Quicky said:

I guess it's pointless having an opinion on selection and tactics then. We should all bow down to our intellectual superiors and accept the gospel from our venerated father the grand poobah Popovic.

I'm being facetious here but I do wonder what's the point of a discussion board if that sort thing is beyond critical analysis and discussion.

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It's a fair point, pro football does exist for the fans

Decentric said:

In England a lot of fans, who know little about football , criticise the national team coach, whomever it is. Or they certainly do in the Midlands and North. They hated their most successful coach - Gareth Southgate.

I'm not sure this extends in other UEFA countries to the same extent.

If someone isn't a professional coach, or semi-pro coach, it is difficult to be hypercritical of someone who is, and a coach who is also is very experienced, such as Popa. He has won an Asian Champ League too.

I'd have to go back a long way to really criticise an AL coach from their tactical game plans. Jim Magilton did some strange things. Plus the Man U reserve coach, Joyce?, who coached Melb City,did a few weird things. Despite being sound tactical and technical coaches, Paddy Kisnorbo and Mark Rudan, did weird things on the sidelines. That is about it.

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To be fair, football exists for fun amd it's fun to have football opinions. If english fans idea of fun is piling on the coach then who am I to bag that. I think quicky makes a good point

Decentric said:

Duke's great asset is putting pressure on when they have the ball. Ditto Borrello.

I wonder if it works against Botic that he plays with a twin striker? Whereas Popa usually has one?

I watched a Hibs game the other day, and there was an Iredale playing, who I thought was playing CB. Is this our Iredale?

He was certainly playing way behind the attacking line.

Thanks for posting the suggestions for striker who aren't Duke! It seems like we are getting depth in strikers!

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We have two Iredales. Iredale at Hibs is a LCB or LB. Iredale in K2 is a striker, recently moved from Denmark.

I mentioned Irankunda, Mohamed Toure and Botic.

Stamatelopoulos is another option soon, though he's injured atm. D'Agostino has just returned from injury and Viking will start playing again soon, so hopefully he features.

Musa Toure at Randers is another one to watch. Waddingham at Portsmouth, though injured atm. Piol at Real Salt Lake. There are a lot in the AL atm too.

I'm not advocating for all of these guys but there are a few about so hopefully one breaks through and puts their hand up.

Catch 22. Duke said he's feeling more motivated after the drop. You want him to absolutely smash it but that buts points for a future selection.

Popovic system aside. The raw talent and creativity from the next batch of strikers would just ease things. I hate this feeling that we may never see it.

Kitwally said:

And the loss of Hall and Farell, and Vukuvic’s retirement……

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The 49 goals without a goal-scoring striker is why we won the league. Our defence was great and ensured results, but winning games was down to Nisbet and Balard's distribution.

Random thought of the day. Velupillay is on a trajectory to achieve more than McGree for the national team.

It's incredibly frustrating how often McGree gets injured and also is underwhelming for the national team. The issue is the regular position changing and rotation. A nice ball to Leckie against Denmark and won a penalty against Mexico. His 3rd best moment was maybe that turn against Uzbekistan. Otherwise you wonder if he's out there half of the time.

He's my favourite player and I crave to see moments like with Boro.

JS96 said:

Random thought of the day. Velupillay is on a trajectory to achieve more than McGree for the national team.

It's incredibly frustrating how often McGree gets injured and also is underwhelming for the national team. The issue is the regular position changing and rotation. A nice ball to Leckie against Denmark and won a penalty against Mexico. His 3rd best moment was maybe that turn against Uzbekistan. Otherwise you wonder if he's out there half of the time.

He's my favourite player and I crave to see moments like with Boro.

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I believe mcgree would do more in a Popa system, under Arnie I felt he was to far forward and because of this too flat.

I think for him to be that far forward he needs a player like a deep lying forward, or another AM that can draw players and open space for him.

Decentric said:

Duke's great asset is putting pressure on when they have the ball. Ditto Borrello.

I wonder if it works against Botic that he plays with a twin striker? Whereas Popa usually has one?

I watched a Hibs game the other day, and there was an Iredale playing, who I thought was playing CB. Is this our Iredale?

