The news we didn't want...

[alexscottislegend 2,064]

12 hours ago, Whosthedado said:

That was my reaction too. Club first country very much second. Especially in our clubs case. I have seen some of the other clubs fans talking about Rangers players that are in - Souttar and even more so Jack - and if the players themselves read or heard it they would tell Scotland to ram it

Shows you how narrow-minded Scotland has become IMO.

[Whosthedado 1,499]

2 hours ago, alexscottislegend said:

Shows you how narrow-minded Scotland has become IMO.

Yes spot on

[JohnMc 2,473]

For a lot of players there's financial incentive in making international squads. Not only from whatever the SFA pays them but from personal sponsors and also from their club contracts. Often a player's contract will have levels (games played/cups won/European qualification etc) and making international squads is often one of them. A player who is a current full international also has a higher value than one that isn't, even if it's for a 'poorer' footballing nation like Scotland. International football is seen as a higher level of competition than domestic league football and enhances a player's transfer and salary value.*

 

I can understand why we're nervous about two players with poor injury records playing more football when we'd prefer them to rest. I suspect both quite like playing international football, it's a different type of challenge for a player. Whatever your views on Steve Clark he's done well with Scotland and we've a reasonable chance of qualifying for a tournament, something almost every professional would like to be part of. 

 

*Some 20 or so years ago there was a scandal in Brazil when it was discovered their national team manager was getting paid by agents to give random players one cap. These were players who would normally be nowhere near the Brazil squad. These agents were then able to tout their player to European clubs as a 'Brazilian international' and command a larger fee and salary for an often very average player. One team who fell for this were from Glasgow, they bought a Brazilian international centre half to some fanfare. It turned out he was the most aptly named player of all time - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Scheidt

[craig 5,195]

On 29/05/2023 at 11:20, compo said:

All someone has to do is phone Clarke and say the two lads have a tight hamstring end of story big Stein did it for years 

Doesnt work like that.  They still have to report and the Scotland medical staff determine if they are injured or not.  Only way to avoid it would be to make themselves unavailable for selection