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Scotland Centre Backs


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Just now, Elgin Macca said:

I know there is a lot of chat about the goalkeeping issue but is anyone else worried about the centre back options come March? Is there anyone actually playing regular/well just now?? I genuinely can’t think of one of the top of my head 

Mckenna was back in the forrest team today and apparently played well. Hanley is playing every game for Norwich, admittedly I've not seen any of his games but he must be doing ok. Porteous is playing every wk also.

For me our best performer at centre back recently has been Jack Hendry, i dont think he's been playing much at all tho.

I liked the Mckenna Hendry partnership, I think its the best we have. But with Hendry out of the team at club level🤷‍♂️

I agree tho that none of our centre back options are exactly anything to boast about. We could do with a couple of young guys coming thru who look like they could go to a higher level.

 

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10 hours ago, Elgin Macca said:

I know there is a lot of chat about the goalkeeping issue but is anyone else worried about the centre back options come March? Is there anyone actually playing regular/well just now?? I genuinely can’t think of one of the top of my head 

Liam Cooper is playing regularly for Leeds United at the moment. 

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https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/liam-cooper/leistungsdaten/spieler/75067

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Also a concern over Kieran Tierney for me. I know he is a left back but we obviously use him as a centre half at times. He has not played 90 minutes for Arsenal since beginning of November and Zinchenko looks very much in the driving seat as LB. 

On the times I have seen Tierney play for Arsenal for me he looks very uncomfortable with the system that the play. 

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Tierney will be a guaranteed starter for Scotland regardless of his club playing time.

I very much expect he will stay until the end of the season and then make a call on his future, hopefully leaving as a Premier League winner in addition to being a very popular player with both management and fans.

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Tierney's position in the Arsenal pecking order will obviously be an issue for him, but I don't see it being a big one for Scotland. They're still in Europe and the cup, so he'll get plenty of starts and loads of minutes even if most of his league appearances are off the bench.

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19 hours ago, craigkillie said:

Tierney's position in the Arsenal pecking order will obviously be an issue for him, but I don't see it being a big one for Scotland. They're still in Europe and the cup, so he'll get plenty of starts and loads of minutes even if most of his league appearances are off the bench.

Agreed. However, it will be interesting to see where he fits Tierney in if we move to a back 4 on a more regular basis. Robbo and Tierney doubling up on that side towards the end of the Türkiye game was an interesting concept realised over a brief period but not sure Clarke would go with that moving forward. If it remains a back 5 for the majority of the time then it's as you were for Tierney, I guess. 

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20 hours ago, Londonwell said:

Agreed. However, it will be interesting to see where he fits Tierney in if we move to a back 4 on a more regular basis. Robbo and Tierney doubling up on that side towards the end of the Türkiye game was an interesting concept realised over a brief period but not sure Clarke would go with that moving forward. If it remains a back 5 for the majority of the time then it's as you were for Tierney, I guess. 

Tierney has been coming off the bench as a left winger for Arsenal as well. Clarke should try an innovative version of a 4-3-3 where the game starts with one right back, one centre back, two left backs, three central midfielders, a right winger and a forward but no left winger. Tierney and Robertson take it in turns to bomb forward from the LB position. 

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On 16/01/2023 at 11:51, craigkillie said:

Tierney's position in the Arsenal pecking order will obviously be an issue for him, but I don't see it being a big one for Scotland. They're still in Europe and the cup, so he'll get plenty of starts and loads of minutes even if most of his league appearances are off the bench.

Which, given his injury record, could end up as a net benefit for Scotland.

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On 18/01/2023 at 08:39, Donathan said:

Clarke should try an innovative version of a 4-3-3 where the game starts with one right back, one centre back, two left backs, three central midfielders, a right winger and a forward but no left winger. Tierney and Robertson take it in turns to bomb forward from the LB position. 

Suffering fcuk!

No.

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  • 2 months later...

Have to be feeling good about our strength in depth at CB now.

 

Porteous, Hanley, Hendry, McKenna and Souttar have all put in solid performances at the back for us in the last 12-18 months. Liam Cooper is error prone but a good squad option, then you come to guys like Hyam and Craig Halkett.

 

I’m not sure what our best pairing is (it’s usually two of these because we tend to either play a back four or a three but with Tierney in there too) but good to have a few solid options. None of them are world beaters but all come in and do a great job for Scotland. 

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I've championed Porteous before but honestly didn't think he had it in him to rise to the levels we've seen from him tonight and against Ukraine. 

Hanley was also having a wee wobble after doing so well in 2021, but his two performances this week have been excellent for different reasons. 

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9 hours ago, accies1874 said:

I've championed Porteous before but honestly didn't think he had it in him to rise to the levels we've seen from him tonight and against Ukraine. 

Hanley was also having a wee wobble after doing so well in 2021, but his two performances this week have been excellent for different reasons. 

Yeah.   I’m not convinced at all that Porteous isn’t going to have a meltdown and get a straight red pretty soon, but while he’s got the nut screwed on, I will take it. 

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2 minutes ago, Savage Henry said:

Yeah.   I’m not convinced at all that Porteous isn’t going to have a meltdown and get a straight red pretty soon, but while he’s got the nut screwed on, I will take it. 

Having him and Dykes play in games with VAR will always be a worry, however last night we saw the benefits of his shenanigans e.g. he was the one who screamed at Hickey to roll back onto the park.

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