Scotland v Iceland

[Hibernian Verse]

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Given the choice I'd watch Hibs first 10 league games of last season back to back than rewatch this game once

Steady 😂

[gbhibby]

What the hell is he going to learn about players with substitutions like Conway and Adams. You could forgive him if he played all the new boys and got that result, although they would have been better than that. Robertson McGinn were shocking Tierney not much better. Hanley should he nowhere near the squad. The movement is poor far too pedestrian.

[Northernhibee]

Let’s see if Big Ange fancies it.

[Musselbound]

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Turned off ... endured enough. I have had dentist appointments more enjoyable than that... at least they are shorter

I also gave up before the end which I rarely do. I know people will say this is a friendly which doesn't matter too much. There doesn't seem much point to this game (or the next) but Clarke has lost me now. There needs to be a massive improvement in the autumn or we could quickly find ourselves out of World Cup contention.

[cabbageandribs1875]

much more balanced game on monday against the worlds 205th ranked side



hopefully

[blackpoolhibs]

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much more balanced game on monday against the worlds 205th ranked side



hopefully

I'd take a draw now.

[ED Hibee]

It would be good to get these games back onto Viaplay

[Scottie]

At least we don’t need to look for flights to the USA next year.

That was pitiful, I know it was end of season friendly but that was bloody awful. Clarke needs to take a very serious look at his performance as manager.

[lugz]

Clarke really does need to go, calls up these youngsters and then won't play them because he's chasing his tail against Iceland at home so puts on Che Adams (who will now definitely start against leicestein).
His blind loyalty to certain players is scary. Get him out before we're thoroughly embarrassed by Denmark and Greece in the qualifiers.

Also pathetic that we have pundits on tv who are scared to speak the truth, beating about questions and not just saying what most of us are thinking.

[ionahibby]

I feel for the gk. not one competitive game under his belt as first team gk and that balloon Clarke thinks he should be good enough for international football.

[Haymaker]

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Let’s see if Big Ange fancies it.

Dear me, no thank you.

[Unseen work]

Players must be fuming playing these friendlies after a season is done

[Nicho87]

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Let’s see if Big Ange fancies it.

Wee ange from eastenders would be just as good as Clarke

Awful and well past his sell by date

2 absolute dead rubbers and you stick with bringing on che Adams when 2 young strikers are sitting there desperate to get on you’d imagine

Dinosaur

[B.H.F.C]

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Players must be fuming playing these friendlies after a season is done

Iceland players won’t be. They’ll have had a great night.

Folk actually paid £40 to watch that.

[JohnM1875]

Surely to God that’s Clarke done? What’s the point of him staying?

[Nicho87]

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Surely to God that’s Clarke done? What’s the point of him staying?

Clarke loyalists will forever say he got us to two finals

Wears absolute thin when both were as miserable as each other

Time for a change

All good things and all that…

[Sylar]

What Clarke has achieved, given the lack of achievement before him, is commendable. I hadn't seen Scotland in a finals since France 98 until he took over - that being said, a degree of luck helped him out, but finals are finals.

However, I don't feel like we're a team continuing to progress. Indeed, the 'golden age' is absolutely ripe right now and if anything, we're going backwards (at best, sideways). We have generational talents in this current side in Robertson (nearing his twilight years, granted), Gilmour, McTominay, McGinn, Tierney, Ferguson...a good coach would find a way to maximise this level of quality, but as someone above said, it constantly feels like a team of individuals.

That poor keeper made all sorts of mistakes tonight and not one senior player put an arm around him at any point and tried to lift him. Absolute self-interest all across the park. He had no business being thrown into that game tonight giving his limited experience - as soon as he made the first mistake for their first goal, his head was gone...

I don't necessarily see anyone available who would be an immediate upgrade on Clarke right now but I can definitely see us ****ting the bed in WQ qualification unless something gives.

[hibsbollah]

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What Clarke has achieved, given the lack of achievement before him, is commendable. I hadn't seen Scotland in a finals since France 98 until he took over - that being said, a degree of luck helped him out, but finals are finals.

However, I don't feel like we're a team continuing to progress. Indeed, the 'golden age' is absolutely ripe right now and if anything, we're going backwards (at best, sideways). We have generational talents in this current side in Robertson (nearing his twilight years, granted), Gilmour, McTominay, McGinn, Tierney, Ferguson...a good coach would find a way to maximise this level of quality, but as someone above said, it constantly feels like a team of individuals.

