Not A Disaster For Scotland

ONE OF the books I am meaning to write has the working title: "Disaster For Scotland". On the basis that misery sells, I could re-hash such tales as the Wembley disasters of 1930, 1955, 1961, 1969 and 1975; throw-in my thoughts on the Peru and Iran games during the 1978 World Cup finals, the various red-faces we've suffered under Berti Vogts, George Burley and Craig Levein and suddenly, I've potentially got a massive tome on my hands.

 

There would have to be a chapter on the European Championship qualifier against Luxembourg, on 2 December, 1987. This match, played in the Stade de la Frontiere in Esch-sur-Alzette, finished 0-0.

 

This result was so bad, we hadn't been back to the Principality since, until Wednesday night, when, as we now know - WE WON.

 

Did we rejoice at this improvement? Did we hell. The professional (stopp tittering there at the back) reviewers of the Scottish Football Writers Association were decidedly under-whelmed by the performance and the result and, apparently, the opinion of the opinion formers is that stand-in boss Billy Stark apparently ruled himself out of contention for the Levein succession - because his hastily re-cast team didn't win by more goals.

 

This opinion, naturally, ignores the reality of commenting on the Scottish international team, which is - we have rarely been as good as we think we are.

 

The squad Starkie was left with was vastly different from the final one which Craig Levein had selected. Pardon my cynicism, but, I feel one or two Scotland regulars saw what they suspected as a short-lived Stark interregnum as a good excuse to miss a meaningless international, without too-greatly hampering their places in the national squad.

 

Starkie's starting team showed nine changes from Levein's last line-up, only Christophe Berra and Darren Fletcher holding their places. Starkie also chose to blood four new caps - which is, after all, one of the things these friendlies is all about.

 

Received wisdom (in both football and rugby) has always been that Scotland is a wee nation, which doesn't produce a lot of international class players at any one time and for us to do well, we need as many of our top talents on the field as we can manage.

 

My own opinion is that we had maybe five of our current optimum team on the park on Wednesday night. Usually, to have less than half our best side on the park in any game is a recipe for Disaster For Scotland; so, I refuse to castigate Starkie for managing us to a win.

 

Anent that 1987 game, which, as I remember was THE outstanding case of "A draw nae fitba" in the 140-year history of the Scotland international team - the Scotland team was: Jim Leighton, Maurice Malpas, Derek Whyte, Roy Aitken, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller, Pat Nevin, Paul McStay, Graeme Sharp, Ian Wilson, Maurice Johnston, with Gary MacKay and Eric Black replacing Whyte and Nevin after 62 minutes.

 

Just over one year previously, Scotland had beaten the Luxembourgers 3-0 at Hampden. Our team that night was (arguably) a stronger one: Leighton, Ray Stewart, Murdo MacLeod, Aitken, Richard Gough, Alan Hansen, Nevin, Brian McClair, Johnston, Kenny Dalglish and Davie Cooper, with Ally McCoist and Paul McStay replacing MacLeod and Hansen in the second half.

 

So, back in 1986-87, at a time when we were used to Scotland qualifying for the finals of the big tournaments, using, over the two games, 21 players, ten of whom have since been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame; seven of these ten have also won over 50 caps, to gain admittance to the SFA's own Hall of Fame, an honour also accorded to a further two of the 21 from 25-years ago.

 

Yet, back then - we couldn't win in Luxembourg. This week, denuded of more than half of apparently our current "first choice" starting team and at a time when, by common consent, we are short of genuine top-flight talent and potential Hall of Fame future inductees - we won in Luxembourg.

 

As I have said before - Scotland, here's tae us, wha's like us. And you all know the answer to that one.

 

 

 

ONE OF the hardy annuals of football journalism for the last decade or so has been the English media's distaste, bordering on extreme dislike, for Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

 

Following on his four-goal demolition of England on Wednesday night, a one-man show which spoilt Steve Gerrard's 100th cap party, maybe we should adopt the big man as an honorary Scot.

