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Legend

If you are old enough you may be good enough! Great player over the years though I worry about him being beaten for pace if left exposed at the back..but that could also be said about McManus as well and better an old head in there, though you would have a concern if these two were combined in central defence!

Until we have centre backs who are better than Weir, he should be picked. The same with any other player in the Scotland. Best man for the job, be he 16 or 46.

hes a legend, he should be scotland captain instead of that imposter Fletcher, he should have a much younger (or faster) player beside him to complete the defence

Good article Jim, getting very tired of the slating of Weir when is arguably still Scotland's best defender. Look at the previous world cup squads of Italy and France amongst others and they contain several players well into their 30's and still performing at the highest level. You can never knock experience, especially when, in general, we are severely lacking in the technical department.

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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Glad to see DW back in the Scotland fold. Mind Jim that FCannavaro played in the WC at 37 And what older players lack in pace (hopefully CL will make some allowance for that with a quicker CB - though lots of CB's aren't blessed with it anyways it has to be said - or some cover if needed) they generally make up for in their all-round positional sense, leadership and 'will'. No matter where he's played DW always played with lot of heart and I like that And good on the deck too Not bothered about whether he is the Captain, as long as he leads the defence well thats all that matters to me.

Tomslaford, take your quasi-troll comments elsewhere and let us discuss Scotland. Your constant patrolling of Scottish football debates and discussions is becoming slightly pathetic.

Scotland will need to be careful tomorrow night, but I'm hopeful of a positive result. McGregor in goals, with a backline of Hutton, Weir, McManus and Whittaker. Five man midfield of Robson, Fletcher, McCulloch (holding) and Dorrrans, with McFadden slightly ahead in a supporting role. Miller for the lone striker role which he performs so well.

If we come away with a draw, I'll be happy enough. A win is certainly possible, but we need to avoid the "pub league" (ho ho) mistakes of the Sweden game. Lithuania are a decent side, especially on their dodgy pitch but if we don't go over with aspirations of points, we might as well give up the campaign now.

For the Liechtenstein, drop McCulloch and put Steven Fletcher on (if fit) for a 4-3-3 attacking formation. Goals are essential, as it may come down to goal difference at a later stage in the campaign.

Let's revive the optimism that we had in the last Euro qualifiers under McLeish. I remember the pubs bouncing and the streets buzzing; club rivalries forgotten for the common cause. Nobody does football banter quite like Scotland. Get behind the team and give our lads the backing they can take onto the pitch. They're going to need every bit of help that they can get.

Excellent reply Colchie, couldn't agree more. When are you getting a column? I would perhaps stick Boyd in on Tuesday ahead of Fletcher since Liechtenstein are meant to be a "diddy" team and we all know Boyd only really likes the "diddy" teams.

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DW should never have been allowed back in the Scotland team after turning his back on us. He was rightly lambasted for his terrible performance, along with Christian Dailly. At least Christian took it on the chin and continued to be available for selection, whereas DW refused to play for his country. I have been going to Scotland matches since the 60s, but will not be going back as long as anybody who has turned their back on the country, for whatever reason, is allowed back in the team. Especially when they don't apologize for their shocking betrayal of the national team.

COMPARING WEIR TO BARESI OR MALDINI IS SICK - WHAT AN INSULT TO THE 2 iTALIANS.

Bring back Willie Miller and McLeish PLEASE

Are Souness and John Greig free - have they got their boots - they r as quick as Weir.

Any comments about the state of the pitch??????- get the excuses in early.

Bring back Bertie Vogts, he wouldn't pick Weir.

Any comments here about Weir being slow and playing???? for Rangers gets moderated - some website when criticism or a point of view gets censored - talk about the Blair British Corp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moderators - forget my comment at 11 - u and this joke of a website r the pits.

Italy and France did not go v far in last WC Graham

Weir walked out on Scotland after the Faroes match when criticised by the manager - we all could see he was at fault but Christian Dailly accepted the criticism he got and got on with his job as a Scottish International should.
Weir has betrayed his country once and let them down before. He should never have been given another chance, hopefully he will not let us down tomorrow but he should never have be in the team along with the other traitors!!

re Monalie

so to protest at players turning their backs on their country you are going to do the same? - what amkes you any different to them then?

Levein's strategy (in selecting David Weir and Paul Hartley), is completely at odds with that of Fabio Capello (in not selecting David Beckham). I agree with Capello.

