Tonight's The Night - Dare We To Dream?

I HAVE BEEN watching Scotland find novel ways to either fail to qualify for the actual tournaments, or, having qualified, blow the whole show, since 1954. Yes, although I don't remember too-much of the game, I watched Scotland get hammered 7-0 by Uruguay, on a 12 inch screen Pye television set, back in June, 1954.

So, my view of tonight's game is more: “how will we blow it this time?" than: “can we qualify?” As things stand, we lie 20^th in the standings, with only the top 16 teams qualifying for the knock-out stages.

The minimum we need is a two-goal win over Croatia, with one or two other results going our way as additional protection to our hopes. On our past record, I cannot see us qualifying, more-so with Billy Gilmour ruled out after testing positive for Covid.

But, there is still hope, so I am not getting depressed – yet. As a wee bonus, just in Group D, I would love it if the Czech Republic could beat England 2-0, a result which, coupled with us beating Croatia by the same score, would lift us above England in the group standings. Anything after that would be a bonus.

Just imagine, if we scraped through in 16^th spot, with England 17^th and out – Lineker, Shearer, Ferdinand & Co would be suicidal; Oh Joy!! Sadly, apparently this cannot happen and they are already through. (Or was that merely BBC propaganda?)

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves, past experience tells me, it's more likely to be England that scrapes through, with us just missing out.

Tonight will be yet another of those nerve-shredding Hampden evenings, with everything on the line. We've been here before, of course, sometimes it all ends in smiles and celebrations, but, it has to be admitted, we've had some disappointing nights at the old stadium too.

It's all part of the tragi-comedic story of following Scotland. It is a very true saying that, when you sign-up for the Tartan Army, it's the hope that kills. So, tonight, once again we travel in hope. It's the Scottish way.

However, it's not as if we are playing naebudy, the Croatians are a bloody good side, just the sort of opponents who can bring out the best in Scotland. Might this be one of the great Hampden nights, which ends in a lap of honour following our first qualification for the knock-out phases of a tournament?

Even an old Scotsman like me can still dream – COME ON SCOTLAND!!

It's Wembley - Gerrrintaerum

THE FIRST Scotland international I can remember paying attention to was our 4-2 loss to England, at Hampden, on 3 April, 1954. This result cast something of a downer over our participation in the World Cup finals, in Switzerland, a couple of months later.

After being well-beaten by what was some way off being a first-choice England team, our selectors did what they had always done after a heavy loss to England; they panicked, discarded half a team and, with just three warm-up games between that match and their opener in Switzerland, tried to blood some newcomers.

In those three games – home and away against Norway and away to Finland, they gave first caps to nine players, to add to the two – Mike Haughney and Willie Ormond – who had been awarded first caps (in Haughney's case his only cap) against England.

Needless to say, we bombed in Switzerland. Losing 1-0 to Austria, who would go on to finish third, was, on reflection, a good result. The less said about our 7-0 loss to holders Uruguay, who would finish fourth, the better. That 7-0 loss, I remember watching on TV.

So, aged seven, just starting to take an interest in the affairs of the national side, I was immediately aware of the pain which would follow. Reflect on my record:

• 1954 – loss to England; loss 7-0 to Uruguay

• 1955 – Disaster at Wembley; lost 7-2

• 1956 – Heart break at Hampden when England score a last-minute equaliser to deny us our first home win over them for a decade.

• 1957 – After some good results, including beating reigning World Champions West Germany in Stuttgart, we lose 4-1 to Spain, in Madrid and qualification for the 1958 World Cup is on the line.

• 1958 – My first live Scotland v England game at Hampden; a 4-0 thrashing, to be followed by a disappointing World Cup and a loss to Paraguay.

• 1959 – Not a bad season, which finished on a downer, losing to Portugal who were then considered to be European minnows.

• 1960 – A poor ending to the season with losses to Austria and Turkey on a European Tour.

• 1961 – England 9 Scotland 3.

OK, in those formative years between my 7^th and 14^th birthdays, I had learned that following Scotland was a roller-coaster ride. This experience has since come in handy to the extent, I now know not to get carried away when following Scotland.

