Strongest 11/McGregor/Ferguson conundrum

[2426255]

22 minutes ago, The SandDancer said:

Pish. Where's this love in for Calum Mcgregor coming from

Only 5 posts in and your Mr Reasonable, long time lurker mask's slipped already. Outstanding, very well done. 

Edited March 12 by 2426255

[Brother Blades]

6 hours ago, The SandDancer said:

Hello, long time lurker but have now decided to sign up and post on here and contribute to discussions.

 

 

28 minutes ago, The SandDancer said:

Pish.

Mmmmmm

[The Moonster]

Ferguson has been in around squads for ages now, how is he not integrated? McGregor has been excellent for Scotland for years, baffling that folk are doubting him. He'll be a starter for us until he calls it quits. 

The Abroad League doing heavy lifting again in this section of the forum. 

[The SandDancer]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

Ferguson has been in around squads for ages now, how is he not integrated? McGregor has been excellent for Scotland for years, baffling that folk are doubting him. He'll be a starter for us until he calls it quits. 

The Abroad League doing heavy lifting again in this section of the forum. 

Ehm he's not been playing any minutes despite playing out of his skin in Serie A, it's about time he's given his chance just like those before him.

Not doubting Mcgregor so to speak, i do like him as player but I just think he's no as good as some people on here are making out.

We are in a position where I think we should be looking at who can upgrade the team to an even higher level of performance,

[No_Problemo]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

Ferguson has been in around squads for ages now, how is he not integrated? McGregor has been excellent for Scotland for years, baffling that folk are doubting him. He'll be a starter for us until he calls it quits. 

The Abroad League doing heavy lifting again in this section of the forum. 

I think it’s a bit harsh to label people wanting Ferguson to play Abroad League thinking, given the season he is having in a major league and that it is looking quite likely that he will be playing for one of Europe’s big clubs next season. In terms of numbers etc he is having an equally excellent season to McGinn and McTominay. 

Obviously there isn’t an argument in terms of McGregor as they play entirely different positions, and he has been excellent for us. The only debate there would be potentially moving McTominay deeper to play alongside one of McGregor and Gilmour. 

As discussed above, there absolutely is a debate as to whether Ferguson is a better option behind the striker for us than Christie - depending how Clarke looks to set us up. 

Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing how the keepers, Shankland and Ferguson are used in these friendlies! 

[gannonball]

2 hours ago, PSJ.84 said:

I reckon it’s Derek

Nah Derek's sound, I would suggest maybe Barry but hes never really given a f**k about Scotland tbh.

[The Moonster]

17 minutes ago, The SandDancer said:

Ehm he's not been playing any minutes despite playing out of his skin in Serie A, it's about time he's given his chance just like those before him.

Not doubting Mcgregor so to speak, i do like him as player but I just think he's no as good as some people on here are making out.

We are in a position where I think we should be looking at who can upgrade the team to an even higher level of performance,

He's got 10 caps and has guys like Gilmour, McTominay and McGinn ahead of him. McGregor has 58 caps and has been excellent for us through Clarkes revival. Ferguson is doing well and will get minutes, I just think it's a weird guy to shout about integrating into the squad when he's clearly a part of the plans. 

 

4 minutes ago, No_Problemo said:

I think it’s a bit harsh to label people wanting Ferguson to play Abroad League thinking, given the season he is having in a major league and that it is looking quite likely that he will be playing for one of Europe’s big clubs next season. In terms of numbers etc he is having an equally excellent season to McGinn and McTominay. 

Obviously there isn’t an argument in terms of McGregor as they play entirely different positions, and he has been excellent for us. The only debate there would be potentially moving McTominay deeper to play alongside one of McGregor and Gilmour. 

As discussed above, there absolutely is a debate as to whether Ferguson is a better option behind the striker for us than Christie - depending how Clarke looks to set us up. 

Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing how the keepers, Shankland and Ferguson are used in these friendlies! 

