Leaderboard

Was at my first Scotland match for years yesterday and disappointed that SOD was not selected. What pleased me though was that not one fan around me had a bad word for him. Those fans represented a wide range of clubs, although Rangers were not one of them. Their comments seemed to echo the reception he got at Wembley. To a man they questioned Patterson being selected ahead of him. That view was backed up by Patterson’s first half defending and his mistake which led to the first goal. Everybody was tearing into Patterson and McTominay at half time and expecting SOD to be brought on. In fairness to both those players they improved dramatically in the second half, and justified Clarke’s persistence. That said, Patterson frequently reminded us that he has a lot to learn defensively. In an attacking sense he was excellent second half. He is young though and likely will improve his defensive qualities. He may well be the future. In short, I don’t think many fans who actually attend Scotland matches have an issue with SOD. That seems to be more of a media thing, who no doubt have their own Rangers focused agenda. And a few Motherwell fans who resented his signing and will not be content until he moves on. Hopefully the player pays more attention to the fans and Managers, both Club and Country, who recognise his value rather than those with an axe to grind.

Good job from Patterson there to keep the ball alive instead of clearing it, leading up to that goal. (Did I mention he was poor at defending?)

Imagine if O'Donnell had performed defensively the way Patterson did? The knives would be out.