Right enough - Mickey Thomas Has Learned To Spot Phonies

AS I was saying: "I believe we are better than the Welsh". Aye right, that was pre-kick-off on Friday, once the game got under way, reality rapidly set in.

I was willing to accept we had a bad team, not as bad as Mickey Thomas thought we were, but still a bad Scotland side. That said, I reckoned, at Hampden, we would still be good enough to take care of an average Welsh side. Doh!!

The performances, collectively and individually were rank rotten, with our so-called main men particularly poor. McGregor has gone backwards since leaving Rangers; Hutton still cannot defend; Caldwell has more caps than Willie Woodburn and Billy McNeill combined, but isn't even half as good as either of those giants. Hanley's movement for his goal was great - for the rest of the 90 minutes it was abysmal, but, he's young still.

Some years ago, while he was on-loan at St Mirren, I saw Charlie Adam stupidly get himself sent-off in a Scotland Under-21 game at Rugby Park, post-match he was all injured innocence. That night I put him down as a "Big Time Charlei" who would never amount to anything and should never again play for any Scotland side. 

Nothing in the interim, not least last night's display, has caused me to change my opinion. While I have never thought Shaun Maloney was international class.

I felt Strachan got his selection wrong. I'd have had Andy Webster and Stevie Naismith on from the start; and I would certainly have put Jordan Rhodes on ahead of Kenny Miller.

I have always had my doubts about Charlie Mulgrew being Scotland-class; he will in my honest opinion, never be a Jardine, McGrain or Caldow, but, in recent games he has looked comfortable in the international arena and that's as much as we can ask for.

We need to finally start taking international football seriously in Scotland. We need to have a development plan for players, we need the Tartan Army to accept: we really are shite and yes, we know we are - but, we are doing something about it, not staggering from crisis to crisis, manager to manager, as we have done since Craig Brown resigned.

This week's Herald list of Scotland's 50 Greatest Footballers was deeply flawed, but, I reckon, when they re-do the list in ten years' time to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the SFA: always assuming the Tartan Army hasn't rebelled, tore down Hampden and torn the "blazers" limb from limb in the interim; none of last night's squad will make that top 50.

Or, just maybe, Mickey Thomas was correct.

ANENT that Herald Top 50; to be sure, they got a lot of the names correct. I'd still have put the Lawman above Kenny at the top, while to leave-out Lawrie Reilly altogether - yer avin a larff Herald.

There are other omissions, from earlier years; but, I saw Lawrie play.....

Here's my list of 50 who should have been considered and a few of them had to get in:

Alternative listing in no particular order other than eras:

Victoriam era - Robert Gardner, Moses McNeill, Charles Campbell, William McKinnon, Dr John Smith, Tom Vallance, Walter Arnott, James Kelly.

Edwardian era - Charles Thomson, Alex Raisbeck, Bobby Walker, Neil Gibson, Dan Doyle, Jimmy Brownlie, Peter McWilliam, Alex Smith.

1920s - Andy Wilson, Davie Meiklejohn, Jimmy Gibson, Jimmy McMullan, Alex Jackson, Jack Harkness, John Thomson, 

George Stevenson, Bob Ferrier.

1930s - Alex Massie, Andy Anderson, George Brown, Bob McPhail, Tommy Walker, Jimmy Simpson, Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Jimmy Delaney.

1940s - 1950s - Jimmy Cowan, Bobby Evans, Sammy Cox, Billy Liddell, Lawrie Reilly, Bobby Collins, Graham Leggat.

1960s - Alex Hamilton, Davie Wilson, Eddie Gray.

1970s - to present day - Davie Hay, Alan Rough, Jim Leighton, Rose Reilly, Julie Fleeting, Kim Little.