harry94 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Well we play Poland and Gibraltar next month and are still in with a decent chance of reaching the Euros but regardless of whether we eventually qualify, we are going to be in a position where we will need to get new blood in the team as some of the players are declining. In attempting to keep a consistent team together and a squad that can play together, we've ended with a worse squad a year into the qualification campaign just because nature has taken it's course. Last night, the only players who we fielded who I think will improve and get better are Hanley, McArthur, Forrest (although I still don't think he's good enough), Ritchie and Martin. I don't think we should be severing ties with anybody (some of the squad will hopefully age well) but we do need to have a spine of the team that get the opportunity to consistently play with each other and settle. Wales have benefited from some very good players but more importantly, they have persisted with youngish players through a bad spell and the teams they field have a healthy average age. The average age of their squad comes out to be 25.4 and we work out at 28.1. Although that difference doesn't seem to be that big, it is much more difficult to hit international campaigns with around half of your squad at an age where they are expected to decline (endurance plays a massive part in this sport and when half of your team and most of your established players are in their late 20s, it's generally the case that their physical attributes drop off). So, if we were to create a new spine and get a group of players playing together consistently, who would you want to be involved? I'd be aiming for something like: [GK] [RB] Hanley [CB] Robertson Jack McArthur GMS Armstrong Ritchie Watt Hanley - One of our only young centre backs. He's the best we've got and will hopefully improve quite a bit. 23 years old. Robertson - Not much to explain. 21 years old. Jack - This is an ambitious shout but hear me out. He's not quite at the level of our other midfield players but he's not a million miles away either. From limited viewings, he strikes me as someone who'd fit in to the style of play in international football. When he does his job, he isn't noticed. He generally seems to understand the role he is playing very well and whenever any player needs him to relieve some pressure or change the direction of play, he's always there. Barry Ferguson was, contrary to common belief, a very good player for us (and in general). Having someone with that sort of consistency in the side is vital as it allows other players to feel comfortable in playing their own game. Although I don't think he's totally ready, I don't really see a like for like young alternative. Brown and Fletcher are getting on while other midfielders are of a different style. Most people seem to agree that Jack will play for Scotland eventually and I don't see the point in waiting about. 23 years old. McArthur - He's a really terrific player with a brilliant work rate (defensively and going forward), composure and a good footballing brain. At Palace, he's been outstanding recently and really looks comfortable at that level. He's picked up some starts for Scotland before and hasn't done himself justice but he's more mature now and we really need to play him consistently to get the best out of him. 27 years old. Mackay-Steven - Not had the best start to the season (maybe stepping up to Celtic has taken a lot out of him as he builds his fitness up) but the ability is there. In the Europa League last season, he was causing Inter Milan all sorts of problems and although he does have poor periods, he is becoming more adaptable. 25 years old. Armstrong - I'd say Armstrong will probably be our most important player in the next few years. The guy is unbelievable with how he manages to appear all over the pitch and keep going for 90 minutes. He's a very intelligent player and has no noticeable weaknesses. If he's given a run of games, he'll adapt to international football well and become a strong player for us IMO. 23 years old. Ritchie - A bit controversial as I've seen him get a bit of stick recently but there is definitely a player there that we can get some use out of. For Scotland thus far, he's been given mostly short cameos and I don't think we've had the opportunity to see what he's about. For Bournemouth last season, he was incredibly direct and took more shots than anyone in the league. Every time you see him get the ball, he's pretty much trying to go forward and find a man in the box (although having a man there is a big problem for us) and he is very positive. Against the weaker sides that sit in on us, we need to attack a bit faster and I reckon that if Ritchie were to be a starter with us, he'd be good in those sorts of fixtures. 25 years old. Watt - A bit controversial here as well but I reckon that we should really be looking to get Tony Watt involved. Scored 3 in 4 so far this season after arriving in January and establishing himself in the team at Charlton. He's a really classy player and his style of football means he could probably be effective at international level. He's 6ft, strong and pacey so I think he'd handle the physicality of most teams quite well. It might be a transition to play him as a lone striker but I reckon he could manage it with a bit of practice. 21 years old. There are other players I'd be looking to get involved as well (Shinnie and Griffiths) but I reckon those players above could mould themselves into a decent side. Guys like Brown, Naismith and Fletcher will still be around and we'll still need to call on them but would like to be a bit more ambitious in our planning for the World Cup qualifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54_and_counting Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 jordan rhodes is only 25 and managed 1 goal in 2 games in his career so far, surely he deserves a proper run of games and a shot at the national side given he's played and scored at championship level for 4 years now i like both armstrong and GMS as well, both given runs could turn out good for scotland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry94 Posted September 8, 2015 Author Share Posted September 8, 2015 jordan rhodes is only 25 and managed 1 goal in 2 games in his career so far, surely he deserves a proper run of games and a shot at the national side given he's played and scored at championship level for 4 years now i like both armstrong and GMS as well, both given runs could turn out good for scotland I forgot Jordan Rhodes existed! There was a lot of talk about him struggling leading the line alone. If that was why managers are excluding him, he should still be in squads at least. Would have preferred him to Martin to bring on last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC92 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Dr Funk at right back surely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamdunk Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Well we play Poland and Gibraltar next month and are still in with a decent chance of reaching the Euros but regardless of whether we eventually qualify, we are going to be in a position where we will need to get new blood in the team as some of the players are declining. In attempting to keep a consistent team together and a squad that can play together, we've ended with a worse squad a year into the qualification