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Dalglish? Hansen? Law? Where Are The Next Scottish Superstars?
With Scotland failing to qualify for Euro 2012, you have to question what's wrong with Scottish football today when we once produced such greats.
First let’s get the nostalgia out of the way. We do it well in Scotland. Misty eyed, sepia toned memories of Dave Narey’s toe poke, Archie Gemmell’s mazy run against the Dutch run and Gordon Strachan cocking his leg are peddled to death by myopic “mind-the-time” merchants. Let’s raise a glass to that one again. Yes, Jim Baxter was luminous and uber-cocky with his keepy-uppies, yes players like Bremner, Hansen and Yeats were the very beating heart of many successful English clubs in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties and yes we punched well above our weight internationally for years and years, qualifying for tournaments we had no business being at and handing out shock defeats to big teams. But look at us now. Look at the state we’re in. It’s not pretty. It’s not even plain. It’s very, very ugly.
The facts show we’ve not qualified for a major tournament since France 1998 and have now failed to make Poland and Ukraine in 2012. With a qualifying group for Brazil 2014 that includes Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Wales and Macedonia, an under-par squad lacking real quality or depth and a very limited manger we face an uphill struggle to make that world party too. I look at the current bland Scotland squad and struggle to see a single player who would make the England twenty three. Darren Fletcher? Maybe on a good, good day but no one else. Then I fleetingly and enviously glance sideways at Wales and see Bellamy, Bale and Ramsey, painfully realising that we are actually where we should have been all along. That we are now operating at the International football level we always should have been. Football has come home and it’s a small detached bungalow.
Scotland boasts a population of less than 6 million, on a par with countries such as Slovakia, Finland, Denmark and Norway. Yet we feel an inflated sense of footballing superiority that propels us on a ridiculously high delusional arc, crashing painfully into a disappointed heap time and again as we inevitably fail to cut it amongst even the second tier of football’s elite nations. Our recent history of producing great players has entrenched this delusion and slowly and painfully, year on year, that totem is crumbling.
Look at the state we’re in. It’s not pretty. It’s not even plain. It’s very, very ugly.
Domestically, we boast a sordid two-team league propped up by the global proceeds of a shameful sectarian divide that continues to be both a national disgrace and wobbly crutch that supports the whole distended weight of our current league structure. Without the soiled cash filtering down from the grotesque bigotry of ‘Glasgow’s Ugly Sisters’ there would be a much, much smaller volume of professional and semi-pro teams in Scotland. Hence the clamour to keep Rangers and Celtic from joining the premiership a few years back. Yet as the recession bites and the money flowing through Glasgow splutters more and more clubs face going to the wall. Clubs will fold, teeth will nash and hands will wring with regret. A sorry state indeed but where did it go wrong?
We fiddled whilst Rome burned is the short answer. Seeds of arrogance and failure to invest in youth football during the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties have given bloom to rotten fruits. The romanticism of the dockyards, mines and factories supporting the community football teams that ruled Europe in the Sixties slowly gave way to sprawling council estates, drug problems and crumbling facilities at junior football level. The SFA and councils looked at us competing in major tournaments and our clubs doing well in Europe in the Eighties and Nineties and sat firmly on their fumbling hands and fat wallets. Youth clubs played on unmarked, dog-shit strewn pitches, clubhouses burned by vandals and struggling for playing numbers and funding amidst the needles and burnt out cars. Meanwhile the investment in youth coaches, development of the game at grass roots level and woefully underfunded anti-drug organisations were all passed over for promotion.
Every time I used to see a ‘No Ball Games’ sign on the wall of a housing scheme I would wonder where kids could play with a ball.
Every time I used to see a ‘No Ball Games’ sign on the wall of a housing scheme I would wonder where kids could play with a ball. Thousands of potential players who could have been Dennis Law, Ian St John, Kenny Dalglish or Alan Hansen…hell, even John Collins all failed by lack of opportunity. Lost instead to smack, booze, Playstations and shite options to do otherwise. Football forgotten and underfunded. Failed by pathetically inept and blinkered officials sat in blazers unfittingly bearing the Lion Rampant badge on their lapels.
Now our national team bears the full weight of a nations disappointment. Readjustment to life as a third tier football nation as our clubs embarrassingly crash out of Europe before the end of the Edinburgh Festival. But at least the money is coming through and the development of the game is showing signs of progress and innovation as we seek to arrest the decline. Whilst the previous generation of combative players continue to successfully ply their trade managing and coaching some of England’s top club sides we can only persevere, learn the hard lessons and get used to living within our football means. Hope that the future will yield happier days and grieve for the death of Scottish footballs glory days.
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COMMENTS
Er, Dave Narey's toe-poke was part of a 4-1 defeat by Brazil and Gordon Strachan's leg cocking celebration was during a 2-1 defeat by West Germany. Interesting that you've chosen two defeats to illustrate our glory days.
