The SandDancer Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Hello, long time lurker but have now decided to sign up and post on here and contribute to discussions. I just want to make a few points about the team.... Stevie Clarke has done an amazing job, better than anyone can imagine, he's a great fit for the national team and hope he stays around for as long as possible as long as he remains to gets the best out the team and we don't go on some kind of massive decline. However, there is one irk that I have when he picks the squad. First point is that we have a great talent on our hands in Lewis Ferguson and I've been very disappointed in that we can't seem to find a place in this team for him. Today in the BBC gossip forum, he is being linked with a host of top Serie A clubs and is clearly appreciated in Italy as being one of the best CM's in the league. I reckon there will also be a number of premier league teams looking to sign him this summer if Bologna not asking for ridiculous money and he has really improved in his time there also with further potential to come IMO. One of Clarke's strengths is in the trust and loyalty he shows to his players which i think is replicated in the teams performances. However, I see this as a weakness also. Not meaning to single any player out as everyone is contributing but one question i would ask is Calum Mcgregor really a nailed on starter for this team now given our options? He is not a CDM, lacks pace, his passing isn't outrageous for example - I just feel it's now the time to upgrade but he would be a great option to bring on from the bench going forward. If we really want to make a dent at the Euros, I feel Lewis Ferguson should be looking to take this place in the team IMO or even Ryan Christie is performing at a higher level than him and should be tried here during the upcoming frendlies. You can't really leave out Mctominay, McGinn or Gilmour so Mcgregor IMO is the only one that can be replaced currently. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gannonball Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) 24 minutes ago, The SandDancer said: Hello, long i would ask is Calum Mcgregor really a nailed on starter for this team now given our options? He is not a CDM, lacks pace, his passing isn't outrageous for example - I just feel it's now the time to upgrade but he would be a great option to bring on from the bench going forward. I get why people would want to find a place for Ferguson but he isn't a CDM, McGregor is more of one these days. McGregor isn't rapid but the amount of ground he covers is incredible so the pace thing I don't really get. I would also argue his passing is probably better than Ferguson's too. Both are very versatile though so can fit in where the midfield lacks balance which is why McGregor plays further back for Celtic and Scotland these days. From a selfish point of view I would actually rather see McGregor play a bit less for Scotland however. Edited March 12 by gannonball 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The SandDancer Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 5 minutes ago, gannonball said: I get why people would want to find a place for Ferguson but he isn't a CDM, McGregor is more of one these days. McGregor isn't rapid but the amount of ground he covers is incredible so the pace thing I don't really get. I would also argue his passing is probably better than Ferguson's too. Both are very versatile though so can fit in where the midfield lacks balance which is why McGregor plays further back for Celtic and Scotland these days. From a selfish point of view I would actually rather see McGregor play a bit less for Scotland however. I agree to an extent in that McGregor sort of brings out more of a balance to the team but he is more of a deep lying 'quarterback' type of CM, tidy in possession and is a hard worker and gets round the pitch well enough. I actually think Christie in his position at Bournemouth now can replicate this even better although his passing isn't as good as McGregor but he can cover the ground well, fly into tackles as he is quite robust and is decent going forward and then have Gilmour playing the McGegor role, taking the ball off the defence, starting the attacking play, pinging balls out to the full backs etc. I'm not sure where this would leave Ferguson but one option to try is that if we possibly played Mctominay as CF which i think he would do greatly in then this could allow Ferguson as the box to box CM. I just want to see us try something a bit different in these frendlies as we are becoming a team that is a little predictable and we will be sussed out by the better teams moving forward IMO. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoRaj Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Callum McGregor is one of the first names on the team sheet when fit. He's been outstanding for Scotland and is one of our most important players. They don't play the same position. Ferguson is up against McGinn, McTominay and Christie for the more advanced roles. McGregor won't be in the squad for these friendlies so Ferguson is sure to get a chance, however I don't think there is any way he replaces any of our midfielders in time for the Euros. McGinn, McTominay and Christie are playing at a higher level and have all proven themselves key players over the years. I feel for Ferguson but he's just not better than them at this stage in his career. His time will come Edited March 12 by MarkoRaj 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Ferguson's Hat Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Doak has to start. -3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Belt Caley Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Christie’s playing deeper for Bournemouth this season I think, would be good to see him get a run out in that deeper role for Scotland 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
git-intae-thum Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 12 minutes ago, Barry Ferguson's Hat said: Doak has to start. Lol. But seriously Doak will be back playing for Liverpool before the end of the season. If he hadn't got injured when he did there is a good chance he would have would be in our Euros squad. Ferguson will get his chance these games. He is not a like for like for McGregor. Different roles in the team. Its up to him prove he is an improvement on the current AM options. