The big Scotland plan

[Alex MacLeod]

We win tonight. We win tuesday night

Belgium beats Serbia tonight

Croatia beats Macedonia tonight

Wales beat Croatia tuesday night.

And magically we are top of the table.

[caley100]

Thats not magic Alex, thats a feckin miracle!!!

[KennySim93]

So much for the big plan...

[culduthel]

Alex I assumed you were old enough not to believe in the fairies. There are as likely as Scotland winning a football match and qualifying for the world cup.

[lukemackay]

Bale and the ref 2-1 Scotland

Bewildered about what the linesman was doing for fletcher goal. When will one of these game changing decisions go our way?

[Renegade]

Has Levein been sacked yet?

[RednBlackComeback]

Has Levein been sacked yet?

Not yet. But don't panic, the SFA know what they're doing !

[ICTPaisley]

Bale and the ref 2-1 Scotland

Bewildered about what the linesman was doing for fletcher goal. When will one of these game changing decisions go our way?

Berra was all over the Welsh player and that was a penalty, it went in our favour and it wasn't given. Its hard to take when a goals chopped off but being honest Wales were the better team in that second half and at least deserved a draw. I thought our chances of qualifying was back on around 70 mins. Thats it though, absolutely no chance now. Change the manager and start planning for Euro 2014.

[lukemackay]

I think it's the end of him if he doesn't pull off a miracle and win on Tuesday.

Still think he was cheated out of being the first Scotland manager since vogts to take us to the play offs by the Czechs. But the start of this campaigns being disappointed and without a win on Tuesday it'll probably be impossible to qualify. His target from te start was to take us to rio and unless he wins on Tuesday he's most likely failed. It'll be time for someone else to target 2016.

Not what I wanted myself thought he was doing reasonably well and has taken us from disparity after burley but doesn't look like he'll achieve the goal he set himself. But at least he's brought the likes of Rhodes, Forrest and Danny Wilson Into the international fold other managers wouldn't have gave them their chance internationally.

All in all not total failure for Levein but barring a miracle he's missed his target.

If we are going to bring someone else in what about Owen coyle? Never represented Scotland but he's a good manager and would help with bringing youngsters into the team for 2016 qualification and continue what Levein did well. Also his knowledge of the English game would be a bonus as most our players are based there.

All hypothetical and I hope it doesn't happen lets wait and see what happens on Tuesday.

[bauhaus]

to be honest, it had started to look a bit brighter towards the end of the last campaign. But for a dodgie ref and a not so bouncy Czech we would have had a chance to be humiliated in Poland or Ukraine. Aussie game gives us new hope, only for a poor display against Macedonia and then Serbia. A good first half, another poor decision, well two if you include Berra changing to the oval ball, and poor second half display again. We had the players the press and many fans were calling for, and yet again we underperform. I know what Levein was trying to do, but its just no working.

Time for an experienced man to aim for the Euro's in 2016, cause the only Brazil in sight is chocolate covered. Walter Smith, before Gordon Strachan for me. Levein must surely be feeling the coldness of the sword his is about to fall on. Belgium will be too good for us on Tuesday, and I fear the greatness of those two solitary points will make us the strongest team in the group, come next Wednesday.

Its one thing to be pure unlucky with decisions, but the full 94 minutes tells you more in general. And we was not good enough. We lost the game when Scotty Brown was subbed tonight, whether through injury or being saved for Belgium.

[ICT_Away]

Ignoring conspiracy theories & dodgy decisions Levein made 2 schoolboy managerial errors last night that cost us the match:

1. Replace brown with Adam, should have been MacArthur as Adam is not disciplined enough to play the role

2. Replace Malone with mulgrew & get him to man mark bale. Wales were so 1 dimensional in the first half with everything dangerous coming through bale, what did Levein do? Deny it...

Based on this alone he has not got the tactical understanding for international football & should go now

[Rainbow]

Be positive: Scotlands didn't lose 6 goals like Ireland did. On the negative side, with results like that they will struggle not to finish bottom. Sad but true.

[Kingsmills]

Strachan, McLeish, Dalgleish or Davies. All out of work and surely all better options than the present incumbent.

[davieB]

Speaking from a Welsh perspective....what a performance by Gareth Bale!

Other than Ronaldo and Messi, I can't think of any other players in world football at the moment who are capable of winning games single handedly. He's up there with them.

Good to see Maloney hold his hands up and admit he clipped Bale for the penalty, and you could see when it was given that he didn't protest at all. Simple fact is, everyone could see where the Welsh threat would come from, but Levein failed to address it. Time after time Bale simply destroyed Scotland down the right.

Where do Scotland go from here? You have to get rid of Levein straight away The man is totally clueless when it comes to tactics, and doesn't seem to motivate the team at all. Considering that was as strong a team as Scotland could put out, and Wales with far less of a pool of players to select from, were missing our two main keepers, Bellamy, Taylor, and Collins, then it really doesnt look good for Levein.

We're under no illusions in Wales. We know we're highly unlikely to qualify for major tournaments. Seems that Scottish fans still live with the delusion that they should be up there challenging the best in Europe. Expectations are way to high. The Scottish game as a whole is in a complete mess, and that's reflected in the national team. The likes of Brown, Hutton, Commons etc simply aren't good enough to compete at the top level. Until those that run the game in Scotland realise this, and start investing in the game, and players, from an early age, then it's only ever going to be downhill.

[Yngwie]

I've seen Scotland face world class players many times and usually they have shackled them very well. Just didn't cope at all last night though.

