FalkirkBairn2021 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) 12 minutes ago, eez-eh said: I swear if I see one more person saying it’s down to a lack of quality. There should be a note at the top of this page listing all the worse squads that have out performed us at tournaments over the last decade. We expect so little and yet constantly get less.. Iceland... unbeaten in the group in 2016. Northern Ireland .. made the knockout stages. We go in aiming for 4 points out of 3 games in what was hardly a group of death. And finish with 1. Having stunk the place out at the last Euros too. Edited June 24 by FalkirkBairn2021 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Saints Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Before the tournament started, it was a bit concerning to hear some soundbites coming from the Scotland camp via player interviews (e.g. ''It's been a while since we qualified for two consecutive Euros, so we're here to enjoy ourselves first and foremost''). If we qualified for a third consecutive Euros, would we hear similar quotes yet again? There comes a point when you've got to acknowledge that progress is imperative. We don't want the reputation of being some sort of jolly japester nation who opposition fans love but who provide nothing on the actual pitch and don't seem to care about it very much. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkirkBairn2021 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 1 minute ago, The Real Saints said: Before the tournament started, it was a bit concerning to hear some soundbites coming from the Scotland camp via player interviews (e.g. ''It's been a while since we qualified for two consecutive Euros, so we're here to enjoy ourselves first and foremost''). If we qualified for a third consecutive Euros, would we hear similar quotes yet again? There comes a point when you've got to acknowledge that progress is imperative. We don't want the reputation of being some sort of jolly japester nation who opposition fans love but who provide nothing on the actual pitch and don't seem to care about it very much. Our mentality was summed up when we were bodied by Ukraine at home in that WC playoff only to see fucking Wales dispose of them later . We're far too happy to be there. As long as the fans 'on manoeuvres ' have a guid drink all is well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 4 hours ago, FalkirkBairn2021 said: I thought Hungary were terrible given they absolutely had to win and we are pisspoor. Saw them give Germany loads of trouble in game 2 and expected more of the same. They were 15 seconds away from Hungarian p and b mauling them. But they did win. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Parr Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 6 minutes ago, The Real Saints said: Before the tournament started, it was a bit concerning to hear some soundbites coming from the Scotland camp via player interviews (e.g. ''It's been a while since we qualified for two consecutive Euros, so we're here to enjoy ourselves first and foremost''). If we qualified for a third consecutive Euros, would we hear similar quotes yet again? There comes a point when you've got to acknowledge that progress is imperative. We don't want the reputation of being some sort of jolly japester nation who opposition fans love but who provide nothing on the actual pitch and don't seem to care about it very much. As long as the wacky funsters win the imaginary off the field trophy, why should the actual football matter? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunfermline Don Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 It’s hard to believe that this time last year we were reaching almost 1978 levels of optimism about this tournament, expecting to at the very least be able to get out of the group. Being over here has been great, meeting other supporters from all over Europe. Visiting Munich, Koln & Stuttgart and being welcomed by the locals. Enjoying the beer and the food. Driving on the autobahn and having other Scots and Germans tooting and waving at the flags on our car. The only downside had been the performance of the football team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkirkBairn2021 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 4 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said: But they did win. With a last second goal. Because we played a 1-9 formation for the last 60 seconds. It should have been 0-0.. and they should have been booting themselves all the way home that they didn't do enough 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Just now, FalkirkBairn2021 said: With a last second goal. Because we played a 1-9 formation for the last 60 seconds. It should have been 0-0.. and they should have been booting themselves all the way home that they didn't do enough Hungary were shit, but completely out did us from a tactical perspective which is some doing from us. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC92 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 As well as the other examples, Australia's squad is mince and they got out of the WC groups with 6 points and gave a good account of themselves against Argentina in the knockouts. Lack of quality is not an excuse for such a pathetic effort. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) 5 minutes ago, FalkirkBairn2021 said: With a last second goal. Because we played a 1-9 formation for the last 60 seconds. It should have been 0-0.. and they should have been booting themselves all the way home that they didn't do enough If your Auntie had balls she'd be your uncle. If I was Hungary's manager, here's my post match analysis. We were great, very patient, we knew their plan and their weaknesses. Chances came and were missed, but I had every confidence we'd get one. We allowed them possession and hit on the break, like we've done in other games. Edited June 24 by Sergeant Wilson 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 2 hours ago, Salt n Vinegar said: The game finished about midnight here (Crete) and I'm just up (lazy git) so I've not had much chance to go over last night's match in much detail, so here's my knee-jerk reaction. I've only read the previous 2 pages here. Some neutrals started watching the game, but drifted away. There was nothing happening to make them want to stay. We were far too cautious. When I watch Scotland I'm not expecting them to play like fkkn Brazil, but to watch the ball constantly going sideways between 4 at the back was mind-numbing. Frankly we were boring. UEFA could have rented out the wings for a herd of cows to graze on and our "attacking play" wouldn't have inconvenienced them in the least. Some Scottish millionaire needs to set up a "wingers" factory. Our lack of guile going forward was grim. As for the manager's future? I don't know. Maybe last night is too recent to give a verdict. It looked to me that the team were definitely sticking to a plan, even although after about 20 minutes it was clear that the plan wasn't working. If there was no plan B, that's down to the manager. He seems to have a genuine rapport with the squad, but that clearly isn't producing the performances required at this level. Maybe keep him. If he fails to get us to the World Cup, he can always be sentenced to life imprisonment on Rockall. If there's another genuine contender who actually sees something in the available players then aye, give them a go. I'm in my 60's. I'd like to see us get to the second phase even once before I'm offski! I'm 71, I'm not going to see it now. Thought that last night was going to be it. My thinking never was that great... