Austria v Scotland

[ahemps]

25 minutes ago, Tartan Dave said:

Playing guys like Tierney and Jack is needless tonight with their injury records, imo. 

Fair point.

I'd say Tierney's injury record has improved but because of how it has been then he should be managed efficiently. Does he need to play tonight? No. Leave him out. We know what he can do and doesn't need to play every time to maintain his level.

Jack on the other hand is coming back and could use the game time and for him personally if he is to compete for a place in the team. I would give him 60-70 minutes.

[MeadowArab]

Just heard unconfirmed reports that the Austria manager has just resigned at a press conference???

[Estragon]

12 minutes ago, MeadowArab said:

Just heard unconfirmed reports that the Austria manager has just resigned at a press conference???

News reports seem to say he announced yesterday that this would be his last game.

[TheScarf]

Aye his last game is tonight.  He resigned last week.

[2426255]

If we get 45 minutes of consistency that will be good. I think this game could turn a bit farcical because the Austrian Head Coach has already said he will play as many players as possible given it's his final hurrah and I'm expecting Steve Clarke to make significant changes before the game and throughout the course of the game.

Edited March 29, 2022 by 2426255

[Ken Deans]

Would be inclined to give the newcomers a game and get a good look at them at this level. Doubt either team is bothered about the result.

We beat them when it counted

[Virtual Insanity]

Game doesn't matter but we have a feel good factor in the squad and losing to a depleted Austria wouldn't help that. 

It's also fair for guys like Armstrong to get a run in the team alongside regulars rather than as part of a whole new team where it's difficult to gel and have a good game. 

Delicate balancing act for Clarke but he's pretty adept at this kind of stuff. I'm sure he'll want the best team he can put out on the park without pushing players unnecessarily. Wouldn't be overly surprised for him to throw Dykes in if he's training ok as it's probably a good warm up from QPR's point of view. 

[HuttonDressedAsLahm]

22 minutes ago, Ken Deans said:

Would be inclined to give the newcomers a game and get a good look at them at this level. Doubt either team is bothered about the result.

We beat them when it counted

It's not a B international.  Playing a second-string XI isn't hugely beneficial to anyone.  

Limit the immediate changes to 3/4.  Bring in another 6 during the match.

Winning is a habit, and if you're going to give players experience, you're best to give them experience playing in the team, not playing in a blue shirt.

Edited March 29, 2022 by HuttonDressedAsLahm

[kennie makevin]

43 minutes ago, Ken Deans said:

Would be inclined to give the newcomers a game and get a good look at them at this level. Doubt either team is bothered about the result.

We beat them when it counted

If , as I fear, we don't get over the Ukraine/Wales hurdle then we can experiment and 'get a look at people' all we want. Tonight must be about momentum, and getting our first choice team playing together as much as is possible before June.

[Streets of Raith]

5 minutes ago, kennie makevin said:

If , as I fear, we don't get over the Ukraine/Wales hurdle then we can experiment and 'get a look at people' all we want. Tonight must be about momentum, and getting our first choice team playing together as much as is possible before June.

Not really, because we need to make a good go at winning our Nations League group again in June.

[2426255]

39 minutes ago, HuttonDressedAsLahm said:

Limit the immediate changes to 3/4.  Bring in another 6 during the match.

Steve Clarke did say he would make more changes than in a competitive double header. In our last two competitive double headers there were three changes to the starting line up between games in both October and November so I'm expecting around 5 changes to the starting line up.

Quote

Looking at the bigger picture and in terms of fairness to the players in the squad more than anything - taking the club issues - it’s a game I’ll probably rotate more than I usually would for the second game of an international break.

Steve Clark

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/lyndon-dykes-declared-fit-scotland-26574368

Edited March 29, 2022 by 2426255

[kennie makevin]

4 minutes ago, Streets of Raith said:

Not really, because we need to make a good go at winning our Nations League group again in June.

Which is exactly my point...this is no time for experimentation.

[velo army]

I've had to work tonight. Is there a streaming service/site that will let me watch the whole match again rather than highlights?

[Bing.McCrosby]

Just now, velo army said:

I've had to work tonight. Is there a streaming service/site that will let me watch the whole match again rather than highlights?

You could try that "hesgoal" site, I dont use it myself the quality is a bit crap

[craigkillie]

People talk about experimentation, but the other side of that is building a strong spirit and confidence in the squad. If you want players to turn up for every camp then you need to give them a chance to play and prove themselves. Clarke has always been very good at that - even when we've had competitive triple headers he's managed to ring the changes a bit and mostly the performances haven't been affected.

I think the main reason is that beyond Robertson, Tierney, McGinn and maybe now Gilmour, a lot of our other players are much of a muchness and are easily replaceable. Bringing in McLean for McGregor or Armstrong for Christie isn't going to massively impact performance levels, even if you'd probably be picking the latter two for a must-win fixture.

Here's how many changes Clarke has made per game since he took over - 5, 6, 4, 6, 6, 6, 0, 4, 5, 6, 4, 3, 3, 8, 8, 3, 3, 3, 7, 8, 4, 4, 1, 6, 6, 3, 2, 3, 5, 3, 4. That's a mean of 4.5 changes per game (and a median of 4). The only time he named an unchanged side was in the Cyprus/Kazakhstan double header in 2019, and the only other times he's made less than 3 changes was for the Croatia game at the Euros and the recent Israel game at Hampden (which was part of a different international break).

Edited March 29, 2022 by craigkillie

[Marshmallo]

McGregor is top class. Miles and miles ahead of McLean.

[The Moonster]

Scotland by 2 clear goals. Would be nice to see Ryan Jack start but Clarke won't change much and nor should he. 

[2426255]

36 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

Here's how many changes Clarke has made per game since he took over - 5, 6, 4, 6, 6, 6, 0, 4, 5, 6, 4, 3, 3, 8, 8, 3, 3, 3, 7, 8, 4, 4, 1, 6, 6, 3, 2, 3, 5, 3, 4. That's a mean of 4.5 changes per game (and a median of 4). 

He only made 3 changes between games in both November and October. You have it down as 3, 4 - it should be 3, 3. 

• October:
  • McGregor, Patterson, Adams changed with Hanley, Christie, Fraser. 
• November:
  • Hendry, Patterson, Armstrong changed with Souttar, O'Donnell, Christie.

Edited March 29, 2022 by 2426255

[Ken Deans]

1 hour ago, kennie makevin said:

If , as I fear, we don't get over the Ukraine/Wales hurdle then we can experiment and 'get a look at people' all we want. Tonight must be about momentum, and getting our first choice team playing together as much as is possible before June.

Am entirely confident we'll clear both hurdles. Hoping still  we get to play Ukraine

[craigkillie]

26 minutes ago, 2426255 said:

He only made 3 changes between games in both November and October. You have it down as 3, 4 - it should be 3, 3. 

• October:
  • McGregor, Patterson, Adams changed with Hanley, Christie, Fraser. 
• November:
  • Hendry, Patterson, Armstrong changed with Souttar, O'Donnell, Christie.

My list is just the changes from game to game. The two 3s in the sequence "3, 5, 3, 4" at the end covers those two games - the 5 was the number of changes between Faroes and Moldova, and the 4 was the changes between Denmark and Poland.

Edited March 29, 2022 by craigkillie