campaign just because nature has taken it's course. Last night, the only players who we fielded who I think will improve and get better are Hanley, McArthur, Forrest (although I still don't think he's good enough), Ritchie and Martin. I don't think we should be severing ties with anybody (some of the squad will hopefully age well) but we do need to have a spine of the team that get the opportunity to consistently play with each other and settle. Wales have benefited from some very good players but more importantly, they have persisted with youngish players through a bad spell and the teams they field have a healthy average age. The average age of their squad comes out to be 25.4 and we work out at 28.1. Although that difference doesn't seem to be that big, it is much more difficult to hit international campaigns with around half of your squad at an age where they are expected to decline (endurance plays a massive part in this sport and when half of your team and most of your established players are in their late 20s, it's generally the case that their physical attributes drop off). So, if we were to create a new spine and get a group of players playing together consistently, who would you want to be involved? I'd be aiming for something like: [GK] [RB] Hanley [CB] Robertson Jack McArthur GMS Armstrong Ritchie Watt U wot m8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartsOfficialMoaner Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 For Celtic players the step up from Scottish league football to Champions League is too big For Scottish League players the step up to international football is also too big No Scottish based players in the next squad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordopolis Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Decent shouts with that team and I totally agree re the strategy. Otherwise we'll be perpetually patching together sides and bringing in guys who can 'do a job' for a few caps here and there. Problem with the youth/younger route is we'd be likely to suffer a fair few bumps with these new guys, and the toolbags would start calling for the manager's head after a few dodgy results. Would need a strong manager and a strong (and competent) SFA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Lichtie Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Bain Patterson Hanley f**k knows Robertson Armstrong Jack Fraser Gauld Allan Watt Are the uncapped younger players who seem like they have the most potential in each position but obviously they won't all ever play, you'll still get another 3/4 years out of a lot of guys in the current set up and new guys will come through, people you wouldn't even think of that are 24 and under will end up improving and pushing themselves into the team. Who thought Naisy/Hutton/Hanley/Morrison/MacArthur/Anya etc etc would all be such crucial players for us when they were 21/22/23? Not many I imagine. Truth of it is people's guesses including mine will be nowhere near the reality. Just look at how other team predictions have gone. The one the pundits did on England's Euro 08 team in particular was hilarious. I also remember seeing a Scotland team prediction done in about 08/09 saying Garry Kenneth would be playing for us in WC 2014 Brazil... There'll be players coming through from nowhere and taking their place in the team just like they always do. Only certainties for me for say 5 year time are Watt/Armstrong/Fraser/Gauld/Hanley and Robertson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoonTon Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 The real problem with going down that route is that you actually need the quality coming through. It's not as if Wales are shunning decent older players - their best players are their young players. If the quality isn't there you can end up persisting with players that are never going to be good enough. Players don't tend to develop through international football all that much - it only really helps if the players are actually going to be good enough. I agree with little bits and pieces, like persisting with Robertson at left back but I'm not convinced by the likes of GMS, Jack, or Armstrong. It would be a massive risk to assume that they will turn out to be good enough. The bottom line is that we're not producing good enough players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Lichtie Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Why we shouldn't worry about who's coming through and why we shouldn't guess, these 2 were done just 4/5 years before the respective tournaments There's obviously a few standouts which I've had a go at but players will come through we haven't even heard of yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54_and_counting Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 To go down the blooding for future route, we should have started when our seeding was decent, if we do it not it will be even harder to get some form of decent results as we'll be 4th seeds or worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacekid84 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I was impressed with Liam Cooper from Leeds a couple of times I seen him last season. I know Strachan had him watched a couple of times, but must not think he's any better than what we've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Lichtie Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Him and Liam Palmer both only 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YassinMoutaouakil Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Aye. Can see Watt being a big player for us in the next ~10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Sportello Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 GMS is absolute horse. No where near good enough for European or International football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM. Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Not much mention of Johnny Russell. He is a player who I think should've been given more opportunities at this stage of his career. He's 25 and arguably in his prime. Versatile aswell; can do a job in any of the front 4 positions. Looked dangerous when he came on against England and don't think he's had any minutes since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Lichtie Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Russell is so much better than Forrest aswell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underdogunderdog underdog Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I'd like to see us play with natural width. The likes of Fraser, Phillips and Russell can hopefully force their way in to playing regularly. It would be great to have Snodgrass play too. Strachan doesn't seem to like Premiership players unless they play for Celtic. However, Czech Republic have qualified for Euro 2016 with a squad consisting mainly of domestic players. The likes of Paterson, Shinnie, Jack, McLean and Stewart can hopefully force their way in to squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Russell gets a game ahead of Martin at Derby. Should have had more of a look in by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobbieD Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I would have liked to have seen Russell come on against Germany. Just for something different on the pitch that we were lacking at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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