 

Henrik Larsson, who did so much to guide the young Ibrahimovic through his early internationals was always an exceptional player, who hid the self-belief and arrogance which is such a vital part of the really great players' game with an endearing diffidence. Ibrahimovic has always been much more up-front about his considerable gifts and this has never played well with our Southern neighbours.

 

I think he will have enjoyed his 90 minutes this week, after all, one thing which so-closely links the English and the Germans is - they don't like it up 'em and this week, Ibrahimovic got right up 'em.   

 

 

Reconsgtruction - Yes, But Not This

HERE we go again - league reconstruction is apparently back on the agenda - with the SFL (Scottish Football League) floating vague plans about a new three-division set-up in Scottish senior football of 16 - 10 and 18 clubs, two more than at present; these two "new" clubs are to be the second XIs of Celtic and Rangers.

 

I have long been in the we must reconstruct camp; I believe, given the huge support which both Old Firm clubs command, finding a place for their reserve sides would be a good thing, fiscally, for the other clubs, but, and there has to be a but - this latest idea is crazy.

 

Scottish senior football does not need more clubs, it needs fewer; that much has been apparent for years. The "cake" is getting smaller by the year, so the clubs should be looking for larger, not smaller slices.

 

As far as I can see, this plan calls for amalgamation between the SPL and the SFL - all well and good, but, this will still leave us with two governing bodies in the senior game - the new composite league and the SFA, still in everyone's view, except those Hampden "blazers" with vested interests to protect, one too-many.

 

 

 

PARDON me for being cynical, but, when you consider the number of calls-off (or is that call-offs)? there have been from Billy Stark's originally-named squad to travel to Luxembourg for tomorrow night's "International Challenge Match" - why bother?

 

The match is meaningless, I haven't met too-many Tartan Army foot soldiers who are champing at the bit to get to the Principality - lovely place though it is to visit - in fact, it's all a bit of a non-event.

 

I cannot help thinking, the SFA should maybe have contacted their Luxembourg counter-parts, made their excuses, promised an early re-scheduling and taken the severe hit on the "blazers" air miles.

 

If they had to have something, they should have acted quicker to replace Craig Levein and maybe got the new guy in to bring the squad together for a "getting to know each other" session, with maybe something like a Home Scots v Anglo-Scots charity game at the finish.

 

 

 



Wanted - A Fan On The Park

I HAVE long held that Celtic and Rangers, because of the weight of expectation which falls on their players on a weekly basis, require at all times to have a player who is, for want of a better expression - the Keeper of the Faith. Such a player need not be the club captain, or even the best or most-influential; but, what he has to be is: "the fan on the park" - the guy who is playing for the thousands who can do no more than cheer-on the team from the sidelines.

 

Such a player, perhaps lacking the technical quality so necessary in Champions League play, more than pays for himself in the most-important battles - the purritch and auld cales of domestic league games. As I warned in my last post, it is no good beating Barcelona if full points are not taken against St Johnstone. That's what happened and for all the very good non-Scottish imports he has brought to the club, I feel Sunday's result against the Perth side showed that what Neil Lennon really needs to get hold of is a player who is Celtic to the core - a Neil Lennon or Roy Aitken-type figure who can, by sheer force of personality turn damaging draws such as Sunday's into victories.

 

I will still be very surprised, should Celtic not run away with the SPL, but, if  they don't, then indetifying and nurturing the "fan on the park" has to be a priority.

 

 

 

THE latest inductees into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame were named at the weekend. Let me say, straight away, I have to argument with the five men inducted, all are worthy of inclusion - however, that said, I am amazed to see one iconic Scottish football figure has still not been inducted.

 

I refer to the great Jimmy McMullan - captain of the immortal 'Wembley Wizards'. In an ideal world, when the HoF was conceived, the 11 Wizards and the 11 LIsbon LIons ought to have been a combined shoo-in. They perhaps weren't all worthy, but, as the two greatest teams in the history of the nation's favourite team game, they should have gone in en bloc.

