Skyline Drifter Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 (edited) 11 hours ago, Barney Rubble said: Sadly, he's not yet found a club coach who can develop his skills into being a crack defender as well as an asset going forward. We all know he could be that Nathan Patterson with the proper level of nurturing. On Friday we saw a Nathan Patterson devoid of any confidence who is well out of his current depth. At the risk of being ridiculed, Anthony Ralston is probably a better option at RB right now because he is steady and confident. Nathan Patterson is neither of those at the moment. Yeah, to be fair, you deserve ridicule for that. I was at the game on Friday and surprised to read all the criticism of Patterson later. I thought he did ok but accept you see it better on tv and he was never playing in front of the corner we were in except when attacking first half. He's always been suspect defensively (so is Robertson actually but he's learned to cover it better and nobody mentions it much). Hickey (and Tierney when he plays wing back) are better options defensively. He got down the line well and provided the extra man in attack regularly. He wasn't even our worst defender (quite definitely Souttar) and possibly not our worst defensive starter (Porteous?). We all hope that Hickey's available for the summer and quickly up to speed but Patterson's very comfortably the next best option for me. I'd probably take Max Johnston over Ralston to be honest but clearly Stevie Clarke wouldn't. Edited March 25 by Skyline Drifter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 The biggest problem now, it seems, is just plain old finishing. For most of the game we held them at bay, created chances, but didn't finish them. At the risk of sounding like I'm putting out the level of punditry you'd get on Super Scoreboard, goals change games. Put a couple of the really good chances we had away, it's far more likely that those defensive frailties we have don't get exposed. I'm pretty sure their opener was their only shot on target, and wouldn't be surprised if their second wasn't too far away either. We both had 13 attempts according to BBC, and they scored 4. In international football, against these kinds of sides, they 'll take those chances. We have to as well. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 5 minutes ago, forameus said: Put a couple of the really good chances we had away, it's far more likely that those defensive frailties we have don't get exposed. Ideally, we'd have all those elements tied up by now and put in a near perfect performance, but I don't think that's a bad way to look at it overall. It might even help us going into the tournament. Ryan Christie probably had a view close to that post-match. Quote It’s a good lesson and obviously it’s handy to learn this lesson now in a friendly game that doesn’t mean anything and obviously we’re going to start the Euros against a team of similar quality in Germany, so you can’t let that happen or you’re almost out of the tournament after one game. So it’s good to learn that lesson now. Ryan Christie https://x.com/BBCSportScot/status/1771984579215147300?s=20 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lau03143 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 1 hour ago, forameus said: The biggest problem now, it seems, is just plain old finishing. For most of the game we held them at bay, created chances, but didn't finish them. At the risk of sounding like I'm putting out the level of punditry you'd get on Super Scoreboard, goals change games. Put a couple of the really good chances we had away, it's far more likely that those defensive frailties we have don't get exposed. I'm pretty sure their opener was their only shot on target, and wouldn't be surprised if their second wasn't too far away either. We both had 13 attempts according to BBC, and they scored 4. In international football, against these kinds of sides, they 'll take those chances. We have to as well. I really think the score line flattered the Dutch. I felt, we had the better of the game, with finishing being our issue. A lot of ifs and buts, but we take one of those chances, totally changes the game and atmosphere. Our changes didn't help establish an consistency either, which is to be expected in a friendly, but I am not as downcast as I would normally be, as there was a lot in that first hour of the game that said to me, we can be a team that will challenge, especially to get out the groups. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 It also goes to show how easily a game can just be taken away from you at the higher levels. We could play very well in all three games at Euro-2024 and not come away with a points return that reflects that. The game on Friday reminded me a bit of the Celtic v Real Madrid game at Celtic park under Postecoglu. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anfield 1977 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 46 minutes ago, lau03143 said: I really think the score line flattered the Dutch. I felt, we had the better of the game, with finishing being our issue. A lot of ifs and buts, but we take one of those chances, totally changes the game and atmosphere. This is true but equally it might have ended 0-6 as the Dutch really went for it and almost added another two in stoppage which everyone seems to have overlooked. They clearly sensed our vulnerability at that stage. Not sure anyone would be looking for positives had it finished six. