Another cold shower of a match...

[The_Dark_Knight]

(The 30 day exile doesn't start till a minute before midnight)

Not that i was excited before the match... I don't get enthused before Scotland matches anymore.

Before i get into it, i was DELIGHTED that i lost the bet (as I'm sure a couple people are), but there wasn't one moment in today's match i felt like we'd hang on.

I watched the game with my 23 year old nephew. To say that we was apathetic would be an understatement. His generation has never witnessed Scotland playing at a major finals, in his words he's just used to us losing from the jaws of victory or us just being thrashed.

At least my generation, and the generation before it, saw Scotland go toe-to-toe with the creme of football in major tournaments. I don't blame kids nowadays being apathetic. The players, the SFA, the clubs, etc, have given them nothing to cheer and nothing to be proud of.

I think i was still at School during Euro 96. The pride that i felt when we beat Swizerland, drew with the Dutch and just got beat against England. It's still an amazing memory. Then France 98, the build up the Brazil match is still a vivid memory and the match didn't let me down, we'll, the result did, but again it was a slim defeat.

This generation of kids just haven't experienced anything like that. Growing up we weren't the best team, but we were a fantastic unit and we had players like Collins and McAllister and Hendry that were true leaders. Now we have no one.

People might think that i want us to play 3-5-2 because i think it's some magic wand and some amazing system that's been pulled from a magic hat. It's not. I want us to have great center backs and play with a back four. But we don't have great center backs.

The SFA are a bunch of dinosaurs that are pretty much a puppet regime for SPL clubs. And since the SPL clubs don't care about the national team they will refuse to demand change when it comes to a limit of homegrown players, training facilities, youth structure, etc.

For some weird reason there's four leagues in Scotland, three of ten teams. Which means two or four efeats and a team could drop from 4th to 10th, which means that managers will be reluctant to throw their kids into their first XI, instead relying on older and more experienced players.

Scottish football is a mess, from root to branch, and no one with any power has any intention of addressing the matter.

As for players, no one can tell me, from watching tonight's match, that players like Forrest, McGregor, McTominay, McBurnie, etc, are good enough to play at this level.

Once again, we're outclassed, this time it was against a team just one place above us (last time i checked). There's a massive gulf in skill and technique between us and the team's close to us in the rankings. There's also a fragility in a mental sense that's impossible to ignore. Not that I'm forgetting that we had 3 out of the back 4 players in awful leagues...

And let me tell you, from watching the Under 21 match last night, there's no conveyor belt of stars coming through. The player coming through the ranks are no better than the senior players we have now.

People make excuses like "we're a small nation" and "it's expecting too much to think that we can produce top players" - I'm sick of the excuses. I'm sick of people making allowances for our failures. I don't blame the players, it's not their fault they don't have the foundation of skills that they should've learned as kids. I don't blame Steve Clarke, if anything, i feel so sorry for him. At least in the days of Vogts, Smith and McLeish we had real gems like Fletcher, Ferguson and McFadden. I look at this squad and apart from Robertson, i see nothing. Fraser is also really good, but a top fullback and a good winger can't carry a team.

People get mad at me for saying that our midfielders are awful. How many times are we going to watch our midfielders midcontrol the ball, panic, lose concentration and focus and pretty much chase shadows, at this level, before people stop fooling themselves?

The Scotland national team won't qualify for another tournament. 

No one, it would appear, with any real power, has the appetite for change. The powers-that-be are comfortable. They're being paid. They're under no stress or pressure. They don't care whether the national team wins, loses or draws. So why should we?

I'm losing my care when it comes to the Scotland team. I don't see why the Tartan Army should care if the people in control don't.

[The_Dark_Knight]

...and I'm out.

Probably for more than a month, to be honest.

Namaste.

[exile]

As long as we have a clutch of Champions league players in the squad, there will be hope (rightly or wrongly) that with the right manager they can be moulded into a unit that can be at least as competitive as our celtic neighbours, whose players by and large play in the same leagues. That is surely not too much to ask.  Or too much to hope at least. 

