SussexJag Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Rare night away from the weans to watch this. Had a good time, but in truth I thought we were poor against a v average Ireland team. Forsyth and Ritchie looked out their depth and we never got a grip. But I guess the sign of better times is that we didn't lose - we usually do when we go a goal down, but this team seems a bit different. Well done Strachan. Can't believe Anya didn't start though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry gaz Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Agree RE Ritchie and Forsyth but most of the team were poor in the first half, no penetration at all. GS got the starting 11 all wrong but fair play for sorting things out at HT. Ireland are a horrible team, typical Martin O'Neil pish slinging the ball in from wide constantly and kicking lumps out of the opposition . Always thought he was one of the most over-rated managers of his time. A wee bit of luck at the goal with the deflection but a great bit of football leading up to it. As for their goal ,really poor from the officials , we've had some real bad decisions against us this campaign Edited June 14, 2015 by angry gaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThickAsThieves Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Also can't believe Anya didn't start, but thought Ritchie did fine. Wouldn't have singled him out for criticism - unlike Forsyth. I'd have taken a draw before the match so I'm happy. Performance wasn't great though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Ikechi Anya is a real Partick Thistle-ish character. We would love him if he played at Firhill. Sadly a dream only, but at least he does play his club football in red and yellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpool Jags Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 The difference between WGS's sides, belief, creativity and mobility-wise, and those of his abject predecessor are night v day. Very unlucky not to get full 6 points from early away games against Germany and Poland. Even when playing under strength and below par, you always get the feeling we can make something happen. Mulgrew, however, impresses less and less with every performance, in my opinion. Under Avril, I wouldn't have fancied our chances of stealing a point against a depleted Gibraltar. Delighted that we're now playing to virtually our full potential, as limited as that may be in some ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfaelivi Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 I think if Thistle had played like Scotland did in the first half we would have booed them at half time. Given his reputation, for example, Naismith (of whom I'm a supporter) was awful - he couldn't pass it three yards to a team mate! Was it that many of them hadn't played competitively for weeks, the hype or did the occasion get to them? I think Strachan said that the referee had a good game?!? Wee Willie Column would have had three of the Irish off long before the end. They really are raw meat. Some of their tackling was allowed by a weak referee when many others would never have condoned it. Having said that I hope they kick the Polish and the Germans off the park and get away with it like they did against us!! Onwards and upwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggy Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 I think Strachan said that the referee had a good game?!? I think he was being sarcastic and even O'Neil fell for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) I think if Thistle had played like Scotland did in the first half we would have booed them at half time. Given his reputation, for example, Naismith (of whom I'm a supporter) was awful - he couldn't pass it three yards to a team mate! Was it that many of them hadn't played competitively for weeks, the hype or did the occasion get to them? I think Strachan said that the referee had a good game?!? Wee Willie Column would have had three of the Irish off long before the end. They really are raw meat. Some of their tackling was allowed by a weak referee when many others would never have condoned it. Having said that I hope they kick the Polish and the Germans off the park and get away with it like they did against us!! Onwards and upwards. I hope that too but I doubt it. Unfortunately European refs have the idea that British teams are always "tough" heavy-tackling teams and tend to let things go when two British teams (and Ireland are essentially a British team) play each other. When a British team plays a European team they tend to come down hard on this (sometimes they punish the British team and let the European team off with the dirty stuff). Expect some moaning beforehand by Poland/Germany about Ireland's (and ours too when we play them) tough play and the refs reacting differently than in Saturday's game. Edited June 15, 2015 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armand2 Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 Strachan has been excellent so far but like others have said, I think he made a couple of mistakes with the starting line-up on Saturday. I'm not sure whether Robertson was carrying a knock but if he's fit, he should start every game; good player but Forsyth doesn't have any business playing at international level. His goal against Qatar apart, I've not been particularly