Well Played Scotland

[Sergey]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.

[derekHFC]

He needs to take away his Yam/OF bias though.

[Col2]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.

Don't agree re Levein. A negative, stubborn, narrow minded, average football manager. We should have been stick on for 12 points from Lithuania and Leichtenstein and say 2 points from Czech. What did we get 11 points, injury time winner against Leichstein at home, 6-4-0 formation and a grand total of 9 goals. He said measure me on my results - well Craigey boy there are truly average. HE HAS TO GO

[Hibbyradge]

4 6 0 says it all.

Clown

[Jim44]

Don't agree re Levein. A negative, stubborn, narrow minded, average football manager. We should have been stick on for 12 points from Lithuania and Leichtenstein and say 2 points from Czech. What did we get 11 points, injury time winner against Leichstein at home, 6-4-0 formation and a grand total of 9 goals. He said measure me on my results - well Craigey boy there are truly average. HE HAS TO GO

:agree::agree::agree::agree: - A negative, stubborn, narrow minded, average football manager - very accurate description but everyone in the media backs him and he'll probably lead us to our next total failure.

[weonlywon6-2]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.


totally agree

we have a bit more to look forward to:thumbsup:

[EasterRoad4Ever]

He should go. This was was as easy a group as you get these days for the runner up place and he completely messed it up. Forget the WC14, a much tougher proposition, and Potter has had his shot.

[frazeHFC]

Was pleased with tonight. No way we were going to beat them or even draw but a good amount of chances made and the players showed real passion.

[hibee92]

We need a manager to take us back to the basics. Not a manager who tries to be "unique" and puts up right up the sh**ter.

Croatia
Serbia
Belgium
Macedonia
Wales

I'd say 4 of them would beat the Czech's at home and I'd say maybe 3, definitely 2 of them would finish above the Czech's if they were in our group. And while I'm aware we should have beaten them, we didn't. Simple as. Levein needs to go.

[Hainan Hibs]

What gets me is how much of an easy ride he gets from the media compared to Burley and some other previous managers.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

We were always going to get humped tonight, I'd like to think we showed enough in the 2nd half to make 4 4 2 the way forward tho.

[davym7062]

What gets me is how much of an easy ride he gets from the media compared to Burley and some other previous managers.

nail on head. can u imagine jim traynor and co if burley had played a 4-6 0 formation

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

Don't agree re Levein. A negative, stubborn, narrow minded, average football manager. We should have been stick on for 12 points from Lithuania and Leichtenstein and say 2 points from Czech. What did we get 11 points, injury time winner against Leichstein at home, 6-4-0 formation and a grand total of 9 goals. He said measure me on my results - well Craigey boy there are truly average. HE HAS TO GO

What he said....don't think I've ever seen such a gutless midfield with no dig what so ever, simply stood back and admired Spain's passing, I hated Souness as a hun but what I'd give to have someone of his calibre in midfield tonight, Fletcher?, silly wee laddie running around with a captains armband on, Potter out and Wattie Smith in please, pronto.

[jdships]

:agree::agree::agree::agree: - A negative, stubborn, narrow minded, average football manager - very accurate description but everyone in the media backs him and he'll probably lead us to our next total failure.

:agree:
Sadly you are so correct re him keeping his job :rolleyes:

In reality it could have been 6/7 - 1 if Spain had taken their chances .

[frazeHFC]

Croatia
Serbia
Belgium
Macedonia
Wales


Anyone could win the group, there is no outright dominant team.

Croatia - Modric, Krancjar
Serbia - Vidic, Ivanovic
Belgium - Lukaku, Hazard
Macedonia - Pandev
Wales - Bale, Ramsey

Just a few players each team has. Every team has players that would walk into our team so not going to be easy!

[weonlywon6-2]

imo we have moved forward under levein.when he took over we were awful.the last couple of games has shown a big improvement. sacking levein is not the answer

we dont have souness etc to call on any more. we are getting players from the championship

you can only pee with the one youve got !

[lyonhibs]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.

Agree with everything in bold. Spain on that form would have murdered any other team in the world.

Levein is a massively dull Jambo bellend. 4-6-0 in Prague was one of the most depressing nights of my Scotland-watching career. God forbid I was one of those brave souls who'd paid a wedge of money to be there.

