Pretty poor really overall. We need to move away from the system Burley employed today - it just didn't work. McFadden can't cope with playing up top on his own, and punting high balls him really didn't do us any favours.

Scott Brown had a great game today, as did Craig Gordon. Maloney looked threatening too. Gordon got us out of jail with a couple of good saves.

Seriously though, how the fuck did Iwelumo miss that?

We should give Iwelumo another chance, he was actually not bad, if he had put that away he might have a got a few more. We were a better team in the second half when he and fletcher came on.

First half we dominated possession but yet had only 1 shot on target compared to Norway who had 6. Says it all really - we don't have the quality in forward positions to create chances. Since we don't have someone like Carew (who was different class) we need to play 2 up front especially at home.

Best for Scotland - Naysmith & Brown.

Poorest - Both centre halfs struggled, Fletcher isn't a bad player but isn't the type of dominating player that Burley is trying to play him as and it worrys me when we play a player with as little pace as Morrison on the wing.

The rest were average at best.

I think too much is sometimes expected of Fletcher. I know he plays for Man Utd, and by all accounts has been doing well for them this season, but watch the way he plays, he isn't the type of player that can dictate play. We miss Ferguson for that, I think the midfield will be far better organised when he returns.

I agree, Fletcher is an unnoticed man when at his best, making the passes and mopping up. We put too much expectation on him to be an attacking driving midfielder which he is not, and he is not the type that can dictate play.

I have to say Caldwell annoyed me today, Broadfoot looked far the more accomplished defender than he did, how many times did the Norwegians drag him under the ball towards the end, must have done it 4 or 5 times! I worry about our defence, it doesn't have pace bar Hutton perhaps, and the centre backs certainly don't. I'd like us to bleed in the younger guys in defence to be honest, and indeed internationally.

The tactics were wrong today, and Maloney seemed to constantly loose the ball for a spell, Morrison was invisible for large parts and McFadden seems to be a bit over-hyped. He cetainly is not a centre-forward who can win a ball, hold and distribute on his own, which is disappointing.

Yep. He's not the player to unlock defences like some seem to think he is.



I've been a huge critic of Broadfoot and I agree. Broadfoot certainly handled Carew better than Caldwell.



Indeed. Very, very shoddy system. McFadden IS capable, but he's not good enough to play that kind of role on his own. Punting long balls for him doesn't do him any favours either. Morrison didn't offer us much, although I thought Maloney did look our only real threat going forward.

16000 views already---------i smell a youtube hit

terrible miss anyway - i was at the other end and we all thought it was in

I've got neither the time nor inclination to go through this entire thread now so some of what I'm about to say might already have been mentioned. I was at the game and I've seen some of the highlights, though not all of them.

It was a poor performance overall, and whilst we were without one or two of our better players (Ferguson, Hutton, Miller to name but three and I suppose you could throw in McManus if you really wanted to), it really wasn't good enough. I'm not a Burley critic particularly and was quite please when he was appointed but some of his decisions today were just baffling. No Boyd either starting (which in the absence of Miller was a no brainer) or even as a sub is completely bemusing. Taking off McFadden and leaving the completely ineffective Maloney on was also odd. If you gave Maloney a carrier bag with 100 pieces of paper in it, 99 of which said "Right Option" on them and the other one said "Wrong Option" guess which one he'd pick? EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TIME! I accept he has ability on the ball and in the first quarter hour he looked like he might have the unlocking of their back line but Jesus time after time second half he cut inside when he should have gone out or vice versa. He ran into traffic when it was obvious where it was. In one run into the box and cross Naysmith did more than Maloney did all day. Sticking the two subs on he did wasn't necessarily bad (though I'd still have had Boyd on) but he should have moved Faddy out wide and removed Maloney.

For all that, and whatever faults there might have been, if Iwelumo could knock the ball into the empty net from three yards out we'd have won anyway and no-one would care. I felt for the big guy who actually did ok when he came on. It's not his fault the manager inexplicably pinned his hopes on him and not Boyd. But you have to score from there, come on. He took it with the wrong foot but it still wasn't difficult. Hell, he could have stopped it, got down on his hands and knees and nosed the damn thing over the line!

He was actually offside too which should have saved his blushes but inexplicably the assistant missed that too.

Oh well, back to the drawing board. Any thought of challenging the Dutch for top is almost certainly gone with five points dropped. I thought Radio Scotland were over-reacting on the way home. We're not as good as out. We're still well in the hunt for second. Iceland are as good as out of it already really. Norway have dropped four points themselves and been held at home by Iceland (in many ways a worse result than losing in Macedonia). The Macedonians won't travel well enough to get second and have already lost at home to the Dutch. I still think we'll most likely get second if we can avoid defeat in Oslo. Even if we get nothing from the Dutch. It remains to be seen worryingly though, as we all take points off one another, if we might end up as the 9th of the 2nd place teams and go out anyway. That would be the Scottish way.

Like SD, I am just going to post my thoughts on the match (which I posted on Our Scotland)

Well, where do I start after that performance?

We had the majority of possession, but never looked like doing anything with it. The few times Norway got the ball, it was head in the hands stuff as they carved through the Scottish defence.

Before the match I was willing to give Burley the benefit of any doubt. I liked his attacking mentality and thought that any criticism was perhaps a wee bit unfair after so few games, but after today I have no sympathy.

Before I go any further, I do not support either Celtic or Rangers so any praise, or more likely criticism, is not based on petty rivalry.

I had slight doubts about Burley's selections in previous games when he brought on Kris Commons. I have no doubt he is an excellent player, but is he good enough to pull on the Scotland jersey?