[gyles]

I think Levein has had his chance with Scotland. It's about time for change.

I can't see it happening but I'd love Walter Smith or Alex McLeish back. They'll get the best out of the players.

[PaderbornCaley]

Sky Bet are giving odds of 66/1 on Steve Paterson replacing Levein.

[The Mantis]

Seems that Scottish fans still live with the delusion that they should be up there challenging the best in Europe.

Are you not confusing us with England? Don't see any evidence of that. We know we're shyte

Saying that, I don't think it's a delusion to aspire to qualify for the odd tournament now and again through the playoffs or whatever.

[Rainbow]

Bale and the ref 2-1 Scotland

Bewildered about what the linesman was doing for fletcher goal. When will one of these game changing decisions go our way?

Berra was all over the Welsh player and that was a penalty, it went in our favour and it wasn't given. Its hard to take when a goals chopped off but being honest Wales were the better team in that second half and at least deserved a draw. I thought our chances of qualifying was back on around 70 mins. Thats it though, absolutely no chance now. Change the manager and start planning for Euro 2014.

Just saw the highlights...

Berra: penalty, also the Adams tackle against Ramsey.

Fletcher goal: the ball was never out of play, but there was an offside position before the cross. Double error, correct result.

So don't complain about poor refereeing as most of his major errors went in favour of Scotland! BTW, it was the referee who didn't see the Ukrainian goal against England as fourth official. Shame on our German referees

Edited October 13, 2012 by Rainbow

[bauhaus]

Bale and the ref 2-1 Scotland

Bewildered about what the linesman was doing for fletcher goal. When will one of these game changing decisions go our way?

Berra was all over the Welsh player and that was a penalty, it went in our favour and it wasn't given. Its hard to take when a goals chopped off but being honest Wales were the better team in that second half and at least deserved a draw. I thought our chances of qualifying was back on around 70 mins. Thats it though, absolutely no chance now. Change the manager and start planning for Euro 2014.

Just saw the highlights...

Berra: penalty, also the Adams tackle against Ramsey.

Fletcher goal: the ball was never out of play, but there was an offside position before the cross. Double error, correct result.

So don't complain about poor refereeing as most of his major errors went in favour of Scotland! BTW, it was the referee who didn't see the Ukrainian goal against England as fourth official. Shame on our German referees

Thought that it was a penalty at the time, Berra and the rugby tackle. However, as it was analysed on sky today with the Monkey Hanger and 4 pundits on sports saturday, I have changed my opinion. They were right to point out that the initial foul was by the Welsh striker, as he looks at Berra and changes his direction shoulder charging Berra. Doesnt make the Berra graple look any better, but they are right, it should have been a foul to Scotland.

Ramsay has been shown that it was a dive, or lets say he anticipated the touch which didnt happen, but his honesty was to try and get straight back up without appealing for a penalty, although you have certainly seen them given.

Still doesnt change the result, we lost, although should have been home and dry with that second goal, but maybes it is meant to happen that way. Levein gone after Belgium game, Steve Pele Paterson becomes our saviour, with attractive attacking football, designed on the basis of we will score more than you. Scotland games would never be dull again.

[starchief]

Burley and Vogts already tried that style. Ummmmm, not so successful. The trouble with attacking is we have a back four of:

Hutton: can't get a game for relegation strugglers

Caldwell: relegation struggle

Berra: not top division player

Bardsley: ill and injured or Fox: relegation struggle

I know the Pele comment is a bit tongue in cheek but if it's attack and score more, then how? A punt up to Fletcher to knock it down to the has-been Miller? The can't-get-a-Premiership-club Rhodes? The slipping-down-the-divisions Goodwillie?

For Levein, it was the right idea, badly executed. A cautious approach a la Smith/McLeish but you have to pick your moments. The two home games should have had an added impetus in attack at half-time. The 4-6-0 isn't necessarily a bad system if you're players are capable of passing and moving forward (Spain or Manchester United could - and have - done this) but playing that defensively against a fairly standard team that had just lost to Lithuania was too much.

Strachan did well at Celtic, even at European level. I also liked what he did at Southampton and, though he eventually got relegated, he did well for most of his time at Coventry. I can see him play as Celtic did in Europe - fairly cautious but with an eye for sneaking the odd goal against better sides. Levein wasn't too bothered about sneaking that goal - a 0-0 did him.

[Alex MacLeod]

Its alright guys, we'll be saved now. Don Cowie called up to replace Scott Brown.

[KingBeastie]

Any comment of "We were unlucky...", "Didn't get the rub of the green...", "Ref was against us...", etc. are madness.

Levein's record as manager is the worst of any Scotland manager ever.

He has the best squad of players any manager has had at his disposal for many, many years, better than Burley, better than The German, and he managed to get us to a play-off (Good God - I NEVER thought I'd see the bloody day when I ever stuck up for The German), hell the current squad is better than some that Craig Brown had at his disposal and he did a better job.

Talk of focussing on 2016 (yes - 4 YEARS away!!!) is wrong too - unless we get rid of Levein and concentrate on salvaging something from this group we could find ourselves dropping down into pot 5 for future qualifiers - something that may take us years and years to recover from.

Our world cup qualifying dream is over only 5 weeks after it begun and that is surely unacceptable.

[Libero]

Anyone reckon Davie Moyes would be any good as an international boss?

Got a proven track record of getting the most out of 'inferior' players and very tactically astute. Could do a lot worse than him IMO

[PaderbornCaley]

Moyes would be great but doubt he‘d take the wage cut.