There is only short term gain from selecting these players. In the long term it will damage our chances of doing well since it restricts the development of younger players.

But, if we are to select David Weir, why pick him for the games against Lithuania and Lichtenstein? Would it not make more sense to protect Weir and try as best as we can to leave him available for games against Spain and the Czech Republic?

Weir could be sent off, cautioned or injured in these games leading to a player of less experience having to come in and try to do a job against David Villa and Fernando Torres. In addition, in the probable scenario that Weir will be a regular pick for Rangers, should we not try to minimise fatigue by not playing him in these 'lesser' games.

It makes little sense to me I am afraid. The games against Lichtenstein and Lithuania would be perfect for Danny Wilson and or James Forrest.

#23
And Capello is a PR disaster..this is the man who was going to bring the WC back for England..until he found out that the pay packets of his players didn't reflect their abilities.

Didn't Capello want Scholes back?

And only dropped interest in Becks when the latter started to feel insulted about being brought back for a token game?

#11

Comparing players in terms of age is fine..not sick but more thick..on your part..again!?!


Makes sense for him to be there for the game tonight but possibly not next week so I would agree with you there.

That's is actually the real ronreagan, isn't it?

Excellent incoherent ramble - comedy magic.

Keep up the good work.

#24 Capello's PR/language skills (or the lack of them) are irrelevant. The point is that Capello is a top manager and he sees no long term value in playing David Beckham. I share his view and extend that to Scotland and David Weir (and Paul Hartley).

There has been much speculation over a recall for Scholes but Capello has yet to have any interest in the player quoted or verified. So 'no', there is no evidence to support any assertion that Capello wants Scholes back into the fold. And I don't remember reading Capello claims of bringing back the World Cup either. But he cannot prevent the English media from writing what they want to write any more than Graham (Turnip) Taylor could.

Let me be clear: David Weir is a good player but he is not Franco Baresi, Paulo Maldini or Stanley Matthews...so let's cut out all those nonsensical comparisons. He's a journeyman and if we are to rely on his services then it makes far more sense that we should do so when it really matters. That means keeping him in cotton wool for when we meet the Czechs and Spaniards.

Nice though that Shaun Maloney hasn't decided to throw his toys out the pram. Wonder how he feels though, having represented Scotland at every level, and watching Boyd, McCulloch and Weir being selected. Three players who, when it suited them, turned their backs on the national team.

IRN, I don't think Danny Wilson or James Forrest are anywhere near the level for full international call ups yet. Keep them in the U21's or maybe a B side until they are regular performers for their teams.

Forrest has only had a couple of half decent games for Celtic and Wilson could well find himself spending the next year or two in the reserves at Liverpool. Terrible move for the boy in my opinion.

As for Weir, good luck to him. Until the likes Berra, Caldwell, McManus etc hit top form he will probably be a first choice centre back. It will mean Scotland having a fairly deep back line to avoid being caught for pace but hopefully we won't have another 3-0 gubbing.

Jim,

I have to question the wisdom of this article and it's timing.
I'm writing this prior to tonight's game, and I think you'd have been better waiting until after it before singing the praises of Weir.

With that in mind, I'd say that Weir shouldn't be playing at this level. Imagine if Lithuania have someone with the pace of Walcott - Weir and McManus will be left for dead. Sides in last seasons Champions League soon spotted the naivety in having a 40 year old centre back. We can't expect Hutton to go raiding down the wings, cover the right back slot, and also get Weir out of trouble.

The reason he shines in the SPL isn't because he's some sort of super defender, or even that the SPL is 'joke' (as some previous posters are saying), but simply because Rangers dominate games to such an extent that he's rarely tested.

It always made me uneasy when he was welcomed back in the first place after he'd opted not to be picked. As mentioned above, Daily may not have been the best player to have played for Scotland, but he's got my eternal admiration for saying to himself 'I'll show you' when Vogts singled him out for criticism, instead of going off in the huff.

#26
There has been much speculation over a recall for Scholes but Capello has yet to have any interest in the player quoted or verified. So 'no', there is no evidence to support any assertion that Capello wants Scholes back into the fold
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Except the evidence from the player himself in early June before the WC!

The arguments about Weir's pace are unfounded... he was outstanding against Holland in the last game of the last campaign. Only a slip late on cost us a goal - could have happened to the quickest and youngest of players. I for one am delighted at his inclusion. Mon Scotland!

