Balaban's not in the squad either. What game was the last time Balaban was with the team (either playing or on the bench) ?

 

-The last time he was called up was against Izrael in Zagreb 13.10.07 ( i assum he was on the bench)
-The last time he played was against Andora when he replaced Modrić in the 46min 12.09.2007
-The last time he scored a goal was against Andora but in Zagreb 07.10.2006.

 

From the squad called up against Holland...Eduardo, Babic, Vranjes, Runje and Vejic are out and....Klasnic, Budan, Galinovic and Vukojevic are in.

 

About time Babic got left out. The guy should have gone to Bolton when he had a chance. He would be playing in Uefa Cup now and probably getting regular football.

 

hoping to see some new faces. fining alternative game plans and alternative faces should be more important at this stage than getting the result

 

You wont see that Maiden.

And I agree with Marko. Without DaSilva, I am not confident at all about our attacking options. Klasnic cant seem to find his feet with the NT, and Budan hasnt really impressed either.

My apologies for being so pessimistic, but I chose a Scotland win.

 

That attack looks so much weaker without Eduardo's name there. It's finally sinking in that he'll be missing.

 

If we lose this, its going to be deja vu all over again...during our prep for the WC I think had a bad string of results leading up to it and we never got out of that until Euro qualifiers...

Hoping we also don't get any injuries...the Scots aren't exactly about clean skillful football...

 

Eh! watch it

 

Babic out - Expected some time ago.
Vranješ out - We were all calling for it
Balaban out - No surprise

Budan in - Awesome
Klasnić in - Well done to him for the comeback!
Vukojević in - Lets see what he can do - Lately playing really well!


A very tough physical game is to be expected and if we pul out a result in Scotland we will gain our confidence back after loosing Eduardo and getting thrashed by Holland 3:0--- If we lose, heck, I dont know how I will take it!

 

Vukojevic gets a (deserved) call up. Must be because of "the Croatian media", eh guys?

 

yes, unfortunately. If Vukojevic was playing for the club he loved, he would never be in the NT, no matter how well he played

I wouldn't be shocked if we see Biscan soon...:yawn:

 

I would love to see something like this:

------------------------Pletikosa-----------------
--------Corluka---------R.Kovac-----------Simunic
------------------------N.Kovac-----------------
-----Srna--------Modric--------Kranjcar----Pranjic
------------------------Rakitic-------------------
------------------------Petric--------------------

three playmakers, two offensive wings, one finisher. Olic plays for Raki or Kranj in the second half

 

speaking of Scotland...

[tub]LjWfARAhSdk&NR=1[/tub]

 

Didn't Bilic say he will play Pranjic at the back?

This is a very hard match, Scotland are a very solid team especially at home.

Pletikosa
Corluka - R.Kovac - Simunic - Pranjic
Srna - N.Kovac - Modric - Kranjcar
Petric - Olic​

I think we'll play this team, Olic is in better form then Budan and Klasnic and i'd give him a start, this game is really built for Olic as we'll be looking to go on the counter attack as much as possible and Olic shred England to pieces and that is where he looks most dangerous.

 

Didn't Bilic say he will play Pranjic at the back?

This is a very hard match, Scotland are a very solid team especially at home.

Pletikosa
Corluka - R.Kovac - Simunic - Pranjic
Srna - N.Kovac - Modric - Kranjcar
Petric - Olic​

I think we'll play this team, Olic is in better form then Budan and Klasnic and i'd give him a start, this game is really built for Olic as we'll be looking to go on the counter attack as much as possible and Olic shred England to pieces and that is where he looks most dangerous.

ye i think there is a good chance thats the starting lineup u will see against scotland..i think maybe u could see rakitic get the start over kranjcar as he has not played well for the national team in his last few games..hopefully we will see alot of budan in this game as i think he could really help us as he is very strong in the air and with pranjic srna and corluka we have some good crossers of the ball..i would also like to see vukojevic get a good run in this game in niko kovac's spot..

 

The result doesn't concern me here. I'm more concerned about the way we play. I'm hoping we'll dominate possession and territory as well as create chances. If we do, chances are we'll probably win as well.

If I had to pick a change I'd like to see Simic replaced. I'm not sure whether i'd prefer a straight swap with Knezevic or whether I'd like to see Pranjic at LB and Simunic pushing in. I've never seen Pranjic play in a defensive role.