impressed with Ritchie in a Scotland jersey yet; like Robertson, I think Anya should be one of the first names on the team-sheet at the moment. On the flip side, it was a risk putting Mulgrew in from the start but I thought he played reasonably well. Either way, it's an absolutely ridiculous time of year to play qualifiers, in my opinion. All things considered, it was a good point and keeps us on track. I suspect we'll fall just short of automatic qualification but we've got a real good chance of claiming the best third placed qualifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) Ikechi Anya is a real Partick Thistle-ish character. We would love him if he played at Firhill. Sadly a dream only Maybe not, if rumours on BBC are anything to go by, however it will be in green and white...and not Red and yella! Edited June 15, 2015 by Lindau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 Strachan has been excellent so far but like others have said, I think he made a couple of mistakes with the starting line-up on Saturday. I'm not sure whether Robertson was carrying a knock but if he's fit, he should start every game; good player but Forsyth doesn't have any business playing at international level. His goal against Qatar apart, I've not been particularly impressed with Ritchie in a Scotland jersey yet; like Robertson, I think Anya should be one of the first names on the team-sheet at the moment. On the flip side, it was a risk putting Mulgrew in from the start but I thought he played reasonably well. Either way, it's an absolutely ridiculous time of year to play qualifiers, in my opinion. All things considered, it was a good point and keeps us on track. I suspect we'll fall just short of automatic qualification but we've got a real good chance of claiming the best third placed qualifier. Other than the goal, that should never have stood, I thought Martin and Mulgrew were excellent. Would have been better with Bruce Forsyth at left back and it's anyone's guess why Anya never started. Strachan has done magnificently since he came in but he made two massive team selection errors on Saturday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpool Jags Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 I think there's a fairly recent thread on latter day football cliches, but I'm enjoying what seems a universal media description of the Ireland style as "agricultural" football: absolutely spot on. I intensely dislike McCarthy (for precisely the same reasons I resent McGeady), but I like him even less now after his thuggish approach to Saturday's game; maybe he, Whelan, Walters and one or two others might defend themselves by citing their ferret faced manager and his preferred brand of 1870s football. I never much fancied O'Neil's persona when the microphones were directed towards him, particularly when he was in charge of a plethora of big lumps at Parkheid, but his post-match interview on Saturday and other related comments attributed to him clearly suggest that he's no more than a grubby, bitter wee maggot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sunnylaw Jag Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 Just a wee reminder for Scotland fans out there of our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/scotlandepistles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Incognito Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 I think there's a fairly recent thread on latter day football cliches, but I'm enjoying what seems a universal media description of the Ireland style as "agricultural" football: absolutely spot on. I intensely dislike McCarthy (for precisely the same reasons I resent McGeady), but I like him even less now after his thuggish approach to Saturday's game; maybe he, Whelan, Walters and one or two others might defend themselves by citing their ferret faced manager and his preferred brand of 1870s football. I never much fancied O'Neil's persona when the microphones were directed towards him, particularly when he was in charge of a plethora of big lumps at Parkheid, but his post-match interview on Saturday and other related comments attributed to him clearly suggest that he's no more than a grubby, bitter wee maggot. I couldn't understand his anger (save for the fact that he always seems kind of angry, even at the best of times) towards the officials at all. Basically, they have kept his team in it. The two big decisions on Saturday - Walters' offside goal and McCarthy's foul on Martin (I have seen players sent off for less) - went the way of Ireland. By rights, Scotland should have won that game 1-0 and Ireland possibly reduced to 10 men. O'Neil is a strong contender for the title of most over-rated football manager of his era. He had a good spell in charge of Leicester, did what you'd expect any vaguely competent coach to do at one of the OF with an expensively assembled squad and then hee-haw of note. His Ireland team are the dirtiest international football side I have seen in a long while too. Credit to Strachan though, he has picked up the pieces from Levein's dreadful tenure and got his side of good rather than great players believing in itself. Scotland were nowhere their best on Saturday but still managed to get a decent result. That, to me, points to a team that is going places. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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