A quick word? Velocity! Scotland under Gordon Strachan 2013-2016

Didn't hear them pick a MOTM but I'd stopped listening to Alan Brazil jizzing all over Englandshire's finest a while back.

No motm named on STV. Welbeck probably right, or maybe Walcott. Miller best player for Scotland.

He was putting lids on beetroot jars 15 years ago

Well, yeah? 15 years is a long time you total ass

Yeah, it's way more interesting and impressive that 6/7 years ago he was a 25 year old League 1 player

*League 2 sorry

Grant Holt must be turning in his grave

"It's a long way from the beetroot factory"

"15 years ago Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was learning how to write an A and drawing a scribbly dog - he won't be going back to that classroom now!"

Its scotland whose faces were beetroot red tonight after it took him just TWO MINUTES to score his first goal for his country!

Scott Brown was pretty good. Our defence needs an actual left back in it.

(this is like my thoughts after every Celtic game an' all, btw)

It's Scotland whose faces are beetroot purple tonight after years of chronic alcoholism

Just 15 years ago Young Tony Blair was in the midst of making Britain Great again, well he's seen the last of that adoration from the groovy left Brian!

I'll say Alan! They think he's a cunt now, that's for sure!

Good line from Terry Butcher re Cahill getting lost at Miller's goal "had to pay 25 quid to get back into the stadium"

<3 u rickie. haven't celebrated an england goal like that for years.

did anyone watch the ireland game? i heard they played something approaching football at points

I didn't get into a fight, but, chatting to strangers on London streets, there's a first.

probably wise to not go along with them to wherever the fuck they were going to get that one more pint at 1am, though.

Oh well. England miles better in truth but we done good there.

They weren't actually. Big Gordon McQueen was right, this England mob merely average.

Why was Welbeck MOTM? Other than playing for the team that won, Townsend a knob etc?

He was coming deep and linking play and making runs and creating chances and generally doing all the things you'd expect from what Rooney is supposed to be.

this England mob merely average

They are merely average. Merely average is a lot better than Scotland. They were a bad offside call and the width of a post away from racking up a score. That was Scotland playing well last night and they could still easily have lost 6-2.

I am slightly terrified that he's scored his way into staying in the team.

Turns out it was his final appearance. Shame about the defeat but a cracking goal to finish off his international career.

Just searched this thread right now to post that!

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=12385

I see you're all as excited as me about the Belgium game!

When and how can we have a golden generation? Was it the '78 squad? Beating Holland and making an arse of ourselves against Iran and Peru. Was that it?

Things I learned about Belgians this morning: they all smoke. Every hotel in the city has a crowd of Belgians smoking outside it.

I think we've had a few golden generations, none of whom ever did much of anything at international level, look at the players we had in the 60s, but who cared as long as we beat England eh?

(of course a lot of those golden players in the 60s weren't picked very often)

I was excited! I really wanted to see Belgium but couldn't make it sadly.

The 74-86 generation(s) was about as golden as one could wish for. If Denis Law was a decade later and Andy Goram a decade earlier, we'd've surely managed to play a knock-out tie at some point.

Between the 78 squad and the 74 squad. Bremner's miss against Brazil all that stopped qualification (well, that and not demolishing Zaire).

I think the '74 team was a bit more dour and functional, not all that typical of a Scottish international teams of the period

I read a nice tribute to the 92 team somewhere recently, they were good but a last gasp.

(xp) (for dour and functional read "well-organized and consistent")

ah those halcyon days of dour functionality

Difficult to imagine a less 'dour and functional' Scotland side than the depressing Roxburgh/Broon years, when we laboured under the misapprehension that not conceding goals automatically won games.

Apart from Berti, we've been consistently dour and functional since Roxburgh, not to mention cowrin' and timorous

Odd to think of Sralex as the last flourish of adventurous football.

I think Gogs is attempting to get us to play a bit more with the ball than we have done under any manager since Berti. We're still playing defensively but it looks like our first move on gaining possession isn't to lump it away again.

I remain to be convinced we have enough players with the skill and mentality to make the strategy a reality.

maybe any manager since McLeod when I think about it

Golden generation of Belgians not in danger of winning anything on this evidence. They're better than Scotland but there's not much in it.

Different story now. Scotland in danger of a doing if they keep defending like this.

Nice way to cap it off. Belgium so much fleeter of foot and thought.

That's 25 minutes of comfortable possession away from home against a team that isn't Scotland B.

Aye, been pleasantly surprised thus far.

You're tempting me to watch it now. I normally avoid Scotland games like the plague because we're so bad it hurts.

Be warned; it doesn't take much to pleasantly surprise me with Scotland these days. Going over the halfway line is a victory for me.

Cracking first time strike from Anya.

Oh wow Scotland scored

And with that, we actually score courtesy of the bloke no-one had heard of a fortnight ago.

xpost

i love this wee guy what a goal

I thought he was a bit aimless and no great shakes, huffing and puffing to little effect, but that goal was tidy.

Bit pissed off I had both to score on my accumulator, was expecting to be hoping for a wee consolation rather than actively wanting Scotland to concede. This is why I so rarely bet on my own team. Hopefully we score again and I can hope for a wee consolation for Macedonia.

^jinxy post if ever I saw one.