He won't get sacked or anything, cos that wasn't a humiliating campaign and the SFA is skint. He will take us to exactly 0 major tournaments though.

[blackpoolhibs]

Anyone could win the group, there is no outright dominant team.

Croatia - Modric, Krancjar
Serbia - Vidic, Ivanovic
Belgium - Lukaku, Hazard
Macedonia - Pandev
Wales - Bale, Ramsey

Just a few players each team has. Every team has players that would walk into our team so not going to be easy!
Anyone except Scotland. We can't win it, i'd put money on it.

[HibeeDaz6270]

I agree Levein has made mistakes, but I think any manager would make mistakes. Definate improvements have been made, And sacking levein would be a waste of time in my opinion.We have to stick by a manager, Keep him there and hopefully we continue to progress.

[HibeeDaz6270]

:agree:
Sadly you are so correct re him keeping his job :rolleyes:

In reality it could have been 6/7 - 1 if Spain had taken their chances .

I wouldnt expect anything else playing against the best team in the world. We had a few chances too. And if we were ever going to take something from the game, it wouldnt be from us outclassing them and stopping them from having chances, It would be simply us taking the few chances we had and them missing the numerous more chances they would have.

[KingFranck]

Thought we played well tonight but Levein needs to grow up and phone S Fletcher and then get Gaz back in and then I'd be happy for him to stay in charge.
It wasn't tonight that stopped us progressing it was the other results including the ridiculous 4-6-0 formation - CL blew it well before tonight.

[The Harp Awakes]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.

Tonight's result is not the reason we didn't qualify. Our failure to finish 2nd is down to 2 things: (1) poor refereeing decisions in the Czech game at Hampden and (2) Negative tactics by the Manager in games we had to win. Regardless of the reasons, the bottom line is that we have failed to qualify (for the 7th consecutive tournament) from a group which apart from Spain, was mediocre and the Manager is partly responsible for the failure.

When we went 2 up front tonight we looked a decent side and created chances against the World & European Champions. Why we didn't have that formation against Lithuania away and the Czechs at home I find inexplicable as arguably they were the 2 most important fixtures in the campaign.

I don't think Scotland will qualify for a major tournament until we have a Manager who knows when to be positive in the fixtures that matter. I hope I'm proved to be wrong but I think we better prepare ourselves for more failure in the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign if there is no change in Manager.

[BoltonHibee]

I think Scotland actually have a fairly decent squad, and should at least be in the play offs.

Levein is a tool of the highest order. To ignore the likes of O'Connor and Fletcher was folly on his part. His tactics have left a lot to be desired in this competition. 4 6 0, what on earth???

**** him off now and lure either Walter Smith or perhaps Gordon Strachan.

[woody47]

Amazed at the support harry potter is getting here. The guy is a joke and the sooner the arrogant pr!ck goes the better for Scottish football. He will not admit when he fvks up - just spits the dummy out and storms out of interviews. We should have humped teams like Liechtenstein and at the very least taken 4 points from the Czechs not to mention full points against hearts select.
We now have a fairly decent squad but until HP gets out of his own erse and picks players on merit (his words) we will not get any better.

[euro Hibby]

The guy is totally over rated...........Levin shuld go now.........he has had his chance now time to move on and give somebody else a chance..........he failed so he should quit........

[hibbytam]

He needs to take away his Yam/OF bias though.

Has he though? If you look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_national_football_team#Current_squad, only 5 old firm players out of a squad of 25 doesn't suggest a bias. No hearts players either.

He does have failings, and it took him (and the team) a while to gel, which probably more than anything else cost us a place in the play offs.

He isn't going to get sacked, he isn't likely to quit/take another job. However, I think the squad is as good as it has been in a long time, especially in terms of potential.

[Sir David Gray]

If you're taking things purely on tonight's performance then yes Scotland did well and credit to Levein.

Unfortunately all the damage was done a year ago when we only got 1 point from a possible 6 in our opening two away games in Lithuania and Czech Republic.

Levein should have been "mutually consented" as soon as he announced THAT formation in Prague.

We were always going to be up against it tonight. We were playing one of the greatest international teams that there has ever been. We weren't eliminated because of tonight's results, it goes back to the opening match in Kaunas when we couldn't even score a single goal.

