Scottish Football Discussion Thread 2010/11

[cogitoergozoomo]

Craig Levein is sure to select an attacking formation for tomorrow night's game against Liechtenstein, according to Scotland assistant manager Peter Houston. Just how positive remains to be seen.

 

Scotland assistant manager Peter Houston is unsure if Craig Levein will commence tomorrow's must-win match with one striker or two on the pitch, but claims a solitary front man would not equate to a lack of attacking intent.

 

Kris Boyd is the most probable change from the line-up which began Friday's goalless draw in Lithuania, with James McFadden and Graham Dorrans also coming into contention for a start. But Houston, speaking before the team had been chosen, refused to say how many strikers would be included, and insisted that it was perfectly possible to play positively and score prolifically with only one player up front.

 

Boyd quit the national team before when George Burley was in charge, apparently out of frustration at not being given a start. But, asked if the Middlesbrough player might be tempted to do something similar again if not selected for tomorrow's European Championship qualifier, Houston insisted Boyd remained an enthusiastic and committed member of the squad.

 

"I wouldn't be wary of a similar reaction from Kris if he wasn't to start against Leichtenstein," Houston said at the Scotland team hotel. "It also might not be a question I need to answer though.

 

"Kris Boyd's attitude here has been fantastic. He wants to play, naturally, but we have 23 players in the squad who are in that same position.

 

"One thing is for sure - the manager will put an attacking formation out. The team hasn't been picked yet, and the manager has one or two decisions in forward-thinking areas to think about. We expect a couple of changes here or there.

 

"It is up to the manager to decide if he wants to start with him on Tuesday night. That is not for me to decide. Regardless, I wouldn't expect anything other than a positive Kris Boyd. Since he has come back in he has been brilliant in training and about the place.

 

"Kenny Miller has also been in hot form, and so if you are only going to play one striker then it would be difficult to take him out just now. Kris has to be patient and I am sure he will be. I don't expect anything else from him."

 

Reminded that Boyd made a particular habit at his former club Rangers of scoring a lot of goals against weaker opposition, Houston agreed that "gives him a good chance to be in the team". But the assistant manager went on to suggest that pairing Boyd with former Ibrox teammate Kenny Miller was only one possible option which Levein was considering.

 

"It hasn't been decided by the manager yet, but we have to make sure we don't lose any goals."

 

This shit really irks me. Seriously.

 

Someone tell me another national team who would even consider starting a game like this without the player who has finished as top goalscorer in their domestic league for four years running?

 

Scoring a shitload of goals at club level gives him "a good chance"?

 

If Kris Boyd doesn't get picked tomorrow, and he were to come out and say "fuck Scotland. I'm offski" i'd support him 100%.

 

I am a Celtic fan but I am also hoping Boyd plays.

 

However we all know that can only happen if we go two up front. I am sure that if Levein makes that most basic of decisions then Boyd will start no problem.

 

The frustrating thing is that he might finally be getting his chance just as he is going through what is for him a bit of drought. He has only scored in four games since his International return back at the beginning of March.

[Daaaaaad!]

This shit really irks me. Seriously.

 

Someone tell me another national team who would even consider starting a game like this without the player who has finished as top goalscorer in their domestic league for four years running?

England?

 

I agree though. Unless he's planning to play Dorrans, McFadden and Boyd in a proper front three, there's no reason not to play Boyd & Miller tomorrow.

[Jambo]

Finally the DAB has done something good! Miller, McFadden and Boyd on from the start.

 

McGregor, Hutton, Weir, McManus, Wallace, Brown, Fletcher, McCulloch, McFadden, Miller, Boyd. According to OAM.

[bAzTNM Fan]

Just heard on SSN that Brian Laudrup has been diagnosed with cancer, some kind of lymphoma.

 

News story here

 

A fine player indeed. Wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

[Chaka Demus]

Laudrup's era is the first Rangers team I'm old enough to remember and have witnessed. Thankfully it sounds like it's relatively mild but still as soon as you hear the C word you worry.

 

Best foreign player to play in Scotland and I doubt we'll ever see a player of his talent in the SPL again.

[bAzTNM Fan]

Laudrup's era is the first Rangers team I'm old enough to remember and have witnessed. Thankfully it sounds like it's relatively mild but still as soon as you hear the C word you worry.

 

Best foreign player to play in Scotland and I doubt we'll ever see a player of his talent in the SPL again.

 

 

Behave yourself, Ally.

[martyngnr]

Best foreign player to play in Scotland and I doubt we'll ever see a player of his talent in the SPL again.

 

 

Behave yourself, Ally.

Why? He is right.

[Daaaaaad!]

I know what he's doing. Larsson was probably just as good as Laudrup, but I seriously doubt you can definitively say he was better.

 

Gutted to hear this though. One of my favourite players growing up; like Ally, that was the first Rangers team I knew and supported.

[tiger_rick]

You jammy fuckers, 7 minutes into 5 minutes added time!!

