Taxi for potter?

[vuefrom1875]

After another usual disastrous campaign foray,will the knives be out for Mr.Negative?Pivotal point(or lack of)being THAT first game against the czechs!Step forward Gordon Strachan.:taxi

[Spike Mandela]

Not sure what Levein did to merit the job in the first place and now I'm not sure what he has done to merit keeping his job.

However our expectation levels are so low now that I can't see much of an outcry to change things if honest.

[Halifaxhibby]

Totally inept tactically, we were fine until he replaced bardsley with Danny wilson, he was out of position at there first and shouldn't be making that tackle for the second.
Get him out!!

[MrSmith]

EH??

We may not be that good but at least there has been some improvement and there is hope for the future!

[Jim44]

I've got no time for Potter and couldn't care less whether he stays or goes. I only saw snippets of the second half and to be fair they looked passable as team at times. Despite my indifference, I thought the ref was out of order with his penalty decisions and on that performance should be demoted to Sunday pub league football

[Spike Mandela]

EH??

We may not be that good but at least there has been some improvement and there is hope for the future!

Really? Seconds away from our worst ever home result, the legendary 4-6-0 formation and 5 points from 5 games. Improvement?

I accept we have some decent youngsters coming through and players competing in the EPL but that is not down to Levein it's just his good fortune. Whether he is the man to get the best from this group of players is debatable.

[jonny]

Don't mean to upset the apple cart here guys but given the last few performances, I dont think he has done too much wrong. Yesterday we shouldve beat the Czech - had it not been for a terrible refereeing decision we would have. In all honesty they are probably a better side than us, as are Denmark who we just beat (albeit a friendly).
We ran the world champions very close and beat a stuffy Leichtenstein team (I know that isn't something to shout out about but we did still win and I'm a "happy clapper"). Whilst it looks just beyond us to qualify for the Euro, Im not ruling out the possibility yet. We have to beat Lithuania and Leichtenstein, which I think we will. Czech then play Spain - where we really have to hope for a Spain win. Then we go into the final games 1 point ahead of them. They play away to Lithuania and we play away to Spain. We have to match their result and we're in the playoffs. If we get that far then as far as I'm concerned Levein has done a good job.
I really don't like the man but at the moment I can't see what we have to complain about. The tactics in the 1st game against Czech were awful, but if we'd have tried to have a go would we have done any better? I dont think Levein had much confidence in his side at that point but as things have progressed and he's seen that the players we have are actually quite good then his tactics have developed.
I certainly dont think that Strachan is better suited to the job than Levein. He's only been succesful when he's had better players at his disposal than everyone his team plays.
I'm a big Scotland fan - nearly as much so as I am a Hibs fan and as things stand Im satisfied with the progress we're making.

Whether we qualify for the Euro playoffs or not Im confident about heading into the world cup qualifiers and expect us to finish at least 2nd in our group.

[MrSmith]

Don't mean to upset the apple cart here guys but given the last few performances, I dont think he has done too much wrong. Yesterday we shouldve beat the Czech - had it not been for a terrible refereeing decision we would have. In all honesty they are probably a better side than us, as are Denmark who we just beat (albeit a friendly).
We ran the world champions very close and beat a stuffy Leichtenstein team (I know that isn't something to shout out about but we did still win and I'm a "happy clapper"). Whilst it looks just beyond us to qualify for the Euro, Im not ruling out the possibility yet. We have to beat Lithuania and Leichtenstein, which I think we will. Czech then play Spain - where we really have to hope for a Spain win. Then we go into the final games 1 point ahead of them. They play away to Lithuania and we play away to Spain. We have to match their result and we're in the playoffs. If we get that far then as far as I'm concerned Levein has done a good job.
I really don't like the man but at the moment I can't see what we have to complain about. The tactics in the 1st game against Czech were awful, but if we'd have tried to have a go would we have done any better? I dont think Levein had much confidence in his side at that point but as things have progressed and he's seen that the players we have are actually quite good then his tactics have developed.
I certainly dont think that Strachan is better suited to the job than Levein. He's only been succesful when he's had better players at his disposal than everyone his team plays.
I'm a big Scotland fan - nearly as much so as I am a Hibs fan and as things stand Im satisfied with the progress we're making.