Looking forward, I actually think we should have a decent shot at qualifying from our World Cup group. It is one of only two groups that does not contain a group winner from the Euro 2012 qualification stage. I think Croatia will certainly be looking to top the group but Serbia and Belgium are beatable. They both dropped points at home in this campaign against sides that they would have expected to beat and I think if we want to be serious about qualification then we have to go at them in both matches.

As for Macedonia, the only team that they beat in their Euro 2012 campaign was Andorra (twice) who are one of the worst sides in Europe.

The surprise package in the group may end up being Wales, who put in a fairly impressive showing in their Euro 2012 campaign, finishing only 3 points away from the play-off place.

I think if the Scotland team was managed properly, we could finish 2nd in a lot of groups without too many problems. I'm just not certain that Craig Levein is the man to lead us there.

[ballengeich]

Unfortunately all the damage was done a year ago when we only got 1 point from a possible 6 in our opening two away games in Lithuania and Czech Republic.


Partially correct, however if the referee in the game against the Czechs at Hampden had spotted the dive, we would have been in the playoffs. Levein has made mistakes, but we came close so he should be allowed to show that he has learned from them.

[blackpoolhibs]

I'd get rid of potter and bring back Smith. He might be a hun tosser, but he can get the best out of a team.

[Dunbar Hibee]

I'd get rid of potter and bring back Smith. He might be a hun tosser, but he can get the best out of a team.

THIS.

Old Walter might be a hun, but he picks the best players available no matter who they play for. He has his teams playing great football and is 10x the manager Levein will ever be.

[Dashing Bob S]

A ham shanker of the highest order who should never be let near a dug out again for crimes against the sport.

[libernian]

well done to OP, every thing ive seen or read has been really negative. i watched spain v czech and trust me, we were a lot better than they were. we had some nice bits of play tonight it just wasnt to be. we've been playing some good stuff since that tourney in ireland i think we're just not getting the results yet.

in any case, who are we going to get to replace levein? stick with him and lets hope he picks steven fletcher. i think if we had had a good footballer like fletch tonight we could have done a lot better. anyway there were some positive signs and we had quite a few injuries remember.

p.s. manchester united were outclassed (far worse than scotland were (though i do admit we were outclassed)) by barcelona in champions league final and i dont hear anyone calling for ferguson to get the boot...

[weonlywon6-2]

THIS.

Old Walter might be a hun, but he picks the best players available no matter who they play for. He has his teams playing great football and is 10x the manager Levein will ever be.

youre having a laugh there !!

rangers were awful to watch,ask any gers fan

[heretoday]

Jocks were humped.

[PeeJay]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.

Interesting slant on what in truth actually was an awful performance, one that shows just how far behind Scotland has fallen...

FWIW, here in Germany tv commentators talked last night about a humiliation for Scotland - and the game itself being nothing more than a training game for Spain with Scotland just managing to put in a better performance than the little plastic cones normally used in training - fair summing up really.

Don't quite see how anybody can be pleased with the Scotland performance (last night in particular, but over the campaign in general). The guy in charge is patently not the way forward, but then he alone is not the problem.

We didn't fail to qualify because of majestic Spain, but the awful performances served up/tactics used in the other games - someone has to carry the can: the manager is top of my list.

Willingness to accept this rubbish as the way forward will only ensure that any chance of progress slips yet further out of reach...

[bighairyfaeleith]

We where pish last night for about 75 minutes of the game. The other 15 we were average at best.

We didn't mark them closely.

We didn't attempt to tackle them until they where at least in our half and normally near the box.

Levein is a scruffy jambo trumpet, the whole ethos at scotland just now was summed up perfectly by the spotty lesbian after the game where he tried to justify the 4-6-0 formation saying it could still work. Scotland are becoming like hearts and I for one don't want to watch that ****!!

[jonny]

We need a manager to take us back to the basics. Not a manager who tries to be "unique" and puts up right up the sh**ter.

Croatia
Serbia
Belgium
Macedonia
Wales

I'd say 4 of them would beat the Czech's at home and I'd say maybe 3, definitely 2 of them would finish above the Czech's if they were in our group. And while I'm aware we should have beaten them, we didn't. Simple as. Levein needs to go.


Out of that lot only Croatia managed to get a playoff place for the Euro qualifiers. Wales (who admittedly are on the up) and Macedonia weren't even close and Serbia were pipped by Estonia. Belgium had hard lines in fairness but were in a similar situation to Scotland where they needed to win in a notoriously difficult place (Germany) to get a playoff place.
I fancy Scotland to be at the very least 3rd in the group but more likely 2nd. Wouldn't rule out Scotland winning the group either.