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, MarkoRaj said: Christie [is] playing at a higher level Debatable. Even if he is, there's really not much in it, not enough to be worth anything to Clarke especially when you've got situations like Dykes starting and McBurnie not even getting a call up. And if this discussion is about the medium term, then next season Ferguson will almost certainly be playing at a higher level than Christie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, Central Belt Caley said: Christie’s playing deeper for Bournemouth this season I think, would be good to see him get a run out in that deeper role for Scotland I see in this squad announcement Ryan Christie has been grouped with the midfielders. In all of the 2023 squad announcements he was grouped with the strikers. I'm not saying that means anything, probably means nothing - but say he does play a deeper midfield role during the friendly games then it might be worth keeping an eye on in future announcements. Spoiler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuttonDressedAsLahm Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Agreed with the shout on Christie - think there's a chance he plays deeper in one of the games for at least a period. I'd expect the only two midfielders to start both games to be McTominay and McGinn. I'd be surprised if Gilmour and Ferguson don't start one each, with possibly McLean also getting a start. Armstrong seems to be the perennial sub, but he played well against Norway so might fancy him making the first XI against NI. Prediction would be Adams subbed by Dykes for the Netherlands (or vice-versa), and Shankland to start against NI. As others have noted, no wildcards or unexpected call ups, so it's just SC sets up differently against Netherlands/NI, and any game time/chances he wants to offer out. The only obvious ones fans will want to see are Ferguson, and Shankland given game time, and perhaps see what Christie can do deeper. The defence is much of a muchness - as ever, the hope is to keep Tierney fit and get 60+ minutes out of him in both matches if we can. Edited March 12 by HuttonDressedAsLahm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accies1874 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I didn't think we'd see Christie deeper in these games, but there's a much greater chance now with McGregor out as Christie's role for Bournemouth is more similar to McGregor's for Scotland. I still worry about him being pretty loose in possession in deeper areas and reckon he'd need to play alongside Gilmour who's our best buildup player. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoRaj Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Think Christie is too important as a first line press for us to be considering moving him back. More likely to see McTominay/McGinn/Ferguson playing deeper 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Friendlies make it difficult to predict who'll play and where. Will we test things in these games to be used at Euro-2024? Are we trying to win these as games in their own right? Are we looking to develop our game to compete with pot-1 teams? There have been varied approaches to previous friendlies. Turkey: 1st half normal, 2nd half more experimental. Poland/Austria: Poland game normal, Austria game more experimental. Netherlands/Luxembourg: Both games were a bit mix and match. England/France: Develop our game, improving our on the ball play against the top teams. In short, I could see any of the above suggestions happening. The best starting point imo is to find out what we are trying to achieve from the two games, which hopefully will be made clear by Steve Clarke. Edited March 12 by 2426255 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The SandDancer Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 4 hours ago, MarkoRaj said: Callum McGregor is one of the first names on the team sheet when fit. He's been outstanding for Scotland and is one of our most important players. They don't play the same position. Ferguson is up against McGinn, McTominay and Christie for the more advanced roles. McGregor won't be in the squad for these friendlies so Ferguson is sure to get a chance, however I don't think there is any way he replaces any of our midfielders in time for the Euros. McGinn, McTominay and Christie are playing at a higher level and have all proven themselves key players over the years. I feel for Ferguson but he's just not better than them at this stage in his career. His time will come Ferguson is a better player than Calum McGregor, playing at a much higher level against top quality opposiiton each week. Mcgregor has done well for us but he was a mainstay in the team due to a lack of real options (up against Ryan Jack and Kenny Mcclean for example) previously and is a decent player but I feel it's now coming to a point where we need to look at upgrades to take further steps forward. I really wished Clarke would of integrated him much sooner in time for the Euros and that the likes of Doak when he was fit was in the team ASAP when he was getting game time at Liverpool. What's the point in waiting around when we already know he will be a future star for Scotland, other countries like Spain don't seem to mind starting Gavi/Pedri for example. Also, Lamine Yamal is still 16 and already has 4 caps. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velo army Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Calum McGregor is probably the only player in our team I'd class as irreplaceable. Him being out would significantly weaken us and I know it's perhaps controversial but I think he's our most important player. I like Ferguson but it's Apples and Oranges. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The SandDancer Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 20 minutes ago, velo army said: Calum McGregor is probably the only player in our team I'd class as irreplaceable. Him being out would significantly weaken us and I know it's perhaps controversial but I think he's our most important player. I like Ferguson but it's Apples and Oranges. Pish. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Hi Lewis FWIW this is the order I get for "how similar" players are playing this season to McGregor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoRaj Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 26 minutes ago, The SandDancer said: Ferguson is a better player than Calum McGregor, playing at a much higher level against top quality opposiiton each week. Mcgregor has done well for us but he was a mainstay in the team due to a lack of real options (up against Ryan Jack and Kenny Mcclean for example) previously and is a decent player but I feel it's now coming to a point where we need to look at upgrades to take further steps forward. I really wished Clarke would of integrated him much sooner in time for the Euros and that the likes of Doak when he was fit was in the team ASAP when he was getting game time at Liverpool. What's the point in waiting around when we already know he will be a future star for Scotland, other countries like Spain don't seem to mind starting Gavi/Pedri for example. Also, Lamine Yamal is still 16 and already has 4 caps. I don't even think Ferguson himself would agree he's a better player than Callum McGregor 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The SandDancer Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 3 minutes ago, MarkoRaj said: I don't even think Ferguson himself would agree he's a better player than Callum McGregor Pish. Where's this love in for Calum Mcgregor coming from 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSJ.84 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 9 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: Hi Lewis I reckon it’s Derek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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