That poor keeper made all sorts of mistakes tonight and not one senior player put an arm around him at any point and tried to lift him. Absolute self-interest all across the park. He had no business being thrown into that game tonight giving his limited experience - as soon as he made the first mistake for their first goal, his head was gone...

I don't necessarily see anyone available who would be an immediate upgrade on Clarke right now but I can definitely see us ****ting the bed in WQ qualification unless something gives.

Another example of how goalkeeping is played 95% between the ears. If his head is in the right place, and hes in a good environment, a decent junior or lowland level keeper would perform at a clearly better level than the supposedly professional player managed tonight.

Id rather Kieron Bowie had **** all to do with the Scotland setup, there’s something not right, why not give the keeper a wee hug or a shake, nobody did.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Watched it on i player and fast forwarded through the last 35 minutes stopping about 3 times to see of we had gotten back into the game.

If you ask me we would have been better letting the players go on holiday and have a rest than expose them to a game they clearly didn't want to be playing. As inept a performance as I've seen from a Scotland team, and that's saying something.

As for the goalkeeping situation, are we really saying our options are 1) a guy who doesn't have a club ... 2) a guy who is 42 years old and even his own clubs fans are saying he's past it .... 3) a guy who hasn't even played a full game of first team football for his club.

I feel really sorry for the guy, absolutely chucked under the bus by a manager who did him no favours putting him into a Scotland squad when he clearly wasn't ready.

[Paul1642]

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I get that feeling a lot with Clarke.

You can’t argue with his record at qualifying for stuff relative to a number of his predecessors.

But a lot of the time his selections and decisions baffle me and on the biggest stage his teams have fairly consistently disappointed.

I think a strong argument can be made that he’s had a quality of player at his disposal that his predecessors never enjoyed and I’d argue now that these teams have achieved in spite of him rather than thanks to him.

Previous managers have picked teams and got disappointing results where it’s been hard to see what more they might have done. I don’t get that with Clarke very often.

Bigger picture - it was only a friendly. But with so many competitive games there are few opportunities to be genuinely experimental. You want to come away from friendly games having learned as much as possible. Like you, I don’t know what he really expected to learn there?

This hits the nail for me. Clarke is living off good previous results that are increasing long ago, but the room for improvement is clear to all. Consistently playing a player who can’t secure a starting place for a 3rd tier club (Hanley), whilst Tierney has played a handful of minutes recently. Hirst isn’t even a starter for Ipswich ffs, but by far the most inexcusable the keeper.

Sure, Clarke probably never planned on playing him, but having a player who has never played a senior game in his life is completely unacceptable. Poor laddie just had the worst professional debut imaginable and that’s entirely on Clarke.

I am genuinely unaware of any players in history who made their professional debut for Scotland, or even any other international side for that matter. Utterly bizarre and Clarke needs to go.

Unless your at one of Europe’s very top clubs and being kept out by superstars, nobody who isn’t playing consistently for their club should be in the international setup.

[Pretty Boy]

Clarke said in his interview that Gordon is injured, Clark is injured, Kelly is injured, McRorie and Gunn both got injured tonight.

He said McKenna from Bournemouth will travel. I won't bore everyone again with how much I rate him but another lad with only a handful of 1st team games. Who else do you ask? Scott Bain and Ross Doohan seem the obvious but doubt either are available now.

The worry is you now have to start Slicker again and really knock him. Or he bounces back in style.

[hibsbollah]

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Slicker bounces back in style.

I would actually love this classic redemption arc.

[Pretty Boy]

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What Clarke has achieved, given the lack of achievement before him, is commendable. I hadn't seen Scotland in a finals since France 98 until he took over - that being said, a degree of luck helped him out, but finals are finals.

However, I don't feel like we're a team continuing to progress. Indeed, the 'golden age' is absolutely ripe right now and if anything, we're going backwards (at best, sideways). We have generational talents in this current side in Robertson (nearing his twilight years, granted), Gilmour, McTominay, McGinn, Tierney, Ferguson...a good coach would find a way to maximise this level of quality, but as someone above said, it constantly feels like a team of individuals.