Denmark qualify fairly regularly for many tournaments and Uruguay (with a smaller population than Scotland) are currently one of the highest ranked sides in the world. So I don't see that as a great excuse if you're a footballing nation, like Scotland is. The no ball games is a good point and osmething I've noticed myself. The SPL is in a dire state but perversely this might help the national team as more players head south after 2-3 years playing in Scotland. There's been a recent improvement in the standard of player available for the national team, which should continue to improve over the next few years - albeit not what it was. And I don't recall a time when we were ever truly satisfied with the national team! http://stevenjporter.wordpress.com/
A reason for our demise may be encapsulated by a selection of the advertising boards running round the ground in Liechtenstein tonight; betting websites, cheap tequila and Tunnocks.
need more player's going the Fletcher route; join an English club as a schoolboy! He is far and away the best player at the moment and Barry Bannan looks one of the few technically gifted young players coming through
Correct me if I'm wrong but was that not Fletcher's first good performance in a Scotland jersey last night? Too much hype because of the team he plays for.
Stopped reading this pish when I got to "limited manager" what a wanker,
Jamboin: I think the writer was refering the national team manager not, the club level ones; who to be fair, are doing very well!
The only way a budding Scottish sporting talent can achieve greatness is by leaving Scotland as early as possible. It worked for Andy Murray.
I was also going to make the point that you have chosen three examples of our great moments that were ultimately just a footnote in failure (even Gemmill's goal was in a 3-2 victory that was otherwise made redundant by poor previous results). The trouble is that we have expectations way beyond our means and nothing will ever change that. It does also break my heart that you never see kids in parks playing football these days. What happened to your 25-a-side, next goal wins, it's ma baw and I'm no playing type football? I'm too young to be quite reflecting on my childhood but I will none the less... when I were a lad I used to get up before the birds on a Saturday and play until the sun went down. On another note, there are only twice as many clubs in England's top flights than our own. When you consider that there is 10 times the population it maybe explains why clubs are struggling to stay afloat. As much as it would be a shame for the fans of Arbroath to have their team executed for the same of another team's wealth it may very well be the only option.
i haven't even read this..so tired of all these crap features,do your job and learn about the subject you are mean to be writing about..there are decent players..playing/coming through and playing in a decent way...maybe we could just support them..oh i just read it and its totally lazy,ill informed and boring
Was that a very poor attempt at humour KLM?
Niall, as a Montrose loon I would happily see Arbroath FC executed, but I don't see how it would benefit the game in any way. The pittance they receive from sponsorship and advertising is a drop in the ocean compared to the wealth of the English PL. Arbroath or any other small team going out of business would not benefit the big clubs.
I was talking purely in terms of the support they receive. Surely by reducing the number of teams in the country you would increase the levels of support for the "smaller" teams, ergo making them financially better off as gates increase. Having 45 teams to support in a country of 6 million is saturation and doesn't allow for smaller clubs to grow (particularly when there are two teams with substantially more support). That was all. It is also ridiculous the cost of watching football now. With internet streaming making it possible to watch a dodgy version of any game you want then why the need to charge £25 for Kilmarnock v Hibernian on a Tuesday night?
Brodie Smithers, I've rad two articles of yours today - this one and Scottish Bosses. Can i say refreshing it is to read the works of a writer that is able to write in different styles. I found this article full of honesty and integrity while the other was positive and humourous, good work fella!
Can't say I entirely agree with this. If Levein had shown a bit more balls in our first two away games we'd have come away with four points instead of one and qualified easily. Scotland were the only team to seriously trouble Spain (in the second half at Hampden) and if the coach had had a bit more belief than buying into the "we are shite" argument that gets bandied about these days, then we would have qualified. Why are countries like Montenegro and Estonia (ffs) in the play-offs. Is it because they've got better players or because they went for it? I see lots of Premier League players in a pretty settled squad and quite a bit of strength in depth: justified reasons for optimism for the 2014 qualifiers I reckon, as long as the manager and the players believe in themselves. Time to changes the agenda and get a bit more positive.
all the stuff you say applies to both England and Scotland. England simply have the massive advantage of having 10 times the Scottish population, hence we will always do better. But having nowhere to play, lack of investment in youth football, 'no ball games', kisd getting into drugs, playstation, or other shite like you mention applies to your auld enemy too (yes im English, but half Scottish so please dont pigeon hole me!!!)
just read the article,and as an english man who has heard the anti english bigotry come from scots for years,i couldn't give a shit.and as for england and english clubs nuturing scots kids fuck off.grow a pair and vote for your independence,then we can havea nice strong right wing conservative government,and we can start repatriating the undesirables back to where they came from.and don't accuse me of being racist.the welsh and irish will be kicked out aswell..ENGLAND FOREVER BRITAIN NEVER..
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