Before kick off I would have accepted a draw, on the condition we played well.
Personally I thought we were sh!t, we played a fancy 4-1-4-1 in the first half which you would expect to control the midfield and centre of the pitch, not so. Chis I'm-a-womble's miss was a terrible miss but it happens every player at some point has committed a howler like that, apart from tthat I thought he had a not bad game, made a few good runs, passes and pulled defenders away from the middle to open up the defence. However, where was the passion ??, McFadden, Fletcher, Maloney, Miller and the rest of them were shit. Burley is not the man for the job but the players must also shoulder the blame.
Should efforts be made to tempt "King Kenny" out of the football wilderness to take over the reigns ??
Should Burley step aside ?
Would Kris Boyd have done any better ?
Should the SFA also take some of the blame for not holding on to Walter Smith/Alex McLeish ??
In my opinion to only play one up front against a team that at best is equal to us, if not worse, should see the man sacked.
It would have been all well and good to play that system had we kept the ball on the ground and ran at them.
But to launch long balls up to McFadden when he was up against guys who were over six feet tall was ludicrous.
We should have had 2 up front from the beginning which would have allowed Maloney and McFadden the space to create more chances for a striker. Iwuelmo does not have a good enough track record that should see him played in front of Boyd.
I can sympathise with Boyd as to why he has had enough.
In my opinion to only play one up front against a team that at best is equal to us, if not worse, should see the man sacked.
It would have been all well and good to play that system had we kept the ball on the ground and ran at them.
But to launch long balls up to McFadden when he was up against guys who were over six feet tall was ludicrous.
We should have had 2 up front from the beginning which would have allowed Maloney and McFadden the space to create more chances for a striker. Iwuelmo does not have a good enough track record that should see him played in front of Boyd.
I can sympathise with Boyd as to why he has had enough.
Agreed, launching balls up to McFadden when the defenders are obviously a lot bigger than he is was always going to end badly. The tactics should have been changed, we sat back in our own half and played the long ball game, where-as you pointed out if we had ran at them from the whistle it would totally have changed the game.
I also agree... Iwelumo should never have been played in front of Boyd, However it was a good idea to give him his chance, but why against Norway ?? when we are in a group with Iceland ?? Or wait until your 2-0 up against someone then hand him his cap. In a must win game this was a gamble we should never have taken when someone of Boyd's calibre is sitting on the bench.
I was at the game on Saturday. I cannot believe the miss. Putting it wide took some skill. In fact I was celebrating for a good 5 seconds before it twigged.
First up, in defence of Chris Iwelumo, I thought he played well when he came on. Other than the obvious of the miss. He was winning balls, he was bringing Fletcher into play a lot. I thought he was solid. If we'd started with the team we finished with, it would have been a victory I'm sure
Ideally, it would have been a 4-4-2 with Boyd coming off the bench on 60mins, or a 4-3-3 with Iwelumo / Boyd, Maloney and McFadden either side and Broon, Fletcher & Robson running the midfield and change up to a straight 4-4-2 if it wasn't working.
Whatever it was, we should never have started with the team we did. We have 6 midfielders. Ridiculous. Every time Craig Gordon knocked up a long ball, McFadden was overpowered and undone. He's just not physically capable of playing that role. He's a creative player, not a centre forward.
James Morrison shouldn't have been near that starting line up.
Our defence as well. Old, Old, Old & Old. On any other day John Carew should have scored two or three. As my dad put it, it was like watching the seniors play the first years at school when Carew got the ball.
I don't think Burley is the man for the job. But Who else is there? Mumbles Dalgleish hasn't managed for years. Souness is a no from me. John Collins would be a shout and a popular choice, but has all the loyalty of someone with no loyalty.
And what about Kris Boyd spitting out the dummy? Fuck that, I don't buy the "I don't blame him" excuse. You never turn your back on your country. No matter who the manager, no matter how inept, no matter what the circumstances.
First of all commiserations on shelling out your "hard earned" to watch that pile of shite on Saturday.
Kenny hasn't managed for years but the players would actually play for him unlike Burley, who instills no confidence or belief in anyone either inside our outside of the team.
Souness is agreed a firm "No" for me, Souness only does well when he has funds to bring in players, with a National team that is not the case. Also do you really want someone as unstable and "huffy" as him in charge.
John Collins is a good shout and I reckon he is a good manager, however I feel he would treat the position as a stepping stone (a la Smith/McLeish) and before you know it he'd be down at Hull or West Brom or someone like that.
I can totally understand Boyd's frustrations and while I don't agree with his decision I can see his reasons, However I was here for the Roy Keane fiasco and would have to agree, Your Country is Your Country. It's much bigger than your problems with the manager, administration, fans etc, etc. I'm not saying Boyd should cause problems from within (Ferguson - Paul Le Guin) but there has to be some other way to deal with the problem. Maybe if he bides his time there will soon be a new manager ??
Joe Jordan was the one I really wanted by the way. Untested to an extent, but a legend.
My only other comments were that I thought Brown played his best game yet for Scotland and that Burley has been without Hutton, Ferguson and McManus, so maybe it's harsh to judge him without all his best players available. We are looking remarkably thin on the ground when it comes to cover, should we lose our best players. Especially in defence.
Missing Hutton, Ferguson and McManus is a big deal but the rest of the players and the manager should have made sure we rose to the challenge of playing without them, re adjust our formation, install belief in the covering players, etc. any other international team can... why can't we... Again I feel Burley has to shoulder the majority of the blame.
Joe Jordan would definately instal a belief (or a fear), "Do what your told or I'll boot you up and down that pitch!!"
We were gash, starting with 4 wingers is madness. I thought we improved after we changed to 4-4-2, and that Iwelumo had a decent game (minus the miss), but even when we had a bit of pressure later on, Carew still walked past Weir.
If it was up to me, Kris Boyd would never play for Scotland again, under any manager. Who does he think he is? Always came across as a bit of a twat anyway I suppose. Also, Davie Weir, thanks but gie it up son, eh?
