🔵🟡Scotland v Poland 🔴⚪

[Scary Bear]

42 minutes ago, Unleash The Nade said:

Paint it any way you like .

Your original post was still defeatist and accepting failure 

I support Raith Rovers and Scotland. If I didn’t have some sort of general acceptance of failure I’d have to completely give up on Scottish football.

[Iain]

8 minutes ago, Frankie S said:

I wouldn’t blame Gunn for the first goal - it was right in the corner, in off the post, and took a wicked bounce up off the surface. He might have saved the second penalty, but the fault lay with McGinn and Hanley there.

Not sure about that. It only ended up in the corner because of his feeble effort to save it.

[Sarto Mutiny]

1 hour ago, Crùbag said:

Am not sure what's eating Shankland at the moment. He's patently off the boil in a stuttering/ failing Hearts team too at the moment. I would disagree re not harassing opposing defenders. In his spell at Hearts, until recently, he's contanstly working hard to pull defenders this way or that, involve other teammates, make space and direct, as well as being a superb finisher. I'd rather have him in there than Dykes or Adams.

He was really poor against United on Sunday. Was better last night, but yes, something's not right - not sure if it's fitness or attitude. Or both.

[Sarto Mutiny]

To repeat a point I made about Ralston at the Euros, for all his faults, he never ever hides. He was actually one of our better players aside from the penalty brainfart, but we have to accept that with Ralston you are likely to get one of those per game.

He's a very limited footballer, but he's there because we have very few other options. I fear we may never see Aaron Hickey at international level again.

Edited September 6 by Sarto Mutiny
can't type

[Gaz]

3 minutes ago, Sarto Mutiny said:

He was really poor against United on Sunday. Was better last night, but yes, something's not right - not sure if it's fitness or attitude. Or both.

He was absolutely gash when he came on against us a few weeks back. Looks like he doesn't want to be there.

[No_Problemo]

12 minutes ago, BFTD said:

Aye, I'm surprised that doesn't get mentioned more - either we need someone to run to the far post, or he needs to play the ball in to where his teammates always are. So many wasted attacks, and it's incredible that this hasn't been sorted.

Welcome to the Tartan Army subforum. Folk have this odd idea that, if your best players aren't good enough, there must be better ones just kicking their heels somewhere and the manager is too lazy to look for them.

Yes,  because we have absolutely no other options other than to play McLean in central midfield. 

[Sugar_Army]

11 hours ago, dundeefc1783 said:

Just home from game. 

I am getting fed up of it taking f**king ages to get home from Hampden. I can accept it taking an age to get away from the ground however, it's almost every game now that there is constant road closures, over night roadworks etc. Tonight it was the slip from the M73 to M80 closed meaning a f**king huge diversion to just come back on ourselves then further along the M80 more f**king roadworks with nose to tail traffic for miles. 

Surely to f**k when Scotland are playing these works can be delayed until after midnight to let the traffic get away.

It's just not worth the hassle for these midweek games 

I am the same. 

Once took 4 hrs to get to Hampden from Dundee for that 2-2 qualifier v Poland a few years back. 

We were already trailing by then to a Lewendoski goal (where have I heard that before) and then we pulled it back and lost another late goal (where have I heard that before).  Then to find out "lesser" nations had got better results on the night (where have I heard that before).

Then we finally got home after 1am.  Not great on a school night!

By the time you pay for a ticket, petrol, a bite to eat (without the pub) you are easily £50 out of pocket.

Last night I chose to sit and watch it in a pub.  That is from somebody that first Scotland game was 1973, multiple home internationals, friendlies, Euros, World Cups  following Scotland.

Even after suffering a stroke on Hogmany, I went to Germany and watched three abysmal performances, forking out for a two week trip as well as 200 euros for the Switzerland game and 150 euros for Hungary game.  Times that by how many others can say the same thing...even more for those that had to make financial sacrifices to get there.

Although last night we played better, individual players need to stop making basic errors.  We are not Brazil, who have the attitude of if you score 3, we wll score 4.

[JS_FFC]

12 minutes ago, Sarto Mutiny said:

To repeat a point I made about Ralston at the Euros, for all his faults, he never ever hides. He was actually one of our better players aside from the penalty brainfart, but we have to accept that with Ralston you are likely to get one of those per game.

