Darthter 542 Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Been a lot of chat on Clyde SSB about players stepping up to International level. We're recently seen Ryan Jack appear for the "proper" team, and Ross McCrorie being included in the 21's team. As lot has been made about whether these players (and other youngsters) have the ability to "step up" to international level, but is there still that gulf in quality that there once was??? Think of many players in the EPL....playing week in/out against many players from top international teams etc - no longer is it a rarity to play against the "best". Also with the likes of Champions league & Europa league, many young players are getting experience of playing against top level opponents long before being picked for international duty. If they're good enough, they're old enough.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rousseau 9,390 Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 (edited) I don't think there is an international level, per se -- at least not any more. We're limited by the crop we can choose from. Therefore, Scotland's international 'level' will fluctuate. Our top players are nowhere near that of the past. Have I misunderstood? It's almost irrelevant who they're playing against week-in week-out. They may have experience, but they're not good enough. Although, I also don't believe a 'best' national side needs to be comprised of their best players; it needs to be a team that works together in style. Too many players are picked because they're playing in the EPL, when I think there are better players, in terms of the team, playing elsewhere. That's also why a national side must be composed of a core of the country's best club. Edited November 14, 2017 by Rousseau 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Surely McCrorie cant be that far away from a full international call-up. Yes, very young and only played a handful of games - but our dearth of CB's is apparent when Tierney is having to play at CB. If the lad keeps up his form of present there is no reason he shouldn't be in the full squad by this time next year 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 I don't think there is an international level, per se -- at least not any more. We're limited by the crop we can choose from. Therefore, Scotland's international 'level' will fluctuate. Our top players are nowhere near that of the past. Have I misunderstood? It's almost irrelevant who they're playing against week-in week-out. They may have experience, but they're not good enough. Although, I also don't believe a 'best' national side needs to be comprised of their best players; it needs to be a team that works together in style. Too many players are picked because they're playing in the EPL, when I think there are better players, in terms of the team, playing elsewhere. That's also why a national side must be composed of a core of the country's best club. A lot of the media still believe that there is a significant "step up" from club football to international football. As such there tends to be a lot of chatter about who is good enough to turn out for the national team - even @ Scotland's level. I believe it stems from when there was little European football, and most domestic teams were made up of local players. Ryan Jack for example.....there was talk about whether he would be good enough for a full competitive Scotland match - playing in a meaningless friendly is fine but the consensus was that he wasn't good enough for competition. Similar discussion about McCrorie saying that he has done very well for the Rangers 1st team, but he's probably "not ready" to run out for the Scotland 1st team. Your comment about the "best" national team kinda fits in with what I'm thinking.....The manager assumes that because they are playing in the EPL, they MUST be of a standard for the 1st team as they are playing against many of the same players @ International level. As we have seen, that hasn't been the case. Maybe it is time to start looking at players, regardless of which league or age, that are playing well and give them a shot. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darthter 542 Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Surely McCrorie cant be that far away from a full international call-up. Yes, very young and only played a handful of games - but our dearth of CB's is apparent when Tierney is having to play at CB. If the lad keeps up his form of present there is no reason he shouldn't be in the full squad by this time next year Scotland has been crying out for decent CB's for a while....it's an area of the team that is ALWAYS talked about on the phone-ins. Who would you rather have at the heart of the Rangers defence...McCrorie or Christophe Berra??? Berra apparently being the best CB available to the Scotland squad..... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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