So, while naturally disappointed at Monday's result at Hampden, I am not going to get too upset. I have learned over the years, the highs:

• – the three back-to-back wins over England in 1962, 1963 and 1964

• Wembley 1967

• West Germany 1974

• Archie Gemmill's goal in 1978

• Davie Narey's “toe poke”

• James McFadden's goal in Paris

• the Leigh Griffiths double against England

• the Marshall penalty save

These are inevitably followed by the lows:

• finding increasingly-bizarre ways to ruin a qualifying campaign

• 4-6-0

• Copenhagen

• Bazzagate

• the glorious failure of Wembley 1999

• being pumped by France, Netherlands and Wales

• the Iran game

• drawing 0-0 with Luxembourg

• losing to Morocco

To cut to the chase – nobody has higher highs or lower lows than the Scots, when it comes to football.

My own feeling is we have been consistently let down by the guys running Scottish football. This is nothing knew, but, each time something new happens in football, we are slow to react.

For instance, going right back to the birth of organised football in the 1870s, we were the dominant nation. The Scottish way was the way to go. England began to go overseas before World War I, we didn't step outside the British Isles until 1929, and, like the other three British Isles nations, we completely ignored the three pre-World War II World Cup tournaments.

Then, when England appointed Walter Winterbottom as their first Team Manager, in 1946, we stuck with the selection committee. Indeed, it wasn't until 1967 and the appointment of Bobby Brown, that the Scotland manager was allowed to pick the team – that was 95 years into international football.

It has, in theory, become easier to qualify for the big finals in the last 40 years. Prior to 1982 only 16 teams could qualify for the World Cup Finals, and until 1996, only 8 teams could qualify for the European Championship finals. But, conversely, since more teams could qualify, Scotland's qualifying record has got worse.

Before 1986, we qualified for seven final tournaments, and did not qualify for eight, a qualifying percentage of 46.7%. Since 1986, we have qualified for five final tournaments and failed to qualify for twelve, a qualifying percentage of 29.4%.

I specifically chose 1986 as my dividing line. That's when Graeme Souness took over as Rangers manager, and immediately decided Scotland no longer produced good players. Ever since, home-grown talent has been disparaged in Scottish football, we no longer flood English clubs with our talent, and without players regularly featuring at the top of the English game, we have gone backwards internationally.

Also, self-interest among the clubs has seen a long and continuing line of troughers handed the ultimate status symbol in Scottish football, an SFA blazer. For these guys, it's not about improving the standing of our game, it is all about keeping your nose in the trough for as long as possible and looking after the interests of your own club.

After all, in your average season, provided the Old Firm get things 80% or above right, then they're going to lift the silverware and the best you can hopeful is either a runners-up spot, or, very rarely, an actual trophy, when the big two get things wrong. So, easier for self-esteem, to get a nice wee sinecure at Hampden.

It doesn't matter who we appoint as team manager, because the basic system is flawed, internationally, we are going nowhere.

I haven't high hopes of us starting to turn things round tonight at Wembley. I do think, we've started well; that poor showing against the Czech Republic may well have convinced several England players: “OK, we're only playing the Jocks tonight, that's a given win.” If we can make a positive start and score first, we might just be able to hang-on and win, since, in reality, this is not a great England team we are facing – and they may well give us an additional chance by picking Harry Maguire.

It has always been thus for trips to Wembley, but, it's not as if we have never won there. Earlier this year, we won at Twickenham, where we had not triumphed since 1983. Might this be the year when, for only the second time in our history, and the first time since 1938, that we win at Twickenham and Wembley in the same year? I'd like to think so.

Today, Once Again The Hope May Kill Us

 THIS afternoon will be a Red Letter Day for Scottish football, when 23 years of hurt comes to an end and we get back into the big show – with our opening game in Euro 2020, against old enemies the Czech Republic. By rights, the game ought to attract a full-house attendance of the Tartan Army for a full-throated Hampden occasion. However, Covid has put paid to that. Still, we can expect those who do attend to make a day of it anyway.

OK, we have finally got to the big show, however, let's be brutally honest here, Scotland and the Euros have never been comfortable bed fellows. Just look at our record in this competition:

• 1960 – Did not enter

• 1964 – Did not enter

• 1968 – The campaign began on a low note, a 1-1 draw with Wales in Cardiff; improved via a 2-1 Hampden win over Northern Ireland; went absolutely ballistic with the miracle of Wembley 1967 – then frittered awaw, via a loss to a George Best-inspired Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, a scruffy 3-2 come-from-behind win over Wales at Hampden, before withering away completely with a tame 1-1 draw with England, at Hampden. We did not qualify.