Whether we qualify for the Euro playoffs or not Im confident about heading into the world cup qualifiers and expect us to finish at least 2nd in our group.

:agree:

[One Day Soon]

As its Hibs.net we should really be demanding that he be sacked and keep the momentum up on a one manager per year basis. Surely there's a Scotland training facility we could complain about too?

[yekimevol]

what is it with the strachan love on this site recently. did none see the state he left brough in ?Now you want him as the national manager :confused::confused::confused:

i want potter but for someone who had a little success in the last post, like the now named uncle walter

[cad]

I only caught the 2nd half but when there's somebody bringing the ball down on there chest in your box it should send a few alarm bells to the bench ,set up wrong players run their race sort of thing .
IMO Naismith being knackered with 25 to go should have been the first to get hooked ,I would have a pop at his tracking back as well .
No matter what way you look at it I thought the ref shafted us and there is nothing you can do about it ,a sore one is an understatement

[sunshine1875]

EH??

We may not be that good but at least there has been some improvement and there is hope for the future!

Agree. I think Levein is getting us more like a club side in terms of workrate and set-up. A big improvement from Burley.

I recall people in the past saying "let's build a team, so forget the Euros and get a team ready for the World Cup qualification". I suggest we are better placed now for that than we were a few years ago. All we need to find is a striker to score barrowloads of goals - no dig intended at Miller who actually played well yesterday.

[jonny]

Really? Seconds away from our worst ever home result, the legendary 4-6-0 formation and 5 points from 5 games. Improvement?

I accept we have some decent youngsters coming through and players competing in the EPL but that is not down to Levein it's just his good fortune. Whether he is the man to get the best from this group of players is debatable.

When written like that, that stat looks really bad, however, consider the fixtures:

Lithuania A - 0-0 A draw away from home to Lithuania, shortly following their fortunate victory over the Czech this seemed like a decent result at the time. Especially given that we'd lost in places like Georgia not too long before

Leichtenstein H 2-1 Home win. Not very pretty and at times heart in the mouth stuff against a poor opponent. We dug in and kept going and got the victory though.

Czech A 0-1 Narrow defeat but admittedly the tactics were nothing short of shocking. We went there not expecting too much given that they had only lost 3 Euro qualifiers in their last 5 campaigns

Spain H - 2-3 World champions who are nothing short of phenomenal, possibly one of the best teams ever. After coming from 2 goals down we were only about 10 minutes from what would have been a fantastic result

Czech H 2-2 Had the beating of them and a ludicrous decision in the last minute cost us the win.

I dont think its as bad as some folk make it out to be

[H18sry]

When written like that, that stat looks really bad, however, consider the fixtures:

Lithuania A - 0-0 A draw away from home to Lithuania, shortly following their fortunate victory over the Czech this seemed like a decent result at the time. Especially given that we'd lost in places like Georgia not too long before

Leichtenstein H 2-1 Home win. Not very pretty and at times heart in the mouth stuff against a poor opponent. We dug in and kept going and got the victory though.

Czech A 0-1 Narrow defeat but admittedly the tactics were nothing short of shocking. We went there not expecting too much given that they had only lost 3 Euro qualifiers in their last 5 campaigns

Spain H - 2-3 World champions who are nothing short of phenomenal, possibly one of the best teams ever. After coming from 2 goals down we were only about 10 minutes from what would have been a fantastic result

Czech H 2-2 Had the beating of them and a ludicrous decision in the last minute cost us the win.

I dont think its as bad as some folk make it out to be
Less than 6 months after beating them 1-0 at Hampden :wink:

Levein is dragging the team down with his abysmal team selection's and tactics. :agree:

[Northernhibee]

When written like that, that stat looks really bad, however, consider the fixtures:

Lithuania A - 0-0 A draw away from home to Lithuania, shortly following their fortunate victory over the Czech this seemed like a decent result at the time. Especially given that we'd lost in places like Georgia not too long before

Leichtenstein H 2-1 Home win. Not very pretty and at times heart in the mouth stuff against a poor opponent. We dug in and kept going and got the victory though.