I think that the team is getting better under Levein and whilst in the past his tactics and selections have been questionable he seems to have found a sensible system that he likes (4-5-1). Given the quality of players we have to select from I think it's probably a fair way of playing.

If we were to get rid of him then who would you appoint? Walter Smith.. The man is retired, he doesn't want the job. Gordon "the messiah" Strachan.. the only team he has been really successfull at was Celtic and at that he had the best players in the league by miles. After that we'd be looking at people like Derek McInnes or god forbid a return for Paw Broon.

I think we have to get behind Levein for the next campaign and judge him after that - besides, theres no way he's going to step down or be sacked.

[Phil MaGlass]

Has he though? If you look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_national_football_team#Current_squad, only 5 old firm players out of a squad of 25 doesn't suggest a bias. No hearts players either.

He does have failings, and it took him (and the team) a while to gel, which probably more than anything else cost us a place in the play offs.

He isn't going to get sacked, he isn't likely to quit/take another job. However, I think the squad is as good as it has been in a long time, especially in terms of potential.

saw glimmers of a decent team coming together during the Celtic Nations thingymajig and the last couple of games I have seen improvement, as much of an arrogant cock that the guy is i think he needs to stay.

[connerg]

<merge if you want....different topic>

Decent performance....up against the best side in the world.

I personally think that Levein is the man to take us forward and tonight was a great display.

Well done.

Every player played for the shirt. Can't really ask for more.

Simply outclassed.

Who did we beat in the group stages? Lithuania, the Lichtenstein wins don't really count do they!

[Part/Time Supporter]

Interesting slant on what in truth actually was an awful performance, one that shows just how far behind Scotland has fallen...

FWIW, here in Germany tv commentators talked last night about a humiliation for Scotland - and the game itself being nothing more than a training game for Spain with Scotland just managing to put in a better performance than the little plastic cones normally used in training - fair summing up really.

Perhaps the Germans should recall that they were outclassed by Spain in both the Euro 2008 Final and the 2010 WC semi-final. The 1-0 score in both games grossly flattering Germany.


Don't quite see how anybody can be pleased with the Scotland performance (last night in particular, but over the campaign in general). The guy in charge is patently not the way forward, but then he alone is not the problem.

We didn't fail to qualify because of majestic Spain, but the awful performances served up/tactics used in the other games - someone has to carry the can: the manager is top of my list.

Willingness to accept this rubbish as the way forward will only ensure that any chance of progress slips yet further out of reach...

Levein made big mistakes early in his tenure, most of which are connected.

1. Not arranging more friendly games in 2010, particularly before the World Cup.

2. Not knowing his best team going into the first batch of qualifiers (not helped by the lack of games, see point 1).

3. 4-6-0. I think this was a panicked reaction to the fact he didn't know his best team. He battened down the hatches and hoped we could escape with a 0-0. The fundamental problem was the first two points, which caused this.

4. The fallout with S. Fletcher. As it happens, I don't think this was so critical, as it only occurred after the first batch of qualifiers, when the damage was done.

Since then, he has done pretty well really. We've won 6 and drawn 1 of our last 10 games, the losses being to Brazil, Spain and Ireland.

[Hibbyradge]

Perhaps the Germans should recall that they were outclassed by Spain in both the Euro 2008 Final and the 2010 WC semi-final. The 1-0 score in both games grossly flattering Germany.

That doesn't change the fact that last night wasn't much more than a training game for Spain.

[PeeJay]

Perhaps the Germans should recall that they were outclassed by Spain in both the Euro 2008 Final and the 2010 WC semi-final. The 1-0 score in both games grossly flattering Germany.

Your point is worth mentioning, but I feel Germany have progressed leaps and bounds since those games, so much so that the Germany is surely one of the favourites for the EC title and with good reason -

Will Scotland progress as much?

[Part/Time Supporter]

That doesn't change the fact that last night wasn't much more than a training game for Spain.

There are only a handful of national teams who could give that Spanish squad a genuinely hard game. Scotland will never be in that echelon of countries.

[blackpoolhibs]

There are only a handful of national teams who could give that Spanish squad a genuinely hard game. Scotland will never be in that echelon of countries.