He's a very limited footballer, but he's there because we have very few other options. I fear we may never see Aaron Hickey at international level again.

Hickey is only 22. What are you talking about?

[Sarto Mutiny]

2 minutes ago, JS_FFC said:

Hickey is only 22. What are you talking about?

The nature of his injury. He's been out for near enough a year, and there are no signs of him coming back. Even if he does come back, the amount of scar tissue his hamstring will have makes him much more susceptible to that type of injury happening again, even assuming he can get back to his previous performance levels. I really hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't look great.

[Boo Khaki]

30 minutes ago, BFTD said:

Aye, I'm surprised that doesn't get mentioned more - either we need someone to run to the far post, or he needs to play the ball in to where his teammates always are. So many wasted attacks, and it's incredible that this hasn't been sorted.

Welcome to the Tartan Army subforum. Folk have this odd idea that, if your best players aren't good enough, there must be better ones just kicking their heels somewhere and the manager is too lazy to look for them.

Very rare that Robertson actually gets his head up before he crosses the ball in. This has been a habit since he first started playing for Scotland. 

It's not as egregious when he has a bit of time on the ball, but when it's a bombing run down the wing he invariably whips the ball in without even bothering to look and see if there is anyone to actually cross it towards. 

Always been my biggest bugbear with him, although he has a habit of popping up and doing something special just as soon as he's pissed me off enough that I start vocally complaining about it in the pub. Arsehole 

[Boo Khaki]

27 minutes ago, Sarto Mutiny said:

He was really poor against United on Sunday. Was better last night, but yes, something's not right - not sure if it's fitness or attitude. Or both.

 

23 minutes ago, Gaz said:

He was absolutely gash when he came on against us a few weeks back. Looks like he doesn't want to be there.

He was also honking in the loss at Dens, and every time I put the Falkirk LC tie on he was daundering aboot with his head down looking totally disinterested.

[troopio]

2 hours ago, Skyline Drifter said:

Yeah there's a lot of rewriting history going on here. Prior to his achilles injury at the tail end of  2022/23 Grant Hanley was pretty clearly our best centre back, and one of the quickest players in the squad. He was then out for about a year give or take. He came back around Xmas 2023 but it was too early and he wasn't right and Norwich sent him back into rehab. He went to the Euros anyway, partly because of a lack of better options maybe, but he went. The lack of match sharpness cost him his starting position but Porteous' aberration v Germany let him back in and actually he barely put a foot wrong in the 2.5 games he played in Germany. He damn near won us both the Swiss and Hungarian games for good measure.

It's not ideal that he has only started a couple of games for Norwich this season certainly but with Hendry and Tierney out and Porteous not starting either he was always likely to play. The problem is that as I suggested above, playing centre half in a four exposes his lack of match sharpness more than playing sweeper in a three does. He was still very good for 95 minutes last night though and the ridiculous challenge ruined what was actually a pretty good showing. Maybe he doesn't feel he needs to make that challenge if there's a five. Indeed it's probably not him tracking that run if Hendry's playing. He's probably the one waiting to cut out anything that comes over.

At 32 Hanley isn't needing pushed out for one error. I'd still pick him ahead of any of the other centre halves in the team personally, but I'd prefer him at sweeper. Again though the cost of that more secure formation is a loss of body in the midfield or wing and we're maybe less adventurous. I suspect it's what we'll do in Lisbon. I don't see us starting with three high players over there.

If you think Hanley deserves to even still be in the squad let alone playing you are part of the problem. He is a Fat useless Caveman who is slower than a week in Jail. 

[troopio]

32 minutes ago, Sarto Mutiny said:

To repeat a point I made about Ralston at the Euros, for all his faults, he never ever hides. He was actually one of our better players aside from the penalty brainfart, but we have to accept that with Ralston you are likely to get one of those per game.

He's a very limited footballer, but he's there because we have very few other options. I fear we may never see Aaron Hickey at international level again.

We have 100000 people like Ralston who care but does not mean they should be playing either. He is not good enough end of story. His job is to defend and he cost the team with his horrific Sunday League standard of defending. Him and Fat Hanley should be put out the squad today and never selected again. 