Czech A 0-1 Narrow defeat but admittedly the tactics were nothing short of shocking. We went there not expecting too much given that they had only lost 3 Euro qualifiers in their last 5 campaigns

Spain H - 2-3 World champions who are nothing short of phenomenal, possibly one of the best teams ever. After coming from 2 goals down we were only about 10 minutes from what would have been a fantastic result

Czech H 2-2 Had the beating of them and a ludicrous decision in the last minute cost us the win.

I dont think its as bad as some folk make it out to be

Very well put.

If we stick with Levein, we will qualify for the world cup.

[truehibernian]

Very well put.If we stick with Levein, we will qualify for the world cup. No we won't mate, and nothing to do with Levein in charge either.Scotland are a nation who have never evolved in world football. You will always get effort, passion and commitment, but we are technically poor in all areas of the pitch. Examine their goals and on both occasions we have comfortable possession of the ball......we dither, panic, lunge and play fear football. No composure, skill or preciseness. My view is we will finish 4th. Exactly where our ranking places us. Levein actually has done a decent job.......but following Burley, that wasn't hard.Invest properly all over Scotland in proper facilities, employ better coaches, and educate kids away from bevvy, drugs and playstations. Then we will evolve. Until then, we will only have a handful of truly great footballers in my opinion.Scotland did not bad yesterday, but the Czechs deserved at least a point.

[joe breezy]

Both refereeing decisions were understandable, the fact of the matter is we were sitting deep while only a goal ahead, we were pretty much inviting them to come forward.

The manager should be ensuring that doesn't happen. He's a bit rubbish - not sure who would be much better, it's annoying as we should have won but bottled it when the Czech's came forward towards the end.

[Pretty Boy]

When written like that, that stat looks really bad, however, consider the fixtures:

Lithuania A - 0-0 A draw away from home to Lithuania, shortly following their fortunate victory over the Czech this seemed like a decent result at the time. Especially given that we'd lost in places like Georgia not too long before

Leichtenstein H 2-1 Home win. Not very pretty and at times heart in the mouth stuff against a poor opponent. We dug in and kept going and got the victory though.

Czech A 0-1 Narrow defeat but admittedly the tactics were nothing short of shocking. We went there not expecting too much given that they had only lost 3 Euro qualifiers in their last 5 campaigns

Spain H - 2-3 World champions who are nothing short of phenomenal, possibly one of the best teams ever. After coming from 2 goals down we were only about 10 minutes from what would have been a fantastic result

Czech H 2-2 Had the beating of them and a ludicrous decision in the last minute cost us the win.
I dont think its as bad as some folk make it out to be

I keep hearing this and reading it in the ludicrously biased papers but in what way did Scotland have the beating of the Czechs yesterday? They had 2 glorious chances in the early stages and where denied an absolute stonewall penalty. Scotland could have been 3-0 down inside 20 minutes. We had one shot on goal in the 1st half and apart from the 2nd goal only 1 or 2 chances and half chances in the 2nd half.

Whilst Scotland had more of the ball, the Czechs looked infinitely more comfortable in possesion and technically well ahead. Ok the 2 decisions at the end were shockers but the Czechs should have had a penalty earlier and the referees mistakes seem to have given everyone a convenient diversion from a pretty poor Scotland performance. People shouldn' forget this is the worst Czech team since they first played in 1994 and they still looked at least as good as us if not quite a bit better.

[ancient hibee]

The players are hopeless.Two minutes to go a goal up and they can't even play keep the ball.

[PeeJay]

The players are hopeless.Two minutes to go a goal up and they can't even play keep the ball.

It seems a flippant remark, but there's a lot truth in there - the Czechs were cleverer than the Scots and we really should have been professional enough to keep the ball away from the danger area when it mattered - hopeless sums it up for me....