There was a time when we used to compete well with the spanish, hell even beat them 3-1. Yes they have improved since those days, but we have gone backwards. I agree countrys ten times our size will mostly be better than us, and probably beat us.

I dont think we gave ourselves the best chance to qualify, with dodgy team selections and formations, but there's no denying not only Spain but countries much smaller have overtaken us as a football nation, and regularly make competitions that we dont.

Until we start playing to win games, rather than try to avoid defeat. I fear we will continue to lose out, we as a support expect this type of play now. Its turned many away, it has to change, you have to beat the minnows if you want to qualify, Spain were always going to win this group. We lost the chance of the play offs because we dont go out to win games enough, we are too frightened to lose.

[heretoday]

I thought we did bloody well considering. We could have had a couple more goals (so could Spain) but we were up against a brilliant side - possibly the best football team ever apart from Barca.

I see no problems "going forward". Scotland rules.

[blackpoolhibs]

I thought we did bloody well considering. We could have had a couple more goals (so could Spain) but we were up against a brilliant side - possibly the best football team ever apart from Barca.

I see no problems "going forward". Scotland rules.

Considering what? We always raise our game against the decent sides, we have done this since we started playing football.

Its about winning the games against the nations around us in the football standing that we fall down against. And even against those further down the pecking order, and thats where we seem to fall down more often than we should.

So going forward, nope i dont see it?

[libernian]

Interesting slant on what in truth actually was an awful performance, one that shows just how far behind Scotland has fallen...

FWIW, here in Germany tv commentators talked last night about a humiliation for Scotland - and the game itself being nothing more than a training game for Spain with Scotland just managing to put in a better performance than the little plastic cones normally used in training - fair summing up really.

Don't quite see how anybody can be pleased with the Scotland performance (last night in particular, but over the campaign in general). The guy in charge is patently not the way forward, but then he alone is not the problem.

We didn't fail to qualify because of majestic Spain, but the awful performances served up/tactics used in the other games - someone has to carry the can: the manager is top of my list.

Willingness to accept this rubbish as the way forward will only ensure that any chance of progress slips yet further out of reach...

did you watch the champion league final with barcelona and manchester united? now manchester united are a better side than us, and spain are as good as barca imo.

wasnt that bad.

[The Modfather]

I'd get rid of potter and bring back Smith. He might be a hun tosser, but he can get the best out of a team.

Sounds like I am the only one who remembers Smith as the Judas bawbag he is. He was happy to walk out on the national team mid campaign, saved any flak by the fact Mcleish was able to keep the momentum going.

Never welcome back as far as I'm concerned.

[blackpoolhibs]

Sounds like I am the only one who remembers Smith as the Judas bawbag he is. He was happy to walk out on the national team mid campaign, saved any flak by the fact Mcleish was able to keep the momentum going.

Never welcome back as far as I'm concerned.

I remember him as the same Judas bawbag as you do. I dont follow the national team as passionately as Hibs, and yip i'd be the same if Mcleish was to return at easter road.

Although if results showed an upturn as they probably would, i'm pretty sure my feelings would wane, and i'd revel in us winning again. Fickle, you bet. :wink:

[patlowe]

p.s. manchester united were outclassed (far worse than scotland were (though i do admit we were outclassed)) by barcelona in champions league final and i dont hear anyone calling for ferguson to get the boot...

I don't think this is a fair comparison. In reality, Spain had their foot off the pedal last night and toyed with Scotland. Barcelona played with far more intensity against Man Utd in the final as they were up against a top class side. I'm not having a go at Scotland, I just think last night could have been a lot worse had Spain wanted it to be so.

[allezsauzee]

Levein = grade A tool, sadly I doubt if the job is appealling enough for us to get anybody better.

[Albion Hibs]

I think Levein is a good manager, and I would like to see him remain in charge of Scotland. Granted this 4-6-0 which everyone keeps rattling on about was not great, but he did what he thought was right, and I dare say he considered it a lot more that the average fan.

We look a much better team now than we did when he first came in charge. I cant stand the "club mentality chat", but as a group of players we have more ability across the pitch.

The Euro's are over for us, end of. I hope during the period until the next competitive game he thinks about resolving situations like Fletcher and in addition how the callendar can work to ensure we are up to a decent speed by the time any qualifying campaign starts. I heard him on the radio saying if we had a few more games in advance of qualifying then we would have done much better, and I would agree with that.

