As one of the guys watching the Holland game with me said at the final whistle, "Business as usual, then!"
Let's face it, any points would have been a massive bonus. We didn't deserve to lose 3-0, though admittedly we didn't deserve a draw either. Goodness knows what might have happened had Caldwell's header not been chalked off for no apparent reason. If nothing else, might morale be better had we lost 2-1 rather than 3-0?
If George Burley is up to this job, then you would like to think that spirits in the camp would be just as high coming into the very winnable (and ultimately must-win) Iceland game on Wednesday. I remain eminently confident that wins at home to Iceland and Macedonia and a draw in Norway will put us in good stead for second. Moreover, our last game is at Hampden against the Dutch, who by then will surely have qualified and may not be quite so formidable. Here's to hoping, anyway, but we are still the team in pole position for second, no question.
We absolutely, positively must win on Wednesday, though. If we draw, we will probably need to beat Norway in Oslo; if we lose, Burley is, and rightly so, a dead man walking. Defeat surely makes his position untenable, as 4 points from 5 qualifiers, including a defeat in Macedonia as well, is just not on.
George, if you're reading, please go 4-4-2 for this one, and seriously consider dropping Kenny Miller - the Rangers striker looked more devoid of confidence than an RBS stockbroker. Not only that, but there was none of his usual hard work off the ball. I'm not the biggest fan of Steven Fletcher, but the boy has a bit of swagger about him. And we need a target man, so step forward Chris Iwelumo; he deserves the chance to atone for that miss of misses. Hutton comes in for Alexander, while Gary Teale has got to be hooked for James Morrison. The rest of the midfield? It would be harsh to chuck Ross McCormack, who put in a smashing shift in Holland, but who would you leave out from Ferguson, Fletcher and Brown? The captain had a bit of a mare at the weekend, but do you dare to drop him? The easy decision, though not necessarily the right one, is to stick Brown wide.
Anyway, George, no pressure, but you have to win this one. Or else.
L.
1 comment:
I agree. No need to panic unless we lose on Wednesday
I'd play 4-3-3. We won using that formation in Iceland and scored a "goal" on Saturday when we went for it.
My team, injuries permitting:
McGregor
Hutton McManus Caldwell Naysmith
Fletcher Ferguson Brown
Morrison Iwelumo McCormack
In practice it would probably look like 4-3-1-1 with the wide players dropping more into midfied and Brown pushing on to support Iwelumo, like a very poor mans Gerrard and Torres.
I'm confident, although could maybe to with Hartley in the team.
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