WITH Scotland playing back-to-back World Cup qualifiers at Hampden and (at last) movement in the Rangers EBTs issue - albeit at SPL level, rather than, as will be really interesting, at HMRC level, this was not a good time to be hit by the triple whammy of illness/software/hardware computer problems.
However, events conspired to give me time for real consideration of the issues, and once again, I fear, we - the ordinary football fans of Scotland, were badly let-down by the mainstream media and the opinion-formers and leaders therein.
Of course, "draw nae fitba" with Serbia and an unfortunate 1-1 draw with Macedonia was not the start we all wanted, or hoped for, to the 2014 qualifying campaign. But, it happened, we have to live with it, so - what have we learned.
I have to say - very little. We Scots continue to kid ourselves that we are better at football than we actually are, or have been for years. We still have this self-image of Scotland as almost the Brazilians of Europe - the keepers of the flame of vibrant, attacking football. Our ethos is: "you score three goals - we'll score four".
Of course, unlike the Brazilians, who always qualify: we find it all but impossible to reach the finals of the two big competitions. Between the European Championships and the current, on-going World Cup qualifying tournament, we have been involved in 29 qualifying tournaments since the 1950 World Cup. We qualified that time, but elected not to travel, however, counting that campaing as successful, we have qualified from only 11 of 28 tournaments entered: the World Cups of 1950, 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1998 and the European Championships of 1992 and 1996.
This is a 39% success record when it comes to qualifying tournaments, a figure which sadly becomes a 0% success rate when it comes to getting out of the preliminary group stage of the finals, far less getting to the sharp end of the events - when the trophies are decided.
Overall, since the first official international, that 0-0 draw with England, at Hamilton Crescent on St Andrew's Day, 1872, Scotland has won just over 40% of the internationals it has played - so our World Cup record is poor, even in comparison with out overall record, although that is somewhat boosted by our successes in the early days, when we only played against the three other Home Nations - yet we kid ourselves that we always rise to the occasion when it comes to the World Cup.
Since 1872, from Bob Gardner to Ian Black, 1132 players have been "capped" by Scotland, 125 or 11% of these players have been capped since we last qualified for one of the big shows - the 1998 World Cup.
This, to me, seems to say, we are clutching at straws and have not been producing international class footballers for the past few years. Yet, when we do fail, we blame managers - Berti Vogts, George Burley etc, whilst our media talks-up the likes of Walter Smith and Alex McLeish, who, like the denigrated Burley and Cogts, failed.
I wouldn't blame the bosses, or at least the team bosses. I will blame the men at the top, the decision-makers within Hampden's corridors of powers, who have presided over an overall lowering of standards within our domestic game, which has had a debilitating knock-on effect on our international team and on Scotland's standing in world football.
The managers, either at club level or international, can only piss with the cocks they are given and if the clubs are happy to soldier along paying mediorce players to produce mediocre football at club level, why are we surprised when they go on to produce mediocre football at international level?
Am I alone in thinking that the Macedonians were technically more-proficient footballers than the Scots on Tuesday night? Their first touch was better, their ball control superior, their passing and movement sharper. They created more chances, they created better chances and it is probably down to Allan McGregor that we won.
However, did the opinion-formers and leaders of our media notice this? Did they ask why this was so? No, they merely asked how long Craig Levein, the poor sap who has to work with one hand tied behind his back could carry the support of the Tartan Army and the nation.
Sir Alex Ferguson, a much-better manager now than when he was stand-in Scotland boss 26 years ago, could not get that lot to Brazil. Unless he was given day-to-day charge of our best players with the sole remit of getting us to Rio, with a four-year plan aimed at nothing else.
We have, over the past few months, marvelled at the programmes of excellence which produced such success for our cyclists and rowers at the Olympics. We ask: "why cannot our footballers do as well"?
The answer is obvious. Rowing and cycling have "hot-housed" our best talent, both in athletes and in backroom staff. They treat each year as one-quarter of a four-year Olympics cycle; sure, they want to do well at the annual World Cup and World Championship events, but, each of these is but a stepping stone towards the four-yearly quest for gold at the Olympics.
Football cannot do this, but, surely it can learn some lessons from other sports which would help us improve our game and get us where we want to be, on the podium at the World Cup.
But no, football ignores these lessons or guidelines and struggles along the under-achieving path which it has followed these past two generations. They will not learn, because they do not want to.
My message to the Tartan Army is - leave Levein alone; turn your fire on the men who are really holding back Scotland - the Hampden Blazers.
Overall, since the first official international, that 0-0 draw with England, at Hamilton Crescent on St Andrew's Day, 1872, Scotland has won just over 40% of the internationals it has played - so our World Cup record is poor, even in comparison with out overall record, although that is somewhat boosted by our successes in the early days, when we only played against the three other Home Nations - yet we kid ourselves that we always rise to the occasion when it comes to the World Cup.
Since 1872, from Bob Gardner to Ian Black, 1132 players have been "capped" by Scotland, 125 or 11% of these players have been capped since we last qualified for one of the big shows - the 1998 World Cup.
This, to me, seems to say, we are clutching at straws and have not been producing international class footballers for the past few years. Yet, when we do fail, we blame managers - Berti Vogts, George Burley etc, whilst our media talks-up the likes of Walter Smith and Alex McLeish, who, like the denigrated Burley and Cogts, failed.
I wouldn't blame the bosses, or at least the team bosses. I will blame the men at the top, the decision-makers within Hampden's corridors of powers, who have presided over an overall lowering of standards within our domestic game, which has had a debilitating knock-on effect on our international team and on Scotland's standing in world football.
The managers, either at club level or international, can only piss with the cocks they are given and if the clubs are happy to soldier along paying mediorce players to produce mediocre football at club level, why are we surprised when they go on to produce mediocre football at international level?
Am I alone in thinking that the Macedonians were technically more-proficient footballers than the Scots on Tuesday night? Their first touch was better, their ball control superior, their passing and movement sharper. They created more chances, they created better chances and it is probably down to Allan McGregor that we won.
However, did the opinion-formers and leaders of our media notice this? Did they ask why this was so? No, they merely asked how long Craig Levein, the poor sap who has to work with one hand tied behind his back could carry the support of the Tartan Army and the nation.
Sir Alex Ferguson, a much-better manager now than when he was stand-in Scotland boss 26 years ago, could not get that lot to Brazil. Unless he was given day-to-day charge of our best players with the sole remit of getting us to Rio, with a four-year plan aimed at nothing else.
We have, over the past few months, marvelled at the programmes of excellence which produced such success for our cyclists and rowers at the Olympics. We ask: "why cannot our footballers do as well"?
The answer is obvious. Rowing and cycling have "hot-housed" our best talent, both in athletes and in backroom staff. They treat each year as one-quarter of a four-year Olympics cycle; sure, they want to do well at the annual World Cup and World Championship events, but, each of these is but a stepping stone towards the four-yearly quest for gold at the Olympics.
Football cannot do this, but, surely it can learn some lessons from other sports which would help us improve our game and get us where we want to be, on the podium at the World Cup.
But no, football ignores these lessons or guidelines and struggles along the under-achieving path which it has followed these past two generations. They will not learn, because they do not want to.
My message to the Tartan Army is - leave Levein alone; turn your fire on the men who are really holding back Scotland - the Hampden Blazers.
Here, here.
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