[LeithBoozy]

The players are hopeless.Two minutes to go a goal up and they can't even play keep the ball. Bang-on, he should have used his legendary 1-4-6-0 formation, when wer'e winning with minutes to go, thick Clunt.:rolleyes:

[IWasThere2016]

I'd have sacked him for the 4-6-0 debacle in Czechland!

Worst Czech side in living, and we play without a striker!

Scandalous! :grr:

[Davy Mac]

I'd have sacked him for the 4-6-0 debacle in Czechland!

Worst Czech side in living, and we play without a striker!

Scandalous! :grr:

Yup. agree with that 100%.

Just to even think about a that formation for the national side is bad enough but to actually go through with it was embarrassing.

[Northernhibee]

No we won't mate, and nothing to do with Levein in charge either.Scotland are a nation who have never evolved in world football. You will always get effort, passion and commitment, but we are technically poor in all areas of the pitch. Examine their goals and on both occasions we have comfortable possession of the ball......we dither, panic, lunge and play fear football. No composure, skill or preciseness. My view is we will finish 4th. Exactly where our ranking places us. Levein actually has done a decent job.......but following Burley, that wasn't hard.Invest properly all over Scotland in proper facilities, employ better coaches, and educate kids away from bevvy, drugs and playstations. Then we will evolve. Until then, we will only have a handful of truly great footballers in my opinion.Scotland did not bad yesterday, but the Czechs deserved at least a point.

Levein has said a similar thing in the past before, but this isn't something you'll see the benefit of short-term - in order to move forward we need a man who is willing to invest that much time in doing so.

He did a cracking job at Dundee United in investing in youth, and even since his departure they've seen the benefits of that through the likes of Goodwillie who played excellently for them last season and earned them a pretty penny.

Scrap the short term thinking that's gotten our squad into such deep ****, let's look at the long term and realise that Levein's very well qualified to reform the Scottish international set-up from a grassroots level.

[SanFranHibs]

But I watched the game and cofirmed what I took from the friendly agaist Denmark that we are playing better with some reservations.

We certainly did not show much composure in the lead and in te minutes just prior to the penalty had opportunities to play the ball out but were just hacking at it and heading the ball straight up.

Also, a bit worrying and probably linked to his formations is we seem unable or unwilling to try and carve up teams through the middle. Not saying we have the Messi's etc to accomplish this and it is obviouly good to use the wings, but we need to be able to come through the middle in numbers. Certainly not with Kenny Miller singing Lonesome Cowboy. He still had a good game though. Apart from his contribution to the goals, his effort tracking back was creditable indeed.

However, that said, I have to agree that the Bardsley substitution was mystifying. My mate and I watching here in L.A. were calling for a sub even before this, but in the middle. Fresh legs etc. Thought Naismith was coming off. Looked tired. And he takes off a full back who was playing well. We thought he must have sustained a knock or slight injury. If not Potter does need to justify why, in a crucial game, he changed the defence.

That said, I still think we are playing somewhat better football than a few years ago. Fact is, that we were denied victory, deserved or not, by a very suspect last minute penalty. But for that we would have been quite happy I think and at least eagerly awaiting the next match.

It's Scotland ! Whaes like us? :boo hoo:

[jonny]

I keep hearing this and reading it in the ludicrously biased papers but in what way did Scotland have the beating of the Czechs yesterday? They had 2 glorious chances in the early stages and where denied an absolute stonewall penalty. Scotland could have been 3-0 down inside 20 minutes. We had one shot on goal in the 1st half and apart from the 2nd goal only 1 or 2 chances and half chances in the 2nd half.

Whilst Scotland had more of the ball, the Czechs looked infinitely more comfortable in possesion and technically well ahead. Ok the 2 decisions at the end were shockers but the Czechs should have had a penalty earlier and the referees mistakes seem to have given everyone a convenient diversion from a pretty poor Scotland performance. People shouldn' forget this is the worst Czech team since they first played in 1994 and they still looked at least as good as us if not quite a bit better.