• 1972 – We opened with a 1-0 win over Denmark at Hampden, but three back-to-back losses, 3-0 to Belgium in Liege and 2-0 to Portugal in Lisbon, then 1-0 to Denmark in Copenhagen put paid to our hopes and Bobby Brown's tenure as manager. Tommy Docherty came in and led us to a 2-1 win over Portugal and a 1-0 defeat of Belgium, but, it was too little, too late. Again, we did not qualify.

• 1976 – The euphoria of the 1974 World Cup lasted until our first qualifying game of the new campaign, and a disappointing 2-1 loss to Spain at Hampden, in November, 1974. A 1-1 draw in Spain in the return, in February, 1975, offered some hope. However, 1-1 draws, away and at home to Romania, plus home and away wins over Denmark, 1-0 in Copenhagen and 3-1 at Hampden, meant we lost out to Spain. We did not qualify.

• 1980 – An opening 3-2 loss to Austria in Vienna was Ally MacLeod's final game as Scotland boss and brought in Jock Stein to steady the ship. This he did with a scrambled win over Norway at Hampden – two late goals, from Kenny Dalglish (82) and Archie Gemmill (penalty, 87), saved the jerseys in a 3-2 win. A 1-0 Lisbon loss to Portugal was disappointing, but, after a comfortable 4-0 win over Norway in Oslo's Ullevaal Stadion, and a 1-1 Hampden draw with the Austrians, it all came down to the two games against Belgium. Sadly, a 2-0 loss in the Heysel was followed by a 3-1 loss at Hampden. Again, we did not qualify.

• 1984 – Jim Leighton made a winning debut, and kept a clean sheet, as this campaign began with a 2-0 Hampden win over East Germany. However, a 2-0 Berne loss to Switzerland and a 3-2 loss to Belgium put the brakes on our hopes. A 2-2 draw with the Swiss at Hampden had us looking for help elsewhere. However, a 1-1 draw with Belgium back at Hampden and a 2-1 loss to East Germany in Halle meant a familiar story. Scotland failed to qualify for the finals.

• 1988 – Andy Roxburgh's reign as team manager began with a low key 0-0 Hampden draw with Bulgaria in our opening qualifier. Another “draw nae fitba,” 0-0 with the Republic of Ireland failed to lift spirits, while a 3-0 win over Luxembourg was no less than we expected. However, when the Irish came to Hampden and won 1-0, then Belgium hammered us 41 in Brussels, we were again staring at non-qualification. We did finally beat Belgium, 2-0 at Hampden, before beating Bulgaria 1-0 in Sofia; Gary Mackay's goal, however, only served to send the Republic of Ireland through while the less said about our final qualifier, a 0-0 draw with Luxembourg in Esch-sur-Alzette was a (very) disappointing end to a disappointing campaign. A familiar story – Scotland failed to qualify.

• 1992 – This turned out to be a lucky seventh campaign in Europe for us. A 2-1 win over Romania in our opener was followed by a similar result against Switzerland, both games at Hampden. Back-to-back 1-1 draws with Bulgaria did not harm our hopes. A 2-0 away win over the minnows of San Marino was no less than expected. We then drew 2-2 with Switzerland in Berne, were slightly miffed by a 1-0 Bucharest loss to Romania. However, a comfortable 4-0 Hampden win over San Marino sent us off to the finals in Sweden, For the first time – SCOTLAND HAD QUALIFIED.

• 1996 – Football was coming home to England for the 1996 finals, and, having missed out on the World Cup there 30 years before (I believe England won that one, but, since they don't mention it much, I am not sure). Scotland was determined to be there. We wer expected to win our two openers, and duly did, beating Finland 2-0 in Helsinki; then thrashing the Faroe Islands 5-1 at Hampden. A 1-1 Hampden draw with Russia and a 1-0 loss to Greece in Athens stopped us getting ahead of ourselves, before a 0-0 Moscow draw with Russia and a 2-0 win in San Marino meant we were still in the mix. Back-to-back wins, 2-0 in the Faroes and 1-0 against Greece at Hampden had us looking confidently forward to our final two games, wherein a 1-0 Hampden win over the Finns and a 5-0 thrashing of San Marino meant, yet again – SCOTLAND HAD QUALIFIED. We were going to the party.