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbowrising Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 21 minutes ago, eez-eh said: I swear if I see one more person saying it’s down to a lack of quality. There should be a note at the top of this page listing all the worse squads that have out performed us at tournaments over the last decade. It is lack of quality. Lack of ability across the squad leaving glaring weaknesses. The lack of being able to play keep-ball and control a game at this level. The lack of tactical awareness to stop fucking up. Those "worse squads" found a way. We never do. Ever. We live on the back of "we never make it easy, eh?" which is meaningless when you fail every single time. We do win the comedy scotsman award that the tourists just love. It is not just a coach. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 16 hours ago, Savage Henry said: Hearts fans on social media are imbeciles. Most of them on here seem to realise Adams is a much better option for this team than an overweight Shankland, but on Twitter they seem to want Clarke hung, drawn and quartered. Even as a Hearts fan watching the Switzerland game in the boozer I was going to strangle the next person to go on about Shankland. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceiling Granny Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Poor “game management” in all three games imo. Last night going from being fairly conservative to all out hung ho with no middle step was always going to be high risk. The timing of subs, changes in formation etc across all three games has been rotten. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo den Bieman Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 27 minutes ago, FalkirkBairn2021 said: We expect so little and yet constantly get less.. Iceland... unbeaten in the group in 2016. Northern Ireland .. made the knockout stages. We go in aiming for 4 points out of 3 games in what was hardly a group of death. And finish with 1. Having stunk the place out at the last Euros too. Yes, after an absolutely heroic display by Mikey McGovern kept Germany to a 1-0 win. Compare that to our embarrassment in the opening game- on paper our side much superior to NI's back then. They really had the right attitutude to that game which we sadly lacked. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Ferguson's Hat Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 We're at the wrong airport. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted June 24 Author Share Posted June 24 Just now, Barry Ferguson's Hat said: We're at the wrong airport. Well go to the right airport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthurlie1981 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Right own up. Who took their private jet to Stuttgart! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoingThe42 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 I think in tournaments we are now shackled so strongly to our history of failing to get out of groups that we've developed a mental block when it comes to tournaments. It's such a big thing in the national consciousness that we approach winning a game at a tournament like it's some remarkable achievement that would be worthy of honours being dished out. It isn't. It's really simple, you just have a go and beat one of the other average/bad teams. Other teams do it all the time without being better than us. It's an over-simplification to lay all the blame on mentality, but we definitely have an inferiority complex in these tournaments, when the reality is that most of the teams in these competitions aren't very good. We are a pretty poor side with the injuries limiting us at the moment. That back three is dreadful for this level and off the bench we were limited. I don't think Clarke got it right last night, but I'm prepared to cut him a bit of slack considering he was missing three of the most important players in the team from the start. That is a tough ask for any middling team like us at this level, and if we'd had a full-strength squad I think we'd probably have got through. Neither of the other two teams we faced have been any good. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elixir Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) We would be better served if more of our squad played abroad in more technical leagues. The Premier League is the best marketed league in the world, but I'm unconvinced it will improve you technically if you're not already gifted in that respect - certainly as much as others anyway. Sure, players born on the continent move there, but many were already brought up learning to love the ball, rather than lump it. Coaches and managers in England, as in Scotland, are also largely dinosaurs in comparison to their continental counterparts. Spain, Germany, France, holders Italy - all only have a few players in their entire squad who play in England. Portugal buck that trend a bit, admittedly, but again, players like Silva, Fernandes, Jota, Dias would have been raised to play football completely differently to players in Scotland. Technical ability is valued so much more. Austria only have one player in their squad who plays in England, and it isn't even the Premier League. Similar can be said of nations that should inspire us long-term, like Croatia, and those at this tournament that have completely shown us up, at least performance wise, like Slovakia, Georgia and Albania. In summary, the Premier League may be a fast-paced, blood and thunder league that is entertaining to watch, but I don't think it prepares you as well as leagues on the continent do for international football, particularly tournaments. It should be noted that England have also suffered from this over the years (decades). Bellingham is their best player and he will almost certainly play most of his career outside the EPL bubble, if not all of it. I probably fell into the trap of overestimating our current potential based on how many of our strongest eleven when fit play in the Premier League - either for good sides or some of the bigger clubs. As has been covered, Clarke barely played Ferguson pre-injury, and young, promising guys like Doig and Max Johnston have barely been in the squad. The latter would have been an improvement on Ralston, for example. More players playing in Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, etc, and a manager who can get the most out of the squad in front of him would certainly take us further than we are now. We need to encourage more players to be brave and embrace this - it will also improve you as a person as well as a player adapting to new cultures, hopefully learning the language of most of your teammates, ideally not binge drinking and scraning chippies, and so on. Is there enough will there to be different, however? Edited June 25 by Elixir 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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