[BFTD]

7 minutes ago, Boo Khaki said:

Very rare that Robertson actually gets his head up before he crosses the ball in. This has been a habit since he first started playing for Scotland. 

It's not as egregious when he has a bit of time on the ball, but when it's a bombing run down the wing he invariably whips the ball in without even bothering to look and see if there is anyone to actually cross it towards. 

Always been my biggest bugbear with him, although he has a habit of popping up and doing something special just as soon as he's pissed me off enough that I start vocally complaining about it in the pub. Arsehole 

TBF, he put some cracking crosses in for an invisible far-post poacher last night.

Imagine if we'd had one.

[Skyline Drifter]

1 hour ago, No_Problemo said:

Why would you not want defenders in a four that can play the ball out? That makes absolutely no sense to me. Particularly when Ralston is the right back and McKenna is the other centre half. 

I’m not in the permanently cast aside camp tbf, just don’t think he offers enough on the ball to be a starter if it’s beside McKenna. 

He did it against Ukraine, and it suggests he isn’t slow. 

Meh, I'm a big fan of a defender's, particular a central defender's, primary task being to defend. I'd play our best defenders at centre back whether they can pass a ball or not. For me at this point Hanley is still a better defender than Porteous. As I said though, he's more exposed for his lack of sharpness when we play a four. I think Porteous would be too for that matter. He's not missed the whole of last season right enough but he's not starting for his club currently either. I think they'll both play on Sunday because I'm pretty sure away to Portugal we'll be back in a five.

McKenna and Porteous played as a pair in a four at Ukraine largely because he had no other choice. He didn't have anyone else of note available. They got away with it, with Porteous having an outstanding game, but I wouldn't want to see it regularly. I mean McKenna self evidently IS slow. He can't help that and he has other qualities, but I'm not sure why we're arguing over it. Right now he's our best available centre half probably. He's just not quick.

[Boo Khaki]

2 minutes ago, BFTD said:

TBF, he put some cracking crosses in for an invisible far-post poacher last night.

Imagine if we'd had one.

If we had an invisible far-post poacher that would be awesome. Being able to sneak 12 players on the pitch, and the defence wouldn't have a clue how to pick him up at set-pieces.

[Sarto Mutiny]

16 minutes ago, troopio said:

We have 100000 people like Ralston who care but does not mean they should be playing either. He is not good enough end of story. His job is to defend and he cost the team with his horrific Sunday League standard of defending. Him and Fat Hanley should be put out the squad today and never selected again. 

And we should replace them with...who, exactly? I wish we had more talented players waiting in the wings, but we really don't. Therein lies the problem. 

[BFTD]

7 minutes ago, Boo Khaki said:

If we had an invisible far-post poacher that would be awesome. Being able to sneak 12 players on the pitch, and the defence wouldn't have a clue how to pick him up at set-pieces.

It's possible we did, only he was the ghost of Chris Iwelumo  

[Wee Jock Poopong McPlop]

2 hours ago, Scary Bear said:

My attitude is that we were 2-0 down and at least we had enough about us to get ourselves back to a position at 2-2 where we weren’t losing. No one likes losing. Football is all about winning. Personally, I have no time for draws, but I like a team to have the fight in it to come back into a game they’ve made a poor start to.

Croatia are a small nation who have reached two World Cup Semi-finals and a World Cup Final in recent times. Any Scotland fan would bite your hand off for that sort of history. Scotland are a small nation who have done f**k all worth talking about on the international scene for their entire history.

In the 1920s Scotland were the world’s best international team. 

Probably. 

[BFTD]

13 minutes ago, Wee Jock Poopong McPlop said:

In the 1920s Scotland were the world’s best international team. 

Probably. 

Shame the World Cup/European Championships hadn't started in the 19th century. It would be interesting to look back on how we'd failed to get past the group stage when there were only two international sides.

"In 1874, Scotland lost the opening game of the World Cup by a walkover against a placeholder Wales team, after the newly-formed SFA refused to pay for the players to travel by train. The time needed to travel by horse and cart was miscalculated, and the team arrived three days too late".