Scotland boss Craig Levein has warned Kris Commons that there are eight players ahead of him for an international cap!
Commons has been Celtic’s best player so far this season with his goal against Helsingborgs on Wednesday giving the club a great chance of reaching the group stage of the Champions League.
Rather than watch Commons, Charlie Mulgrew and Scott Brown in action in Sweden Levein opted to go to a Ramsdens Cup tie.
Since replacing George Burley Levein has had a mediocre record as Scotland boss with his only competitive wins coming against Liechtenstein and Lithuania with his reign punctuated by handing out caps to journeymen such as Gary Kenneth, Danny Wilson and Ian Black.
Asked about the chances of Commons being in the squad for the opening World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Macedonia Levein decided to reel off a list of players ahead of the Celtic man for a place.
Levein said: “I sent an email to my coaches at the end of the last gathering and asked them to pick their 24 players and there’s absolutely no doubt Kris has hit a bit of form.
“We discussed the situation and I’ve got James Forrest, Matty Phillips, Robert Snodgrass, Steven Naismith, Shaun Maloney, James Morrison, Jamie Mackie and Barry Robson.
“These guys have been with me game in, game out. My allegiance is probably with those guys before anyone else.
“They’ve done well for Scotland and gone out and proved they’re capable of doing the job and shown great loyalty and turn up for games.
“I’m not in any way saying Kris won’t be involved, but of all the positions in the team I’d say that was our strongest area.
“I’m looking at two wide positions and I’ve named all these players who are more than capable and that’s before I even get to Kris. That for me is hugely positive. I can’t guarantee Kris a place.
“I could name five or six players before I get to Kris but he’s had a good start to the season.
“I think anyone would acknowledge he was poor last season but he’s started the way he was two years ago. I know that.”
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Good news for us then keep him fit for celtics european games. hail hail
I’ve got 53 people for Scotlsnd manager ahead of Levein. One of them is Jimmy Krankie.
only 53 greg you need to have another look am well into the 300s mate. HH
Levein is simply following the ant-Celtic mission statement of Scotland managers for a century. Scotland is not ready for Celtic players being first choice. Presumably they will be picked whenever the first choices do not fancy a game that does not suit them, usually some useless, pointless and unnecessary ‘friendly’ in preparation for some competition Scotland has no chance of getting into. Even then they will be asked to do a Danny McGrain and be played out of position to suit some numpty from the juniors who can not kick with either foot. I believe a member of the Celtic medical team may be asked to be on the Scotland staff as Mr. Levein personally requires an expert on brainlessness and football deficiency.
H H
Totally agree Mark. Pull every player out with mysterious bugs and twinges just like Oldco used to. Or make it a condition that No celtic player plays for their national team! I can’t stand International football. Total crap.
We won’t have to pull them out because he just won’t pick them mate. Agree about international football totally shite hate the stuff and proud to say i have never been to one. hail hail
It is good news for Celtic but if Scotland are going to have any chance at qualifying Levien should be playing the best players available to him, not only players who has been loyal in the past. The form that Commons is on at the moment he is better that the list of players ahead of him. The SFA should have sacked this clown when he played a 4-6-0 formation! Get Strachan in!
Mackie – striker, Robson – past it, Naismith – barely had a pre season. Something quite telling is the fact he said “My allegiance”, we will struggle again if this is the attitude. Picking his favourites instead of the in form players.
Shows what he knows…Kris’s best position is in the hole in a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-1-1. If a player is turning it on you dont admit to having 5-7 players in front of him Levein ya fcukin f@nny…away watchin the Ramsden cup and callin up Ian black….says it all! Why not go the full monty and call up “elbows” himself and Clubfoot ya useless clown! Anyway the less Celtic players in the national team the better. I like seeing my country do well don’t get me wrong but we have bigger fish to fry this season. 1NL HH 😀
Get the gist of your article but surely your wide of the mark describing Wilson as a journeyman. Should be one of an established CB pairing by now but unfortunately he made the wrong choice from a playing perspective when he went to Liverpool. Granted it was hard to turn down not least of the considerations being financial.
Greg you using the same criteria the Enlgish nobles used to pick George I rather than the legitimate Catholic Scottish heir. The Hanovarian was 53rd in line also.
Just confirms my opinion on Levein, completely out of his depth and absolutely no chance whatsoever of making the world cup. Players should be selected on FORM not because they always turn up for nothing matches (Which were we totally outplayed and gubbed 4-0) Clearly he wants to take players who have long past their best but never miss a chance of a freebie…probably as they are out of the BIG matches at the important part of the season, says plenty.
Not been to a Scotland game for years, last one was a free ticket v Germany and that was too much….next one is light years away. Well afetr Levein gets his jotters which won’t be long.
Support the team even if you dont like the manager. Works the same for club or country.
Not were am sitting mate, Celtic and only celtic. hail hail
Yet he tries to justify fielding a player from a first year, third division outfit!
As much as it saddens me to say this, unfortunately there is no honour in being selected to represent this Scotland side.
Despite the demise of their franchise club, the bias and bigotry towards the champions of the last sixteen seasons is still uppermost in their agendas.
I always did like that song “The lunatics have taken over the aysalum” I just didn’t realise it was written for Craig Levein – the man is a legend in his own living room. Hail HAil
I didn’t think loyalty to players comes into the equation. Surely you pick your team based on the best players available to you regardless of how much you like other players. I don’t think it’s an anti-Celtic agenda as he has Forrest in there but to say you stick with those who stick with you is a bit idiotic in my mind. Of course you will have loyalties but winning games surely takes precedence.
Perhaps you give more loyalty to players in a club scenario where you have more time with them e.g. Sami, but that loyalty was beyond everyone except Lenny, and normally, people aren’t accorded that number of chances. However, at country level there are so few games you really need your best players, plain and simple. At the end of the day if you lose because you don’t pick the best then you will end up out of a job and not the players you are giving your undying loyalty to.
Also, even if that is your thinking you really shouldn’t be coming out and saying it publicly. That’s a huge slap in the face to any player, especially one playing brilliantly and at the top level; and while Levein’s loss is Celtic’s gain, I’m not sure Kris will be feeling that way.
Can safely say Tartan Army won’t be doing the samba.What a DICK you are Levein! My dog could pick a better first 11.
Levein and houston nothing but a manky pair of poisoned huns. Why should we send our boys to play for an sfa that do everything they can to hurt us and help you know who. Lennon should tell them to ram it and make all players unavailable to scotland
Levein must be one of thee most childish and petulant managers ever to take on the Scotland job. He refuses to contact Steven Fletcher by ranting like a spoilt schoolboy: ”he hasn’t contacted me so why should I contact him!!! Then adds insult to injury by denouncing Kris Commons in public; a player who is at the peek of his game. Let him follow his Third Division favourites while pretending to manage Scotland – the man is an insipid second rate buffoon.
you can kind of understand where hes coming from, I dont think Lennon would change his starting 11 if everybody was fit to replace 1 of them with somebody who was doing well in the reserves, he would want to break the guy in and give him time from the bench so Levein wants to stick to players hes more familiar with but on the other side of the coin, Commons has had a brilliant start to the season and looks like hel soon be back to his best and he clearly deserves a place in the Scotland team
Levein is an idiot. He won’t contact Fletcher who is probably the best Scottish striker at present but he publically courted Kris Boyd and Barry Ferguson after they turned their backs on their country. Now he dismisses Commons while handing out a cap to a 3rd division player.
Yes Craig, and that is as big an embarrassment to you as playing a 6-4-0 formation. You play Black and leave Commons out and see how far you get.