In the way that we were 2-1 up and relatively comfortable heading into injury time.
I think that if Czech had scored early on that Scotland would've altered the game plan and come out a bit more. They didn't so we didn't. I think that Potter probably had the tactics for this game absolutely spot on.
You can go on about the lack of Scotland chances and say we only had one shot at goal in the first half. I'd say we played a patient game and were clinical in our finishing.
I dont think it was a "pretty poor Scotland performance" I thought the team played well and looked to have done enough to take the 3 points.

Opinions eh....

[seven nowt]

We have been lucky at times and extremely unlucky, but I think we've got a strong squad. I'd give him some more time. Relatively satisfied with him at the helm - for just now.

Still, devastated that we were robbed again, was almost crying.

[ballengeich]

If the referee had got the penalty decisions right at the end of the game we'd be favourites to take second place in the section, so I don't think the campaign has been the disaster suggested by the OP. However, the referee's errors shouldn't let us forget that our passing and movement was inferior to the Czechs throughout the game. In a 4-1-4-1 formation the two wide midfielders are vital, but both Morrison and Naismith were poor yesterday. Incidentally, the performance of Morrison and Adam, who're both good EPL players, suggests to me that there's still a step up between club and international football (but maybe they both just had off days).

Regarding the substitutions, I thought while watching the game that Bardsley looked like he'd had a knock and was struggling to run at full pace, while it's emerged since the game that Adam was taken off because he was injured and he's doubtful for Tuesday.

It's unlikely that we'll qualify now, but I'd keep Levein on for the 2014 qualifying. He's made mistakes, but I think he's smart enough to have learned from them, and there seems to be a good team spirit going. There isn't an obvious superior replacement.

[SkintHibby]

Craig Levein.........please GTF ASAP!:agree:

[SteveHFC]

Craig Levein.........please GTF ASAP!:agree:

This :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Really? Seconds away from our worst ever home result, the legendary 4-6-0 formation and 5 points from 5 games. Improvement?

I accept we have some decent youngsters coming through and players competing in the EPL but that is not down to Levein it's just his good fortune. Whether he is the man to get the best from this group of players is debatable.

:agree: There's no two ways about it, we were cheated on Saturday by a very "clever" striker and an abysmal referee but that does not excuse Levein's overall record.

He really should have been sacked on the spot, as soon as his formation and team line up in Prague was announced. It took the term "anti-football" to an unprecedented level.

After that, our performance, and the fact that it took a goal in the 97th minute to defeat a team that represents a nation with a population the size of Falkirk, made me extremely embarrassed.

[Septimus]

Particularly in the first half Scotland were second best. We still have the expectations we had when Hampden was filled with 120,000 pipe smoking bonnet wearing fans and every boy in the land wanted to play for the national team. As that stupid song says "These days are gone now".

Incidentally, and begging pardon for my ignorance in advance, what is that tie that Levein was wearing?

[H18sry]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/14780267.stm

[johnrebus]

Scotland now play the sort of dull football that he was famous for at Hearts and Dundee United. It got results to a certain extent, but not at Scotland.

The Czechs were miles ahead of us in most aspects of the game and really should have turned us over.

For me, there has been no progress since Burley.

Potter, GTF

[ronaldo7]

His record speaks for itself.....He's worse than Bertie.

He's got favourites, and has double standards regarding selection.

He's a patronising, condescending pr!ck.

The sooner he's out the better.

4-6-0 Enough said.

[Twa Cairpets]

The minute he chose a 4-6-0 he should have been placed in stocks and had rotten fruit thrown at him prior to being banned from all football for life.

A mediocrity as a club manager, his ability to sound faintly intellectual without actually having a clue is as far as I can see the only reason he got the gig in the first place. The childish spat with Fletch (with blame admittedly on both sides) is beyond belief, and the embarrasing trawl through the lower divisions for players with Grannies from Troon further disenfranchises supporters fromt he National team.

But the 4-6-0 was the killer for me. I dont know how many Scotland fans made the trip - a couple of thousand perhaps - but it is the duty of the manager to go and at least attempt to score. Even San Marino and Andorra play with a striker. He should have been made to personally pay the costs of every fan and write an apology letter. It was that abject removal of hope and expectation that made me lose a lot of my interest int he national team - I dont think Ive watched a game since. Lets face it, we aint going to win the Euros, but at least we can give it a bit of a go.

