It's difficult to point a finger at exactly what the problem is with Scottish football at the moment, so it's safe to say there are various factors which have brought our national game down to it's current state.
One of those is undoubtably the Old Firm, and the various things they do. Spending huge amounts of money on foreignors who aren't as great as they'd like us to believe, signing other SPL sides best players basically so that they can't perform well against them, and of course the hoardes of fans they attract every week from across Scotland, who should be supporting their local club. The Old Firm then have the cheek to moan at the other clubs for their poor performances in Europe, because they supposedly aren't providing enough competition for them. What do they expect when they steal their players! However, the actions of the Old Firm should be helping the national side, as it has forced other clubs to bring through young players such as Kris Boyd, Kevin McNaughton and James McFadden. The Old Firm have even joined in the act with the likes of Shuan Maloney and Stephen Hughes. Why then, with so many good youngsters kicking about, are the Scottish teams struggling in Europe, and the national side struggling as well?
A few weeks ago Aberdeen eat a side from Moldova 1-0 on aggregate, thanks to a goal at Pittodrie in the first leg. Livingston drew 1-1 on aggregate with a team from Liechtenstein. They didn't beat them in either game, as they drew the first away leg 1-1, and would have gone out had it not been for a refereeing decision that Clive Thomas would have been proud of, as the referee blew for full time between the corner being taken and the goal being scored. Why do these teams struggle when they seem to do well in the leagues?
If you took out the Old Firm (and hopefully one day they will leave) you'll get a relatively close and competitive SPL. So surely when these teams do well here, they should be hammering such poor opposition in Europe? In the 1980's, Dundee United got to the UEFA Cup Final, and Aberdeen won the Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid. In 15-20 years, the standard of Scottish football has got so bad that our sides should be fearing sides from Moldova and Liechtenstein, and our champions fearing a side from Switzerland? Admittedly Aberdeen managed a 0-0 draw at home to Hertha Berlin on Tuesday night, which is a fantastic result, but the other scorelines are woeful.
The national side has also gotten worse over the last 10 years. I remember being at Hampden as Scotland thrashed the Faroe Islands 5-1, and even in the Faroes they managed a 2-0 victory. Why on earth then, with so many good young Scottish players at the moment, and even some of the players in Berti Vogts' squad are good, could we only manage a draw thanks to a lucky deflected goal and a late equaliser? Something is far wrong when these are the scorelines being produced.
Last season Airdrieonians went bust. A new club, Airdrie United, bought out Clydebank and Gretna entered the league in the third division. Since the start of the season, Gretna's performances have hit home to me just how bad Scottish football is. A team who struggled to make it into the top ten of the English Unibond Premier League seemed to be strolling it. Their manager won manager of the month for August. How on earth can a side from a division, which was about four steps down the pyramid from the football league, do so well straight away in our third division? Whilst this should prove that a pyramid system is needed in Scottish football to cut out some of the dead wood, it also shows that it's not just the top flight of Scottish football thats so bad, it's running all the way through the game.
So what can be done to sort this trend? Sadly, a rule of having a limit to the number of non Scots in the side could not be applied, as the EU would threaten legal action. The other clubs cant stop the Old Firm stealing their best players, as they need money. We can't stop the Old Firm bringing in the rubbish foreigners, despite the fact they carry on happily with debts of large proprtions, whilst everyone else struggles with debts of £2-£3million. Is there anything that can be done to stop the decline of Scottish football short of kicking out the Old Firm?
Answers on a postcard please.
One of those is undoubtably the Old Firm, and the various things they do. Spending huge amounts of money on foreignors who aren't as great as they'd like us to believe, signing other SPL sides best players basically so that they can't perform well against them, and of course the hoardes of fans they attract every week from across Scotland, who should be supporting their local club. The Old Firm then have the cheek to moan at the other clubs for their poor performances in Europe, because they supposedly aren't providing enough competition for them. What do they expect when they steal their players! However, the actions of the Old Firm should be helping the national side, as it has forced other clubs to bring through young players such as Kris Boyd, Kevin McNaughton and James McFadden. The Old Firm have even joined in the act with the likes of Shuan Maloney and Stephen Hughes. Why then, with so many good youngsters kicking about, are the Scottish teams struggling in Europe, and the national side struggling as well?
A few weeks ago Aberdeen eat a side from Moldova 1-0 on aggregate, thanks to a goal at Pittodrie in the first leg. Livingston drew 1-1 on aggregate with a team from Liechtenstein. They didn't beat them in either game, as they drew the first away leg 1-1, and would have gone out had it not been for a refereeing decision that Clive Thomas would have been proud of, as the referee blew for full time between the corner being taken and the goal being scored. Why do these teams struggle when they seem to do well in the leagues?
If you took out the Old Firm (and hopefully one day they will leave) you'll get a relatively close and competitive SPL. So surely when these teams do well here, they should be hammering such poor opposition in Europe? In the 1980's, Dundee United got to the UEFA Cup Final, and Aberdeen won the Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid. In 15-20 years, the standard of Scottish football has got so bad that our sides should be fearing sides from Moldova and Liechtenstein, and our champions fearing a side from Switzerland? Admittedly Aberdeen managed a 0-0 draw at home to Hertha Berlin on Tuesday night, which is a fantastic result, but the other scorelines are woeful.
The national side has also gotten worse over the last 10 years. I remember being at Hampden as Scotland thrashed the Faroe Islands 5-1, and even in the Faroes they managed a 2-0 victory. Why on earth then, with so many good young Scottish players at the moment, and even some of the players in Berti Vogts' squad are good, could we only manage a draw thanks to a lucky deflected goal and a late equaliser? Something is far wrong when these are the scorelines being produced.
Last season Airdrieonians went bust. A new club, Airdrie United, bought out Clydebank and Gretna entered the league in the third division. Since the start of the season, Gretna's performances have hit home to me just how bad Scottish football is. A team who struggled to make it into the top ten of the English Unibond Premier League seemed to be strolling it. Their manager won manager of the month for August. How on earth can a side from a division, which was about four steps down the pyramid from the football league, do so well straight away in our third division? Whilst this should prove that a pyramid system is needed in Scottish football to cut out some of the dead wood, it also shows that it's not just the top flight of Scottish football thats so bad, it's running all the way through the game.
So what can be done to sort this trend? Sadly, a rule of having a limit to the number of non Scots in the side could not be applied, as the EU would threaten legal action. The other clubs cant stop the Old Firm stealing their best players, as they need money. We can't stop the Old Firm bringing in the rubbish foreigners, despite the fact they carry on happily with debts of large proprtions, whilst everyone else struggles with debts of £2-£3million. Is there anything that can be done to stop the decline of Scottish football short of kicking out the Old Firm?
Answers on a postcard please.