A number of players from the Scottish game have gone pretty seamlessly from our Prem to the Serie A. It's a good league but it's clearly not as good as some folk think it is - not that players like Hickey, Doig and Ferguson aren't good players but they all took very little time in establishing themselves at lower level sides, which suggests to me that those low end sides are perhaps a bit closer to our level than some people think. 

[Bing.McCrosby]

1 hour ago, The Moonster said:

Ferguson has been in around squads for ages now, how is he not integrated? McGregor has been excellent for Scotland for years, baffling that folk are doubting him. He'll be a starter for us until he calls it quits. 

The Abroad League doing heavy lifting again in this section of the forum. 

Cmon now that just ridiculous, you think McGregor should just keep playing into his late 30s regardless of what any other player does?

There needs to be a bit of common sense on here. And less defensive reactions. Suggesting players to replace others doesn't mean anyone hates players or doesn't rate them.

Personally I think McGregors days of being a nailed on starter for Scotland should be under threat. Not that he's doing anything wrong. Just that others (ferguson, gilmour) are younger and doing it at a higher level.

[velo army]

Just now, Bing.McCrosby said:

Cmon now that just ridiculous, you think McGregor should just keep playing into his late 30s regardless of what any other player does?

There needs to be a bit of common sense on here. And less defensive reactions. Suggesting players to replace others doesn't mean anyone hates players or doesn't rate them.

Personally I think McGregors days of being a nailed on starter for Scotland should be under threat. Not that he's doing anything wrong. Just that others (ferguson, gilmour) are younger and doing it at a higher level.

I get that, I just think that Ferguson isn't the same type of player as McGregor. I also believe our strongest midfield has both McGregor and Gilmour in it. Why do you think that McGregor's days as a nailed on starter should be under threat? I'd say that this would only be the case if his form started to falter at international level, which it shows no signs of doing as yet.

[gannonball]

16 minutes ago, velo army said:

I get that, I just think that Ferguson isn't the same type of player as McGregor. 

This is it for me. He may be able to play there one day but as national manager it would be hard to re-develop a players position. I am know Clarke's done it before but that was more out of necessity.

[MarkoP]

3 hours ago, The SandDancer said:

Pish. Where's this love in for Calum Mcgregor coming from

He’s very important in allowing others around him to do what they do 

This isn’t why we’d bring Ferguson in

Hed be brought in to break lines and penetrate defences in the way McGinn and McTominay do

They really aren’t like for like McGregor and Ferguson 

I really want Ferguson to get time and show us something we’ve not got but our midfield is awesome already

its those around them that need to shine

Id love him to force Stevie Clarkes hand on this but only he can do that 

Starting in Amsterdam a week Friday

[gannonball]

3 hours ago, The SandDancer said:

Pish. Where's this love in for Calum Mcgregor coming from

Not sure but I'm guessing it's because he's been a pivotal player for the national team under Clarke? Just a hunch.

[Bing.McCrosby]

1 hour ago, velo army said:

I get that, I just think that Ferguson isn't the same type of player as McGregor. I also believe our strongest midfield has both McGregor and Gilmour in it. Why do you think that McGregor's days as a nailed on starter should be under threat? I'd say that this would only be the case if his form started to falter at international level, which it shows no signs of doing as yet.

No I don't think he is, but I think gilmour certainly is. Or McTominay or mcginn could also play the McGregor role opening up that slot for Ferguson.

You can't really compare the Scotland form against players not getting selected. So you have to take a step back and think every once in a while. Who is the players who should be playing? For me I think after the euros McGregor might not start as often as he has been.

Every good team is always looking for ways to improve. 

Weve got a cracking midfield and plenty of options, its not surprising there's plenty of opinions.

[craigkillie]

The midfield has been working as well as it ever has in this campaign with McTominay and McGinn playing off the striker, supported by the two wing-backs. Ferguson is just unfortunate in that those two guys in his position are consistently doing the business for us and therefore he can't get in. There might be a chance that he gets a shout in a game where we need even more energy - for example in that Spain game at Hampden we had Christie in the team as well as McTominay and McGinn.