 

But, I digress; even allowing for the special status of that win on 31 March, 1928, McMullan's record as a great player and an even-greater captain did, and continues to, make him worthy of a place in the HoF. I refuse to believe there are 82 worthier men in the history of Scottish football.

 

I also hae ma doots about one of the new inductees, Andrew Watson of Queen's Park, who won three caps in the early 1880s. Apparently Watson's unique selling point for induction was that he was the world's first black internationalist. Good for him, however, I feel to induct him ahead of some of the other legends of that time - when Scotland truly was the best side in the world, is nothing more than a sop to political correctness and the Racial Equality Industry.

That's the thing with the HoF induction process; the choices are made by a panel of so-called experts. Well, when it comes to the history of Scottish football, I consider myself a lot better-informed than some of the "experts" who make the who gets in decisions and, over the years, there have been several clear instances of club loyalties getting guys in far earlier than they might perhaps be correctly inducted.

 

Celtic Are In A Great Place - But Don't Blow It

DOWN here in "Orange County" Ayrshire, where you are advised to turn back your watches to 1690 as you exit the M77 at Fenwick, we've had the rare sight this week of replica Celtic strips being worn in public - yes, even in Cumnock and Kilwinning.

 

But, while I don't truly think Neil Lennon will let it happen, I would caution Celtic fans: it could all still blow up in your face. I will be amazed if Celtic do not, from the position they reached by beating Barcelona, go on to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League - indeed, their fans' case ought to be: "Why stop there? If we can beat Barca the last 16 need not be our limit".

 

That said, they could just as easily cling to time-honoured Scottish tradition and follow-up a marvellous win with a couple of dodgy defeats and scrape into the Europa League; I don't honestly see total calamity, fourth in the group, happening, however.

 

Now that would really give that old ham Rod Stewart something to blurb about.

 

 

 

ELSEWHERE, it's a case of woe, woe and thrice woe, in the wake of Vlad the Bad donning his spotted neckerchief, getting out the six-guns and threatening the Hearts fans with: "Pay up - or else".

 

It now appears that six Scottish clubs are in serious financial doo-dah and could close at any minute. Am I surprised? Not really, Scottish football has been living beyond its means for years and this cannot go on, at some point the cracks have to open and swallow-up one or two.

 

Ayr United, for instance, has been up for sale for a couple of years, with no takers. St Mirren's long-awaited and much-hyped fans' buy-out is threatening to out-last the Trojan Wars; John Yorston is doing Corporal Jones "Don't panic" impressions at Dunfermline, with as much credibility; Falkirk are struggling; Killie are skint, we keep getting tales of financial woe from Stephen Thomson at Dundee United - the story goes on.

 

Would it be such a bad thing if Scottish football was reduced to the level of the Irish or Welsh Leagues? After all - Denamrk, Sweden, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Wales, countries whose leagues we tend to sneer at here in Scotland, are all ranked above us in the latest FIFA standings.

 

Perhaps it's time for us to admit - really, we're not very good at football, revert to part-time status and sort ourselves out. Alas, I don't see the "blazerati" having the self-knowledge to see this and the talent and drive to do it.

 

 

 

CAN I just say, Billy Stark might not be a bad shout for Scotland boss. Let's face reality here, Scotland is, at present (if we look at it from a club context) a once-powerful "big" team which has under-performed for years, still has delusions of grandeur but has slipped into the middle of the Third Division, from whence it needs to emerge.

 

We could go for a "big-name" manager - Strachan, Souness or Dalglish say - even Joe Jordan. However, because of the way football has changed over the past 15 years or so, such guys are used to operating at clubs where you BUY rather than DEVELOP your squads. "We need a centre half - who can we buy?" is the mind-set here.

 

With Scotland, if you need a centre half, you have to look at who you've got on your staff of Scots-qualified players; you have to work with what you've got. This calls for a different type of manager.

