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Scotland v Russia


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Cheer up, Steven Clarke, anyone?.........Anyone?

 

Seriously, though, McLeish was vilified -thoroughly, shamefully, vilified- but now, as far as I can see, it's the players, and their manager/coach/leader is, if not beyond reproach, unlikely to receive the criticism heaped upon his predecessor (who was of course, no great shakes, himself). Naturally those who clamoured for Clarke's appointment will be slow to concede even the slightest error of judgement.

 

What did anyone, experts included,  really expect of international competition,  when the SFA appointed, as National Manager, a man who fielded a well organised team, replete with a sprinkling of officially tolerated hammer throwers, and which played its home games on a truly god awful plastic pitch, a surface which favoured only those accustomed to its vagaries?

He achieved relative, limited, and, note, short term, success in the SPFL Premier Division (or whatever it is called), one of the few professional Leagues in Europe -possibly the only such competition- where ' journeyman' is a term of approbation, and where the expression 'It's a man's gemme' is routinely used to approve, and to cloak, what are, frankly, its limitations. 

 

The solution is obvious:

1. lobby UEFA and FIFA for changes in the Laws of the Game, and in their interpretation by officials to permit more robust play (Collum and Co could run remedial classes for continental referees).  Currently both Laws and interpretation thereof discriminate against Auld Scotia, on the grounds of national characteristics, and, clearly, this is unacceptable in 2019, and must be against some legislation, somewhere. 

2. get the crappy plastic surface down at the National Stadium, as a matter of urgency

3. following the savants of the press and the BBC, get that sorcerer Kieran Tierney, a defensive midfield striker, apparently, back in the side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Gribz said:

I think we can give the Russians that one after the Rugby match the other day (so long as the typhoon doesnt spoil Sunday).

 

Im still struggling to see where the mass hype of Clarke came from. He has always been a good No.2 or No.3 coach - which may well be a good and respected thing at times but the frenzy behind him for the Scotland job was over the top.

It seems his good run with Kilmarnock was down to organisation but any of the other 10 SPL sides could do what they did last season with a bit of that as there is nothing between them most of the time.

 

Yet he does have the worst set of goalkeepers and defenders in the history of the national side. 

 

But being behind Cyprus and Kazakhstan is something I thought Id never see.

He was a respected coach at Chelsea and was recommended to Scotland by then manager Ruud Gullit. But agree - we need to decide on 2 central defenders.

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