The Official Scottish National Team Thread

[chrisj_abz]

need to break a bit quicker this half, mackie gives a wee bit more strength than commons.

been lucky not to concede, macgregors been superb so far. good couple free kicks shows theres always hope.....

[chrisj_abz]

oh well thats that then!

cant say they dont deserve the goals, they have been by far the better team..

[simoid]

Text my mate at half time saying that we weren't closing down the wings at all, and the full backs were getting free crosses.

Shock if that's where the first goal came from.

Now we're getting Kenny Hamstring Miller, Christ.

[Luca Brasi]

You lot really thought you could take us on?

[simoid]

What took you guys so long? We thought we were gonna sneak a draw for a while, and Levein would maybe hold on for another couple of losses

[Hilts]

'And Scotland's qualifying hopes, which were previously nil, are now absolutely zero.'

Thanks Murray.

[simoid]

Excellent way to motivate the Scotland squad, Mr Performance Director.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19996787

Mark Wotte said:

For Wotte, that lowly position is disappointing but he believes Scottish football fans need to be realistic.

"I see a lot of desire but I think the desire and the expectations are mixed up," he said.

"It's a tough group: we are not better than Belgium, Croatia are a very decent side, so that leaves us, Serbia, Macedonia and Wales to be third but that is not good enough to qualify.

"The fans want to go to the tournaments but we have to be realistic - how good is this squad and how good do you need to be to go to the World Cup?

"You cannot change the squad of players. You can change, maybe, the style of play but eventually it all comes down to the quality of the players.

"If the quality of the players is what it is at the moment, we just have to build for the future."

It all comes down to the quality of our players. Against Wales and Belgium:

Allan McGregor one of the best keepers around.

4 x Premiership defenders, including a Premiership captain.

A Champions League winner in midfield, surrounded by Premiership/Celtic players.

The 2nd top scorer in the Premiership up front.


I can't wait for the next generation if it's more promising than this one!

[simoid]

For anyone who only has access to Pistonheads as a form of mass media... Levein is gone!

People Power worked.

Strachan is number one for me: has recent experience against different styles in Europe with Scottish teams.

IMO this is the main reason why Eck and Walter were relatively successful, and Levein wasn't.

[NailedOn]

simoid said:

For anyone who only has access to Pistonheads as a form of mass media... Levein is gone!

People Power worked.

Strachan is number one for me: has recent experience against different styles in Europe with Scottish teams.

IMO this is the main reason why Eck and Walter were relatively successful, and Levein wasn't.

Look, I do not mean to be unkind, But..
(and yes I know England are crap)
The problem with Scotland is not the manager it's that they do not have very many good players.

Sorry.

[simoid]

On Thursday 18th October I said:

Against Wales and Belgium:

Allan McGregor one of the best keepers around.

4 x Premiership defenders, including a Premiership captain.

A Champions League winner in midfield, surrounded by Premiership/Celtic players.

The 2nd top scorer in the Premiership up front.

It's not the players.

Levein didn't have a clue tactically, especially in the early days (4-6-0 against a mediocre Czech side) and even a few weeks ago I was at Hampden watching a winger and a centre half being given the runaround in centre midfield by some Macedonians who had half a clue.

Edited by simoid on Monday 5th November 22:31

[DocJock]

Yep, we have a squad with more players playing regularly at a decent level than at any time in the past 20 years.

[simoid]

For the record, the only teams that Levein beat in competitive fixtures were Lithuania and Liechtenstein, and the latter took a 97th minute winner.

Our players aren't THAT bad

[Blib]

The evidence suggests that they are.

[simoid]

Blib said:

The evidence suggests that they are not being utilised as effectively as they should be.

[Blib]

We shall see.

[simoid]

Blib said:

We shall see.

Indeed!

I don't think I'm deluded, I watch most of the games live and get to Hampden as often as I can, and Levein has been all square pegs and round holes, failing to man-manage the most talented players and falling out with them, etc. If you look at the players as individuals, they are certainly underperforming as a team.

Fresh start required, so we can moan at another muppet manager

[simoid]

Celtic vs Barcelona:

01 Forster
02 Matthews
04 Ambrose
06 Wilson
21 Mulgrew
23 Lustig (Watt - 72' )
15 Commons
16 Ledley
67 Wanyama
07 Miku
09 Samaras (Kayal - 79' )

Scotland vs Belgium

01 McGregor
02 Hutton
04 Berra
05 Caldwell
20 Fox
06 Maloney
07 D Fletcher
11 Morrison (M Phillips - 79' )
13 McArthur
15 Commons (Mackie - 45' )
09 S Fletcher (Miller - 76' )


It's not the players

[RDM]

Well that Luxembourg band playing the anthems fair got the crowd going..!

[simoid]

Anybody shot that piper yet?

[Smart Mart]

Hi all,

Didn't really want to start another thread for such a simple answer but have any of you gone to Scotland matches at Hampden Park before? How easy is it to get tickets and do they normally reach "general sale" after the priority groups take their share?

Looking to come up for the Scotland v Wales game on March 22nd at Hampden Park.

Thanks in advance.