Doonhamer7
Well-known member
- Jun 17, 2016
- 1,447
Was Nicol not a manager of a MLS team?
Was Nicol not a manager of a MLS team?
I think it was a trait throughout the British Isles in the 70s and 80s that we all preferred 'proper' footballers - certainly international managers did. Skilful ball players who couldn't be easily fitted into a 'four four f***ing two' line-up were never really trusted. Alan Hudson, Tony Currie and Frank Worthington were just three England players of that period who didn't win nearly as many caps as they should have. Even Glenn Hoddle was described as 'lazy' and not international class because he was poor in the air.I don’t think he ever made himself unavailable
No, back in the 80s the role of central defender was ‘hoof it forward‘, none of this namby pamby playing it out from the back. Therefore Jock Stein preferred the Aberdeen duo of Willie Miller and Alex McLeish who both got 60+caps, Miller I could understand picking and the fact his partner at Aberdeen was McLeish was a big tick in the box. I’d personally rather have seen Hansen and David Narey (Dundee Utd) as Scotland‘s centre backs in the early to mid80s but I was only in my early teens. My Dad hated the way Hansen passed it out from the back or across the box.
Steve Nicol was another classy Scottish Liverpool defender with very few caps
Not a lot has changed then. So-called golden generation after golden generation come and go, and the bottom line is, we actually aren’t that good (across the team).I think it was a trait throughout the British Isles in the 70s and 80s that we all preferred 'proper' footballers - certainly international managers did. Skilful ball players who couldn't be easily fitted into a 'four four f***ing two' line-up were never really trusted. Alan Hudson, Tony Currie and Frank Worthington were just three England players of that period who didn't win nearly as many caps as they should have. Even Glenn Hoddle was described as 'lazy' and not international class because he was poor in the air.
It was a bleak period for England - especially as Scotland didn't completely turn their backs on flair and were better than England!
In practice though, losers.Goram
Malpas Gough Hansen Albiston
Strachan Souness McStay Nicol
Dalglish Nicholas
Not sure if they all quite overlapped. But in theory what a team.
Sharp, McAvennie , McLeish, Aitken, Leighton, Cooper on the bench
He's one of the best pundits ever, if not the best. 90's Match of The Day was unmatched.I'm praying for the good news of Alan Hansen getting better.
Will never forget how genuinely upset he was when England were cruelly beaten on penalties at Euro '96 by Germany. As a Jock he took a bit of stick north of the border for that. A good man.
Just caught part of Souness on TS talking about a telephone conversation he had with Hansen over the weekend …impression I got was that AH is getting better
Caught a rerun of part of what he said “i spoke to him yesterday and he sounded fabulous”……still in intensive care.That would be brilliant if it is the case
Less matches in “them days” smaller qualifying groups etc. probably equivalent to about 50 caps today, which I appreciate is still low for a player of his quality.How the hell did Alan Hansen only end up with 26 caps for Scotland?
Less matches in “them days” smaller qualifying groups etc. probably equivalent to about 50 caps today, which I appreciate is still low for a player of his quality.
New England, I saw a game he was in charge for, It was Weird watching a crowd of 2k in the American Football StadiumNew England or Boston?
It's incredible to think that while Miller and McLeish were starting you had the likes of Hansen, Gillespie, Gough, Narey too. It was a golden era for Scottish centre-backs.As others have said in Scotland there were question marks over Hansen's commitment to international football. Both Jock Stein and then Alex Ferguson preferred to play Aberdeen team-mates Willie Miller and Alex McLeish together rather than one of the two with Hansen. This led to Hansen missing quite a lot of games, either on the bench or pulling out of the squads all together. When he pulled out of a game against England just before the 1986 World Cup that effectively ended his international career as he was then left out of the World Cup squad and he only got 3 more caps which all came in the qualifying games for the 1988 Euros.
They did have a lot of talent at centre back in that era. There has been a suggestion of bias against players that were playing in England and maybe this proves it further. Gough who played most of career in Scotland got 60 odd caps, Gillespie who spent the majority of his career in England only got 13 caps.It's incredible to think that while Miller and McLeish were starting you had the likes of Hansen, Gillespie, Gough, Narey too. It was a golden era for Scottish centre-backs.
Gough got most of his caps in the 90s, after the others had retired. I don’t think Gary Gillespie was ever a real regular at Liverpool, always felt he was 3rd choiceThey did have a lot of talent at centre back in that era. There has been a suggestion of bias against players that were playing in England and maybe this proves it further. Gough who played most of career in Scotland got 60 odd caps, Gillespie who spent the majority of his career in England only got 13 caps.
Gough got most of his caps in the 80s. He made his international debut in 1983 and of his 62 caps only 17 came in the 1990s, the last in 1993.Gough got most of his caps in the 90s, after the others had retired. I don’t think Gary Gillespie was ever a real regular at Liverpool, always felt he was 3rd choice