IF, SOMEHOW, Robert Gardner and Charles Allcock could be deposited in the expensive seats at Hampden tonight, they would probably ask themselves: “What did we do?” Because, their exchange of letters which brought about the first recognised international football match, on St Andrew's Day, 1872, has in 1560 years, become a world-wide, £ multi-billion industry.
[By the way – long-standing personal gripe here: when are the quarter-wits who decide who gets in and who stays out of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame going to right a long-standing wrong and induct Gardner, the very-first of the 1200-plus men who have represented Scotland in full internationals?]
That first game finished 0-0, but, pretty soon, for all the English claims to have invented the game, it was the pass and run game of the 'Scotch Professors' who turned the individual-based English dribbling game into game which would sweep the world. Indeed, England had won their only World Cup before they overtook Scotland in head-to-head victories between the two originators of the international game.
So, when Andy Robertson and Harry Kane lead their teams out into the seething cauldron which will be Hampden Park tonight, the long shadow of history will be on their shoulders – they have a lot to celebrate, so, let's hope for a classic.
It used to be said, the annual clash with the Auld Enemy was both a blessing and a curse to the men who run the game up here. If they were under-pressure, and being accused of mismanaging the game, well, a win over England was always guaranteed to divert the abuse and bring back the feel-good factor. This is best explained by the legendary story of the SFA “blazer”, drowning his sorrows in Switzerland in the wake of Uruguay's seven-goal demolition of the Scots in the 1954 World Cup, who commented: “Ach! We beat England next year and all will be forgiven.”
Unfortunately, England won that game 7-2 and yes, 69 years later, I am still referring to that slaughter in the sun.
Better perhaps to think of better days; days such as 31 March, 1928, when the first Wembley Wizards put England's finest to the sword, right there in the heart of the Imperial Capital. Or perhaps 9 April, 1967, when the second Wembley Wizards, inspired by Jim Baxter, put the then reigning World Champions in their place.
That 1928 match is perhaps an outlier. It is more the English way, to destroy sides with goals. Denis Law, who had barely survived one such hammering, in 1961, wanted Scotland to put a few goals on Alf Ramsey's great team in 1967, Baxter, backed-up by Billy Bremner, went for the Scottish option: “Let's humiliate them 1-0” was the Baxter plan.
When it comes to playing England, at anything, I'm with Welsh show business icon Max Boyce, and his irreverent take on Grantland Rice's great sports-writing adage. You might care to look-up the original, but the Boyce take says simply: “It matters not who won nor lost, so long as you beat England.” The Tartan Army will go along with that view.
Tonight, England will perhaps start as favourites, but, not as firm favourites as they might have, even last season. The new organisation and belief which Stevie Clarke has brought to the current Scotland squad has got the nation believing again. Winning will not be easy, it never has been in this, the game's oldest international fixture, but, whereas a year or two back, the Scots might have gone into the game looking for damage limitation, tonight, they will go out there, convinced they an win.
The England team against which all others must be judged, the 1966 World Cup winners, contained several players who were, at that time, the best in their position in the English League, with one or two who could reasonably be assessed as the best in their position in the world.
Yet, if you had been picking a Best of the English League XI that season, you might have put Eddie McCreadie in ahead of George Cohen. Billy Bremner would have started ahead of Nobby Stiles, and George Best, Jimmy Greaves (who was injured) and Denis Law would have started ahead of Alan Ball, Geoff Hurst and Roger Hunt. I could also make a case for Wales' Mike England starting ahead of Jack Charlton.
That season, England beat us by a single goal at Hampden, the following season, we beat them at Wembley. There wasn't that much between the two nations.
Today, for all the hype around the English Premiership, I don't think there is a single player in the two squads for tonight who could be considered the best in his position in that league. England are no better than we are, indeed, while they may, on past results, be ranked higher than us, we are in League A of the Europa Nationa League, England are in League B – having been relegated, we have nothing to feat tonight.
Normally, I would be concerned, since this is a “friendly” or “an international challenge match,” and Scotland has never been as good at playing friendlies as playing competitive games. But, it is England, so, a friendly it will not be.
There is only one thing left to say: “GERRINTAERUM!!!”
FINALLY, in the aftermath of our comprehensive win over Cyprus on Friday night, I did enjoy the comment, post-match, of John McGinn, who reportedly said: “Only Scotland could blow it (qualification) from this position.”
No marks for comments likely to gee-up the troops, but, full marks for honesty. I wasn't the only Scot nodding my head in agreement – call it learned behaviour.
And, by the way, nil point to the members of the Lap Top Loyal who didn't credit John when they used that quote.
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