Steve Clarke - What did O'Donnell do wrong?

Reads rather strongly like no Nathan on Friday then.

Suits me. I can see us being torn a new one on Friday night. Would rather Rangers players weren’t the ones taking pelters after it.
Yeah, for me, I hope our Nathan is inexplicably struck down with a temporary minor headache. :))
 
We're getting hammered by the men from Longshanks. Could write the script.

Of course when when it happens, the anti English racist rhetoric from the yessers will double.

If we were independent, we could have beaten them, so says Nikkla and so say all the yessers.

B-D
 
Hate to say it but said exactly this tomorrow mate. The goal that takes us out will be when Marshall thought he was a holding midfielder.
You know what it might actually be worth crashing out early if it means getting shot of Clarke, the failure that thinks he's einstein, the t.a. will turn on him I'm pretty sure of it, that should be enough to force him out.
 
The worry is we get beat off England but somehow beat the Croats and qualify on 3 points and he will be a hero to many
 
I would expect the manager to back his player, but his attitude is part of the problem. He maybe done no wrong in Clarke's eyes, but surely the real question is what did he do right? A safe player playing safe. Not imposing himself on the game other than to tackle ffs Christie.

Could Patterson have 'done wrong'? Of course he could, but he would have probably done more to impose himself in the game, rather than just be safe.
 
The thing Clarke and all his sad apologists are missing is that Patterson, Turnbull and Gilmour bring a gallousness and an energy that the other jobbers don’t. They’ll try something different, they have no fear but Clarke’s robots will play safe and just do what we’ve always done. He had the chance against the Czech Republic to do something different. It’s so utterly depressing, so dourly Scottish and just a reflection of the miserable bastard that Clarke is himself.
 
The worry is we get beat off England but somehow beat the Croats and qualify on 3 points and he will be a hero to many
Don't worry, won't happen. Clarke will engineer a scudding.
As for O'Donnell, not his fault, genuinely. He does his job, he plays for Motherwell. He earns a wage.
He should never have been selected, but here he is.
 
Don't worry, won't happen. Clarke will engineer a scudding.
As for O'Donnell, not his fault, genuinely. He does his job, he plays for Motherwell. He earns a wage.
He should never have been selected, but here he is.
I’d usually agree but the thing is he goes for broke in the last game and plays the team he should have in the previous 2 games and wins it.
 
I’d usually agree but the thing is he goes for broke in the last game and plays the team he should have in the previous 2 games and wins it.
All this means is O'Donnell is a cert to start v England. He'll double down and won't want anyone telling him his wrong. First name on the team sheet
I think he will start with Adams and biscuit hips, but O'Donnell will be starting also, and he will be ripped a new one.
 
As I said on another thread...

O'Donnell is like a shite Kirk Broadfoot.

Should be nowhere near the national team.
 
Don’t want Nathan anywhere near this s*hitshow of a team. England will destroy them by at least 2. Incidentally the odds are incredible. I had to do a double take. England minus 1 at evens? That’s got to be free money..
 
You know what it might actually be worth crashing out early if it means getting shot of Clarke, the failure that thinks he's einstein, the t.a. will turn on him I'm pretty sure of it, that should be enough to force him out.
I would love you to be correct and we went for someone forward thinking but I think Clarke is here for the long haul. No matter what his results are.
We'll never get out the mire.
 
Fingers crossed. Don't want Patterson anywhere near that team on Friday
I'd love to see Patterson test himself up against the likes of sterling/Grealish/Rashford whoever he goes with, would be brilliant for his development IMO. But I take your point that it'll be a demoralising massacre
 
I'd love to see Patterson test himself up against the likes of sterling/Grealish/Rashford whoever he goes with, would be brilliant for his development IMO. But I take your point that it'll be a demoralising massacre
Rather have him start again Croatia but you're right, any front 3 that start against us will be awesome. Good chance it will be Grealish i think
 
We need possibly a decent foreign coach…One who wont have any allegiances to players and will only play players based on ability and form.

Said coach would also adapt tactics depending on opposition and not shoehorn two left backs in regardless…Pick one!!

But nah Steve Clarke done ok with Killie and mocked Rangers so he’s the man for the job.
 
Starts O'Donnell and that lump of wood Lyndon Dykes.

Deserves all the criticism he gets.
He'll not get any criticism off the media he should have had plenty for Monday but he's not. Theyre all jumping to his and Marshall's defence on twitter as the mindset with a lot of them is 'at least we are there'. Watch them after Friday once we are out with the columns wondering why we don't qualify more regularly for major competitions.

O'Donnell is only in the squad because Clarke managed him at Kilmarnock. If he hadn't then he wouldn't be anywhere near it.
 
What O'Donnell did wrong was not his fault. Getting selected was Clarke's fault, O'Donnell shouldn't have been anywhere near the pitch.
Clarke is being the same as all Scotland managers since Argentina, loyal to the players that got him to the tournament. Not picking better players, or in form players ahead of players of limited ability or who are out of form/gone over the hill.
 