 

I always felt Craig Brown was such a good Scotland boss - because he was used to operating at under the top-flight, with few, if any, top-flight players and he was good at getting performances from such players.

 

Berti Vogts got a bad deal - he had a long-term plan; he was trying to change a whole culture, but the guys with whom he was working, didn't want to change and it didn't help that he was operating at a time when we had no players with more than limited talent. Vogts's pushing of "Futures" internationals was a positive long-term move, which was killed as soon as he went and that move didn't help Scotland in the least.

 

We've wasted then years and, just maybe, with his experience with the Under-21 squad and at lower level with Morton, St Johnstone and Queen's Park, Billy Stark, a guy I have always liked enormously, could -  given time - turn us around.

Hail, Hail and Hail Again - A Great Win - But: Keep The Heid

GREEN ink today - and why not? Any Scottish football fan NOT prepared to stand up and salute Neil Lennon and his troops this morning, clearly has severe mental problems.

 

While I am not going down the road of hailing this as "one of the greatest wins in the history of the club", even I, old cynic that I am, can acknowledge what a superb win this was. But, the hyperbole has to be tempered: this wasn't as big a win as that over Inter Milan, all those years ago in Lisbon, or their Hampden win over Leeds United in the biggest of football's many 'Battles of Britain' back in the black and white tv days of the 1970s. I know, in today's climate of media over-hype, almost every win is the biggest one ever, but, let's not forget, great result though this was, against a team with much more money and a supposedly superior squad, it was still a win in a qualifying group, from which Celtic could still fail to qualify for the knock-out stages.

 

I accept, they've got themselves into a great position, I further accept that Celtic, from where they currently are, SHOULD reach the last 16 knock-out stages, which would be a great boost for them and for Scottish football, but please, as Allan Wells so memorably told himself as he did his victory lap back in Moscow in 1980: "Keep the heid".

 

 

 

ON A related subject: is it just me, or is anyone else thinking that, without the weekly media hype around Celtic and the team in blue from across the city, isn't Neil Lennon growing into a statesmanlike manager.

 

The wee man from Lurgan will always wear his heart on his sleeve; he does get a lot of stick, some of which he has in the past tended to bring on himself, but, he does it his way and the Barcelona results - a 3-3 aggregate draw over two games lest we forget - indicates an up-and-coming manager.

 

He motivated a below-strength team to a superb win on Wednesday. Nice one Neil.

 

 

 

THAT single result should be a catalyst for a better season in the SPL. If I was an SPL team manager, I'd be telling my players from now on: "Celtic could go out and beat Barca - why cannot you go out there and beat Celtic? They believed, why not you?

 

St Johnstone and Kilmarnock have already proved this season, Celtic can be beaten in domestic games. If more clubs believe they too can beat them, it will be a boost for our oft-criticised league, and, the extra competition will help Celtic in what, we can now begin to dream of, as a good European season. Win, win all round.

 

 

 

NOW the downside. These are troubling times for Jambos everywhere. I fancy it might be a good idea for the concerned fans in maroon and white to hold fast on any thoughts of reaching for the cheque book to buy shares.

 

Romanov has previous in trying to manipulate the fans and, even allowing for all the media and social media shit which has surrounded events since last season at Ibrox - going into liquidation has not (yet) hurt Rangers too much.

 

I don't see the same level of (allegedly and still unproven) criminality surrounding Hearts, as surrounded and still surrounds Rangers, so, given that Newco Rangers were shoe-horned (probably against the rules) into SFL3 - why not the same deal for Newco Hearts?

 

If I was a Hearts' fan, I'd be telling Romanov: "No thanks - do your worst".

 

 

 

FINALLY, with nothing better to do on the night, I watched the Manchester City v Ajax game on ITV1 on Tuesday night. Post-match, the big stooshie was about that last-second non-penalty.