The man should be punted, now.

[--------]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/14780267.stm


That's about as fair an assessment as I've seen.

Against my better judgement I was persuaded to watch the game on Saturday.

IMO Scotland got themselves ahead at half-time after a few very lucky escapes - they could have been at least 2 down before they scored. But this is football, after all, and should have led to a better, more confident second half. However....

In the second half they fell back, played too deep, and allowed a poor Czech side too much possession. The Czech pen shouldn't have been, but when Wilson stuck his foot out (with no chance of getting anywhere near the ball) anyone could see what was coming. Stupid, STUPID Mr Wilson.

I could see why the Scots one was turned down - Berra took a stride, trying to stay upright, after he was clipped. He would have been better to have gone down right away. Unfair, yes. Very unfair, yes. However, the fact is that Berra WAS fouled in the 18-yard box and SHOULD have had a penalty and won the game.

But in terms of touch, possession and tactics I would say that the result in the end was a fair one.

I have the feeling that Scotland under Potter are going round in circles - progressing nowhere.

But at least they're not going directly down the tubes like another team I could mention....

[Dashing Bob S]

:agree: There's no two ways about it, we were cheated on Saturday by a very "clever" striker and an abysmal referee but that does not excuse Levein's overall record.

He really should have been sacked on the spot, as soon as his formation and team line up in Prague was announced. It took the term "anti-football" to an unprecedented level.

After that, our performance, and the fact that it took a goal in the 97th minute to defeat a team that represents a nation with a population the size of Falkirk, made me extremely embarrassed.

This is the crux of the matter. This act was not only negative, it was also unbelievably stupid and it will cast a shadow over Potter for the rest of his managerial career. The fact that he won't ever deploy this tactic again shows that he knows it was a stupid mistake. If he was daft enough to do it again, then he would be dismissed as an utter lunatic.

The circumstances of Scotland's defeat were hard to take, but I couldn't shed a tear as we got what we deserved. If any team had lined up against us like Potters Prague team, then we'd have been laughing and calling it poetic justice if we scabbed a point. The bottom line is that any side as anti-football as Scotland don't deserve to progress.

I was watching the game with two Norwegian friends who know nothing about Scottish football other than we are 'the team that plays with no forwards.' This, like it or not, is Potter's legacy. Scotland's was that of Reilly, Law and Dalglish, and that has been swept away by his anti-football actions. It should be unacceptable to retain that busted flush as Scotland manager.

Get rid of him now. He isn't going to qualify us for any competition and he's already done more than Vogts ever could to destroy our international reputation.

[Seveno]

Agree. I think Levein is getting us more like a club side in terms of workrate and set-up. A big improvement from Burley.

I recall people in the past saying "let's build a team, so forget the Euros and get a team ready for the World Cup qualification". I suggest we are better placed now for that than we were a few years ago. All we need to find is a striker to score barrowloads of goals - no dig intended at Miller who actually played well yesterday.

' more like a club side' ? As in a Scottish club side playing in Europe ? No wonder we're so crap.

[ancient hibee]

If you only play one up against superior players (just about everyone)it means that they get plenty ball at the back and are able to build up a nice passing game unhindered-hence Miller picks up a stupid booking trying to run around daft breaking up the game.It also means that the long passer-Adam on Saturday- has only one runner to aim for making it easy for their defence.What makes it even worse is that despite having 4 defenders and 5 midfielders at no time did we control the game and with 5 minutes to go we couldn't even hang on to the ball.

[ancienthibby]

After another usual disastrous campaign foray,will the knives be out for Mr.Negative?Pivotal point(or lack of)being THAT first game against the czechs!Step forward Gordon Strachan.:taxi

Sorted!:aok:

[Mikeystewart]

Will wait till the end of the campaign but even if we don't qualify would be a joke if he was punted, with the way he removed the deadwood and brought in some good players was good whilst getting decent performances on the way. I think everyone will agree if he does go the no strikers mess will come back to haunt him. Other than that I think he has done well enough to be allowed one more campaign. A definite improvement on Burley and the only manager I would prefer to have in the job is Smith, don't think it will happen any time soon so will stick with levine for now.