Tomslaford beat me to his own comment. I was just gonna cut and paste his last 23554237895 contributions to this blog. Oh well.

Personally i'm not thrilled about Weir. I'd rather see some youngsters, even if they did look lost, given further chances. Perhaps, y'know, planning for the future.

#32
Tomslaford beat me to his own comment
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He experienced some serious blog humiliation on ZiDean's #38 post in the last blog by Jim..

Ronald Reagan looks very similar don't you think! He may be reincarnated!

Jim there is not doubt Weir has been a very good player, however there is no way he should be playiong for Scotland now, he has been protected over the last few seasons because he has had such poor opposition in Scotland and has not been tested enough, he also tends to get away with murder from the Scots refs, we should be bludding new young players for the campaign in my opinion.

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Quite right Rob04. I would have thought he we would too ashamed to re-appear after ZiDean got ripped into him.

He is obviously as thick skinned as he is bigoted. Is RR his twin ?

Berra should've been picked ahead of Weir, simple as that. Berra plays at a higher level (and anyone who disputes that, do you think Rangers would survive in the Prem without spending?), plays against the likes of Drogba, Torres, Rooney, Gerrard, Saha etc etc. Yes Weir has more experience but Berra isn't exactly a youngster, he's played numerous games as Hearts' captain and then is in his second Premiership season with Wolves, has more pace than Weir and is obviously the long term option.

@ 37:

Berra should play instead of McManus. In fact McManus should be nowhere near our back line.

#26
There has been much speculation over a recall for Scholes but Capello has yet to have any interest in the player quoted or verified. So 'no', there is no evidence to support any assertion that Capello wants Scholes back into the fold
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Except the evidence from the player himself in early June before the WC!
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Yes, #30. early June.....that, as you acknowledge, was BEFORE the World Cup when Beckham was also being selected prior to becoming ruled out through injury. There is nothing to be gained in the long term by picking Beckham and Scholes, and the same is true of Weir and Hartley.

It may benefit Capello to pick these players now, but he is a good enough manager to know it will not help England sides in future. Levein should take note.

Jim Spence: You are perfectly correct. David Weir has many qualities that young players would do well to replicate if they want to have a good and lengthy career. But what has that got to do with his selection for the Scotland national team now?

My argument is not that David Weir isn't a good pro. Neither is it one that says he isn't good enough. It's simply that by picking him now we weaken ourselves in future.

#37

You should find little disagreement with that Wolves I'd much rather see Berra there than McManus who has never had much pace and is a poorer defender in my view

Scotland's options in central defence are sadly limited, with the players available either too inexperienced or not good enough.

- Berra has proven to be lacking at international level and 2 seasons with a bottom of the table EPL team does more to illustrate the hype (with no substance) around that league, best in the world? yeah right!

- McManus is a carthorse who only got in the Scotland team because of his old firm status (and he got found out at SPL level as well)

- G.Caldwell not fit would have almost certainly started with Weir tonight.

- S.Caldwell = awful

- Kenneth - like Zander Diamond c.2006 good at U-21 level, raw but nothing special

- Diamond - see Kenneth

- Reynolds to me should be in the squad as he can also play left back and is a vastly superior player to Clubfoot.

- Wilson one good season does not make him International calibre.

We have lost a few promising ones along the way Kennedy to injury and Anderson to inexplicable ommissions under McLeish, Smith and Vogts (combined with injury)

Changing topic.

Talk of Forrest is typical old firm nonsense, the kid has had one good game and is in the U-21 squad for the FIRST time I believe so should not be anywhere near the squad.

Maloney has been poor for Scotland almost without exception he is an ineffectual "luxury" player we don't need, again if he played for United, Hearts etc he wouldnt get a look in.

I think the team tonight is reasonable although I do think Robson and McCulluch are poor choices.

The biggest dissappointment I have is that I had hoped Leviein would be the manager that would break the old firm and "anywhere in England" policy but sadly not. His desperate scraping of the grandparent barrell is embarrassing, he is there to win football games as he stated but it will be hard to get behind a team that is essentially and England 4th 11. In my view players playing in our domestic league should get precedence as it will strengthen our game overall.

#41

Agree with much of what you say. Reynolds looks a real prospect and Kenneth is still too raw. Wilson I think I might have been tempted to try given that he played alongside Weir for large parts of last season.