 

From my seat, the referee got it spot-on. BOTH Balotelli and the Ajax defender were "at it"; each was tugging at the other's jersey - so, waving play-on, or to be precise, blowing for full time, was a great decision by the referee. He got a few wrong ont he night, but he got that big one correct, although, he might have booked Balotelli for his petulant and pretty poor spot of "simulation" as he flung himself to the turf.

 

As ever, the ITV commentary was a disgrace. It's ok for Scottish commentators to be myopic - they're only speaking to a small audience. It's another thing altogether for ITV commentators to be fans with microphones.

 

Their lack of awareness is breath-taking; insisting that few if any Ajax playersd would get into the City team. If that is indeed the case - how come, over the two games, Ajax won 5-3 on aggregate a result which, in the good old days of a true European Cup, limited to national league champions, would have seen City OUT.

 

Technically, Ajax were the better team. Sure, they rode their luck with a couple of tight offsides, but, for me, on the night, they were the better team.

NEXT!!!

AYE, OK - I got it wrong. I didn't think the SFA board, a body rapidly building up an unbeatable reputation for incompetence, would fire Craig Levein this close to a game, even a seemingly meaningless friendly with Luxembourg; but, even I under-estimated the depths to which the blazerati have sunk.

 

Let's be honest - Craig Levein wasn't a great Scotland boss - but, given the whole ethos surrounding the game up here at present, can we honestly be sure that anyone else might have done any better.

 

To be fair, Levein knew the whole game in Scotland stunk. At Hearts and even more at Dundee United, he tried to change things for the better. I've only met Craig on a few occasions, but, I liked and still like the guy. However, he could only work with the tools he was given and (mindful that even Jock Stein had his bad days with them) he didn't have a Dalglish, or a Bremner, or a Souness or Baxter or Law to call upon.

 

Much has been made of the number of Premiership players he could call on. Let's be honest, here, not many of these guys were real key men for top Premiership sides. Where once Bremner, or Law or Souness and Dalglish or Gilzean or Mackay were absolutely top men, for the top teams in England - we cannot say that about even Darren Fletcher, or Gary Caldwell - probably the two most-consistent Scotland players of recent years.

 

We have stopped producing genuine top-quality players, and until we put in place the systems which will bring this about again, we will struggle.

 

We don't have a system for properly nurturing out top young talent, and until we put in place the systems which will bring this about again, we will struggle.

 

Our leagues are decidedly poor ones in terms of overall quality, and until we put in place the systems which will change this, we will struggle.

 

Let's have a look at the"blazers" who decided to relieve Levein of his duties - while continuing to pay his salary up until the end of his contract in 2014 - and weep.

 

President Campbell Ogilvie ought to, like Levein, be on "gardening leave" pending the outcome of his part in the still unresolved Rangers' EBT scandal. He was heavily implicated in this and should have been long-ago side-lined, rather than making decisions on Levein. He is tainted.

 

Chief Executive Stewart Regan is also tainted, following the revelations of his attempts to pochle a deal which would keep Rangers in the SPL. The shoogly nail on which his blazer rests ought long ago to have fallen out.

 

The rest - well while I have a whole heap of respect for Tom Johnston's efforts to pull together the warring tribes of junior football - and have always found TJ to be one of the good guys - there's not a lot of talent there, not to mention one or two time-servers.

 

Scotland's mainstream football media is now busy telling us that Craig Levein was "Scotland's least successful manager" in terms of competitive games; except he wasn't.

 

Levein had charge of the team in 13 competitive games - of which his team won three, drew four and lost five, giving him 13 points - 36% of what was available, while those three wins amount to 25% of the total.

 

A previous Scotland boss had charge of the team in five competitive games - of which his team won won, drew two and lost two, giving him five points - 33.3% of what was available, while that single win amounted to 20% of the total.

 

That manager - the guy with an inferior record to Levein was Sir Alex Ferguson, when in charge between Jock Stein's tragic death at Cardiff and our early exit from the 1986 World Cup finals.