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewanandmoreagain Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 2 hours ago, 2426255 said: Ideally, we'd have all those elements tied up by now and put in a near perfect performance, but I don't think that's a bad way to look at it overall. It might even help us going into the tournament. Ryan Christie probably had a view close to that post-match. https://x.com/BBCSportScot/status/1771984579215147300?s=20 Putting a brave face on it ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewanandmoreagain Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 49 minutes ago, 2426255 said: It also goes to show how easily a game can just be taken away from you at the higher levels. We could play very well in all three games at Euro-2024 and not come away with a points return that reflects that. The game on Friday reminded me a bit of the Celtic v Real Madrid game at Celtic park under Postecoglu. The last Euros we created ( enough) chances but only scored one goal ( a midfielder ) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galajambo Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 4 hours ago, forameus said: The biggest problem now, it seems, is just plain old finishing. For most of the game we held them at bay, created chances, but didn't finish them. At the risk of sounding like I'm putting out the level of punditry you'd get on Super Scoreboard, goals change games. Put a couple of the really good chances we had away, it's far more likely that those defensive frailties we have don't get exposed. I'm pretty sure their opener was their only shot on target, and wouldn't be surprised if their second wasn't too far away either. We both had 13 attempts according to BBC, and they scored 4. In international football, against these kinds of sides, they 'll take those chances. We have to as well. This is the way I see it too, that game could easily have ended up 5-5 but for poor finishing and brilliant goalkeeping, the scoreline was a bit deflating, but the performance was excellent and we can take many positives from it, we definitely need to be sharper in front of goal, and much tighter in the centre of defence though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accies1874 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 I rewatched the game last night and really loved our pressing. Man-marked the Dutch on their goal kicks and in their buildup; so much so that at one point Tierney tracked Simons into an inside right position and Porteous often found himself in crazy positions following Wijnaldum. The Netherlands tried to manipulate this by, say, Depay dragging Hendry up and Wijnaldum making a run beyond the backline, and they certainly went longer as the half went on, but I think our backline coped with it pretty well - Porteous, Hendry and Tierney is a quick trio of CBs. They did have some nice midfield rotations, though, and it was probably our midfield two that had the hardest decisions to make. A man-marking press definitely isn't a new thing for us (England actually annihilated us in a similar way to how the Netherlands tried), and even the Netherlands were doing it in this game, but it's what so many of the elite sides are doing at club level and if we can get it right then I can see why Clarke thinks it'll help us make the step up, despite all of the risks it brings. In terms of our possession game, it started brilliantly for the first 20 minutes or so, but it was a bit less prominent after that. Most of our chances came from winning the ball high up due to our press or by going more direct - not necessarily long ball stuff, more switches of play or trying to hit quickly when their shape was disrupted. We didn't see Tierney overlapping much at all which you could maybe put down to McGregor being missing, though there have been games McGregor's featured in where Tierney's been more about passing than bombing forward. On the other side, Patterson's actually a really useful player at playing through a press due to his signature move of dribbling backwards before playing a pass into midfield with the outside of the boot, and having Gilmour and McGinn inside of him means you've got two players more than happy to receive those passes. It could've just been a case of us adapting as time went on, and it certainly didn't make us worse, but I think it would've been beneficial to have seen us playing through the press a bit more after the first 20 minutes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 1 hour ago, accies1874 said: I rewatched the game last night and really loved our pressing. Man-marked the Dutch on their goal kicks and in their buildup; so much so that at one point Tierney tracked Simons into an inside right position and Porteous often found himself in crazy positions following Wijnaldum. The Netherlands tried to manipulate this by, say, Depay dragging Hendry up and Wijnaldum making a run beyond the backline, and they certainly went longer as the half went on, but I think our backline coped with it pretty well - Porteous, Hendry and Tierney is a quick trio of CBs. They did have some nice midfield rotations, though, and it was probably our midfield two that had the hardest decisions to make. A man-marking press definitely isn't a new thing for us (England actually annihilated us in a similar way to how the Netherlands tried), and even the Netherlands were doing it in this game, but it's what so many of the elite sides are doing at club level and if we can get it right then I can see why Clarke thinks it'll help us make the step up, despite all of the risks it brings. Cool, I'll keep an eye out for that when I watch it back later. Was it man to man like Derek McInnes teams do it or was it hybrid? It's been normal practice for our outside centre-back's to have the freedom to track opposition players quite far into the opposition half since the last Euros, so that alone isn't really different to what we normally do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accies1874 Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 34 minutes ago, 2426255 said: Cool, I'll keep an eye out for that when I watch it back later. Was it man to man like Derek McInnes teams do it or was it hybrid? It's been normal practice for our outside centre-back's to have the freedom to track opposition players quite far into the opposition half since the last Euros, so that alone isn't really different to what we normally do. Hybrid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 On 25/03/2024 at 09:37, forameus said: The biggest problem now, it seems, is just plain old finishing. Against Netherlands, clearly. In qualification, only Spain, France, England, Belgium, and Portugal scored more goals than Scotland (discounting goals against the bottom side in 6 team groups). And I seriously doubt we created significantly more chances than sides who scored a similar number of goals to us. Our finishing has been absolutely fine in competitive games recently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.