[todd]

32 minutes ago, The_Dark_Knight said:

(The 30 day exile doesn't start till a minute before midnight)

Not that i was excited before the match... I don't get enthused before Scotland matches anymore.

Before i get into it, i was DELIGHTED that i lost the bet (as I'm sure a couple people are), but there wasn't one moment in today's match i felt like we'd hang on.

I watched the game with my 23 year old nephew. To say that we was apathetic would be an understatement. His generation has never witnessed Scotland playing at a major finals, in his words he's just used to us losing from the jaws of victory or us just being thrashed.

At least my generation, and the generation before it, saw Scotland go toe-to-toe with the creme of football in major tournaments. I don't blame kids nowadays being apathetic. The players, the SFA, the clubs, etc, have given them nothing to cheer and nothing to be proud of.

I think i was still at School during Euro 96. The pride that i felt when we beat Swizerland, drew with the Dutch and just got beat against England. It's still an amazing memory. Then France 98, the build up the Brazil match is still a vivid memory and the match didn't let me down, we'll, the result did, but again it was a slim defeat.

This generation of kids just haven't experienced anything like that. Growing up we weren't the best team, but we were a fantastic unit and we had players like Collins and McAllister and Hendry that were true leaders. Now we have no one.

People might think that i want us to play 3-5-2 because i think it's some magic wand and some amazing system that's been pulled from a magic hat. It's not. I want us to have great center backs and play with a back four. But we don't have great center backs.

The SFA are a bunch of dinosaurs that are pretty much a puppet regime for SPL clubs. And since the SPL clubs don't care about the national team they will refuse to demand change when it comes to a limit of homegrown players, training facilities, youth structure, etc.

For some weird reason there's four leagues in Scotland, three of ten teams. Which means two or four efeats and a team could drop from 4th to 10th, which means that managers will be reluctant to throw their kids into their first XI, instead relying on older and more experienced players.

Scottish football is a mess, from root to branch, and no one with any power has any intention of addressing the matter.

As for players, no one can tell me, from watching tonight's match, that players like Forrest, McGregor, McTominay, McBurnie, etc, are good enough to play at this level.

Once again, we're outclassed, this time it was against a team just one place above us (last time i checked). There's a massive gulf in skill and technique between us and the team's close to us in the rankings. There's also a fragility in a mental sense that's impossible to ignore. Not that I'm forgetting that we had 3 out of the back 4 players in awful leagues...

And let me tell you, from watching the Under 21 match last night, there's no conveyor belt of stars coming through. The player coming through the ranks are no better than the senior players we have now.

People make excuses like "we're a small nation" and "it's expecting too much to think that we can produce top players" - I'm sick of the excuses. I'm sick of people making allowances for our failures. I don't blame the players, it's not their fault they don't have the foundation of skills that they should've learned as kids. I don't blame Steve Clarke, if anything, i feel so sorry for him. At least in the days of Vogts, Smith and McLeish we had real gems like Fletcher, Ferguson and McFadden. I look at this squad and apart from Robertson, i see nothing. Fraser is also really good, but a top fullback and a good winger can't carry a team.

People get mad at me for saying that our midfielders are awful. How many times are we going to watch our midfielders midcontrol the ball, panic, lose concentration and focus and pretty much chase shadows, at this level, before people stop fooling themselves?

The Scotland national team won't qualify for another tournament. 

No one, it would appear, with any real power, has the appetite for change. The powers-that-be are comfortable. They're being paid. They're under no stress or pressure. They don't care whether the national team wins, loses or draws. So why should we?

I'm losing my care when it comes to the Scotland team. I don't see why the Tartan Army should care if the people in control don't.

🤭

[ParisInAKilt]

I stopped caring in Georgia 

Id recommend it. 

[bigfingers]

I'm done too. Bye bye! 

[BraveheartGordon]

1 hour ago, The_Dark_Knight said:

(The 30 day exile doesn't start till a minute before midnight)

Not that i was excited before the match... I don't get enthused before Scotland matches anymore.

Before i get into it, i was DELIGHTED that i lost the bet (as I'm sure a couple people are), but there wasn't one moment in today's match i felt like we'd hang on.