 

OK, SAF's reign covered the Inter-continental Play-off with Australia and the games against West Germany, Denmark and Uruguay in the World Cup Finals proper - Levein's were in qualifying campaigns.

 

But: Jim Leighton, Richard Gough, Mauriced Malpas, Graeme Souness, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller, Gordon Strachan, Roy Aitken, Eamonn Bannon, Jim Bett, Paul McStay, Andy Goram, Steve Nicol, David Narey, Arthur Albiston, Frank McAvennie, Steve Archibald, Graeme Sharp, Charlie Nicholas, Paul Sturrock, Davie Cooper and Alan Rough - the 22 players Fergie took to Mexico - even allowing for the greater quality of the West Germans and the Danes, couldn't get us into the second phase. I mean, all they had to do was beat ten Uruguayans over 89 minutes. Managing Scotland has never been easy.

 

If Fergie, Scotland's greatest-manager from his record with Aberdeen and Manchester United, could fail - what chance had Levein - he didn't have the same quality of player at his disposal?

 

OK, so, we accept that Levein had to go - who is next for what is now surely an impossible job?

 

Blame the system; we should change it before we change managers.

November The Fifth - Don't Burn Levein, Burn The Blazers

I DON'T think Craig Levein will be getting his jotters just yet. Even with the SFA's long-established history of getting the big decisions wrong, it is difficult to see them putting a temporary manager in charge of the squad for the forthcoming Luxembourg friendly, after sacking Levein early next week.

 

That said, they could just as easily sack the boss after we fail to inflict the six-goal hammering which we feel is our right when it comes to us taking-on one of European football's traditional whipping boys.

 

And in any case, as this blog has frequently pointed-out, we could ask SAF to leave Manchester United and become Scotland boss tomorrow, and, even if he did, we still would not qualify for the next World Cup and are unlikely to qualify for any big tournaments ever again, until there is a sea change in the entire culture of Scottish football.

 

We don't need a new coach - we need a total clear-out of the Hampden blazers and a few years of real progress, before we go anywhere other than down the stank.

 

 

 

SPEAKING of under-performing teams; while there was no real surprise at Inverness Caledonian Thistle beating Rangers in midweek - whatever else you might say about big Tel and wee Mo, they know how to organise a team - one expected a closer game.

 

Received wisdom has it that you first build the spine of your team - goalkeeper, central defender, central midfielder and main striker. Get these four positions right and the rest are add-ons.

 

Mr McCoist has a good goalkeeper in the experienced and under-rated Neil Alexander; in SFL3, Ian Black ought to be able to run central midfield - although, when the opposition steps up to SPL-class, he clearly needs more help than he got in midweek; up front he has options, players such as Lee McCulloch, Andy Little, Dean Shiels, Kevin Kyle (when fit) and Francisco Sandaza will all get goals in domestic matches.

 

The huge, gaping black hole in McCoist's squad is in central defence. Given time, Ross Perry and Darren Cole will, hopefully, come through. Right now, however, they need beside them a big, mean, dare one say it dirty, Rangers centre half. Unfortunately, by buying the Brazilian Emilson Cribari (Orange Scheidt - as one of my Celtic-supporting friends calls him), McCoist proved that as a striker, he has scant knowledge of what it takes to make a central defender.

 

He cannot buy an emergency replacement, but must make-do with what he has. Dare I suggest it, but, moving either McCulloch or Kyle back into central defence might tide him and his team over until the younger players mature, or they can again buy - whichever comes first.

 

 

 

Mind you, now that the old Rangers are finally in liquidation, and BDO is finally in situ to uphold the interests of HMRC - and just how many more "any day now" deadlines will pass before the BTC is settled? At 65, I'd like to think I can hang around lone enough to read the verdict. It might be that Sevco Rangers isn't around too long.

 

And that's another thing - I've got a mate who is a prison officer at Barlinnie. He's a Rangers supporter who hopes to welcome Craig Whyte to his institution before he retires.