Those doubts were carried forward into this match. It is all very well going for a 4-3-3 formation, but you would think at least one of the front players should be an out an out striker. A finisher. Someone with clinical instinct.

Maloney and McFadden are more creative players, although McFadden has done great of late. And James Morrison? Maybe it's my ignorance of football, but does he merit a starting place?

Onto the game, Scotland started brightly with a couple of corners and my hopes started to rise. But it wasn't long before it was obvious that we would have a good deal of possession, but no cutting edge.

At the other end, we were being sliced open more times than a carcus on a butcher's table. Weir in the centre of defence FFS? He is 38!! And Broadfoot gave the ball away more times than I have got fingers, so I lost count.

Thought Burley called it right when he made the changes though. It was the perfect time. Get Boyd on in place of Morrison to partner McFadden up front. Perfect partnership.

But what is this? He is bringing McFadden OFF? Barely 55 minutes gone and he is bringing off Scotland's most creative player? That is OK, he is putting on a proven goalscorer, Boyd.

NO?

WHO?

Iwelumo?

Maybe it is my ignorance coming through again, but WTF?

Nevermind at least it is a striker.

Second later......ball into the box, Iwelumo is 2 yards out. He is in the centre of the goal. It is an open goal! He must score! He has put it f_______ wide?????!!!!!!!

I was sitting in the pub watching it. I honestly thought that he had slotted it into the back of the net and the reason he had his hands on his head was because he was offside. Boyd must have been sitting on the bench thinking WTF do I have to do to get a game.

If Scotland can't win matches like this, the pure and simple fact is they don't deserve to go to the finals of the World Cup and if George Burley doesn't pick a decent team from now on, surely he should be out of a job.

I never ever thought I would say this, but bring back Craig Brown!!

Pretty sure he wasn't offside, and Maloney had 2 good chances to score, he actually looked one of Scotland's better players with Broadfoot, and Brown.

The qualification is effectively over now though, Holland will administer the fatal blow in March.

I just watched that video about 18 times, fuk knows how he missed it but i hope he comes back from it, CMON CHRIS.

Im sort of wondering whether i want holland to storm the group now meaning wins against iceland and macedonia at home and a draw in oslo would get us a great chance of play offs.

I've seen it once live in the stadium (but was almost bang in line with it) and once on the highlights so I haven't studied it over and over but I thought he was offside at the time and the highlights looked to confirm it for me. But I didn't hear the post match discussion so maybe they looked at it in slow mo and he wasn't?

Ultimately though it doesn't much matter. He wasn't GIVEN offside so the goal would have counted and it's a dreadful miss.

End of the day we still had plenty of time to score after this miss but never really created anything after this.

I'm sure everything has already been covered but I'll add my voice to the bemusement over the starting formation and the total exclusion of Boyd. I'm not a massive Kris Boyd fan but yesterday's second half suited him perfectly. He shouldn't start every game for Scotland (or Rangers but that's a different arguement) but there are times that it's glaringly obvious what he'd bring to the side. Instead Burley gives two guys their competitive debuts! Majorly disappointed with the manager after yesterday. Folk will say we don't have the players but the ones we do have weren't given a chance with the way they were set up for the first 55 minutes.

Starting one up front was wrong. Not having Boyd in the squad was wrong. Removing McFadden was wrong. Starting with Barry Robson on the right wing was wrong.

I'm not generally a critic of Burley's, but there are four major tactical decisions that were so obvious but so, so wrong. For me, Norway were there for the taking in huge spells. Scotland had most of the ball, and most of Norway's threat was on the break, and everything went through Carew.

Didn't notice this at the match because I was sitting at the far end - but how the f**k did we not get a penalty when their man wrestled a Scotland player to the ground. Saw it on the highlights last night and don't understand how the ref didn't give it!

The pub I was in went crazy thinking he had scored before he had even touched it. Folk were hugging each other before my mate pointed out to me "it didn't go in". I have never heard so many people ask "how did he miss that?!" in such a short space of time!

I don't know why Kris Boyd never came on at any stage. It was a scrappy game and would have suited Boyd. He would have made an impact and surely have finished the tap in. Burley didn't seem to tinker with the formation and stuck with the same approach. Does Barry Robson not know how to take a corner, every corner he struck was gash. Fletcher goes missing in too many games. If Barry Ferguson is fit he should play Ferguson and Brown in the middle with Fletcher on the right. Hopefully when Hutton is fit he will make a difference. He is one player with real quality. Qualification is going to be a struggle now, but still think we are in a decent position. Hopefully Holland can go on and win all their remaining games excluding our 2 games against them. Just watching Sky Sports highlights ''Unbelievable he's missed it''! He could have taken a touch and walked it into the net.

Christ. Words fail me.

Craig Brown

We play 4-3-3 but without an out and out striker in the team i don't blame Boyd if he does tell Burley to f**k off, man is a idiot

It was Steven Fletcher wrestled to the ground. I was at the right end to see it and I have to say whilst there were a few muted shouts for it, I didn't seriously think it was a penalty at the time at all. Having seen it on telly it most certainly should have been but since I didn't think at the time it was one myself I don't suppose I can be too harsh on the ref for not giving it, although he was much closer.


Should have been at Hampden then, there were about 51,000 doing exactly the same.

Everyone just stood about looking at each other and wondering how on earth it didn't go in for what seemed like ages. Then looking in vain for an offside flag to excuse it (and having seen it another two or three times this morning I still think he WAS offside).

So do I. He was definitely marginally offside.

I feel for him to be honest, it was just one of those things. Got his body angle all wrong.