[Hiber-nation]

The minute he chose a 4-6-0 he should have been placed in stocks and had rotten fruit thrown at him prior to being banned from all football for life.

A mediocrity as a club manager, his ability to sound faintly intellectual without actually having a clue is as far as I can see the only reason he got the gig in the first place. The childish spat with Fletch (with blame admittedly on both sides) is beyond belief, and the embarrasing trawl through the lower divisions for players with Grannies from Troon further disenfranchises supporters fromt he National team.

But the 4-6-0 was the killer for me. I dont know how many Scotland fans made the trip - a couple of thousand perhaps - but it is the duty of the manager to go and at least attempt to score. Even San Marino and Andorra play with a striker. He should have been made to personally pay the costs of every fan and write an apology letter. It was that abject removal of hope and expectation that made me lose a lot of my interest int he national team - I dont think Ive watched a game since. Lets face it, we aint going to win the Euros, but at least we can give it a bit of a go.

The man should be punted, now.

Excellent stuff TC.

Plus he appointed Kenny Black as one of his assistants. That is also a sackable offence as far as I'm concerned.

[AlbertK86]

get him out of here. He is an arrogant bar steward. Was shown up as a asap manager in the championship. Should have been binned after the ridiculous 4-6 formation. The fact he has refused to pull in another striker means we will have one up front against a team who just drew nil nil against the minnows of the group. He is pathetic. Can't admit he is wrong and if he thinks that we are making progress as he quoted then he is blind as well as arrogant

[woody47]

Craig Levein.........please GTF ASAP!:agree:
Agree absolutely.

[snooky]

Yup. agree with that 100%.

Just to even think about a that formation for the national side is bad enough but to actually go through with it was embarrassing.

What about the poor fans that travelled to watch that, for the want of a better word, surrender?

[Albion Hibs]

When written like that, that stat looks really bad, however, consider the fixtures:

Lithuania A - 0-0 A draw away from home to Lithuania, shortly following their fortunate victory over the Czech this seemed like a decent result at the time. Especially given that we'd lost in places like Georgia not too long before

Leichtenstein H 2-1 Home win. Not very pretty and at times heart in the mouth stuff against a poor opponent. We dug in and kept going and got the victory though.

Czech A 0-1 Narrow defeat but admittedly the tactics were nothing short of shocking. We went there not expecting too much given that they had only lost 3 Euro qualifiers in their last 5 campaigns

Spain H - 2-3 World champions who are nothing short of phenomenal, possibly one of the best teams ever. After coming from 2 goals down we were only about 10 minutes from what would have been a fantastic result

Czech H 2-2 Had the beating of them and a ludicrous decision in the last minute cost us the win.

I dont think its as bad as some folk make it out to be

I would agree with that. It is the typical .net analysis of something, with little to no consideration being given to how the games actually played out, the reality being that a fair number criticising wont have even watched the game or the ones that went before.

It is the same old fasination with having someone sacked that seems to run through certain sections of our club...."I want that one" mentality which is slowly but surely making us a laughing stock. As for Gordon Strachan I will pass on that one thanks, again internet lovers doing some name chasing with no thought to anything else.

I think Levein is a decent manager, he is silly in some of the stuff he is done i.e. ignore Fletcher for not playing then bring on Wilson, Goodwillie most likely tomorrow. I am still hopeful we can get a couple of results and see how things pan out.

[Twa Cairpets]

I would agree with that. It is the typical .net analysis of something, with little to no consideration being given to how the games actually played out, the reality being that a fair number criticising wont have even watched the game or the ones that went before.

It is the same old fasination with having someone sacked that seems to run through certain sections of our club...."I want that one" mentality which is slowly but surely making us a laughing stock. As for Gordon Strachan I will pass on that one thanks, again internet lovers doing some name chasing with no thought to anything else.

