Skyline Drifter Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 23 hours ago, CalmacRR said: Assuming everyone is fit, I think the squad is almost completely settled. I'd say the 22 below are almost certain to go. I reckon Souttar is most likely to be the 23rd pick, though there's perhaps a chance Clarke takes Cooper to have another naturally left sided defensive option. Or he could go with Greg Taylor, but I think Hickey's ability to play both sides gives us enough cover at wing back. I think there's enough versatility in that midfield without needing to take Ryan Jack. Someone like Ryan Fraser might have an outside chance as the squad is a touch lacking in pace and Clarke might want a winger just to be able to mix it up. A few months ago I thought Shankland was about 50/50, but given his form there's surely no way he won't go, even if only to be used off the bench in the last 10/15 minutes if we're chasing a goal. Gunn Gordon Clark Hickey Patterson Robertson Tierney McKenna Hanley Hendry Porteous McGregor Gilmour McLean McTominay McGinn Christie Armstrong Ferguson Adams Dykes Shankland 19 hours ago, accies1874 said: I think you've named everyone in contention, other than perhaps Liam Kelly as third choice goalkeeper (I don't want it either). I'd be surprised if the March squad is anything other than all of the available players named above, then the Euros will be about whittling them down again. Yeah I think the 22 named are likely and the biggest doubt within them remains Craig Gordon who is 41 years old and has ultimately played 2 first team matches in the last 15 months (I appreciate he'll probably play for Hearts tonight). It's become clear Hearts aren't going to play him in League games pre-split. I'm not sure it's reasonable to assume he goes to Germany off the back of that. Shankland's incredible run of form combined with injuries to Brown, Nisbet and Stewart has pretty much sealed the 3rd striker spot. Personally I think Jack is more likely to be the 23rd than another centre back and that Cooper is probably still ahead of Souttar if it is a centre back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Distant Doonhamer Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 4 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said: Personally I think Jack is more likely to be the 23rd than another centre back and that Cooper is probably still ahead of Souttar if it is a centre back. I’d largely agree with that although I wonder if there are lingering doubts re fitness with Hickey and Tierney that might dictate an additional defender. Both I think are crucial players to our set up so could see Clarke taking a risk with either or both re fitness but wanting an extra defender as back up. Jack, Cooper and Taylor could all feel unlucky to be left out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoP Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 23 hours ago, Quentin Taranbino said: Doak is still injured and has been for a while now, not sure when he is expected back. It's a shame, because Liverpool have had so many injuries in the last couple of months, I think he would have featured quite a bit for them and had a number of starts had he been fit. I’m not so sure, his form wasn’t great before his injury Might be good for him a fresh start after his injury 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lubo_blaha Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Based on the squad for friendlies, it looks like we won’t have any surprises for the finals squad. 25 will need to whittled down to 23 with a couple of current absentees hopefully making it. My prediction: In: Hickey, McGregor Out: Kelly, Cooper, Ralston, Taylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDD Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 28 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said: Based on the squad for friendlies, it looks like we won’t have any surprises for the finals squad. 25 will need to whittled down to 23 with a couple of current absentees hopefully making it. My prediction: In: Hickey, McGregor Out: Kelly, Cooper, Ralston, Taylor Yeah, I think this is more or less stuck on, presuming both recover in time. Only question would be which centre half drops out along with Kelly, Ralston and Taylor. Souttar and Cooper looking the most likely candidates at this stage. Wonder if that increases the chances of both getting game time in this window, to help Clarke firm up his decision. He's probably fairly certain already. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 22 hours ago, AndyDD said: Yeah, I think this is more or less stuck on, presuming both recover in time. Only question would be which centre half drops out along with Kelly, Ralston and Taylor. Souttar and Cooper looking the most likely candidates at this stage. Wonder if that increases the chances of both getting game time in this window, to help Clarke firm up his decision. He's probably fairly certain already. As said on the other thread, if Jack proves his fitness there's a fair chance he comes in and both Souttar and Cooper drop out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDD Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 8 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said: As said on the other thread, if Jack proves his fitness there's a fair chance he comes in and both Souttar and Cooper drop out. I suppose he might, yeah, that's possible, but I think he'd have an extra centre half ahead of Jack. I think Cooper will ultimately end up on the plane if he's not injured. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eez-eh Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) 47 minutes ago, AndyDD said: I suppose he might, yeah, that's possible, but I think he'd have an extra centre half ahead of Jack. I think Cooper will ultimately end up on the plane if he's not injured. Agree. He seems to be highly regarded in terms of leadership/influence in the squad. Edited March 13 by eez-eh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDD Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 4 minutes ago, eez-eh said: Agree. He seems to be highly regarded in terms of leadership/influence in the squad. Yeah, Clarke seems to really value him as a squad member and I think you're probably right, a lot of that will be down to his leadership and his standing in the dressing room, good point. He didn't have a great game versus Czechia in the last euros, but he is usually steady enough for us when asked to do a job. Came off the bench as part of the switch-up that ultimately wins us the game in Olso, too. Deserves a spot for that alone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebles_Dee Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Surprised Spittal didn't get a chance as his numbers are amazing. Deserves a chance over Armstrong. 