I AM MORE THAN half-way down a binge-watch on a popular American TV series on Amazon Prime, so, on Thursday night, I reckoned I could happily pass on Fenerbache levelling their Europa League tie with Rangers in normal time, before tuning in for Extra Time and the to me, seemingly inevitable penalty shoot-out.
So I missed the boring bit and caught the real action. Well done to Rangers, in reaching the last eight. Now, I realise this is a long shot, a very-long shot, but, we could yet see “the worst-ever Manchester Unitd team” or “the worst-ever Rangers team” in this season's final. It could happen, since, if they get through their quarter-finals, the pair would meet in the semi-final.
I am now seeing suggestions that Jose Mourinho might be a contender for the Rangers' job come the end of the season. Now that's something to get the fans, on both sides of the Old Firm divide talking. Given the near certainty that Brendan Rodgers will, sooner or later, fancy another tilt at the bigger time in the EPL, “The Chosen One” could also be a potential managerial choice on the other side of Glasgow.
I actually think he's a better fit for Ibrox. The Celtic Family still has this romantic notion that their team has to win by playing attractive football. Down Edmiston Drive all you have to do is win, and keep winning – and that's more the Mourinho method.
REGULAR READERS will be aware, I was, when playing, a goalkeeper, a member of that much-maligned group, Scottish goalkeepers. Ours has been a tough milk round, particularly those of our number who got to back stop the full national side. Since World War II, these much-criticised citizens, in the order in which they were capped, have been:
Bobby Brown (5 caps), Willie Miller (6) Ian Black (1), Jimmy Cowan (25), George Farm (10), Fred Martin (6), Jock Anderson (1), Willie Fraser (2), Tommy Younger (24), Bill Brown (28).
Frank Haffey (2), Lawrie Leslie (5), Eddie Connachan (2), Billy Ritchie (1), Adam Blacklaw (3), Tommy Lawrence (3), Campbell Forsyth (4), Jim Cruickshank (9), Bobby Ferguson (7), Ronnie Simpson (5).
Harry Thomson (2), Bobby Clark (18), Jim Herriot (8), Ernie McGarr (2), Bob Wilson (2), Ally Hunter (4), David Harvey (16), Peter McCloy (4), Thomson Allan (2), Stewart Kennedy (5).
Jim Brown (1), Alan Rough (53), Jim Stewart (2), Davie Stewart (1), Jim Blyth (2), George Wood (4), Billy Thomson (7), Jim Leighton (91), Andy Goram (43), Henry Smith (3).
Bryan Gunn (6), Gordon Marshall Jnr (1), Nicky Walker (2), Neil Sullivan (28), Jonathan Gould (2), Rab Douglas (18), Paul Gallacher (7), David Marshall (47), Craig Gordon (80), Allan McGregor (42).
Cammy Bell (1), Matt Gilks (3), Jordan Archer (1), Jon McLaughlin (1), Scott Bain (3), Zander Clark (4), Angus Gunn (15), Liam Kelly (1).
In approximately 80 seasons since the end of WWII, we have played over 600 full internationals, in which we have capped 58 different goalkeepers. Of these men, only 3 keepers – representing 5% of those capped: Jim Leighton, Craig Gordon and Alan Rough have played more than 50 games, the yardstick for entry onto the SFA's elite Roll of Honour.
A further six Goalkeepers, just over 10% of those capped: namely Jimmy Cowan, Bill Brown, Andy Goram, Neil Sullivan, David Marshall and Allan McGregor have played more than 25 games, and thus earned the SFA's Silver Medal.
Ten of the 58 – just under 6% are in the ranks of Scotland's “One-Cap Wonders” - they are Ian Black, Jock Anderson, Billy Ritchie, Jim Brown, Davie Stewart, Gordon Marshall Jnr, Cammy Bell, Jordan Archer, Jon McLaughlin and Liam Kelly; the rest, the 39 who form the body of the Kirk, have played between two and 24 games each.
Each of our 58 post-war goalkeepers has played an average of just under 12 caps, which given the present average number of caps per season equates to a Scotland career which lasts about a season and a half.
For comparison, England has, in the same time period, since the end of WWII, played overr 1000 games, yet used only 50 goalkeepers. The conclusion has to be, Scotland has a problem with identifying and retaining international-quality goalkeepers.
This is becoming as I see it, a bit of a continuing problem. Stevie Clarke's latest squad includes three 'keepers: the seemingly ageless Craig Gordon, Liam Kelly, a member of the 1-cap wonders group and the uncapped Ipswich 'keeper Cieran Slicker. Both Kelly and Slicker are currently not the regular first-team goalkeeper at their club.
Indeed Slicker has played precicely one FA Cup tie plus two appearances in the Championship – England's second tier -plus a further two appearances in England's League Two while on-loan with Rochdale. In fact, the 22-year-old graduate of the Manchester City Academy has played exactly 11 professional games. Hardly the grounding you would expect of a potential international back stop.
The goalkeeping situation in our top-flight, the Premier Division is terrible. The 12 clubs list, in their First Team Squads, 34 goalkeepers. The nationality of the 34 custodians is:
Scottish (15), English (12), Bulgarian, Danish, Ghanian, Irish, Polish, Slovakian, Welsh – 1 each.
However, Craig Gordon is the solitary Scot who is undisputed Number One at his club; while there is not a single Scot starting between the sticks in the English Premiership, or in any of the European leagues.
Hampden – we have a problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment