Is Jamie Maclaren really ‘in form’?

Jamie got called up for Australia when he was in form. He has only played 195 mins for Australia since 2016. When he has played he has looked like it is a step too far and taking way too much time and losing the ball repeatedly. Will he make it eventually - possibly - I hope so. Is the World Cup the place to see - no. . The problem is that some of those chosen in front of him shouldn't be there either

hold the boat....rangers defender named in portugal wc squad, and.....oh dear...rogic extends his contract at celtic. the sky indeed is falling in.

hogdriller you bring facts into the story by actually having watched these games. Good description of the goals against Hearts and Rangers.

Your living in the past mate .he could not even get a start with his old English club today

Lets not be too critical of McLaren. He's scoring goals and people are speaking about his omission from a WC squad. He's young, he will learn, he will bounce back and score goals regularly for Australia one day. I'm certain of it.

What?

I'd agree that its not entirely Tim Cahill's fault when there are players in the squad who offer less value than either. But Aussie Bert has a history of player selection controversies that goes way back, leaving out top strikers and selecting very fast attacking wingers and midfielders instead, like he tried to outfox and outmuscle Spain in the WC Final of 2010. Cahill is there more for his attitude and fighting spirit, than his speed and agility. He can score goals at a pinch if needed too from a standing start. Forget McLaren. I was shocked when he didn't select Matt Simon, who has the greatest Aussie spirit and will to win of all.

So you're admitting that the SPL is of low standard by lumping them with the other nations leagues?

I was in Bangkok for the game he started there and he was abysmal. Yanked off after 57 minutes, and probably lucky to have lasted that long.

Why was the game a 'dead rubber'? Hibs were fighting for a European placement, but Aberdeen beating Celtic put a stop to that. When was the last time you watched a game like that and it was a 'dead rubber"? To see the Rangers fans walking out when they were 3 nil down and then seeing the Hibs fans doing the same when they were 3-5 down......only to come rushing back in after hearing the crowd when Hibs scored their fourth goal, lol. IMO Maclaren has hardened up from when he was in the ALeague, his short time in Darmstad then the frantic pace of the SPL have made him more dangerous than ever, even his 2nd goal against Rangers came from a pin point accurate header to the far corner with some bigger defender leaning all over him, and as far as i know headers are'nt Maclarens strongest attribute. Watched him playing in the derby when he scored against Hearts, where he scratched and scrapped to get that shot in......me thinks he's matured quite a bit of late. No doubt he deserves selection, hes playing better now in a faster paced environment and against harder, dirtier defenders than when he was in the A League.

It's still a higher calibre league than the A League, the Israeli equivalent or many of the Asian leagues.

Well, Brisbane fans were pretty happy with JM's contribution over two seasons, as we were with Berisha in his 3 seasons before Victory stumped up the cash for him..

Mate, Scott Sinclair looks like a phenomenal player in the SPL because the standard is not that high, Boyata is a defensive rock and Leigh Griffiths cant stop scoring apparently. Debate it all you want, but that just explains where the SPL is at in regards to quality. League 1 is where a majority of SPL clubs would most likely sit, with Celtic being mid-table to the lower end of the Premier League at best. Not a single player in the team is from a League 1 or lower league. When Bailey Wright was getting selected while playing in League One, it had to do with the fact that he was the best available for the position required. Macca unfortunately isn't the best available for the position required.

Exactly but for some reason a lot on this site cannot see the obvious.

How many teams from Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway etc. etc have done anything in the Europa or Champoins League in the last 10 years - none. Watch some games from those countries and apart from the maybe top team there are some pretty ordinary outfits. Check out the dismal crowds at some of the games in those leagues and you will be pretty shocked. A striker in form in the SPL is better than the non scorers we have selected from some ordinary leagues and lower divisions.

Before the game against Rangers - which I'm discounting as it was a dead rubber that skews his stats - and he scores 5 goals in 14 games in the SPL. For a Fringe player, that does not demand selection when he hasn't performed when given the opportunity. He also play's a completely different forward role - loves to run in behind defenders - which I doubt is how Bert is going to want to play. Not surprised by him not being selected at all and contrary to what many people believe, his stats aren't that great. Did anyone actually watch him play at Hibs or is everyone just looking at stats as well? Because I doubt anyone would say he deserves selection if the few games I watched of Hibs is anything to go by - and thats against SPL defenders who make Scott Sinclair look like Messi.

I'm not talking about Berisha. Look at Ian Rushs career, he did not work himself to death but put away a lot of chances.

Hes another take, I question the standard of the Scottish premier league from what ive seen i dont think its a great standard, in fact, i back sydney fc and melbourne victory to beat most teams maybe except for Celtic but the rest ill question. The fact that MacLaren could not score in the Bundesliga.2 is more questionable, apparently, he was played out of position but i say the standard is more tougher over there. Also on another point, Hibs play with 2 up front so it seems hes more suited with 2 up unlike most modern No.9s where they play on there own. But regardless hes record for the Roos is poor, 5 games and 0 goals and i remembered the last time he played against Thailand he struggled to even touch the ball. Not taking away what hes done recently which has been good i'm just looking at what Bert could be thinking and top of that fact that hes taken Nabbout, hes probably more impressed in what hes seen from him recently too.

The question was always going to be if Cahill would make the provisional 32 man squad. If BVM was not minded to pick him because of his lack of playing time, he wouldn’t have picked him in the provisional squad. Everyone knows what Cahill offers (for better or worse), so there is no reason to pick him in the provisional squad then cut him before the final squad. Having been picked in the squads so far, short of Cahill picking up an injury in training camp, you can just about bet the house he’ll make the final squad.

I can only go on what I see and SPFL is a step above the leagues you are comparing it to.