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Scotland Squad For Czech & Spain


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Broadfoot and Gilks are both out. McCulloch is a doubt.

 

Don Cowie, Kevin McNaughton and Cammy Bell called up.

 

Another keeper that Neil Alexander is better than.

 

But is getting a game at a better level than reserve football.

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As much as it's good for Scotland that such a wonderful player isn't playing, I'm still really disappointed Xavi is missing from the Spain squad, I've been looking forward to seeing him again ever since the draw was made...actually, I've been hoping to see him even before the draw!

 

The Spanish replacements are worrying though. Pablo Hernandez is more of a natural winger than Pedro, and probably better than Navas at the moment, whilst Aduriz offers a real ariel threat which only Llorente posed previously, so it adds a whole new dimension to their squad, along with the excellent Santi Cazorla.

 

Even at the World Cup, the general game plan for the opposition was to narrow the pitch as much as possible and force them to go wide as there wasn't really wingers as such, nor a target-man in the box, but now we have to stop crosses into the box as well as trying to stop them passing us to death through the middle. Good luck with that one boys...

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As much as it's good for Scotland that such a wonderful player isn't playing, I'm still really disappointed Xavi is missing from the Spain squad, I've been looking forward to seeing him again ever since the draw was made...actually, I've been hoping to see him even before the draw!

 

The Spanish replacements are worrying though. Pablo Hernandez is more of a natural winger than Pedro, and probably better than Navas at the moment, whilst Aduriz offers a real ariel threat which only Llorente posed previously, so it adds a whole new dimension to their squad, along with the excellent Santi Cazorla.

 

Even at the World Cup, the general game plan for the opposition was to narrow the pitch as much as possible and force them to go wide as there wasn't really wingers as such, nor a target-man in the box, but now we have to stop crosses into the box as well as trying to stop them passing us to death through the middle. Good luck with that one boys...

 

I'm not as worried - the precision of passing Spain normally play with will be broken up with so many changes.

 

The way they play relies on everyone knowing exactly what the rest of the team is doing and the reason they are so good at this is familiarity with each other.

 

I'm not sayign they'll be rubbish but we have more of a chance than we did with Xavi, etc in the squad.

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Will it be Gilks or McGregor that starts, or is Gordon coming straight in without any match practise?

 

I think I'd rather it was Gilks, as McGregor always looks pretty shaky at crosses!

 

 

 

 

We may as well save Gordon for the Spain seem, seen as we expect to lose anyway, if he can be the hero all the better (and he's more likely to do it than the others). However, for the game that we need to get a result in we should play someone who has been playing regularly.

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Certainly losing one of the top two players in the world (oh yes he is...) is going to affect Spain's play and will deprive them of maybe 7 or 8 killer balls over the game, but Busquets and Iniesta in particular are more than capable of running the show in the same manner, if not just quite as well in the absense of Xavi beside them. My point was though, that even if the passing isn't quite so efficient, it'll still be light years ahead of anything most/all of our players have came up against, but with an extra dimension thrown in. Teams have managed to strangle their passing game, but those games, as with Barcelona, there was no ariel presence in the box as a plan B. Now they have that, as well as top-class wingers, so if anything it'll be even more difficult as there is two styles of play to snuff out, rather than just one.

 

 

And let's face it, Spain could lose a dozen players and still be better than us :(

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Caldwell in midfield is gonna make it a long night, bad enough at centre half never mind a holding midfielder. Would rather see Barry Robson in there alongside Fletcher, someone who can actually play a pass and deliver a decent ball in the box, than Caldwell.

 

Miller being dropped is a strange one though, leaving our most experienced striker whos been banging the goals in this season for his club is a bit of a gamble. Not seen much of Mackie so i'll give the guy a chance.

 

Good to see Levein starting Naismith, hes been playing well, and im a fan of Dorrans so good to see him starting

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Caldwell in midfield is gonna make it a long night, bad enough at centre half never mind a holding midfielder. Would rather see Barry Robson in there alongside Fletcher, someone who can actually play a pass and deliver a decent ball in the box, than Caldwell.

 

Miller being dropped is a strange one though, leaving our most experienced striker whos been banging the goals in this season for his club is a bit of a gamble. Not seen much of Mackie so i'll give the guy a chance.

 

Good to see Levein starting Naismith, hes been playing well, and im a fan of Dorrans so good to see him starting

 

 

Go on then. Name one Scotland game in which Caldwell has been less than outstanding in that role.

 

I do believe Francesco Totti described him as one of the toughest opponents he's played against. The big fella gets far too hard a time of it, he can be as bad as he wants for Celtic or Wigan (and he's not as bad as people want to make out, really), but two moments of madness against Norway aside, he's always been a fine performer in the dark blue.

 

That team is awful on the whole though.

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Caldwell gets a ridiculously hard time from far too many people.

 

And Barry Robson? Really!? He hardly done his cause any favour in the last double header. He was/is mince.

 

I like both Naismith and Dorrans, and Morrison done well against Liechtenstein. I know hee haw about Mackie, tbh. It's just such an inexperienced and untried team and it's a massive gamble from Levein.

TTG JIM!!!
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Just saw a close up of Mr Midtons belting out Flower of Scotland. :)

 

Well noticed too, even my fiancee noticed him too, as she being on the albert bus for a few away games with her dad

In defeat we try and forget

But being victorious we will always remember

 

C'mon Ye Ton

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