Some thoughts on the Scotland crisis and last night's game...
Agreed, although Christie was excellent and not only worked his socks off, but created some problems for the Belgians with his direct and energetic style of play, winning a few corners and free kicks in the process, which had Griffiths been on the park. instead of Snodgrass, we might've scored from!Originally Posted by struth
Mulgrew was also his usual steady self, and always a threat at set pieces, and Marshall did ok and could've done nothing to prevent any of the goals. Plus, Armstrong also made an impact when he came on, nearly setting up a goal with his first few touches.. So the Celtic (or ex-Celtic) contingent there performed ok. However, both Forrest and McGregor are currently underperforming in a Scotland shirt.
They combined really well before against Cyprus, etc, to win us the play-off place, which is now our only chance of qualifying for the Euros, but you wonder that, given the demanding season (and all the important games) that lie ahead for them for Celtic, are they really pushing themselves fully for Scotland? I think that both have recently been playing within themselves and don't want to risk injury. Could that also be the case with the likes of Robertson and McTominay, as they too have bigger fish to fry with Liverpool and Man Utd respectively.
And that's one of the problems we now face as a nation... In the lowly position we currently find ourselves in, is it now the case that for our top players, the attraction of pulling on a Scotland shirt just isn't the same as it once was, before the dawn of Champions League football, with the huge rewards that brings, and when Scotland used to qualify for major tournaments and so players then had something worth playing for, and as such is viewed as an 'inconvenience'?
No-one would admit that of course, but in my view that's as much a part of the problem we currently face, as the failings of any of the recent managers we've had. Because regardless of the manager, it's largely the same group of players delivering the same poor performances, and subsequent bad results, and for me that's no coincidence. We have to address, and try and fix, the malaise that's been present in our national squad for a very long time.
Therefore, for me, we need to look at the players selected, perhaps by starting to cap good Scottish players (or those eligible to play for Scotland), capable of doing a job in certain positions, who aren't involved in the demands of playing for Celtic, Rangers, Liverpool or Man Utd, and have something to prove?
Perhaps they would have more fire in their bellies, as once was the case, when pulling on a Scotland shirt? Plus, it might give a kick up the arse to the 'superstars' (I use that description entirely flippantly), when they're being dropped for someone they'd consider as their inferior... Because, no matter how good the manager is, you're not going to win games when the hearts of your key players aren't in it.
The other problem we have currently, is our paucity of good strikers, which we once had in abundance, and in that respect, the Scotland team has become a victim of the fact that the main strikers at Rangers and Celtic, Griffiths aside, are all foreign - and in the case of Griffiths, he's not getting enough game-time for that reason [kept out the team by Edouard], so can't realistically be selected for Scotland, although he should be ahead of Naismith, who's played even less for Hearts!! So Clarke's decision there baffles me
I have little doubt that, even though he's not being playing much for Celtic, Griffiths would've have made an impact in the two games against Russia and Belgium. His delivery from set pieces alone would've virtually guaranteed that. The other thing is that when your team doesn't have a major threat up front, or someone who can lead the line and hold the ball up well on his own, it puts added pressure on the midfield and defence, as they're constantly under pressure.
It goes back to the old saying of 'the best form of defence is attack' - a truism because, if you've got the ball and are doing something positive with it, then the opposition aren't!
We also badly lack leadership on the pitch, and in that respect are hugely missing Scott Brown's influence. There are too many players currently in the Scotland squad who don't have his type of desire or winning mentality, or who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in. That situation needs addressing, first and foremost.
In that respect, if we had another 10 Ryan Christies, with his type of skill and endeavour in every position, we'd have no problems!
However, for the striking problem to change, our top clubs need to bring more good players through their ranks, and not just go out and spend millions of pounds on foreigners - but then we go back to the problem of the pressure that the likes of Rangers are Celtic are under to perform well in Europe and win every domestic game, and so instant success is mandatory. It's a vicious circle, but unless something fundamental is done about it, then internationally, Scotland will continue to be a joke for years to come....
Marco.
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Did you miss my (entirely justified) criticism of Forrest and McGregor?
