[0762]

A few players, incl Robertson and Paterson, returning to the Scotland squad today and lets hope our 100% success record v SM is intact after this match. As for Ecky the manager, I still don't think he should be there for various reasons! We need to "bounce back" but also play well in tge process and I'm certainly in an unforgiving mood if these pre-requisites are unfulfilled.

[0762]

FT 0-2 and another uninspiring Scotland display that started brightly with a 3rd min goal from McLean! Forrest's introduction in the 2nd half made the result "comfortable" and showed Fraser how to service our strikers properly!! Fraser's passing and crossing was wayward for most of this game and the jeering from certain sections of a big away support confirming that many unimpressed and "gunning" for Ecky. We have finished our 1st two matches with a negative GD and Mark McNulty could well have scored a "hat trick" on another night!

[turkeydinner]

If Switzerland, Sweden etc can go so far without at the current time without the greatest superstars then why cant Scotland?
If Iceland and Wales can do so well, why not Scotland?

Even an Allardyce or Pullis could at least stop them losing and giving a style of play as at the moment they have none
Many of the players are on 30k or more each week, sure it`s not quite the days of arguing Burns, Miller, Mcleish, Buchan, McQueen, Hansen, Narey who shall we play at centre Half? But should be enough talent to do far better
Craig Brown at least got it right by getting Scotland so high up the rankings by beating the minnows and stop letting in goals the other end

[0762]

Add N Ireland to that comparative list. IMO player for player we have a better group of players than NI and yet we are a collective shambles TBF! Ecky is not gonna take us forward and my personal choice to replace him is Stevie Clarke who has already proved how he can effectively manage and organise a group of lesser players to play well and be difficult to beat.

[hibeejim21]

Add N Ireland to that comparative list. IMO player for player we have a better group of players than NI and yet we are a collective shambles TBF! Ecky is not gonna take us forward and my personal choice to replace him is Stevie Clarke who has already proved how he can effectively manage and organise a group of lesser players to play well and be difficult to beat.

Spot on.

We really do have some excellent players, but we are not going to progress under McLeish, not in a million years. The guys a 'yesterdays man' given one last payday from his funny handshake pals at the SFA.

McLeish has already proven he doesn’t know what to do with the players he has at his disposal. He chose Stephen O’Donnell over James Forrest against Israel the week after Forrest scored 4 goals in one flipping game.

He has to go, we are an international riddy.

[turkeydinner]

Goalkeeper needs looking at, Jon McLaughlin is the form man of the moment playing great at Sunderland but div one, Archer at Milwall has been disposed after one cap, Bain is second choice at Celtic and then the non-Scot Southampton guy who is second choice

Central defence been a problem for a long while, how can Liam Cooper be top of the Championship Captaining Leeds and never get a shot? Murray Wallace at Milwall, a bruising CH maybe worth a shot?

It has to be 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 for me with Paterson as the focal point, Naismith and Fletcher has been done to death up front and not the answer

[WakeyTerrier]

I see David Moyes has expressed interest in the Scotland job, would you take him?

Do you think that given you have a play off qualifier guaranteed at the end of the groups that some of these players have been a little lax shall we say.
May as well clear out the management now and give the new guy the rest of the qualifiers to build a team for those play offs

[0762]

I'll just clarify Moyes' position re becoming the Scotland manager - he is not currently interested in that position because he feels he has much to prove in footie club management before ever moving to that kinda national tenure. IMO it is imperative that Scotland is in far better shape by the time the play offs arise and a new manager, poss Stevie Clarke, must be put in place asap. to still battle positively for a place in our current Euro quali group! We have a decent group of players who must be serviced better than being provided!

[turkeydinner]

Moyes would be equal if not worse than Eck, same few boring names churned up each time
There certainly is talent there and its about building a team with it, Switzerland are a great example-two individuals and a great team

Stuck record here but certainly on the domestic front it needs change, look at the Dutch league where money is reinvested and even with the yearly exodus of players the average age in the league is 24.
Young players with talent North of the border go down at the first ring from an agent
Celtic might be a legendary club but hey Burnley play Man Utd, Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea and the like most weeks and can blow 15m on Chris Wood

Real change is needed, if that means having to have so many Scots born Under-23 players in a match squad or playing at least five Scots born players on a pitch do so
Bring back B internationals so those called up for the first time aren't thrown to the lions so quickly
Too many hit and hope Managers at the top level, Bannockburn tactics have a time if a manager knows how to play them properly most dont, perhaps a few foreign coaches working at a lower level to introduce `playing football` rather than `hoofball`. Pretty sure Ryan Fraser wouldn't have left Dons so soon had he kept getting scythed by 6`5 Inverness Caley thugs knocking the ball into row Z