Maloney to be fair is just coming back from a long lay off but is a better player than many give him credit for: has very quick feet and a decent free kick. I certainly wouldn't say he was ineffectual at all and in my view offers more up front than the likes of Naismith (who I also like as a player)..maybe not for this game though but certainly the one next week

But I don't think we should just ignore the grandparent rule. It kind of ignores the fact that Scotland for a long long time was a country of emigration and if people use their family links to come back all well and good IMO.

#39
Yes, #30. early June.....that, as you acknowledge, was BEFORE the World Cup hen Beckham was also being selected prior to becoming ruled out through injury. There is nothing to be gained in the long term by picking Beckham and Scholes, and the same is true of Weir and Hartley.

It may benefit Capello to pick these players now, but he is a good enough manager to know it will not help England sides in future. Levein should take note.
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Its s-term expediency but that also has its benefits in having experience available in particular games. CL comes across as a smart enough guy to realise that there is no l-term benefit in older players. After all CB's squads were never done of over-30's and boys never got a chance! Now that was infuriating: younger players seemed never to get a chance and we paid for that with Vogts having to play a wide number of young players. But there is a balance to be struck and are not blessed with a great deal of choice.

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The usual bigoted bile from Tomslaford. Go away.

#44

Oops where have you gone..doing racist comments again!

Mind and tell mummy!

Just saw the highlights (debatable description) of Scotlands draw

Defence played well ... however hav eyou any 40 year old strikers to show the young bravehearts how to score !!!

Playing in a poor standard Scottish Pub League does nae help the cause

a very good read jim
david weir has all the attributes that makes a great pro but the one thing you need to go with it is luck, a wee mention to the england centre half whose knee gave way from under him against bulgaria, i'm no england fan but dawson's injury looks serious,i hope he recovers.
to play football at 40 at international level you have to be very talented and very lucky.
wee question jim, you mention david weir attitude, diet and professionalism and quite rightly so but you's as journalists never seem to slate pro's with the scottish alternative diet. it's all praise, praise and more praise when are you going to out all the pro's who couldn't give a monkeys about diet and attitude, too much back scratching for my liking.
i hope scotland turn their fortunes around but one game played and two points dropped. we set up in this game not to lose goals and not to get beat. david weir could play in that game at 50 and still enjoy a realtively quiet game considering all the protection he's got in front of him, we played not to lose and hope'd to pinch a goal, why can't scotland just play to win , play 4 4 2 . we leave our most talented player james mcfadde on the bench and i just wonder why.

If McFadden is your most talented player .... you are in trouble !!

David Weir could play for the next 4 years in the Scottish Pub League, it is so easy !! ask Braga,Utrecht,AEK .... and countless others

Weir Haters,

You all have no clue. Shut up.

That is all.

re smkz23

Give me one good reason why I should watch Scotland when people who have turned their back, or stuck up two fingers, to the tartan army are allowed back into the fold as if nothing had happenned? I do not want to see these kind of people in Scotland shirts, and until they are excluded from the team I will not be back. As for being as bad as them...............where do you get the logic for that ridiculous assumtion?

Sports research shows that in a 100 metres sprint top athletes lose 0.1sec per year after the age of thirty.

Sports research also shows that as you age after 30 you become less agile to respond quickly.

In effect every decade means you lose a yard over 10 yards in comparison to younger players.

That is the problem that Weir and Scotland faces - he is a yard too slow for international football.

That doesn't make him a bad player, but it does mean in practice that you have to sacrifice flair up front in order to provide extra cover at the back for international games.

Couple that fact with Levein's already cautious approach and you have a siutuation where the result against Lithuania was all too predictable.

If Scotland are to have a chance to reach EURO 2012 then we need younger and more mobile central defenders.

Jim,

Fitness is conditional. In other words you get fit for what you do. Our players may be fit for football, but ask them to swing a heavy hammer all day and they鈥檇 be flat out on their backs.

Yes our players are fit, but they are fit for the Scottish game. Their fitness in European and International games is in doubt and if you compare them with teams like Spain you see the differences.

The work rate of the Spanish midfield ensures that when the opposition get the ball, two or three players immediately close them down. Even defensive players like Puyol come out of position to do this, make tackles and clearances etc. Seconds later they are back in position.

Scottish players can鈥檛 seem to do this, which is where I think a lot of the criticism of lack of effort comes from. We can鈥檛 match the work rate of these teams and always seem to be a man short. Ask them to run around the park all day and they鈥檒l put in a shift like Kenny Miller did last week, but where does it get them?