Re last nights performance I think we did well, to lose 6-3 on agg to the best team in the world/the world has seen for a long time, and 3-1 in their own back garden is no disgrace. They will do a lot more damage to a lot of teams between now and lifting that trophy.

[libernian]

I don't think this is a fair comparison. In reality, Spain had their foot off the pedal last night and toyed with Scotland. Barcelona played with far more intensity against Man Utd in the final as they were up against a top class side. I'm not having a go at Scotland, I just think last night could have been a lot worse had Spain wanted it to be so.

guess your right to an extent: spain didnt have to win last night. but there was a far greater gulf than there was last night with scotland. i saw czech republic v spain also and after watching that i think we werent too bad. gutted but we didnt embarrass ourselves imo and did create five or six decent chances.

it was the rest of the games tho. czech home and away were poor performances.

i think qualifying for brazil 2014 will be really tough by the way.

[derekHFC]

Has he though? If you look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_national_football_team#Current_squad, only 5 old firm players out of a squad of 25 doesn't suggest a bias. No hearts players either.

He does have failings, and it took him (and the team) a while to gel, which probably more than anything else cost us a place in the play offs.

He isn't going to get sacked, he isn't likely to quit/take another job. However, I think the squad is as good as it has been in a long time, especially in terms of potential.

Sorry i worded that wrong as i meant that you don't get a game if you play or played for Hibs and if you played for Dundee Utd or the Yams or Huns, you've got a good chance of playing.

[patlowe]

guess your right to an extent: spain didnt have to win last night. but there was a far greater gulf than there was last night with scotland. i saw czech republic v spain also and after watching that i think we werent too bad. gutted but we didnt embarrass ourselves imo and did create five or six decent chances.

it was the rest of the games tho. czech home and away were poor performances.

i think qualifying for brazil 2014 will be really tough by the way.

It's a strange group we've got for 2014 qualifying, could finish anywhere between 1st and 5th quite easily IMO.

[silverhibee]

I agree Levein has made mistakes, but I think any manager would make mistakes. Definate improvements have been made, And sacking levein would be a waste of time in my opinion.We have to stick by a manager, Keep him there and hopefully we continue to progress.


4-6-0 formation wasn't a mistake, it was a crime against football and his punishment for that should be the sack, how the press have backed him after that embarassment i dont know, the compliance officer should have reported him to the SFA for crimes against football for his 4-6-0 formation.

[basehibby]

I think there has been a steady improvement in performances from Scotland over the course of this year. The improvement was desparately needed of course, as Scotland were absolutely dire at the start of the qualifying group which is why we are now out on our ears!

However, the improvement is there and that for me means that Levein is the man for the job going forward to the WC qualifiers as it would be idiotic IMO to sack a manager when he has the team progressing.

One thing he really needs to sort out is the outstanding issues with Stephen Fletcher - Fletcher is one of the few quality strikers we have at the moment and Levein can ill afford to leave him out because of some petty dispute which probably owes more to his own disastrous tactical experiments than anything else. Fletcher evidently hasn't handled his own end of the chain of communication particularly well, but Levein is the manager and it is part of his job to sort these things out - if he can do so in the near future then I'll be a lot happier with him.

[connerg]

Levein = grade A tool, sadly I doubt if the job is appealling enough for us to get anybody better.
:top marks

[sesoim]

Don't agree re Levein. A negative, stubborn, narrow minded, average football manager. We should have been stick on for 12 points from Lithuania and Leichtenstein and say 2 points from Czech. What did we get 11 points, injury time winner against Leichstein at home, 6-4-0 formation and a grand total of 9 goals. He said measure me on my results - well Craigey boy there are truly average. HE HAS TO GO


Totally agree. Throw in the Fletcher situation, Levein's lack of humility (why not just admit what we all know- the 4-6-0 was a disgraceful mistake), the FACT that we haven't made any progress under Levein (unless you count the fact that Levein helped make us worse in the first place), and really, why is he still in a job?

I know not everyone agrees, but we should be quietly sounding out Walter Smith now. We went up something like 70 places in the world rankings in his two years in charge. He might be negative, but unlike Levein, he got us results. I'd also consider John Collins as his assistant, with him eventually taking over. I think he would be better as an international manager because he knows the scene and (thankfully) he wouldn't have to buy or sell players, just pick the best team.

