Euro 2024 Expectations

[Monkey Tennis]

That Norway game gave me more delight than any other football match in the last 3 or 4 years.

We got bloody lucky though, in yanking the unlikeliest looking win out of nowhere.

1-1 would have felt like a smash and grab.  

[Skyline Drifter]

12 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said:

That Norway game gave me more delight than any other football match in the last 3 or 4 years.

We got bloody lucky though, in yanking the unlikeliest looking win out of nowhere.

1-1 would have felt like a smash and grab.  

Yeah, this is all true.  We offered pretty much nothing positive for 88 minutes.

For what it's worth though, I don't think Norway battered us either. They had more of the ball and were the better side. They weren't bombarding us though. They scored a soft penalty (but should have had a far more stonewall one earlier in the game), missed a good headed chance and had a shot from outside the box narrowly deflected round the post by Cooper. I don't recall much else but it was a year ago and I've maybe forgotten something. I recall thinking it was a disappointing performance from us more than that we were especially lucky to only be one down.

[Butters Scotch]

1 hour ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Yeah, this is all true.  We offered pretty much nothing positive for 88 minutes.

For what it's worth though, I don't think Norway battered us either. They had more of the ball and were the better side. They weren't bombarding us though. They scored a soft penalty (but should have had a far more stonewall one earlier in the game), missed a good headed chance and had a shot from outside the box narrowly deflected round the post by Cooper. I don't recall much else but it was a year ago and I've maybe forgotten something. I recall thinking it was a disappointing performance from us more than that we were especially lucky to only be one down.

I wouldnt' say they battered us either but were definitely the more dominant team.

I would say we were battered in the 0-0 Ukraine away game though, completely outplayed again like the play off home leg.

[BFTD]

The 2-1 Norway win was clearly a tactical masterclass by Steve Clarke.

In seriousness, the plan was presumably to keep things tight and see what was necessary in the final half-hour, especially as we were up against the greatest striker in the entire world ever. I doubt Clarke ever considered it would work out so perfectly, though - none of us were expecting a win even before the game, surely.

Despite having a couple of world-class players, Norway are still a bit mediocre though; kinda similar to us through most of the wilderness years. People seemed to think they'd kick on after blitzing Armenia a few years ago, but it hasn't happened yet.

[2426255]

Not our best performance and we carried some luck, but the Norway game was well managed. Steve Clarke made the point that they chose not to the chase the game after going behind and instead waiting until the last 10 minutes before opening up. It was something mentioned after the Netherlands friendly as we to opened up early and ended up getting thumped.

Quote

That’s what we have to get better at and then we have to learn when the game starts to move away from us, stick to what we are good at, try and tiptoe your way back into the game. We didn’t do that. We made the pitch too open. We can stay 2-0 and maybe you don’t get the 2-1. But if it finishes 2-0 you can maybe say, ‘It was really good but we lost the game’. That can happen. We have to be a little bit more conscious of the fact that we stay in the game. 

We spoke about it after Norway. It was a different game, but we stayed in the game. Everybody gave me a little bit of stick when I put Liam Cooper on as a substitute, but it was just so that we stayed in the game and we always had that chance going into the last 10 minutes of the game where one goal gave us a draw. We were lucky enough to get two goals and get the win. So they know how to do it, but they forgot how to do it the other night.

Steve Clarke

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/steve-clarke-scotland-hearts-factor-craig-gordon-euro-2024-4568818

[Skyline Drifter]

39 minutes ago, BFTD said:

The 2-1 Norway win was clearly a tactical masterclass by Steve Clarke.

In seriousness, the plan was presumably to keep things tight and see what was necessary in the final half-hour, especially as we were up against the greatest striker in the entire world ever. I doubt Clarke ever considered it would work out so perfectly, though - none of us were expecting a win even before the game, surely.

Despite having a couple of world-class players, Norway are still a bit mediocre though; kinda similar to us through most of the wilderness years. People seemed to think they'd kick on after blitzing Armenia a few years ago, but it hasn't happened yet.