 

Seriously though, that added time was valid. From the minute the board went up for 5 minutes, there was about 20 seconds of football in the next 3 minutes. That tackle on Alan Hutton was diabolical too.

[RoryFice]

Well, thank f**k for that minute of jubilation.

 

Back in the real world now, we're going to have improve quickly if we're going to get anything from our next two matches. If thats our best squad that could only scrape past Liechtenstein then we have no hope against Spain or the Czechs. Darren Fletcher did his usual speciality of passing the ball to the opposition and simply isnt captain material. He may play for a big club but he rarely plays well for Scotland and shouldnt be in the starting line-up. Robson, Morrison and Naismith added some much needed energy in the second half but several players were below average throughout the game.

 

Normally I'd feel sorry for a small team losing in the last minute (such as the Faroes conceding twice in the last minute against Germany a while ago) but we really needed to win that game to have even the remotest chance of qualifying. With Lithuania beating the Czechs, there could be three teams fighting for second place. Hopefully we can secure that spot to get in the play-offs.

 

Also, what a shocking challenge that was on Alan Hutton. I dont know if was it was just a very careless challenge or not but Hutton was lucky to avoid a broken leg. I thought he was going to be sent off for losing the heid in injury time.

[FUM]

Laudrup's era is the first Rangers team I'm old enough to remember and have witnessed. Thankfully it sounds like it's relatively mild but still as soon as you hear the C word you worry.

 

Best foreign player to play in Scotland and I doubt we'll ever see a player of his talent in the SPL again.

 

To be pedantic, we didn't see his talent in the SPL.

 

I can't believe we had to win with an injury time goal against Liechenstein. Thank fuck we did though, that would have just been embarassing.

[Mr.Showtime]

It still is embarrassing, the way Levein and co were jumping for joy at the end of the game and him saying he was "happy". I don't think we'll get thumped in our next two games because we tend to stick in more against the bigger nations but if we get even one point out of the next 6 I'll be surprised.

[Daaaaaad!]

I was nearly crying at the end. It shouldn't have been happening, mind - the whole game I was nothing if not furious at the way it panned out. Fletcher actually seemed to try a bit harder tonight but he still doesn't manage to complete the pass for Scotland; it's one thing to be a good player amongst great players, but to be a great player amongst average ones requires you to really work, complete the pass and know where to put the ball. Fletcher doesn't do that for Scotland and that's what needs to change.

 

Thought the boy Morrison did well when he came on. Robson wasn't great even after coming on as a sub and that last free kick of his had me screaming expletives at the screen. Brown was ineffective and shouldn't have played full stop. McCulloch is thankfully suspended for the next game. Glad Miller broke the international hoodoo that's been surrounding him. McManus had to be the one to score to make up for the farcical defending surrounding the Liechtenstein goal - Frick controlled the ball, basically walked around it unchallenged until he had a good angle, then banged it in the top right hand corner. Hutton was out of position for it but it was McManus whose task it was to mark Frick, so he's lucky he scored to make up for it... Boyd was ineffective but I'd have kept him on because he often bangs one in after having done nothing all game... McFadden looked off the pace for a first-choice Premier League regular... Hope Wallace is okay, he landed badly...

 

There is far more I could say, but I'll leave that for my head. As things stand, there needs to be a serious inquest into why we didn't win this game easily. If you can't beat Liechtenstein at home with ease, that really calls qualification into question.

[The Cum Doctor]

It still is embarrassing, the way Levein and co were jumping for joy at the end of the game and him saying he was "happy".

 

Of course he's fucking happy. They were MOMENTS away from the worst result in the history of the national side and somehow got away with the win. Nevermind happy. Him, his backroom staff and the players could be justified in feeling ecstatic.

 

Reminds me of when Morton put Buckie Thistle out of the Scottish Cup a couple of years back. Went down 1-0 and 2-1 and in the dying seconds Templeman made it 3-2, sending Cappielow MENTAL.

[Mr.Showtime]

It still is embarrassing, the way Levein and co were jumping for joy at the end of the game and him saying he was "happy".

 

Of course he's fucking happy. They were MOMENTS away from the worst result in the history of the national side and somehow got away with the win. Nevermind happy. Him, his backroom staff and the players could be justified in feeling ecstatic.

 

Reminds me of when Morton put Buckie Thistle out of the Scottish Cup a couple of years back. Went down 1-0 and 2-1 and in the dying seconds Templeman made it 3-2, sending Cappielow MENTAL.

What I'm getting at is that some managers, even when they win and win well, are still unhappy and angry about certain aspects of the game. Yet tonight it seems like Levein walked into the dressing room and will have praised them all and told them 'well done' when he should be giving them an absolute bollocking for even putting us into that situation. I'm not against the manager at all, I like him and as he says we should judge him on results. But was far, far too close to be called a 'result' and some of the players simply didn't perform or even show up. There was almost nothing positive to take from the game, as the commentators pointed out.