Wee Jock Poo Pong McPlop football thread

[David]

So, is Scotland going to be the big villains tonight then? Making the Ukrainian children cry, decimate the flickering flame of national hope in the region and become "besties" with Putin?

Or will we fall at the first hurdle? Let's be honest, if we get through this game we're virtually home-free. The Welsh have fuck all to offer except Gareth "golf" Bale and that joke of a player Aaron Ramsey.

[SuperBacon]

5 hours ago, David said:

The Welsh have fuck all to offer except Gareth "golf" Bale

Shame Scotland won't get the chance to face him

To be honest, they were never in the game were they?

[SpiritOfTheForest]

Shite performance tonight. It really seemed that the occasion and the narrative got the better of the team and Clarke too. It was a really disappointing way to go out after such a great campaign. Not with a roar but with a whimper and that's what makes it feel so much worse. It felt like we were playing to 20% of our potential. 

Ah well, the Arab Winter Blood Money Worker Slavery World Cup will be shite anyway and I'm glad my country is boycotting it! 😉

Edited June 1, 2022 by SpiritOfTheForest

[westlondonmist]

It was embarrassing last night. I'd say only Gordon, McGregor and Christie turned up. Spent the first half having Cooper and Hanley lump the ball to Dykes. Hanley, I've seen milk turn quicker. McTominay isn't even a Man United regular now but shoehorned into defence and Hickey shoehorned in to. Ralston should have played right back because he is a right back. 

[David]

10 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Shame Scotland won't get the chance to face him

To be honest, they were never in the game were they?

Nah, we shat it. Plain and simple. 

To be honest, I actually enjoy international tournaments more when we're not there. Don't know why, but I do. 

Just as well really, eh? 

[RedRooster]

Honestly, I found it hard to care about us winning last night (…much like the players, apparently). I didn’t want us to be the team to take Ukraine out of the World Cup, removing that glimpse of hope from their country, as they watch on from bomb shelters in a war zone. 

So…yeah, I’m happy to sit this one out, and will on Ukraine to batter Wales, England and whoever else they come up against in the competition.

[SuperBacon]

Will Ukraine shirts* become the new Croatia shirts in Scotland?

 

 

*Made by Joma, so if you're buying one, go a size up. #AlwaysShirtNoncing 

[Keith Houchen]

44 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

didn’t want us to be the team to take Ukraine out of the World Cup

Really? It would be close to winning the whole competition for me. 

[David]

2 hours ago, RedRooster said:

Honestly, I found it hard to care about us winning last night (…much like the players, apparently). I didn’t want us to be the team to take Ukraine out of the World Cup, removing that glimpse of hope from their country, as they watch on from bomb shelters in a war zone. 

So…yeah, I’m happy to sit this one out, and will on Ukraine to batter Wales, England and whoever else they come up against in the competition.

I know this was the common feeling from a lot of people in Scotland, but I didn't really agree. As harsh as it may sound, Ukraine aren't the first nation to face the brutality of war, although they are among that small group of nations to face the brutality of war at the hands of someone the west doesn't really like, which is key, isn't it?

I no more want to see Ukraine qualify and win than I ever have Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and so on. I of course sympathise with the Ukrainian people, as I sympathise with the people of Palestine and Iraq.

[RedRooster]

9 hours ago, David said:

I know this was the common feeling from a lot of people in Scotland, but I didn't really agree. As harsh as it may sound, Ukraine aren't the first nation to face the brutality of war, although they are among that small group of nations to face the brutality of war at the hands of someone the west doesn't really like, which is key, isn't it?

I no more want to see Ukraine qualify and win than I ever have Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and so on. I of course sympathise with the Ukrainian people, as I sympathise with the people of Palestine and Iraq.

I think that’s fair. I think, with war, it’s very easy to feel disconnected from it because it’s so difficult to imagine the brutal reality. I’m as guilty of that as anyone. Ukraine feels more real to me, as I had a relative who lived in the country up until shortly before the war broke out. He had to be persuaded to leave, as he was completely convinced that all would be fine. Thankfully he did. 

It’s a selfish lens through which to view a war, but it makes the whole, horrific situation feel very close to home. 

[garynysmon]

On 6/1/2022 at 4:23 PM, David said:

The Welsh have fuck all to offer except Gareth "golf" Bale and that joke of a player Aaron Ramsey.

 

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by garynysmon

[David]

You're right, I did say that the Welsh only had Bale and Scottish prem failure Ramsey. They had Yarmolenko as well! Still, Bale got the assist, so I was almost right! 

[SpiritOfTheForest]

For a while now I've seen Wales as almost a mirror image team to us: they have a team of jobbers with one world class superstar who drags the others to victory by the scruff of the neck. We have a very solid team but lack that superstar who single-handedly changes games and grabs results. If the team is having a poor performance, there's seldom somebody to step up and give us that wee moment of magic. Wales were very lucky too, getting through with a deflected goal and a stonewall penalty decision going in their favour, bafflingly despite a 2 nanosecond VAR check. Scotland had 14 shots to Ukraine's 15 on Wednesday while Ukraine outshot Wales 22-10. It makes our massive underperfomance last week all the more frustrating when we were beaten by the the better team on Wednesday yet Wales somehow fluked their way to victory against the better team yesterday. That's football though, a game of slim margins but it's still a sore one to take. 

[Devon Malcolm]

12 minutes ago, SpiritOfTheForest said:

Wales somehow fluked their way to victory against the better team yesterday.

This is cobblers, for the record.

[David]

27 minutes ago, SpiritOfTheForest said:

For a while now I've seen Wales as almost a mirror image team to us: they have a team of jobbers with one world class superstar who drags the others to victory by the scruff of the neck. We have a very solid team but lack that superstar who single-handedly changes games and grabs results. If the team is having a poor performance, there's seldom somebody to step up and give us that wee moment of magic. Wales were very lucky too, getting through with a deflected goal and a stonewall penalty decision going in their favour, bafflingly despite a 2 nanosecond VAR check. Scotland had 14 shots to Ukraine's 15 on Wednesday while Ukraine outshot Wales 22-10. It makes our massive underperfomance last week all the more frustrating when we were beaten by the the better team on Wednesday yet Wales somehow fluked their way to victory against the better team yesterday. That's football though, a game of slim margins but it's still a sore one to take. 

Taking all of the poignant tears and talk of wars out of the situation, if we're honest Ukraine should have the beating of Scotland all things being equal. They have better players than us for the most part, and are ranked higher than us for a reason.

Also, it came down to one game. 

The truth is, we finished second in our qualifying group, comfortably ahead of both Israel and Austria (who were the pot 2 side in our group), losing only one game and conceding only 7 goals. In years gone by that would have been enough to see us through, but with the current system of only the teams finishing top in their group qualifying, we're always going to find it hard. It comes down to play-offs, which can really go either way.

Our qualification for the foreseeable is a crapshoot, basically.