[Spike Mandela]

If this average, under acheiving, conceited, overrated, stubborn, managerial loser is the best we can get then we ain't going to Brazil 2014. Shame.

[sesoim]

THIS.

Old Walter might be a hun, but he picks the best players available no matter who they play for. He has his teams playing great football and is 10x the manager Levein will ever be.


:agree: We were beating Norway and Slovenia away from home under Walter. Under Levein, we'd probably have played a 4-6-0 ensuring we couldn't even get a shot on target. And would Levein ever get us beating a team like France? And, in my view we have better players available now than we did under Smith, yet Levein would rather stick to a negative system for EVERY game and ignore the best attacking options we have.

[Part/Time Supporter]

:agree: We were beating Norway and Slovenia away from home under Walter. Under Levein, we'd probably have played a 4-6-0 ensuring we couldn't even get a shot on target. And would Levein ever get us beating a team like France? And, in my view we have better players available now than we did under Smith, yet Levein would rather stick to a negative system for EVERY game and ignore the best attacking options we have.

... and losing to Belarus at home.

[sesoim]

If this average, under acheiving, conceited, overrated, stubborn, managerial loser is the best we can get then we ain't going to Brazil 2014. Shame.



Unfortunately, right through history, we never seem to have a good manager, good players AND a bit of luck with the teams drawn against us all at the same time. At the moment we HAVE got enough good players to get us to Brazil, but our qualifying group will be hard and, as for Levein, how many games will we win (or even try to win) with his tactics?

[sesoim]

... and losing to Belarus at home.


Yip, that was poor, but that is probably the one black mark Walter had. How many has Levein had now? And have we beaten a decent team with Levein in charge?

[basehibby]

Unfortunately, right through history, we never seem to have a good manager, good players AND a bit of luck with the teams drawn against us all at the same time. At the moment we HAVE got enough good players to get us to Brazil, but our qualifying group will be hard and, as for Levein, how many games will we win (or even try to win) with his tactics?

I think our qualifying group is pretty good! Fair enough there are no easy teams in there - but there are no world beaters either....

Group A: Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, SCOTLAND, Macedonia, WALES

... could have been a LOT worse - take the following example....

Group I: Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia, Finland

....any team could qualify from our group - including Scotland. As for Levein - I've seen some improvement since his woeful start in the job and, despite his seeming reluctance to pick the form strikers available to him, I've seen reason to believe that Scotland can move forward under him.

[libernian]

It's a strange group we've got for 2014 qualifying, could finish anywhere between 1st and 5th quite easily IMO.

yeah its a weird one... could make it even harder for future qualifying campaigns and wales (seeded as the whipping boys) are actually pretty good!

[libernian]

I think our qualifying group is pretty good! Fair enough there are no easy teams in there - but there are no world beaters either....

Group A: Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, SCOTLAND, Macedonia, WALES

... could have been a LOT worse - take the following example....

Group I: Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia, Finland

....any team could qualify from our group - including Scotland. As for Levein - I've seen some improvement since his woeful start in the job and, despite his seeming reluctance to pick the form strikers available to him, I've seen reason to believe that Scotland can move forward under him.

hmm, yeah after seeing this post i agree with you :agree:

[Dashing Bob S]

It's an interesting group. I'd say we could win it, but it more probable we could finish last.

Without being melodramatic, this could be the campaign that makes or breaks Scotland as an international footballing nation. We are an average side in an average group. If we shine and qualify, we could rise up the rankings and be in stronger pots from then on in. If we're badly burned in this group, we could tumble further down the rankings (if such a thing is possible) and enjoy another thirty years in the footballing doldrums.

The stakes are high.

What I think might happen is that one team will run away with it and the rest of the group will an incredible mess, bearing each other, and somebody will limp in goal difference into a qualifier with the French who will cheat their way to victory.

[clerriehibs]

]imo we have moved forward under levein[/B].when he took over we were awful.the last couple of games has shown a big improvement. sacking levein is not the answer

we dont have souness etc to call on any more. we are getting players from the championship

you can only pee with the one youve got !

Really? We won three games in that group, and two of them were v. liechtenstein.

[grunt]

http://s5.as.com/recorte/20111012dasdasftb_12/XLCO/Ies/20111012dasdasftb_12.jpg

42 passes for one of Spain's goals...

