World Cup Warm-up Games

[Radiored]

Ah've never had a good word tae say aboot Adams ... looks like Ah maybe need tae find on or two  

[OrlandoDon]

Very controlled game, not fast, but bursts of attacking play and clinical finishing. Perfect for the conditions. Going well but disappointed we don’t get more of a challenge from Bolivia. So far.

expect a nerve racking 4-3 win….

[RicoS321]

1 minute ago, Radiored said:

Ah've never had a good word tae say aboot Adams ... looks like Ah maybe need tae find on or two  

He can kick the ball very hard. 

He works very hard too, I think he's underrated by Scotland fans. Definitely doesn't look as good on the telly as he does in person.

[OrlandoDon]

I do think it may not seem a lot but Ferguson and mctom are so solid in the middle.

[Brochred]

Funny how for years, we Scotland (and AFC) have struggled to score goals. Tonight we play with 2 up front and a winger and score 4.

[OrlandoDon]

1 minute ago, Brochred said:

Funny how for years, we Scotland (and AFC) have struggled to score goals. Tonight we play with 2 up front and a winger and score 4.

Hope Stephen Robinson is watching. 

[BigAl]

Since Scotland are rolling back the years, it seems like an appropriate time to resurrect this classic tune

Appreciate the youth of today wouldn't be aware of this song

 

[Radiored]

Ah'm right in the spirit .... Scotch pies were reduced in the Co-op earlier .... perfect timin' .... So Ah've had ma half-time pie n' Bovril (Marmite actually, but, ken? )   

[BigAl]

3 minutes ago, Radiored said:

Ah'm right in the spirit .... Scotch pies were reduced in the Co-op earlier .... perfect timin' .... So Ah've had ma half-time pie n' Bovril (Marmite actually, but, ken? )   

Pies in the plural

Thanks very much if you're offering  

[BigAl]

What a shit fest this second half has been 

[swaddon]

Thon roaster in the crowd a couple of minutes ago "Robbo sign my shirt".

He doesn't even play for Liverpool any more.

[tlg1903]

23 minutes ago, BigAl said:

What a shit fest this second half has been 

Aye it's been turgid stuff 

[swaddon]

I don't mind if it's worse than the 2014 League Cup Final, as long as nobody is injured.

[RicoS321]

14 minutes ago, swaddon said:

I don't mind if it's worse than the 2014 League Cup Final, as long as nobody is injured.

Nobody? That was our last chance for Hirst to pick up a broken pelvis. Opportunity missed IMO. The US's atrocious public transport means a stray bus hitting him is unlikely.

[RicoS321]

Have to say too, Fletcher looks nowhere near international standard. A very strange addition to the squad. Hopefully in a couple of years he'll have played proper fitba for someone. 

[OrlandoDon]

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

Have to say too, Fletcher looks nowhere near international standard. A very strange addition to the squad. Hopefully in a couple of years he'll have played proper fitba for someone. 

Yeah. Highly doubt he’ll see relevant minutes in the world cup, looked a lot more like the inexperienced player he is today. Miller should be there instead. we do have McLean Christie even tierney who can provide depth behind Ferguson and mctominnay, plus mcginn could play deeper too.

i will add that I thought Robertson and Christie were excellent on the left today. I get that it’s relative to the opponent, but I’m not quite so demanding now to see Curtis start against Haiti. I think the two up top were good first half too, that I’d expect who we saw start today be close to our starting 11. Not sure how I’d fit in mcginn, and that may be the dilema, doak was sharp and involved in a lot of good play today too. Plus I think two up top needs to happen vs Haiti. Perhaps mcginn comes in for doak and starts vs Morocco? Def a tournament for the squad to be used.

Maybe McKenna for Hanley? Not sure if hendry is right sided playing left today? I doubt we’ll see Robertson and tierney start together, especially given age and injury history and not having a third left back in the squad. 

Edited 20 hours ago by OrlandoDon

[Ajja]

Pretty comfortable victory but Bolivia were in their flip-flops and down at sea- level which must have hampered them. 
 

