Butters Scotch Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Watched him a a lot of times this season in his new CM role and again yesterday against Man United, must say he played brilliant. Mobile, hard worker, good dribbler and his passing is definitely improved. Are we missing a trick here by no playing him in his new position? We don't have many forward options so I get why Clarke plays him as a CAM when he does get game time but I would of been hopeful that Clarke would of been trying him out in CM on the training ground during the recent friendlies etc or has it in his mind anyway that he can be a quality alternative to the current options we have there. Question is, who do you take out? Personally, I would think about either dropping one of Gilmour or McGregor as they are both playing very similar positions for Scotland and are not the best defensively which at times has left us wide open at the back. A better balance to the team would be to put in Christie there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoRaj Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 We have lots of options for centre mid. No one can do the high pressing 10 as well as Christie. The system works, why fix what isn't broken? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butters Scotch Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 4 minutes ago, MarkoRaj said: We have lots of options for centre mid. No one can do the high pressing 10 as well as Christie. The system works, why fix what isn't broken? The system doesn't always work though, it ain't broken but it does need some remedial attention... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) We've debated the order of merit in the Scotland midfield. Personally I think I'm still with McGregor, Gilmour, McGinn and McTominay, but I think Ryan Christie pushes all four of them for a place and could slot in any position. It's a fair point on balance too. I really like him. He'd walk into any other Scotland midfield of this century. ETA I think I'd also bring him in if either Robertson or Tierney dropped out. Basically, while he might not be first 11 with everyone available, he'll nearly always play due to some circumstance or another. Edited April 14 by allyo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Ferguson's Hat Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Ryan Crispy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSJ.84 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 He was excellent yesterday, however I think he performs a good role in the Scotland squad as is. As Marko says, nobody can press quite like him and I’d be hesitant to remove that option. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 It would fall under horses for courses for me. Perhaps there's a situation or game that might arise where it would be more beneficial for the team to have him playing as a #6 or maybe an #8 instead of our other options. Christie was really good for Scotland on the ball against The Netherlands as a #10. Originally I thought he was also good against Northern Ireland too, but having watched bits back maybe not quite as good as I had remembered. He played as a #8 against Moldova in 2021, when we beat them 1-nil. There's a lot of rotations on the left side especially involving Tierney, Robertson, Christie and McGregor (or McTominay in the last camp) so fixed positions aren't such a big deal as they can interchange. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butters Scotch Posted April 14 Author Share Posted April 14 2 minutes ago, PSJ.84 said: He was excellent yesterday, however I think he performs a good role in the Scotland squad as is. As Marko says, nobody can press quite like him and I’d be hesitant to remove that option. I do agree but when he does get on then i've noticed in a game recently anyway that Mctominay that gets pushed further back which I don't think works. Something to think about anyway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Just now, Butters Scotch said: I do agree but when he does get on then i've noticed in a game recently anyway that Mctominay that gets pushed further back which I don't think works. Something to think about anyway. Yep, if he's playing in the same team as McTominay, it makes sense to me that Christie is the deeper player, as effectively they switched positions at club level. Though there's a part of me thinks Steve Clark knows more about this stuff than I do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Butters Scotch said: I do agree but when he does get on then i've noticed in a game recently anyway that Mctominay that gets pushed further back which I don't think works. Something to think about anyway. That's true, he was playing where McGregor normally plays during the last camp. It didn't stop him getting into the box when we got into the final third, but it changed the dynamic and affected our build up on the left side (having one less player). It might be one reason why we found it difficult in the first part of the Northern Ireland game to generate chances down the left. I haven't finished trying to work out what happened in that game after we moved to a back-4 so can't say yet, but that's one thing I'm looking at. Edited April 14 by 2426255 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 2 minutes ago, 2426255 said: I haven't finished trying to work out what happened in that game after we moved to a back-4 so can't say yet, but that's one thing I'm looking at. Seriously, are you still analysing the Northern Ireland game? That's commitment. If so, you have my blessing can take anything I say with a massive pinch of salt. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) 3 minutes ago, allyo said: Seriously, are you still analysing the Northern Ireland game? That's commitment. If so, you have my blessing can take anything I say with a massive pinch of salt. Yeah, I like understanding all the nuances. It's like trying to figure out what a chess master is thinking. Strategy and all that. I don't follow a club side so I have time to get really into the Scotland team. International Football is only 10 - 15 games a year so it works. If you re-watch a film three or four times you pick up the details you missed on a first viewing, that's all I'm doing. Edited April 14 by 2426255 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Fair play. On the other hand, I'd accept thst all of my comments are "ramblings". 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) 23 minutes ago, allyo said: Fair play. On the other hand, I'd accept thst all of my comments are "ramblings". Nah, i think you've been pretty on the mark mate. I just do it because I enjoy it, not for any other reason - ultimately it doesn't give you a better idea of what Clarke will do, just of what he's done - that's what I've found. If you want to try and figure out what Clarke will do you're probably better off studying Scotland opponents in terms of their strengths and weakness and that's a bridge too far for me. Edited April 14 by 2426255 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accies1874 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Yesterday was one of the best performances I've seen from him. It's just a shame he didn't take his chance to score, as he's apparently the Premier League player to take the most shots without a goal (according to the Totally Football Show on Thursday, anyway). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2426255 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 10 minutes ago, accies1874 said: Yesterday was one of the best performances I've seen from him. It's just a shame he didn't take his chance to score, as he's apparently the Premier League player to take the most shots without a goal (according to the Totally Football Show on Thursday, anyway). lol. That's always been a big criticism of him back when he was playing for Celtic and for Scotland he also is a bit guilty of that so no surprise to hear that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty-RCFC Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Echo above thoughts. Thought he was excellent yesterday. United couldn’t get near him and he was unlucky not to win that penalty at the end. His dad is still a horrible w****r. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoRaj Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 McGinn was brilliant there as a 6 for Aston Villa, maybe we should push him back as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 See when they talk about player positions in terms of numbers; why is it only ever even numbers? (Okay, nine is the exception) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butters Scotch Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 6 hours ago, MarkoRaj said: McGinn was brilliant there as a 6 for Aston Villa, maybe we should push him back as well. Maybe you should start a John McGinn thread and share your thoughts on there? -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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