving what is surely a fairly comfortable and well-paid job whilst we're doing well.  Genuine questions, I've no idea what his thoughts are and whether he's come out and said anything to the contrary.

Edited September 12, 2023 by forameus