P.S. what about the results of your approach to clubs on the governing body question from a previous blog?

Jim,

Thanks for getting back on the club responses.

On the other point get a grip man!

You sound like John Collins and Pat Nevin talking up how well our team did when in fact they were lacking in several areas.

Haven鈥檛 you just been telling us that we have a fixation with strength and size?

With respect I think it is a valid comparison. If we want to be up there, then we have to aspire to be their equals.

Why shouldn鈥檛 our players be better athletes?

They are young and fit, but they should and could be fitter. Coaches have a lot to answer for in this respect.

So if they are not the same quality of athlete, what is stopping them?

Do you have faith in the current generation of coaches in Scotland at all levels to change things ?

But let's not heap it all on the coaches
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No and lets not heap everything on the coaches Jim but if you are not even asking fit professionals to do as #54 suggests and improve the midfield work rate then something is wrong in our style and approach to the modern midfield game.

Surprised there is no starting role for Maloney tonight..no height and physique but better creativity and at taking people on compared to Brown..and they will need that..

jim
thank you for your reply. i do take on board your comments about most players fitness levels in the spl but you opened up a can of worms if truth be told. i'm sure one comment pointed out spain as an example as a guide to proper fitness levels during a game lasting 90min or in some cases 120min, we as a country certainly don't have the skill levels and techniques of some of the spanish players but there is absolutely no reason we can't match them in fitness levels.
michael johnson, the multi olympic champion once said that british athletes were hansomely rewarded with lottery funding for mediocre performances which has been addressed in some cases, granted football works in a different way but the rewards seem to induce laziness. some players sign on the dotted line and then feet up for a wee while until there's a year's left on the contract and all of a sudden they seem to have a new lease of life on the field. it's been going on for years jim and quite plain to see. there should be no excuse for a pro not being able to last 90min. here's a wee question for you, safe to say that darren fletcher is the fittest player scotland has, is there any reason kris boyd can't match his fitness levels or indeed exceed them. sometimes goal king boyd looks like a burst ball after a few runs . fitness isn't about how long you can sprint, it's about how quick you recover to sprint again and again.
hopefully tonight scotland can run lichenstein off the park, we're playing 4 4 2 so that should be a test for the 40 year old weir, his protection has gone.
i hope for a win , 1 nil would do and big weir for man of the match.
wee mention for the danish and rangers legend brian laudrup and his battle with cancer, get well soon, definately one of the greatest players ever to grace our league.

Jim,

I鈥檓 not having a go at you or holding you accountable for anything, so apologies if you thought this was the case.

What I鈥檓 saying is that you seem to hold the view that we have reached the limit in what we can expect in terms of fitness levels and because that level is stuck where it is, players like Weir who take better care of themselves can have longer playing careers.

Pundits on the other hand whilst recognising shortcomings praise efforts and performances like the Scotland v Lithuania and give the impression that this is as much as we can expect, and that somehow this is ok.

It鈥檚 not ok.

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鈥淕iven that we have not produced a world class player in over two decades or more, do you have faith in the current generation of coaches in Scotland at all levels to change things ?鈥�

No I don鈥檛, and I take your point about self application.

By the same token, I don鈥檛 think there is a single player in the Scottish game who cannot improve their fitness levels if motivated, and I think our coaches need to re-think just what kind of fitness they are developing in players.

A reason for failure, no matter how valid, is never an excuse or justification for what is unacceptable.

Well Jim,

It's my opinion that a major factor in the demise of Scottish Football talent is in large part due to the influence of the Media.

Coaches are portrayed as tactical geniuses, they command astronomical salaries and anyone who can control a ball with both feet is hailed world class. It does'nt matter if your the fittest man on the planet, if you can't control a ball or pass it you 'll never be a football player.
Obviously fitness levels are very important and when combined with natural football talent it's a joy to behold, but for many years now our coaches have favoured athleticism over ability, and many sports pundits within the media have built entire careers writing about a very simple game as if it was rocket science.

As for getting the young boys over to their local park every night? Well where I'm from there are very few parks left for the kids to play on. Bring back the Primary and Secondary Schools football.

Davie Weir is now passed his sell by date. Don't mean to be nasty but the man is now a liability at European and international level and we all can see it regardless of what his team mates or media pundits say.
Also, Please Please, don't encourage Craig Levin to bring back Gary Caldwell for Scotland, the man is a liability and a perfect example of someone devoid of football ability.