• 2000 - We went into the tournament ranked sixth, but, in Group 9 of the qualifying stage, we won five, drew three and lost two of our ten games, to finish second to the Czech Republic, who won all ten games. This still gave us a chance of qualifying via the play-offs, in which we were drawn to play England, home and away. With skipper Paul Lambert missing the irst leg, at Hampden, we went down 2-0 to a Paul Scholes double. Then, in the second leg at Wembley, Don Hutchison headed us in front, but, try as we might, we could not score even the second goal which would have levelled matters and thus went out in the most disappointing of circumstances. Another qualifying failure.

• 2004 – Our seeding had dropped from sixth four years before, to 20^th, which put us in Group Five, alongside fifth seeds Germany. We justified second seeding in the group by finishing second and, as four years before, advancing to the play-offs. Here we were drawn against the Netherlands. It began well enough, with a 1-0 Hampden win in the first leg, but, the second leg in Amsterdam is one of those “Disaster for Scotland” nights as we lost 6-0 and crashed out. Another qualifying failure.

• 2008 – The fall of Scottish football continued. Sixth seeds in 2000, 20^th seeds in 2004; for the 2008 tournament, we were seeded 27^th and ranked third in Group B, behind Italy and France. James McFadden scored one of the greatest Scottish goals, in a 1-0 win over France in Paris, but, the seedings played out, we finished third. Another qualifying failure.

• 2012 – At least, our seedings slide was halted and we entered this tournament as the 26^th seeds. This placed us as third seeds in Group I, behind Spain and the Czech Republic. We won three, lost three and drew two of our eight games, justified our third seeding in the group, but, it was the same old story. Another qualifying failure.

• 2016 – The downward spiral continued. We entered the competition ranked 31^st in Europe. This placed us as fourth seeds in Group D, behind Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland, but, ahead of Georgia and Gibraltar. And that's where we stayed. We easily accounted for Georgia and Gibraltar; well, ok, we lost in Georgia, but we gathered 15 points, which maintained fourth place. Germany and Poland qualified, the Republic of Ireland reached the play-offs, but, once again the story was: another qualifying failure.

• 2020 – And here we are, bang up to date. Again, we failed to qualify from the group, finishing third in Group I, behind Belgium and Russia. We had gone into the event on a bit of an upward trajectory, having risen to 25^th in the rankings. We finished third in the group, but still had a second chance of qualifying via the new Nations League format. Here we got past Israel, 5-3 on penalties, then had to travel to Serbia for an in terms of qualification, winner takes all match. Again, it went to penalties, where, as we all know, David Marshall earned immortality with a crucial save as Scotland won 5-4 on spot kicks to finally, after a 23-year hiatus, qualify for one of the two big shows.

And that's where we stand, poised on the edge of either great things, or another Disaster for Scotland. One thing about being born Scots and automatically signed-up for the Tartan Army, life is never boring.

We now face Czech Republic and Serbia at Hampden, either side of a Wembley trip to face “Them,” here we go – here we go – here we go, all aboard the roller-coaster.

Haud me back – Ah cannae wait.

For Stevie And The Boys Just Getting There Is A Win

THE JOCKS are on pre-embarkation leave, when they report back to barracks tomorrow, General Sir Stephen Clarke and his staff will begin the process of readying the troops for the real thing and the start of Euro 2020.

 

Like generations of Scots before them, both the Jocks who will actually go over the top to take on the enemy and the Tartan Army who will, even in numbers depleted by the Covid restrictions, are looking nervously ahead and wondering if, for once, it will be alright on the night for Scotland.

Let's face it, to quote the old book title – when it comes to Scotland and international football: 'It's the hope that kills.' 'Twas ever thus, look at our first foray into international football tournaments, the 1950 World Cup. On the back of a run of six straight wins, the SFA Council, in their wisdom, declared Scotland would only go to the finals as British Champions. Game Seven pitted them against England at Hampden; both teams had already qualified for Brazil, but, England won 1-0 and, despite last-minute: “Please, come and play,” requests from FIFA, the Scots stayed at home.

