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kevin04 · Standing in a Council Ward Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 462

Just looking/thinking ahead to this game in a week and a bit.

I suppose that we must be looking to get the win to guarntee the playoff spot, but I think it's going to be a really difficult game for us.
Norway have not started off well at all in the group, and still have very small chance of qualifying, but it's our injuries that are concering.

I think I can see this ending in a 1-1 draw, Confused

which I don't know will be a good result.
We'll need to beat Macedonia and probably Holland to secure our place in the Playoffs.

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject:

It is only the 8 best second placed teams that get into the play-offs and at the moment even if we finish second, I think we are at risk of not qualifying for the play-offs.

So every game is critical, starting with this one.
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Rinty · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:21 am Post subject:

If we finish second we should make the top 8 runners up.

The calculation for that removes results against the bottom teans in groups with more teams involved. This means that second placed teams that seem to be above us now, will be handicapped by removing points from their totals at the end, usually 6 points if they have andora or such like in their group.

I think we will do well to get a draw and I would settle for that.

landg · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject:

norway to win, they are well into their season and the scottish players are not.not unlike dynamo last week cruising past celtic. we are also weakened by not having gordon,mcgregor,ferguson and boyd.

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:35 pm Post subject:

kevin04 · Standing in a Council Ward Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 462

I know what you mean Hero.

It seems the Press are getting the knives out already as well. I think the lack of build up is possibly due to the season not having kicked off as well. I think the next few days, the papers will be filled with stories and interviews from Ex-Pro's etc.

I think possibly also with the stuttering start to this campaign that there seems to be no enthusiasm either. We seem to take 1 step forward and 1 step back, result wise as well.

I think we can go to Oslo and get the 3pts! We'll need to be quite brave, and hopefully GB has learnt the lessons of trying a 4-5-1 at home to the 6ft Plus Norwegians, and we go out for some attacking football.
Stick Scott Brown further up the Park like Mogga did last week in Russia, Hartley can sit back and I'd even go with McCormack and Fletcher upfront.

Saying all that, the pressure is truly on Norway. They are currently bottom of the Group, They need to win every game to have a chance of making it, even that might not be enough for them to get a Playoff Berth.
A win would be fantastic and set up the Macedonia game for next month for a huge build up and probably a full-house knowing that 3pts would just about get us into a Playoff.

Celtic Indian · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:59 pm Post subject:

Gubbed !

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kevin04 · Standing in a Council Ward Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 462

Oh dear, Oh dear!

Where do you begin?

First 35, I agree with most o' the pundits etc and feel that we were a decent side and played some nice spells, we had about 67% of the possesion in the first half an hour, but that doesn't win you football matches.

After they scored and Caldwell's Red, we looked all over the place! Killer blow before half-time with the 2nd goal and Goodnight.

Who knows where to go from here?
Still possible to qualify by a whisker, but I very much doubt it. The way things are going, we'll beat Holland/Macedonia but come 9th out of the 2nd Best teams.

Reluctant Hero · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:14 pm Post subject:

I agree. The first half hour we looked pretty decent and if Miller had converted that chance, who knows?

There is no doubt that Riise in particular was lucky to still be on the field, but WTF was Caldwell thinking? Just before his first booking, the ref was brandishing cards about. So what does Caldwell do? He goes straight through the back of the player. Obvious booking. As for the second booking, I think he can have no complaints. Carew might have had a hold of his jersey, but, Caldwell blatantly pulled him down.

After that thge defence went missing.

As for continually picking Commons, what is that all about? Especially over the likes of McFadden or Maloney. Then after the Caldwell incident, Burley takes off McCormack, who looked pretty enterprising and left on Commons, who hadn't completed a pass since the game had begun.

All I can say is it is simply embarrassing to get beaten 4-0 off a team of similar calibre to ourselves.
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Rinty · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:15 pm Post subject:

we were very unlucky, caldwell was being held but the ref was blinded to it, the deflection at the free kick was a killer blow.

He had to take off mccormack rather than commons as we had to go to 4-4-1.

There are things the I would have done different but we cannot legislate for bad luck, lets get behind burley and the team to win the next match and see where we are after that.

kevin04 · Standing in a Council Ward Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 462

Good post Rinty, Let's get behind the lads.

No matter what Norway do, we can still beat it! of course, we need two wins, and that might not be enough, but let's at least come 2nd in this group..

need to get behind the boys! the time for new management is after the campaign is over, it doesn't matter now, let's give Burley the chance to prove all his critics wrong

as usual, Rinty talks the sense. legend you are.

landg · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:20 am Post subject:

burley picked the wrong team.scotland are rubbish.david marshall????? steven caldwell???????? calumn davidson?????????

if it were not for burleys mismangement we could have had ferguson, boyd,weir, mcgregor (back up to gordon) and possibly mculloch available for selection. why not berra for caldwell or alexander for marshall.absurd decisions. burley inspites no respect and pressley is out of his depth.

sack burley now and bring in souness or strachan.

we were not unlucky, we were s***e, we were lucky, thanks to a blind linesman it was not 5.

landg · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:29 am Post subject:

and another thing.did you see the tartan army being interviewd on sky sports last night after the shambles, cheering, singing, waving at the tv and generally trying to be a cheeky, pissed up main event?
if i was there last night i would be demanding my money back and booing the team and george burely. the sooner they start supporting the team properly (ie. not doing their best to seem like jolly cheeky chaps to the world) the better.

Rinty · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:01 pm Post subject:

Boyd chose not to play for Scotland. You cant oput that down to mismanagement. If a manager was to bow down to player huffs then we wouldnt need a manager as Boyd would get to pick himself.

I think Boyds actions were terrible, a direct insult to a team-mate Iwelumo, and a real insult to Burley who sat on the bench for Scotland more than Boyd did, despite being a much better player. Boyd has more caps than Burley.

As for the selection, it is easy to criticise but we dont see who is showing the right attitude on the training pitch.

The selections that you mention were all 50/50. After Naysmith the rest of the left-backs in contention all play in the Chamopionship and there is littelt to choose between davidson, McNaughton, McCallister etc. Same with the keepers, after Gordon, the rest of pretty much of a similar standard. Likewise centre halfs, Berra and S Caldwell play at the same level and do equally well.

Part of the blame has to go to Gordon Smith for arranging an away match before the season started against a team who mostly are players who are fully fit, half way through a summer season.

But, if the ref hadnt got it wrong and the free kick hadnt been deflected we would have won last night.