Great pace on the right with Hickey and BGD gave us lots of options to open them up and two up top really worked. The lack of threat gave us the confidence to commit players forward and load up the penalty area in the first half. Doubt we’ll get much of that luxury on Sunday. Appreciate Adams got two goals but he tried to mess them both up with keeper getting hands to the first despite it being a slot in from 7 yards and his first effort wasn’t great through bodies for the second, he got lucky with the rebound. I’m still not convinced by him despite the work rate. Has he scored against a team inside the top 75 yet? 
 

Overall, good prep but drop off in second half was disappointing. Would have been nice to really drive it home but suppose the heat demanded we take it steady. 

[OrlandoDon]

2 minutes ago, Ajja said:

Pretty comfortable victory but Bolivia were in their flip-flops and down at sea- level which must have hampered them. 
 

Great pace on the right with Hickey and BGD gave us lots of options to open them up and two up top really worked. The lack of threat gave us the confidence to commit players forward and load up the penalty area in the first half. Doubt we’ll get much of that luxury on Sunday. Appreciate Adams got two goals but he tried to mess them both up with keeper getting hands to the first despite it being a slot in from 7 yards and his first effort wasn’t great through bodies for the second, he got lucky with the rebound. I’m still not convinced by him despite the work rate. Has he scored against a team inside the top 75 yet? 
 

Overall, good prep but drop off in second half was disappointing. Would have been nice to really drive it home but suppose the heat demanded we take it steady. 

I def think the paranoia behind heat and injuries kicked in that we didn’t overly push in the second half. Having seen gilmour miss, out avoiding injury was a big deal.

[Ajja]

Adams international goals (answering my own question);

• Liechtenstein (3 goals)
• Faroe Islands (2 goals)
• Bolivia (2 goals)
• Armenia (1 goal)
• Austria (1 goal)
• Belarus (1 goal)
• Moldova (1 goal)

Thought he had 12 so not sure where last one is. 

Edit: Denmark

Edited 20 hours ago by Ajja

[RicoS321]

8 hours ago, Ajja said:

Adams international goals (answering my own question);

• Liechtenstein (3 goals)
• Faroe Islands (2 goals)
• Bolivia (2 goals)
• Armenia (1 goal)
• Austria (1 goal)
• Belarus (1 goal)
• Moldova (1 goal)

Thought he had 12 so not sure where last one is. 

Edit: Denmark

Adams has never been a prolific goalscorer, and isn't in the team for that purpose. Same as Kenny Miller wasn't. He's there because he's an athlete that works tirelessly and stretches teams with his running in behind and into channels. Scotland haven't had a world class striker, who has both the work rate and the finishing, in decades, so it's always about compromise and identifying the qualities that will have the greatest overall effect for the team. We're only really now at the point where Shankland can make the claim that he's worth dropping one of our excellent midfielders for, that certainly hasn't been the case in the past. He's a lot more complete a player now, and his work rate is very good. Even then, his attributes will likely be nullified by Morocco and Brazil, which will be games for Adams and Dykes. A good example of this would be Adam Rooney, who scored for fun against 90% of the league, but was largely a waste of a shirt against the Tims and in Europe because he wouldn't get the service and didn't have the pace to make the opportunities on his own, or the strength to hold it up against better defenders. It's why Cosgrove was generally better against the Tims than Rooney despite being not nearly the goalscorer - because of his other attributes. There's a pragmatism to playing Adams, and he rarely lets us down in what he's being asked to do.

[OrlandoDon]

Morocco Norway today should be an interesting game to monitor. Both prepping for the World Cup (unlike Bolivia) so I’d expect both teams to try. Both teams regarded very highly too at present.

[OrlandoDon]

Apparently Christian Erickson collapsed in the Denmark Ukraine game and the match has been abandoned??? Can’t find much online at present? Hope the boy is ok…..again!

[swaddon]

14 minutes ago, OrlandoDon said:

Apparently Christian Erickson collapsed in the Denmark Ukraine game and the match has been abandoned??? Can’t find much online at present? Hope the boy is ok…..again!

The latest from the BBC is that he is conscious.