I watched the game with my 23 year old nephew. To say that we was apathetic would be an understatement. His generation has never witnessed Scotland playing at a major finals, in his words he's just used to us losing from the jaws of victory or us just being thrashed.

At least my generation, and the generation before it, saw Scotland go toe-to-toe with the creme of football in major tournaments. I don't blame kids nowadays being apathetic. The players, the SFA, the clubs, etc, have given them nothing to cheer and nothing to be proud of.

I think i was still at School during Euro 96. The pride that i felt when we beat Swizerland, drew with the Dutch and just got beat against England. It's still an amazing memory. Then France 98, the build up the Brazil match is still a vivid memory and the match didn't let me down, we'll, the result did, but again it was a slim defeat.

This generation of kids just haven't experienced anything like that. Growing up we weren't the best team, but we were a fantastic unit and we had players like Collins and McAllister and Hendry that were true leaders. Now we have no one.

People might think that i want us to play 3-5-2 because i think it's some magic wand and some amazing system that's been pulled from a magic hat. It's not. I want us to have great center backs and play with a back four. But we don't have great center backs.

The SFA are a bunch of dinosaurs that are pretty much a puppet regime for SPL clubs. And since the SPL clubs don't care about the national team they will refuse to demand change when it comes to a limit of homegrown players, training facilities, youth structure, etc.

For some weird reason there's four leagues in Scotland, three of ten teams. Which means two or four efeats and a team could drop from 4th to 10th, which means that managers will be reluctant to throw their kids into their first XI, instead relying on older and more experienced players.

Scottish football is a mess, from root to branch, and no one with any power has any intention of addressing the matter.

As for players, no one can tell me, from watching tonight's match, that players like Forrest, McGregor, McTominay, McBurnie, etc, are good enough to play at this level.

Once again, we're outclassed, this time it was against a team just one place above us (last time i checked). There's a massive gulf in skill and technique between us and the team's close to us in the rankings. There's also a fragility in a mental sense that's impossible to ignore. Not that I'm forgetting that we had 3 out of the back 4 players in awful leagues...

And let me tell you, from watching the Under 21 match last night, there's no conveyor belt of stars coming through. The player coming through the ranks are no better than the senior players we have now.

People make excuses like "we're a small nation" and "it's expecting too much to think that we can produce top players" - I'm sick of the excuses. I'm sick of people making allowances for our failures. I don't blame the players, it's not their fault they don't have the foundation of skills that they should've learned as kids. I don't blame Steve Clarke, if anything, i feel so sorry for him. At least in the days of Vogts, Smith and McLeish we had real gems like Fletcher, Ferguson and McFadden. I look at this squad and apart from Robertson, i see nothing. Fraser is also really good, but a top fullback and a good winger can't carry a team.

People get mad at me for saying that our midfielders are awful. How many times are we going to watch our midfielders midcontrol the ball, panic, lose concentration and focus and pretty much chase shadows, at this level, before people stop fooling themselves?

The Scotland national team won't qualify for another tournament. 

No one, it would appear, with any real power, has the appetite for change. The powers-that-be are comfortable. They're being paid. They're under no stress or pressure. They don't care whether the national team wins, loses or draws. So why should we?

I'm losing my care when it comes to the Scotland team. I don't see why the Tartan Army should care if the people in control don't.

I’m 25 and have never seen Scotland play at a major finals. Known nothing but pain supporting Scotland mixed with the odd big victory. It’s been a long time since we’ve enjoyed one of those though. Doesn’t feel the same anymore.

[Tartan Chris]

Getting seriously back into this group was always going to be a long shot. Kazhakstan did that.

To me it's always been getting into best shape for March 2020 play offs, simple as that. Maybe I'll be out after that as there will be beatable teams in that group if Serbia and Finland qualify automatically which looks probable in Finns case.

[Farcity]

1 hour ago, The_Dark_Knight said:

...and I'm out.

Probably for more than a month, to be honest.

Namaste.

Good. Fuck off you boring bastard. 

Tschuess. 