He was certainly playing way behind the attacking line.

Thanks for posting the suggestions for striker who aren't Duke! It seems like we are getting depth in strikers!

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Duke's other asset has been as an aerial threat. That might have diminished given his current drought. I think Popa would like an aerial threat against China, especially with Goodwin's deliveries, which is why I suspect he was planning to give Yengi as much match time as he could handle for this qualifier.

JS96 said:

Random thought of the day. Velupillay is on a trajectory to achieve more than McGree for the national team.

It's incredibly frustrating how often McGree gets injured and also is underwhelming for the national team. The issue is the regular position changing and rotation. A nice ball to Leckie against Denmark and won a penalty against Mexico. His 3rd best moment was maybe that turn against Uzbekistan. Otherwise you wonder if he's out there half of the time.

He's my favourite player and I crave to see moments like with Boro.

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McGree should have tried to engineer a move to the continent. I guess that's easy to say in hindsight but I think the Championship is perhaps the most problematic league in the world for injury-prone players. Such a long and physically demanding league. The body is taxed heavily.

A spot at the #FIFAWorldCup is on the line!

Watch today's OFC qualifying final on FIFA+.

Decentric said:

...If someone isn't a professional coach, or semi-pro coach, it is difficult to be hypercritical of someone who is, and a coach who is also is very experienced, such as Popa. He has won an Asian Champ League too...

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There are two aspects to this in my eyes.

First, is the assumption that someone who is not professionally trained has no value. An elitist principle that is as one-sided as the views of 'ignorant' supporters who do not understand the range and depth of issues impacting on a manager's tactics, strategies, formations and selections.

On this forum there are a lot of former players who have a true understanding of the game; who can see faults, flaws and weaknesses in a manager's thinking and application through the school of Bin Daren Dunnit. We have others who have observed football at all levels through supporting, playing and officiating who also have unprofessional views that have a foundation in experience and understanding of the game.

The absence of a piece of paper and professional training does not render opinions invalid or less worthy - and opinions that suggest a level of inequality could almost see someone being targeted by harassment and unfair negative attention for the expression of that opinion.

The greatest failing I find in myself these days is the focus on the minutia during games. I tirelessly run the ball with every play, personally compete in every challenge we make and have the vision of an eagle in every moment watching the screen - seeing danger and screaming in my head for someone to shut it down. It is hard to simply watch a game and let it flow over me which is a little bit of an entertainment loss - but worse it creates an unfair system in my head for rating individual players in games and an unrealistic expectation of perfection in every moment. Combine that with a system that limits the attacking chances and the players who limit those chances (Behich for example) or fail to capitalise on them in front of goals (Duke for example) are thrust into the spotlight of my perspective.

The greatest positive about a forum like this is it allows me to have the benefit of many brains and eyes which do not see things the same way as I do. I have learned plenty participating in this forum - and perhaps the most important side product is observing that the merits of an argument have everything to do with the 'facts' and views presented and nothing to do with the occupation and qualifications of the person giving them.

That is not aimed at you specifically - it is a genuine confirmation for me that every genuine (not trolled) opinion is worth considering.

The second aspect is about Popa.

When you play a system of 7 defensive players and 3 attacking players you have to get the right players in the 3 to make your system produce. You are also relying on the 7 not to make mistakes because it only takes one poor defender to allow one great attacker to beat you. Popa wins games by having a resilient defence and trusting in the 3 to score - he did a similar thing to win the Asian Champions League.

It is very easy, and I would argue relevant, for an untrained and paperless supporter to be hypercritical of a manager whose selections only seem to support the back end of the field and the defensive side of his methods at the expense of the vital 3 attacking players. Duke is exactly that case - selected for his hounding abilities and limiting our creative attacking play to 2 players only. It is a weakness in Popa that deserves discussion and fair criticism to me.

TLDR:
A London taxi driver without training professional football qualifications who has followed football for years has the right to be correct and to be hypercritical of a manager when they can see weaknesses in the manager's methods.

Popa requires 3 good attacking players to be truly successful and often sacrifices one or more of them to be more effective without possession. This is a flaw deserving heavy criticism in our national team setup.