"Because of who they are and where they play" seems like Clarke is merely a ba hair away from claiming anti-Irish racism.
 
We need possibly a decent foreign coach…One who wont have any allegiances to players and will only play players based on ability and form.

Said coach would also adapt tactics depending on opposition and not shoehorn two left backs in regardless…Pick one!!

But nah Steve Clarke done ok with Killie and mocked Rangers so he’s the man for the job.
Just exactly what I was talking about work earlier today mate, no agenda !! give youth a chance to flourish these young lads are fearless unleash them. I reckon it would take them about a day to get that selection spot on
 
Gareth Southgate at England deserves credit for his total belief in younger guys and playing people on talent and what goes well with the team. No fears brining in a 17 year old in last match.

Scotland we are dragged back by a few things, fear of putting in youth, fear of upsetting tartan army having Rangers players in the team, trying to shoehorn people in out of position because they cost a lot of money which throws out shape. A team has to be better than the sum of its parts.

I just wish the Scotland team would get a manager fit for purpose.
Maybe a young guy like Kevin Thomson who has fresh ideas. He would have to be given a guarantee that he would be given time come what may to build a team and structure and be allowed to play youth and build a team rather than 11 good players just as England did with Southgate
 
Doubling down.

O'Donnell and Marshall to start on Friday then. And another defeat for "plucky" Scotland.
Agree with you re O'Donnell who is not up to standard at this level. Marshall is a good keeper recent aberration aside.
Clarke's negative line up and style v Czechs already cost us our main chance of getting out the group. It will be a minor miracle if we qualify now yet Clarke will still be lauded by the fantasists and mediocrity acceptors among the Brigadoon Brigade aka The Tartan Tranny's.
 
We need possibly a decent foreign coach…One who wont have any allegiances to players and will only play players based on ability and form.

Said coach would also adapt tactics depending on opposition and not shoehorn two left backs in regardless…Pick one!!

But nah Steve Clarke done ok with Killie and mocked Rangers so he’s the man for the job.
Bring back Bertie.:))
 
He's not going to criticise his player publicly. But a big decision for Friday. Be seen to give in to outside pressure or put O'Donnell under severe pressure on the field. I think he'll go for Forrest.

I don't see this being a heavy defeat. Likely because England will cruise through it and be satisfied with a 2-0. We'll likely create a couple of good chances, fail to convert and manager/media will concentrate on 'what might have happen'.

Scotland will once again show its small-time mentality in a major tournament.
 
England -2 is 12/5 with bet365…..and the reason i reckon only -2 is i can see the english players just going into cruise control at 3-0 and settling to play the game out and avoid injury, make a load of subs to keep players fresh….. i mean you have guys just competed in the champions league final up against players from motherwell ? i think thats the best scotland can hope for as they are the worst team in the tournament for me,….
 
So this pretty much tells you who will be the right back on Friday.
Fair do's.
They deserve each other.
I think it tells us that he and Stevie Woods who is goalkeeper coach decided Marshall should be a centre MF presence when the game is advanced into the opposition half .

of course even if they did Marshall should have engaged his brain , seen the CD was all over the pitch and got himself into the safety position near the penalty box .

it was all too much for them all imo
 
It takes one hell of an arrogant goalkeeper to stand anywhere near the centre circle, when play is happening.
Most walk to the edge of their own penalty box, and walk across.

Both Clarke and Robertson said Marshall did nothing wrong.
Says it all.
 
What did O’Donnell do right though? We want our full backs to get to the bye line and add to the attacking, especially when we have 3 central defenders. He barely did that.

O’Donnell was getting in the way of other players (Christie) and also running it out of play. These games are decided on small margins and this guy isn’t going to contribute to that positively.

I’d even take Forrest in there to offer some kind of attacking threat, but ideally Patterson should be in there. Otherwise what’s the point of picking him for the squad? A few of the players let their team down, why not give Gilmour, Patterson and Turnbull a try.

Clarke would rather get knocked out the tournament doing things ‘his way’ than bow down to what he perceives is public pressure and have a chance of going through. Terrible mentality.
 
What did O’Donnell do right though? We want our full backs to get to the bye line and add to the attacking, especially when we have 3 central defenders. He barely did that.

O’Donnell was getting in the way of other players (Christie) and also running it out of play. These games are decided on small margins and this guy isn’t going to contribute to that positively.

I’d even take Forrest in there to offer some kind of attacking threat, but ideally Patterson should be in there. Otherwise what’s the point of picking him for the squad? A few of the players let their team down, why not give Gilmour, Patterson and Turnbull a try.

Clarke would rather get knocked out the tournament doing things ‘his way’ than bow down to what he perceives is public pressure and have a chance of going through. Terrible mentality.
Heres my take on this, I think clarke is definitely bombing out odonnell but he's protecting him from the media (and btw if this was pre hunk era he would be getting pelters from the media as it definitely should be)and it will be a "tactical change" or "a niggle" according to clarke.
 
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