[Jacques Hunt]

11 hours ago, The_Dark_Knight said:

(The 30 day exile doesn't start till a minute before midnight)

Not that i was excited before the match... I don't get enthused before Scotland matches anymore.

Before i get into it, i was DELIGHTED that i lost the bet (as I'm sure a couple people are), but there wasn't one moment in today's match i felt like we'd hang on.

I watched the game with my 23 year old nephew. To say that we was apathetic would be an understatement. His generation has never witnessed Scotland playing at a major finals, in his words he's just used to us losing from the jaws of victory or us just being thrashed.

At least my generation, and the generation before it, saw Scotland go toe-to-toe with the creme of football in major tournaments. I don't blame kids nowadays being apathetic. The players, the SFA, the clubs, etc, have given them nothing to cheer and nothing to be proud of.

I think i was still at School during Euro 96. The pride that i felt when we beat Swizerland, drew with the Dutch and just got beat against England. It's still an amazing memory. Then France 98, the build up the Brazil match is still a vivid memory and the match didn't let me down, we'll, the result did, but again it was a slim defeat.

This generation of kids just haven't experienced anything like that. Growing up we weren't the best team, but we were a fantastic unit and we had players like Collins and McAllister and Hendry that were true leaders. Now we have no one.

People might think that i want us to play 3-5-2 because i think it's some magic wand and some amazing system that's been pulled from a magic hat. It's not. I want us to have great center backs and play with a back four. But we don't have great center backs.

The SFA are a bunch of dinosaurs that are pretty much a puppet regime for SPL clubs. And since the SPL clubs don't care about the national team they will refuse to demand change when it comes to a limit of homegrown players, training facilities, youth structure, etc.

For some weird reason there's four leagues in Scotland, three of ten teams. Which means two or four efeats and a team could drop from 4th to 10th, which means that managers will be reluctant to throw their kids into their first XI, instead relying on older and more experienced players.

Scottish football is a mess, from root to branch, and no one with any power has any intention of addressing the matter.

As for players, no one can tell me, from watching tonight's match, that players like Forrest, McGregor, McTominay, McBurnie, etc, are good enough to play at this level.

Once again, we're outclassed, this time it was against a team just one place above us (last time i checked). There's a massive gulf in skill and technique between us and the team's close to us in the rankings. There's also a fragility in a mental sense that's impossible to ignore. Not that I'm forgetting that we had 3 out of the back 4 players in awful leagues...

And let me tell you, from watching the Under 21 match last night, there's no conveyor belt of stars coming through. The player coming through the ranks are no better than the senior players we have now.

People make excuses like "we're a small nation" and "it's expecting too much to think that we can produce top players" - I'm sick of the excuses. I'm sick of people making allowances for our failures. I don't blame the players, it's not their fault they don't have the foundation of skills that they should've learned as kids. I don't blame Steve Clarke, if anything, i feel so sorry for him. At least in the days of Vogts, Smith and McLeish we had real gems like Fletcher, Ferguson and McFadden. I look at this squad and apart from Robertson, i see nothing. Fraser is also really good, but a top fullback and a good winger can't carry a team.

People get mad at me for saying that our midfielders are awful. How many times are we going to watch our midfielders midcontrol the ball, panic, lose concentration and focus and pretty much chase shadows, at this level, before people stop fooling themselves?

The Scotland national team won't qualify for another tournament. 

No one, it would appear, with any real power, has the appetite for change. The powers-that-be are comfortable. They're being paid. They're under no stress or pressure. They don't care whether the national team wins, loses or draws. So why should we?

I'm losing my care when it comes to the Scotland team. I don't see why the Tartan Army should care if the people in control don't.

You should read Henry McLeish book. Requiem or Renaissance. I agree with him and you about club football. SFA apathy and lots more. We need to prioritise the national team. I believe we have the players but there was an inevitability about defeat last night after we scored and then let them dominate us.

i also believe it is now our players who fear playing at Hampden more than the visiting team. Last night should have been a full house BTW.

i have been lucky in that I have seen us in World Cup final tournaments but it was so disappointing the when we consistently failed to get out of group.