However, Gilmour has been back in brilliant form at club level and his use of the ball means we probably need him in the team, and McGregor is the natural partner in there given that he has the intelligence and clever use of the ball that the others lack.

It's not a reflection on Ferguson at all that he's not getting a game for us, it's just that those other guys are perfect for how we play at the moment. It can change quickly, but I don't think it will have changed by the summer barring an injury.

[The SandDancer]

So many defensive comments regarding Mcgregor on here, a lot of you are vastly overstating his performances.

Yes he's been decent and very good in certain games but cmon guys, we cannot let this team just stagnate now, we need to keep progressing. We need to look at ways of getting our best players in the team similar to how we managed the issue of having both Robertson and Tierney.

McGregor has lost some of his influence he had for quite some time now, he was very key at one point but other players have overtaken him now who are nailed on and others that are on the bench due to Clarke's loyalty in my opinion. Just feel he needs to be a bit more ruthless now...

 

[The SandDancer]

2 hours ago, gannonball said:

This is it for me. He may be able to play there one day but as national manager it would be hard to re-develop a players position. I am know Clarke's done it before but that was more out of necessity.

Why do we need an exact type to replace Mcgregor when we are already playing 5 at the back! We have ball playing midfielders in there already like Gilmour/Mctominay and Ferguson is also very competent on the ball

[HuttonDressedAsLahm]

This whole thread is a bit weird.  Some seem to be writing McGregor's obituary, and as far as I can tell he's barely put a foot wrong for us in recent memory.

Ferguson will get his chance soon enough, and it won't be at McGregor's expense.  I don't think Ferguson's been given a real shot at it yet, but neither has he lit the heather alight in a blue shirt.

Hickey looked a bit out of place initially, and is now probably our best right back in decades.  McTominay (even after the CB experiment) took a bit of time to find his home.  Ferguson might well be the same - we'll find a way that works for him and works for us, but right now we've got the best midfield we've had in living memory, and there's only 2-4 spaces available.

[The SandDancer]

1 minute ago, HuttonDressedAsLahm said:

This whole thread is a bit weird.  Some seem to be writing McGregor's obituary, and as far as I can tell he's barely put a foot wrong for us in recent memory.

Ferguson will get his chance soon enough, and it won't be at McGregor's expense.  I don't think Ferguson's been given a real shot at it yet, but neither has he lit the heather alight in a blue shirt.

Hickey looked a bit out of place initially, and is now probably our best right back in decades.  McTominay (even after the CB experiment) took a bit of time to find his home.  Ferguson might well be the same - we'll find a way that works for him and works for us, but right now we've got the best midfield we've had in living memory, and there's only 2-4 spaces available.

Thread is not weird at all, he's the weakest of all midfield options we have so naturally people will be looking at him as being replaced. I really don't think he is playing as well as he once was and maybe that's in part due to now having a lot of great options in midfield currently

[craigkillie]

This post reeks of FIFA style selection where Ferguson has a higher number than McGregor so you just pick him in the team. Either that or just basing it on the clubs and level people play at rather than their ability.

Let's face it, McGregor could comfortably be playing for a very good Serie A team if he wanted to right now, but the fact he isn't will always count against him in some people's eyes.

[The SandDancer]

2 hours ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

No I don't think he is, but I think gilmour certainly is. Or McTominay or mcginn could also play the McGregor role opening up that slot for Ferguson.

You can't really compare the Scotland form against players not getting selected. So you have to take a step back and think every once in a while. Who is the players who should be playing? For me I think after the euros McGregor might not start as often as he has been.

Every good team is always looking for ways to improve. 

Weve got a cracking midfield and plenty of options, its not surprising there's plenty of opinions.

This is it for me, we need to be looking at the bigger picture here and plan for the future. I think McGregor will be taken out the team after the Euros are done also and I am intrigued to see a midfield reshuffle with Ferguson in there which I think will make the team even more effective if we practice this in the next couple of friendlies etc. It's the same for when Doak is fit again, how do we fit him in also. Cannot be leaving out players as good as him as we need game changers like Doak to move us up a level.