***Scotland vs Norway - Official Match Thread ***

[Ked]

1 minute ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Shanks just need to keep scoring for Hearts. That will get him to the Euros. 

Spot on

[Shooter McGavin]

8 minutes ago, Tazio said:

Having watched a few Italian games Ferguson not getting a sniff is a puzzler. 

Got the be a cert for Germany though eh

[rmreido]

2 minutes ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Me too. I actually think what has happened to him over the last 4 days is brilliant news for the rest of Hearts season.  

Yep, gives him an extra edge to every Hearts game, until the end of the season....win, win.

[DS98]

1 minute ago, Hearts1975 said:

As much as I think he has got the shanks/Jacob call completely wrong, not having this either 

World class players ? We have one, arguably, in Andy Robertson. 

Mcginn and Tierney are in the excellent bracket, along with Mctominay .... They aren't world class in comparable terms 

Your opinion on Scotland is entirely your call. That's fair enough 

He has done a brilliant job with that team where other managers , multiple managers, have simply failed 

No manager in the last 25 years has had this much quality at their disposal and the majority of them coming into their prime. 
 

Robertson

Tierney

McGinn

McTominay 

Gilmour

Hickey

McGregor

 

All excellent players. We’ve got the captain of Bologna and captain of Leeds available tonight and they can’t get a sniff. 

 

 

[neilnunb]

Ffs

[Bindy Badgy]

Well that's a shit start.

[Tazio]

Well this has started well. 

[Harry Palmer]

Clarke reminds me of Craig Brown and some of his squad/team selections. 

[Gordon Zola]

maybe he wants to be in pot 3 so started brown?

[Robbo-Jambo]

Get Shanks on !!

[Mikey1874]

No pressure on ball..

[Cameronstheman]

 

No even 3 mins gone , plenty time Scotland, mon 

[iantjambo]

Ffs

[rmreido]

Ffs. Great start...

[EVHearts]

Is Clarke going down the same route as Pa Broon and showing too much loyalty to his old guard?

 

Hope not, never ends well.

 

Martinez done the same with Belgium’s so called golden generation and took them one championship too far

[HeartsandonlyHearts]

28 minutes ago, Fozzyonthefence said:

Not as ridiculous as waiting for the team selection to decide whether to support your country or not!  Do you do that with Hearts too?

I said June. Clark has 7 months to save me.

[RENE]

Very slow start by us.

[Gundermann]

Nathan Patterson is pish at the moment. 

[Mikey1874]

McTominay does better than Spain from same free kick.

 

Penalty.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Mikey1874

[neilnunb]

1-1 🙂

[Luckies1874]

15 minutes ago, Shooter McGavin said:

Got the be a cert for Germany though eh

 

 

Assuming fitness for me there are probably 21 certainties to be in the squad.

 

Gunn

Clark or Gordon (ironically this entirely depends on what happens at Hearts!)

Kelly

 

Robertson

Tierney

Hickey

Patterson

Hanley

Hendry

Porteous 

McKenna

 

McGregor

Gilmour

McTominay

McGinn

McLean

Ferguson 

Armstrong

 

Dykes 

Adams

Christie 

 

This leaves only 2 places. A lot will depend on how Clark wants to balance the squad. Given how he sets us up I can only see one forward/striker and right now I think Shankland has that spot. 

 

Cooper

Souttar

Taylor

Jack

Shankland

Brown

Nisbet

 

This does not take into account someone like Barnes becoming available - he would certainly be in the 23. Nor Doak having a fantastic 6 months for Liverpool and becoming impossible to leave out. The reduction back to 23 from 26 (post Covid) isn't helping Shanks and other's. 

 

Thoughts?

Edited November 19, 2023 by Luckies1874

[Don Dannie]

Penalty

[Mikey1874]

Nice penalty.

[rmreido]

YAS.....aye, aye captain 1-1

[Luckies1874]

9 minutes ago, Harry Palmer said:

Clarke reminds me of Craig Brown and some of his squad/team selections. 