I'm also interested in seeing what sort of combinations Bilic is going to come up with in our forward line. I assume he'll play two strikers and I'm more inclined to see a runner/target pairing eg Petric/Klasnic or Olic/Budan. And while he might start with Petric/Olic, I'd be really surprised if he ended up with Klasnic and Budan on the field at the same time. And yet both guys deserve a run in this game.

 

The result doesn't concern me here. I'm more concerned about the way we play. I'm hoping we'll dominate possession and territory as well as create chances. If we do, chances are we'll probably win as well.

Bingo. :smileani:

I've never seen Pranjic play in a defensive role.

This is a big question mark IMO. Pranjic hasnt played this role since his HNL days. Is he going to be able to adapt and stay focused for 90 minutes against some of the best in the world? We really need him to perform well, becuase playing Simunic outside is playing with a man down in attack. I think that was made brutally clear in the two halves against Holland.

I'd be really surprised if he ended up with Klasnic and Budan on the field at the same time

.

I wouldnt.

 

Good point, he should mix and match the pairing so as not to play two target men together, that being said, Budan ran riot against the Bosniak defense from deep on many occassions, and is good at creating space for himself and unleashing that cannon in his right leg.

 

Jeeze...no one got the humor behind Rowdy Roddy Piper..I need to start going to practice. Either that or you all wised up and put me on your ignore list.

 

If they didn't block my youtube access at work you'd definately have one WWF nostalgist in me . I used to love it as a kid. In fact, the WWF gave me my love for the 'bad guy'. Nothing sweeter than the Iron Sheik executing a 'camel clutch' or King Kong Bundy splashing someone into a turnbuckle.

 

I would start: (the first time ero made a starting lineup post since Prso was kicking serious ass)

-----------------------Plete-----------------------
Corluka-------Kovac-----------Simunic------Pranjic

--------------N. Kovac------Modric-----------------
-Srna---------------------------------------Rakitic-

--------------Petric--------------Budan----------------


I think this should be as experimental as we get with a starting lineup. Interested to see Pranjic and Rakitic function on the left, which means Niko Kovac should be more withdrawn because we don't need his involvement in every attack for fear of loosing momentum, but against the Scots, he must play and play aggresively.

Simunic and Kovac are a given in the backline, but I would be dropping Simic after his abysmal display against the narkomani from Nizozemska. We know what he offers, maybe later I would try Knezevic out, he seems to thrive on defending long balls which is what we'll see from the Scots, they like to break down and send the ball over lots.

Pranjic is no stranger to the left back position, but we must be careful not to have both him and Corluka attack at the same time, this is where N. Kovac needs to sit back, and Rakitic will love to cut inside giving Pranjic all the space in the world...

I think this would be interesting, young hungry players, eager to prove themselves and eager to show us that Eduardo, although very important, can still be made up for with hard work and creative attacking. Petric and Budan had better have good finishing to boost our confidence.

Srna also needs to show more.

I would love to see Kranjcar, Vukojevic and Klasnic get a solid run, and Olic get some quality time, 30 or so mins at least.

Chances are, we will start the usual suspects, but I would like to see Slaven take yet another chance with the new/old faces.

 

ma ne Jure, I watched the vid, not into wrestling at all..

btw. Happy birthday for the other day mate, all the best

 

Now that is classic wrestling at its best. I mean, slamming a guy over the head with a coconut and then shoving a banana into his mouth is entertainment at its best!

Thanks for the birthday wish! its great being 25 again.

 

Ero, I haven't seen you post something that long since 2002!

 

true, I used to be like that, but lately I've been lazy..

Not even following Zrinjski much...

hmm..i still read though. You know what, I reckon I agree with people a lot, so there's nothing more to add.

Blast, Profesor, Suho, even Orkan..then HS, ante, sulla, CT, CK etc. all say it before I get a chance..

 

Yeah gone are the days of essays. You reach that stage in your XT career when you just can't be arsed anymore.

 

That's for sure

I can't even be bothered to read more than two paragraphs let alone write them

 

this is what suho and orkan excel at..suho with niko kovac and orkan if u disagree with him look out and be prepared to read..p

 

to be honest, when I see a post where you need to scroll down to read it, I often ignore them too, and it's usually about topics I'm not interested anyway

 

so u guys are saying that none of you even bothered to read my carefully worded gameplan up there?

ps. notice how I bolded the players names ala sportnet, easy reading for you lazy fcukers

 

You must have been working on it for days.

 

just a few.