Gribz 743 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 We have a better squad than Northern Ireland. They got a really easy group though. I was thinking about the opposition, on paper Wales and N Ireland had far easier groups but it doesn't seem to matter who Scotland get they will still come up short. I wouldn't have been betting on us getting out of a group containing Romania or Bosnia & Hez, those two away would have been the sort of games Scotland would lose. This group was down to having 3 sides all pretty much on par (Rep, Poland, Scotland) and it came down to individual games. Having a head to head better than Ireland is disappointing plus 7 seconds away from a better head to head than Poland shows how fine the margins were. Ireland somehow took 4 points off Germany which is what swang it plus our failure in Georgia. It was a close call. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barca72 440 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Look, Scotland were drawn from pool four and that's where they ended up. Why would you put yourself through the heartache of hoping, when all they are capable of is glorious defeats. Bottlers. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,245 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Had the Scots shown the same application and desire they produced against Germany in the Georgia games, they wouldn't be in the same position. The time for ifs, buts, and maybes is gone though. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Had the Scots shown the same application and desire they produced against Germany in the Georgia games, they wouldn't be in the same position. The time for ifs, buts, and maybes is gone though. Its a very common theme in football that teams can only produce some types of applications in certain games. Just look at Arsenal, awful in the CL then versus Man Utd they all put in a shift and they were unplayable at times. They cant do it every week but 7 or 8 games out of 10 should be at full pelt not the opposite. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster. 4,808 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) Had the Scots shown the same application and desire they produced against Germany in the Georgia games, they wouldn't be in the same position. The time for ifs, buts, and maybes is gone though. Scotland weren't technically good enough to carry out their game plan in Georgia. They were set out by Strachan to play through the Georgians with a precise passing game and against well organised and compact defensive lines (Georgian defence & midfield)..... in the last third we simply didn't have the speed of touch, movement and/or thought neccessary. It exposed an on-field lack of quality and management that didn't adapt to what was in front of them. It was no fluke and playing the same way in the same situation would probably yield a similar result. Against better teams we have enjoyed more space to play in up front and have done very well in converting this into goals. Hence decent results against the likes of Poland, Ireland and even 3 goals against Germany. In fact we scored more goals against each of the top three than the one OG we got against Georgia in the 180 minutes. Edited October 10, 2015 by buster. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) I was thinking about the opposition, on paper Wales and N Ireland had far easier groups but it doesn't seem to matter who Scotland get they will still come up short. I wouldn't have been betting on us getting out of a group containing Romania or Bosnia & Hez, those two away would have been the sort of games Scotland would lose. This group was down to having 3 sides all pretty much on par (Rep, Poland, Scotland) and it came down to individual games. Having a head to head better than Ireland is disappointing plus 7 seconds away from a better head to head than Poland shows how fine the margins were. Ireland somehow took 4 points off Germany which is what swang it plus our failure in Georgia. It was a close call. Indeed, this now means Scotland will go at least 20 years without qualifying for a major tournament, with a realistic chance of it extending far beyond that. Scottish football needs overhauled. Strachan has made a decent improvement but we're still nowhere near good enough. Ultimately our squad is very limited: the current Poland squad isn't that great but they have many players from the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Seria A, La Liga etc. What frustrates me if even by the law of averages you would think we would produce the odd world class player. Wales seem to do it, why don't we? When was the last time Scotland produced a world class player? Looking at our current squad, almost half of it comes from the English Championship, then there's some players from mainly bottom end Premiership teams and then a few mediocre players from the SPL. A squad like that is going absolutely nowhere. Edited October 10, 2015 by Ser Barristan Selmy 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Indeed, this now means Scotland will go at least 20 years without qualifying for a major tournament, with a realistic chance of it extending far beyond that. Scottish football needs overhauled. Strachan has made a decent improvement but we're still nowhere near good enough. Ultimately our squad is very limited: the current Poland squad isn't that great but they have many players from the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Seria A, La Liga etc. What frustrates me if even by the law of averages you would think we would produce the odd world class player. Wales seem to do it, why don't we? When was the last time Scotland produced a world class player? Looking at our current squad, almost half of it comes from the English Championship, then there's some players from mainly bottom end Premiership teams and then a few mediocre players from the SPL. A squad like that is going absolutely nowhere. Yeah an overhaul from top to bottom. Revamp of the league system, a move to summer football (Norway are on the way up and a win away from qualifying, it doesn't do Russia any harm), mass investment in youth), a change in those running the game who are nothing short of baboons. If that doesn't happen we wont qualify for another 10 years and if we do it will be down to the luck of the draw. You see teams like Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia & Hez who have all just had their own national sides for 2 decades, they produce good sides and have low populations. Its a social thing in Scotland. Its possible a British thing as England underachieve all the time, and Wales are only qualifying due to Bale who is world class. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,411 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Five players have withdrawn from the Scotland squad for Sunday's final Euro 2016 qualifier against Gibraltar. Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths and his club-mate Charlie Mulgrew will not feature in Portugal. Midfielders James McArthur and James Morrison, of Crystal Palace and West Brom respectively, and Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes also miss out. The Scots will not be at the finals in France after a draw with Poland ensured they cannot reach the play-offs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33544029 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,411 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Scotland U21 v France Euro qualifier on BBC Alba kick off 15:00 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Yeah an overhaul from top to bottom. Revamp of the league system, a move to summer football (Norway are on the way up and a win away from qualifying, it doesn't do Russia any harm), mass investment in youth), a change in those running the game who are nothing short of baboons. If that doesn't happen we wont qualify for another 10 years and if we do it will be down to the luck of the draw. You see teams like Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia & Hez who have all just had their own national sides for 2 decades, they produce good sides and have low populations. Its a social thing in Scotland. Its possible a British thing as England underachieve all the time, and Wales are only qualifying due to Bale who is world class. Definitely a British thing. Northern Ireland and Wales have done well but I doubt it will last. England constantly get found out on the big stage. British football lags behind the continent. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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