 

Craig Brown who got us to Euro 96 and World Cup 98. 

 

Aye, I can see the resemblance too. Good thing after 20+ years of absolute hee haw.

[Don Dannie]

Super John 

[iantjambo]

[Luckies1874]

7 minutes ago, BelgeJambo said:

Is Clarke going down the same route as Pa Broon and showing too much loyalty to his old guard?

 

 

Who is his old guard?

[neilnunb]

Who is it they're singing are in their beds? Sounds like Taffs? 😁

[Hearts1975]

7 minutes ago, DS98 said:

No manager in the last 25 years has had this much quality at their disposal and the majority of them coming into their prime. 
 

Robertson

Tierney

McGinn

McTominay 

Gilmour

Hickey

McGregor

 

All excellent players. We’ve got the captain of Bologna and captain of Leeds available tonight and they can’t get a sniff. 

 

 

That's fair comment 

Again though, in comparable terms, I just think that if you look at these players, compared to other national sides, they would probably argue for some of their players being in the same bracket. Then you have the next level where we aren't in the same equation 

The manager still has to gel, and get the side playing and competing. 

2 Euros back to back. League of Nations A team. 

I mean, would the likes of Strachan, Vogts, McLeish, levein etc done as well as Clarke and with this current team ? 

Personally, I don't think they would have, but that's just my own opinion 

 

[Byyy The Light]

25 minutes ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

I think he is Scotland's best striker too. But he's not our best forward. And I believe Clarke differentiates between the two things in the way he sets up the team. With all due respect to Lawrence, Clarke is unlikely to change the way we play, one that has brought us more 'success' than in over 20 years, for him. He is going to stick with what he thinks works best up front in respect to how we defend from the front and how that focal point contributes. This does not mean that Shanks can't be part of the squad next summer and he gave the chance of that a massive boost in Tbilisi but that will likely be his role in the squad, to come on when we are needing a goal.

👍🏼 how I see it 

[Gordon Zola]

has brown had a touch?

[iantjambo]

We’ve responded really well since that early set back

[neilnunb]

Ffs Zander

 

Probably not much he could do...

Edited November 19, 2023 by neilnunb

[Deviskan]

Clark is nowhere near good enough I’m afraid.

[flem]

Zander did not do very well there. 

[Tiger]

This defending is horrific

[Luckies1874]

He isn't getting much luck but he isn't covering himself in glory either. That's an incredibly poor goal to lose by defence and keeper alike. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Luckies1874

[GavK1012]

Poor defending again, but ZC isn't helping himself...

 

Nobody interested in stopping the ball actually coming in, really poor...

[Mikey1874]

To be fair to Steve Clarke, he put Hickey in team and now first choice. 

[Bindy Badgy]

Some really poor goals conceeded tonight and against Georgia. Lessons need to be learned before Germany.

[rmreido]

Wtf.... STOP the cross ffs, schoolboy defending...

[HeartsandonlyHearts]

Just now, flem said:

Zander did not do very well there. 

Neither did any defenders 

[Mikey1874]

2 goals from same wing

 

Two easy crosses

Edited November 19, 2023 by Mikey1874

[connlach]

How can that possibly be Zanders fault. Guy was 1 foot away and he did all he could to stop it. Defending is tragic

Edited November 19, 2023 by connlach

[Scott Leitch]

1 minute ago, Deviskan said:

Clark is nowhere near good enough I’m afraid.

 

Just now, flem said:

Zander did not do very well there. 

 

You can't blame him for that 😆

[Cruyff]

That wasn't great from Clark. 

[HeartsandonlyHearts]

This game could be 4-4

[whodanny]

Just now, Mikey1874 said:

2 goals from same wing

3 including Georgia.

[VALDOS']

By the way if Gordon is fit, he will 100% be back up for Gunn, Clark is not international level, he just isn't.