That Was A Glass Half-Full Weekend

NOT PERHAPS a totally wonderful week-end watching our international football teams, but, there was much to be enthused about around the Men's team's win over Cyprus, and that gut-wrenchingly disappointment loss for the Women, against England.

Being something of a soccer statistician, I have not bought into this “We're shite but we know we are,” approach to analysing the performances of our team. If a nation gets the movers and shakers it deserves, Scotland has been a very naughty nation somewhere back down the line, particularly in the sports field.

To me there is an ongoing battle between the High Heid Yins in our sporting governing bodies to see which management group can make the biggest moger of mismanaging their particular sport; and the Scottish Football Association has long tried hard, and usually succeeded, in being the worst guardians of their game in the country.

For that reason, I am loathe to be too-hard on whoever is the National Team Manager, or Keeper of the Poisoned Chalice, as I like to call the job. Also, for all the cries of: “woe, woe and thrice woe,” which passes for media comment anent the Scotland team; taking a longer-term view surprises. I compiled a performance table for the national team since the end of World War II, unfortunately, I was unable to format it well-enough for it to be used in the blog.

However, it showed:

In the eight decades since 1945, the present one is our third best in terms of percentage of games won. We have won, just, a higher percentage of matches in the period since 2010 than we won during the supposed glory years of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, when we seemed to have a season ticket to the World Cup Finals. Yet, in this decade, we have consistently failed to get to either of the big shows: the World Cup Finals, or the finals of the European Championships.

We have this image of ourselves as contenders on the World or European stage, based on these years between 1974 and 1998, when we qualifed for six of the seven World Cups competed for.

In the same period, we qualified for two of the six European Championships competed for. Thus, in those 24 years, we qualified for eight of the thirteen championships held – a 61.5% success rate.

BUT, looking at the big picture, since our first World Cup entry in 1950, up to the ongoing European Championships qualifier, we've been involved in 32 qualifying campaigns, getting through the qualifying groups in 10 – a 31.25% success rate.

So, until the Tartan Army, whose support has been fantastic through many years of struggle, and outstanding in the very few good years, collectively realises, when it comes to being the football master race, to change the words of the song slightly: “These days are past – a very long way past,” and accepts – there are likely to be more bad days than good ones watching Scotland, we cannot move forward.

On Saturday night, Stevie Clarke did what Stevie Clark does:

He took a group of average players – gave them shape and organisation – and beat another group of average players.

And, until the High Heid Yins at Hampden extract their fingers and sort-out the basic structure of Scottish football, that will be as good as it gets.

Tomorrow night, we face Belgium, the nation ranked Number One in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings. We do not expect to win this one. Putting these rankings into a Scottish context: Belgium is Celtic, Scotland is Montrose. Nobody interested in Scottish football would expect the Gable Endies to go to Celtic Park and win – so, why do we expect Scotland to go to Belgium and triumph?

No, let the team go there, give a backs to the wall performance and so-long as we don't get hammered, accept the defeat and move on.

We have seven games left in this qualifying campaign:

• Two against Belgium
  
  
• Two against Russia
  
  
• One each against Cyprus, San Marino and Kazakhstan

For the reasons outlined a couple of paragraphs ago, we should all but ignore Belgium (although a draw or even a win at Hampden would not go amiss).

The other five games are all against lower-ranked teams; three of them are at home. Let's treat the rest of the qualifying campaign as a top golfer or tennis player does his season.

Treat them as Majors and go all-out to win them.

Trust in Stevie Clarke.

WITH REGARD to the Girls, against England. Maybe we gave them too-much respect. When we chased the game in the second half, we looked fitter, we looked hungrier, but, we fell short. Shite happens.

If that penalty which England were given is going to become the norm, Fitba is doomed. It was never a penalty in the history of the game, but, it now seems, such decisions will become the norm. There may be troubles ahead.

In the end, that terrible decision, taken in a TV production van outside the stadium, proved to be the difference between the teams. That's football life. So-called “big” countries like England get such breaks, wee countries like Scotland suffer.

However, with that game behind them, I can see our girls getting results against Japan and Argentina; they may yet show-up our men and get out of their group.

One thing I did enjoy about yesterday's game was: I felt the BBC coverage was fairly even-handed, (comes with having two goalkeepers on the panel, I suppose). I don't recall 1966 coming up once, the talking heads were respectful of both sides and it wasn't typically BBC - all about Engurland.

That said, I fancy normal service will be resumed next time the ludicrously-named Lionesses play.