4 Goalkeepers is mad. McCowan and Armstrong if they were both at a bigger club with their form would have been given a chance. -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eez-eh Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 14 minutes ago, peebles_Dee said: Surprised Spittal didn't get a chance as his numbers are amazing. Deserves a chance over Armstrong. 4 Goalkeepers is mad. McCowan and Armstrong if they were both at a bigger club with their form would have been given a chance. Who on earth would these 3 players be replacing? We’re actually doing quite well now, it’s not the Vogts era where any old Premiership jobber who’s going through a purple patch gets a call up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lubo_blaha Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 54 minutes ago, peebles_Dee said: Surprised Spittal didn't get a chance as his numbers are amazing. Deserves a chance over Armstrong. 4 Goalkeepers is mad. McCowan and Armstrong if they were both at a bigger club with their form would have been given a chance. They’re all miles off the current midfielders we have. Stuart Armstrong was man of the match in our last game and is having a good season at Southampton. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSJ.84 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Mad couple of days on this forum. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 1 hour ago, peebles_Dee said: Surprised Spittal didn't get a chance as his numbers are amazing. Deserves a chance over Armstrong. 4 Goalkeepers is mad. McCowan and Armstrong if they were both at a bigger club with their form would have been given a chance. You genuinely have some of the worst opinions ive ever seen on this site. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, peebles_Dee said: Surprised Spittal didn't get a chance as his numbers are amazing. Deserves a chance over Armstrong. 4 Goalkeepers is mad. McCowan and Armstrong if they were both at a bigger club with their form would have been given a chance. Wow. Just wow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The SandDancer Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 2 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said: Wow. Just wow. The fact you are actually believing this pleb is just WOW, explains a lot 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Quote It’s not weighing heavy on me in March, but it will at the start of May when I have to go and make those decisions and have those conversations. But that’s the job, that’s what I’m paid to do and that’s what I’ll do. The ideal scenario is you get to the beginning of May and everyone is fit and available and I have got to make tough choices. Historically, people will tell you that you will probably lose one or two that you want to select to go to a tournament, so fingers crossed we don’t. A lot of it is going to be dependent on fitness. You can’t read into the future so you don’t know what’s going to happen. You might lose some that you don’t want to lose. Hopefully that’s not the case, but at the moment I’m probably looking at disappointing four of five players. This is going to be a big decision. It’s going to have a big impact on some of these young lads’ lives - but I’ve lived it, I’ve been there, I understand it. I’ll be sorry for them, but it’s quite a brutal business at times football. We had more bodies to choose last time (Clarke was able to name 26 players for the Euro 2020 finals in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic), but there were still some tough decisions to make. I left out Andy Considine, who had come in and done really well, so that was a tough call. Liam Palmer also missed out at the last minute because of young Nathan Patterson coming through at Rangers. So those were two difficult conversations. I think this time I will probably have more than two difficult conversations because the squad size is a little bit smaller. There are a lot of centre backs in there. In the midfield area, there are seven this time. Obviously, Ryan and Callum would be strong candidates to join that, but I can’t see me taking nine midfield players. So that will be another decision for me to make. Steve Clarke https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/24181054.scotland-manager-set-disappoint-five-euro-2024-hopefuls/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 52 minutes ago, 2426255 said: https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/24181054.scotland-manager-set-disappoint-five-euro-2024-hopefuls/ Clear hint there then that Jack's not going to displace a centre back in the balance of the squad and if he's going to get in it will need to be at the expense of another midfielder. I can't see him doing so by choice, only by injury, so looks like Jack's on the outside looking in if everyone's fit. That increases Greg Taylor's chances but it probably means one of Coooper / Souttar WILL get in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Taranbino Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Once the squad is announced, is that it in terms of finality or can we have a standby list and call people up if injuries up to a certain date? Not sure if there is a cut off date or whether there is exceptions (goalkeepers is usually one) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 (edited) Not sure if it's possible to replace injured players after the tournament starts. You can replace an injured/ill player between the squad announcement and Scotland's first match at the tournament, but needs to be authorised by UEFA. Goalkeepers are an exception. Quote 48.04 Should listed players or goalkeepers become seriously injured or ill, they may only be substituted if both their team doctor and a doctor from the UEFA Medical Committee confirm that the injury or illness is sufficiently serious to prevent them from taking part in the final tournament. Subject to the final approval of the UEFA administration, they may be replaced on the list of 23 players registered for the final tournament, as follows: players and goalkeepers may be replaced before their team's first match in the final tournament, goalkeepers may also be replaced before their next match during the final tournament. https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-European-Football-Championship-2022-24/Article-48-Player-lists-Online Steve Clarke's comments previously. Quote You might pick up injuries or suspensions and you can’t call anybody in. Once you go with your 23 and pick up two or three injuries or a couple of suspensions, you’re down to the bare bones. Steve Clarke https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/11613708/ben-doak-scotland-euro-2024-steve-clarke-celtic-liverpool/ Edited March 14 by 2426255 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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