Since then, we have managed – even when we can be bothered turning-up – to repeatedly find new ways of blowing it on the biggest stage, to the extent, veteran Tartan Army foot soldiers while away the pre-match boredom at “must-win” qualifying games, conjuring-up different scenarios as to how Scotland might mess it up this time.

Maybe that's why David Marshall's penalty save has been so-lauded, the sheer unexpectedness. Surely Scotland should lose a penalty shoot-out, with qualification on the line? [As an aside – how did that moment, or the Ryan Christie interview, not make it onto the BAFTA 'Unmissable TV Moments” list?]

Any way, the 23-year wait is over, we're back in the big time: set hopes to maximum.

These Championships are not the Olympic Games, but, surely, when it comes to the Euros or World Cups, Scotland's approach is Olympian. For us: “the glory is not in winning but in having taken part.”

Could we perhaps, this time, get out of the group and through to the knock-out rounds, something we have yet to accomplish in ten previous tilts at final tournaments?

We can take some encouragement from the last time we ended a period of isolation from the big show – the 16 years and 6 final Euros or World Cup tournaments we sat out between Sweden 1958 and West Germany 1974?

Back then, Willie Ormond's squad: Jardine and McGrain, Bremner, Lorimer and Jordan, Dalglish and Law etc went through the group stage unbeaten, but still failed to reach the sharp end of the tournament. They travelled in hope, exceeded expectations, but still found a way to fail – might the same thing happen again this year?

This being Scotland, I half-expect us to draw the other two games, beat England at Wembley and still, somehow, not qualify for the knock-out stages. That would be typically Scottish.

We've got a half-decent squad, a good manager, the squad dynamic in terms of getting along are good – why shouldn't we surprise ourselves and the world with a run deep into the tournament?

As I said, with Scotland: 'It's the hope that kills.'

SPEAKING OF hope, The Celtic Family will surely be hoping Dom McKay (pictured above) and the high heid yins inside Celtic Park can get the job done quickly, and have the new manager – with Australian-Greek Ange Posteceglou the apparent anointed one to put back together the broken chalice dropped by Neil Lennon, and get the Hoops back to where they (the fans) think the club should be, at least in Scotland.

You have to respect Ange's record. However, winning in Australia and Japan is not the same as winning a two-horse race. Second place might be acceptable where he has coached before, in Glasgow, second is failure – if the other lot are first – anything lower is a disaster.

Can he hope with that level of expectation? How will he handle the intense media scrutiny, which will be unlike anything he has experienced before? How will he cope with living legends such as surviving Lisbon Lions Craig, Clark, Auld and Lennox watching at every home game – or having the rentaquote mob such as Sutton, Hartson, Commons, Walker and Provan ever ready to throw-in their twopenceworth.

Then there is the scrutiny of the “Celtic-minded” hacks, from Cardinal Keevins down, far-less the snide remarks from the Lap Top Loyal.

No matter how good a coach Ange is supposed to be – if he does get UEFA clearance to take the Celtic job, he will immediately discover a level of off the training ground troubles which he could perhaps barely even envisage in his football life to this point.

Time is not on Celtic's side. They are due to enter the UEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round – the draw for which takes place next week, with the matches due to be played in six weeks' time. Before then, pre-season training is due to start on 17 June.

The Rollins Stones might have had time on their side – Celtic and their new boss, whoever he is, don't.

CELTIC'S managerial travails have given Ra Peepul across the city some additional light relief as they carry-on their restrained and good-natured celebrations of Title 55 (or Title 1 if you're a Celtic fan).

However, it is a weel-kent, if not always acknowledged fact, winning a title is the easy bit, the hard trick is to defend it – and, if nobody else has noted this, I am sure Steven Gerrard has.

A wee bit more pressure for Stevie G to tackle, but, I am sure he will cope.

Mind you, if winning two-in-a-row is a challenge, spare a thought for Scott Booth, (pictured below)who will, next season, have to embark on a quest for 15-in-a-row with Glasgow City. This is a phenomenal run, made all the more-credible since both halves of the Old Firm are now taking their Women's sides a bit more seriously.

Some thought, when this happened, City would fade away, clearly, this is not happening any time soon.