I think Levein is a decent manager, he is silly in some of the stuff he is done i.e. ignore Fletcher for not playing then bring on Wilson, Goodwillie most likely tomorrow. I am still hopeful we can get a couple of results and see how things pan out.

I freely admit that I havent watched a game since the 4-6-0. I watch football partly because of the hope of success. To set out a team that is designed to crush that hope entirely, particulalrly when that team exists as a vehicle for national pride, is completely, utterly wrong. I'd much prefer the perennial "gallant loser" tag than that of "craven submitters".

The difference between a national manager and a club manager is that a national manager has a set group of players to choose from that he has virtually no influence over when it comes to their eligibility to play or not. Their sole purpose is to make a silk purse out of whatever sows ear that his particular era of players presents, and be part of the the framework for setting in place the development of future players. It may be that we;ve improved since then, but a scrambled victory over Liechstenstein, and wins over the Northern Irish and Welsh doesnt set the pulse racing.

I'm not one for endlessly changing managers by the way, and I dont think there is an obvious candidate other than (although it pains me to say it) Walter Smith, but I find I can hardly bring myself to listen to Levein anymore.

[ronaldo7]

I would agree with that. It is the typical .net analysis of something, with little to no consideration being given to how the games actually played out, the reality being that a fair number criticising wont have even watched the game or the ones that went before.

It is the same old fasination with having someone sacked that seems to run through certain sections of our club...."I want that one" mentality which is slowly but surely making us a laughing stock. As for Gordon Strachan I will pass on that one thanks, again internet lovers doing some name chasing with no thought to anything else.

I think Levein is a decent manager, he is silly in some of the stuff he is done i.e. ignore Fletcher for not playing then bring on Wilson, Goodwillie most likely tomorrow. I am still hopeful we can get a couple of results and see how things pan out.

Having watched over Levien's tenure from the start, I've seen him humiliate the Scottish game(4-6-0), spend more time at Register house searching for Jock tamsons bairns, and seen more faces than the toun clock.

His record in the Euros is what's just not hitting the spot for me.....Played 5 with 5 points and our only win against Liechtenstein at home in the 97th minute. The sooner him and his cohorts are gone the better for me.

[flash]

Bothered. Roll on Sunday.

[Phil MaGlass]

Don't mean to upset the apple cart here guys but given the last few performances, I dont think he has done too much wrong. Yesterday we shouldve beat the Czech - had it not been for a terrible refereeing decision we would have. In all honesty they are probably a better side than us, as are Denmark who we just beat (albeit a friendly).
We ran the world champions very close and beat a stuffy Leichtenstein team (I know that isn't something to shout out about but we did still win and I'm a "happy clapper"). Whilst it looks just beyond us to qualify for the Euro, Im not ruling out the possibility yet. We have to beat Lithuania and Leichtenstein, which I think we will. Czech then play Spain - where we really have to hope for a Spain win. Then we go into the final games 1 point ahead of them. They play away to Lithuania and we play away to Spain. We have to match their result and we're in the playoffs. If we get that far then as far as I'm concerned Levein has done a good job.
I really don't like the man but at the moment I can't see what we have to complain about. The tactics in the 1st game against Czech were awful, but if we'd have tried to have a go would we have done any better? I dont think Levein had much confidence in his side at that point but as things have progressed and he's seen that the players we have are actually quite good then his tactics have developed.
I certainly dont think that Strachan is better suited to the job than Levein. He's only been succesful when he's had better players at his disposal than everyone his team plays.
I'm a big Scotland fan - nearly as much so as I am a Hibs fan and as things stand Im satisfied with the progress we're making.

Whether we qualify for the Euro playoffs or not Im confident about heading into the world cup qualifiers and expect us to finish at least 2nd in our group.

Im of the same opinion as yirsel, think the team has come on since the yam took over, by the time the WC qualifiers come along we should have a more settled gelled team, a wee bit like us in the next 4 weeks

[allezsauzee]

While the 4-6-0 was a more obvious embarrassment, i actually think Levein's decision to play for a 0-0 in Lithuania was more damaging to the current campaign. We would most likely have won had we shown any ambition in that game and 2 more points would have put us in a much better position.