Off Topic International Break Thread

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While you cite Ramsey, Revie and Greenwood for not giving debuts to 18 year olds, that doesn't mean the rest of the world weren't, for example
The real difference between then and now is that it's far more likely for a player to change the nation they represent, for example in the 60s the Portuguese were able to stick Eusebio on a plane in Mozambique and chuck him on a pitch in Lisbon to guarantee he was a Portuguese international, but that's not the case these days as players can switch allegiances as demonstrated with the likes of Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, Wilfried Zaha, Victor Moses or Dom Dwyer to name but four that means that if an FA keeps a player waiting too long they can up and leave for another, or in the case of Rice and Grealish basically become plastic internationals (which hasn't exactly worked out for Grealish, has it?) while Dwyer was never going to play for England so a call from the USIEAIAIO was a no-brainer

That is a good point and to be fair of the 10 who have debuted under 18 since Owen - (Walcott, Rooney, Sterling, Owen, Richards, Sancho, Rashford, Wilshere, Shaw, & Oxlade Chamberlain) - 2 are definite successes, 3 are doing well and likely to be judged a success, 2 the jury is out on and 3 have had what i would call indifferent international careers
 
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Awful performance so far from Scotland. I confess that i don't watch the SPL much as it is largely turd, but the scottish game appears to be in terminal decline. It started when Rangers were booted out of the PL and hasn't abated since their return. Too much rot already set in - the house needs a total redo. The fact that their exile coincided with exponentially more money year on year south of the border couldn't have helped either.

There was once a time when Rangers, Celtic and even the likes of Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen probably could've troubled a fair few EPL teams. But that time has long gone, and I don't see any way back.
 
Awful performance so far from Scotland. I confess that i don't watch the SPL much as it is largely turd, but the scottish game appears to be in terminal decline. It started when Rangers were booted out of the PL and hasn't abated since their return. Too much rot already set in - the house needs a total redo. The fact that their exile coincided with exponentially more money year on year south of the border couldn't have helped either.

There was once a time when Rangers, Celtic and even the likes of Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen probably could've troubled a fair few EPL teams. But that time has long gone, and I don't see any way back.
It's not helped by Alex McLeish being seen as a soft touch who'll let players off having to play international matches for the slightest of reasons, best exemplified by Andrew Robertson missing two friendlies this week due to a dentist's appointment being met with a shrug from fans who've seen worse excuses
 
It's not helped by Alex McLeish being seen as a soft touch who'll let players off having to play international matches for the slightest of reasons, best exemplified by Andrew Robertson missing two friendlies this week due to a dentist's appointment being met with a shrug from fans who've seen worse excuses
And what position are Scotland getting murdered in, by all accounts? Left-back.
"Scotland's lack of experience at the back has been shown up.
Graeme Shinnie has played left-back on so many occasions, but you can't have that amnesia he had for both goals. "
Willie Miller at half-time.

Robertson's absense probably wouldn't have been such an issue if Tierney was available, though.
 
And what position are Scotland getting murdered in, by all accounts? Left-back.
"Scotland's lack of experience at the back has been shown up.
Graeme Shinnie has played left-back on so many occasions, but you can't have that amnesia he had for both goals. "
Willie Miller at half-time.

Robertson's absense probably wouldn't have been such an issue if Tierney was available, though.
Not necessarily, in their 2-1 loss to Israel he had both Tierney and Robertson on the pitch...with Tierney at centre back and Robertson on the left wing

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that, when faced with a selection headache where your two standouts play in the same position, the solution should not be to have them both play out of position...
 
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Just got in from babysitting the grandkids forgot the jocks were playing maybe my grandaughters would have done better......spurf were you playing in defence <whistle><laugh>