Expecting? No, not expecting. But I certainly thought we could win and had a 50/50 shot at it going in. I'd have happily taken a draw. In the event though we were very much 2nd best without letting them have too many scoring chances. It ended up classic smash and grab.

[Monkey Tennis]

5 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Yeah, this is all true.  We offered pretty much nothing positive for 88 minutes.

For what it's worth though, I don't think Norway battered us either. They had more of the ball and were the better side. They weren't bombarding us though. They scored a soft penalty (but should have had a far more stonewall one earlier in the game), missed a good headed chance and had a shot from outside the box narrowly deflected round the post by Cooper. I don't recall much else but it was a year ago and I've maybe forgotten something. I recall thinking it was a disappointing performance from us more than that we were especially lucky to only be one down.

Yes, agreed.

There was no travesty in the 1-0 scoreline.  As the game was bumping along, our best bet looked like 0-0, but after Norway scored, it seemed that the game was beyond us.

I'd have killed to escape with a draw at that point.   To get an equaliser and then an immediate winner was just crazy.  If it had happened to us, I'd have been bemoaning the fates, citing it as incontrovertible proof of God hating me.   

 

Edited May 9 by Monkey Tennis

[nate]

On 01/05/2024 at 18:49, craigkillie said:

Who do you think is going to be out of position in our defence?

KT. His natural position is left back, not left CB

[craigkillie]

I think we have dozens of games of evidence of him playing there for club and country to suggest that it's a position he is more than capable of playing.

[Bing.McCrosby]

48 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

I think we have dozens of games of evidence of him playing there for club and country to suggest that it's a position he is more than capable of playing.

For country yeah, for clubs hes hardly played there.

You got it wrong, just own it.

[JS_FFC]

What a load of shite.

 

There’s a major difference between playing someone in a position that he’s a played dozens, if not hundreds of times, at a level as high as his main position, and playing someone “out of position”.

[Bing.McCrosby]

Just now, JS_FFC said:

What a load of shite.

 

There’s a major difference between playing someone in a position that he’s a played dozens, if not hundreds of times, at a level as high as his main position, and playing someone “out of position”.

Hundreds of times

[craigkillie]

2 hours ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

For country yeah, for clubs hes hardly played there.

You got it wrong, just own it.

He played there a fair few times for Arsenal, including in the 2020 FA Cup final.

[Bing.McCrosby]

1 hour ago, craigkillie said:

He played there a fair few times for Arsenal, including in the 2020 FA Cup final.

It would be fair to say would it not that he has played the vast majority of his career as a left back. 

At club level hes very rarely played there. In terms of percentage of his games it would be tiny.

So yeah when he plays there for us, hes out of position. Theres nothing to debate.

 

[Skyline Drifter]

Suggesting at this stage that Kieran Tierney featuring on the left of a three is playing 'out of position' is an incredibly wild take. 

At least in Scotland terms he'd be more 'out of position' playing left back! 

[Bing.McCrosby]

Just now, Skyline Drifter said:

Suggesting at this stage that Kieran Tierney featuring on the left of a three is playing 'out of position' is an incredibly wild take. 

At least in Scotland terms he'd be more 'out of position' playing left back! 

I think he may be able to adapt considering thats where he's played nearly all his career.

Edited May 14 by Bing.McCrosby

[Butters Scotch]

KT is a natural LB, a lot of his qualities are going forward up the wing and getting dangerous balls into the box aswell as being a very competent defender playing at a high level. Even though he's classed as a LCB for Scotland, he's mainly playing as a LB when in possession with Robertson a bit further forward on the wing. 

He's found out at the likes of Arsenal though when he has to cut inside, it's totally unsuited to him hence why Arteta doesn't play him and as a CB for Scotland he's not the best dealing with balls into the box IMO, gets beaten in the air too much for my liking and not a natural CB to me

[2426255]

he's an unnatural Left Centre Back.

[JS_FFC]

4 hours ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

Hundreds of times

The majority of his 43 caps have come at LCB, plus his first season and a half at Arsenal.

[lubo_blaha]

He never plays left wing back in a five for his club either. He’d clearly be out of position wherever we play him.