That poor keeper made all sorts of mistakes tonight and not one senior player put an arm around him at any point and tried to lift him. Absolute self-interest all across the park. He had no business being thrown into that game tonight giving his limited experience - as soon as he made the first mistake for their first goal, his head was gone...

I don't necessarily see anyone available who would be an immediate upgrade on Clarke right now but I can definitely see us ****ting the bed in WQ qualification unless something gives.

There are obviously players missing tonight that make us better when available but I genuinely feel like Clarke is wasting rather than getting the most out of the squad now. Come the qualifiers we should have some real quality to choose from.

Goalkeeper is obviously an issue but RB we have Hickey (EPL), Patterson (EPL), Johnstone (Austrian Bundesliga). CB we have Tierney (EPL until recently), McKenna (La Liga) and Hendry (Saudi). LB we have Robertson (EPL), Doig (Serie A) and Hickey and Tierney as well. Midfield you have McGinn (EPL), McTominay, Ferguson and Gilmour (all Serie A), Doak and Christie (both EPL). Then striker is another issue but we have a group of young lads we could try and mould into the side to be functional rather than a superstar.

There are managers who would love that pool to work with. If it was performing close to the sum of it's parts then we'd have a good shout at qualifying. Mr Glum is the problem now.

[Paul1642]

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Clarke said in his interview that Gordon is injured, Clark is injured, Kelly is injured, McRorie and Gunn both got injured tonight.

He said McKenna from Bournemouth will travel. I won't bore everyone again with how much I rate him but another lad with only a handful of 1st team games. Who else do you ask? Scott Bain and Ross Doohan seem the obvious but doubt either are available now.

The worry is you now have to start Slicker again and really knock him. Or he bounces back in style.

Just anyone at all who has played senior matches. It’s slim pickings but Nicky Hogarth of Falkirk? It’s better than a young laddie with zero senior starts.

[K-Zazu]

Anyone know what the whole point of playing Lichtenstein in a friendly in June is?

[Leithenhibby]

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What the hell is he going to learn about players with substitutions like Conway and Adams. You could forgive him if he played all the new boys and got that result, although they would have been better than that. Robertson McGinn were shocking Tierney not much better. Hanley should he nowhere near the squad. The movement is poor far too pedestrian.

100% this, was saying the exact same to my Son…

Sair yin that was…

[FitbaFolkKen]

He now has a worse win % than Leveins….. worse than Mcleish, and worse than Strachan.

His PPG in competitive games is the same as Levein, 0.19 worse than Strachan, 0.17 worse than Smith but better than Mcleish in his second spell. Considering we achieved the finals it paints a picture of how bad we’ve been since that peak.

Can’t see how a squad with that quality can do so bad, beginning to think that we achieved the finals in spite of Clarke rather than because of him.


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[Bridge hibs]

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Anyone know what the whole point of playing Lichtenstein in a friendly in June is?

So we can test our up and coming stars such as Hanley, Gordon and McLean, the futures bright under Clarkes stewardship

As alluded to already on this thread a few players last night were probably thinking sun, sea and s******g rather than playing football, a few who have had long seasons and need a break.

[bingo70]

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He now has a worse win % than Leveins….. worse than Mcleish, and worse than Strachan.

His PPG in competitive games is the same as Levein, 0.19 worse than Strachan, 0.17 worse than Smith but better than Mcleish in his second spell. Considering we achieved the finals it paints a picture of how bad we’ve been since that peak.

Can’t see how a squad with that quality can do so bad, beginning to think that we achieved the finals in spite of Clarke rather than because of him.


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There is context to be applied there though.

One of the reasons he had a poor win % is he took on such difficult friendlies trying to prepare us for major championships and the top European League, which we did well to qualify for, Clarke deserves credit for those achievements and I think the reason to take on such difficult friendlies was understandable, even if hindsight tells us they didn’t really do us or him any favours.

That said, I think it’s clear as day that we would benefit from a fresh set of ideas, it’s all very stale and clearly not working any more.

If Clarke leaves now it would be for the best all round imo. He gets to leave while pointing to a pretty successful period for Scotland but he also leaves on his own terms before it gets toxic.

[Not In The Know]

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Stadium is like a morgue, can almost hear the players shouting to each other

leaving complete sections empty while packing out others is the daftest idea ever. It just kills the atmosphere.