[ancient hibee]

In my opinion we have absolutely no chance of qualifying.We have managed to beat Lichtenstein twice(once while the ref played on until we won)and Lithuania once.If that's progress I'm not impressed.

[clerriehibs]

well done to OP, every thing ive seen or read has been really negative. i watched spain v czech and trust me, we were a lot better than they were. we had some nice bits of play tonight it just wasnt to be. we've been playing some good stuff since that tourney in ireland i think we're just not getting the results yet.

in any case, who are we going to get to replace levein? stick with him and lets hope he picks steven fletcher. i think if we had had a good footballer like fletch tonight we could have done a lot better. anyway there were some positive signs and we had quite a few injuries remember.

p.s. manchester united were outclassed (far worse than scotland were (though i do admit we were outclassed)) by barcelona in champions league final and i dont hear anyone calling for ferguson to get the boot...

Maybe that's because United WERE in the champions league final. You surely don't think the reaction v. levein is only because of one defeat v. the world champs? If levein managed to even take us to the play-offs, never mind an actual finals, no-one would be calling for his head. But he only won 3 competitive games. Don't give me the czechs cheated nonsense either ... we only beat liechtenstein in one of those games after getting a winner in the 97th minute! Liechtenstein, ffs!

[SquashedFrogg]

What he said....don't think I've ever seen such a gutless midfield with no dig what so ever, simply stood back and admired Spain's passing, I hated Souness as a hun but what I'd give to have someone of his calibre in midfield tonight, Fletcher?, silly wee laddie running around with a captains armband on, Potter out and Wattie Smith in please, pronto.

:blah::crazy:

[essexhibee]

Back in one piece from Alicante. Unbelievable time. The spanish women are simply incredible :greengrin:greengrin:greengrin.

[SquashedFrogg]

Back in one piece from Alicante. Unbelievable time. The spanish women are simply incredible :greengrin:greengrin:greengrin.

Good stuff mate. You probably don't know but it was 3-1 Spain. Just in case the missus asks you :wink:

[essexhibee]

Good stuff mate. You probably don't know but it was 3-1 Spain. Just in case the missus asks you :wink:

:aok:. Aye when we scored it was carnage. Spanish fans were very welcoming (can't say the same for the police) , the ones round us seemed genuinely upset that we were out. Old spanish boy said to us that we were the best fans in the world, had never seen anything in Spain like it. :aok:. Not wrong there son.

Highlight of the trip would be being interviewed for Skysports, lowlight being that of falling out of a tree looking for a shoe :greengrin. Sporting some braw scars!!

[SquashedFrogg]

:aok:. Aye when we scored it was carnage. Spanish fans were very welcoming (can't say the same for the police) , the ones round us seemed genuinely upset that we were out. Old spanish boy said to us that we were the best fans in the world, had never seen anything in Spain like it. :aok:. Not wrong there son.

Highlight of the trip would be being interviewed for Skysports, lowlight being that of falling out of a tree looking for a shoe :greengrin. Sporting some braw scars!!

Watched a few getting interviewed. Were you one of 3 dudes interviewed outside a boozer? 2 with t-shirts off and one with '86 yellow away top and shades? Just out of curiosity

[patlowe]

It's an interesting group. I'd say we could win it, but it more probable we could finish last.

Without being melodramatic, this could be the campaign that makes or breaks Scotland as an international footballing nation. We are an average side in an average group. If we shine and qualify, we could rise up the rankings and be in stronger pots from then on in. If we're badly burned in this group, we could tumble further down the rankings (if such a thing is possible) and enjoy another thirty years in the footballing doldrums.

The stakes are high.

What I think might happen is that one team will run away with it and the rest of the group will an incredible mess, bearing each other, and somebody will limp in goal difference into a qualifier with the French who will cheat their way to victory.

There's also a danger that such a potentially tight group could see whoever finishes second miss out as the worst runner-up.

[johnrebus]

There's also a danger that such a potentially tight group could see whoever finishes second miss out as the worst runner-up.

Don't worry.

We will be nowhere near finishing in second place.

:rolleyes:

[YehButNoBut]

http://s5.as.com/recorte/20111012dasdasftb_12/XLCO/Ies/20111012dasdasftb_12.jpg

42 passes for one of Spain's goals...

Thought that was a map of the Madrid metro :wink: