There has been a lot of head-scratching and pondering since Georgia collected their second win of the qualification group following the match between Gibraltar and Scotland. Scotland’s form away from home was highlighted again, as they have failed to win any of their away games this campaign and, with them travelling to Faro, Portugal, to play Gibraltar, before the journey ends that will change.
Their record of two draws and two defeats from four games isn’t brilliant and would have to improve if they want to qualify for tournaments in the future. There still is a chance for them to succeed, but it is becoming increasingly difficult as they have to beat Germany or Poland, or maybe both, depending on other results at Hampden Park on Monday night and on 8th October. There is still a chance of this miracle, though; their home form cannot be better with three wins from three.
The heavyweights have not entered that ring yet, so it’s the question of whether all of the hard work and sacrifice be worth it. That will be decided in these next two games.
This article will look at why Scotland cannot produce top players anymore, yet how the calibre and profile of Gareth Bale, for instance, almost single-handily took his country to the top of Group B and one win from qualification to France Euro 2016.
The Dalglishs, Strachans and McLeishs are all dried up and it doesn’t seem they are coming back, which is disappointing. The finger now seems to be pointed at the Scottish Premier League being uncompetitive, with Celtic FC winning all rounds and snapping up all the Scottish talent, which sometimes leads to things stagnating, as they cannot get in front of the foreign prowess of the squad. The belief is that this is making the national team pick up the pieces. I’m going to look at Scotland’s current squad, as well as FIFA’s highest ranking team and lowest ranking, for an idea about what has changed between all these, and if the strength of the Scottish League is a factor or something that is an easy target for outsiders.
Lowest Ranking: 88th (World Rankings) (March 2005) (Next Match: Italy Away)
Manager: Walter Smith
Team (3-2-4-1): Rab Douglas (Celtic), David Weir (Everton), Steven Pressley (Hearts), Gary Caldwell (Hibernian), Gary Naysmith (Everton), Jackie McNamara (Celtic), Paul Hartley (Hearts), Nigel Quashie (Southampton), Barry Ferguson (Blackburn), Lee McCulloch (Wigan Athletic), Kenny Miller (Wolves).
English Premier League players = 3
Scottish Premier League players = 5
This team is only a reflection of the campaign and the team Walter Smith inherited from Berti Vogts. At this time, Celtic and Rangers were fighting for every trophy in Scotland. Both were doing well in Europe at this time, too, with Celtic making it all the way to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003, and Rangers matching that feat in 2008, both losing their respective finals against Porto and Zenit Saint Petersburg. This didn’t reflect on the national team for a couple of years, though. The strength of the Scottish League with Hearts, Celtic and Rangers challenging for the title during that season couldn’t help the team compete internationally, as the squad slid to their lowest ranking in their history. However, things were to change for the country in a short space of time.
Highest Ranking: 13th (October 2007) (Next Match: Georgia Away)
Manager: Alex McLeish
Team (4-5-1): Craig Gordon (Sunderland), Stephen McManus (Celtic), David Weir (Everton), Graeme Murty (Reading), Graham Alexander (Preston North End), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Stephen Pearson (Derby), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), James McFadden (Everton), Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Kenny Miler (Derby).
English Premier League players = 7
Scottish Premier League players = 3
Two and a half years later, the picture couldn’t look any different. The team was flying as high as number thirteen in the World rankings, and beating France twice just before the rankings were announced. The team was on its way to Euro 2008 in Switzerland/Austria but Scotland lost their last two games to Georgia and Italy. This let France sneak into the major tournament the following summer by two points to break Scottish hearts. There can be a case here to beat the Scottish Premier League with; there was only one player not in the highest league in their country, and definitely was an advantage to the national team that these players were at the top of their game every week.
Current rank 31st (September 2015) (Last Match: Georgia Away)
Manager: Gordon Strachan
Team (4-2-3-1): David Marshall (Cardiff City), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa), Russell Martin (Norwich City), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Andrew Robertson (Hull City), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), Scott Brown (Celtic), Shaun Maloney (Hull City), Steven Naismith (Everton), Ikechi Anya (Watford), Steven Fletcher (Sunderland).
English Premier League players = 6
Scottish Premier League players = 2
The current team have won all their home games, but slipped again to Georgia in Tbilisi. Scottish fans will be hoping recent events won’t be a case of déjà vu and affect their qualification designs again. The team has changed and definitely due to the mess north of the border with finances, European qualification has more incentives to compete. This has affected their reasons to move and try their luck in the lower leagues of English football, in the hope they will be the club promoted to the nirvana of the English Premier League. Out of the eleven that started in Tbilisi, four played in the Championship or the United States (MLS) last season; that’s nearly half. No matter how good the player is, if he is not playing at the highest level, he will find it tough to lift game and play well at international level. For instance, Steven Fletcher hasn’t played for Sunderland this season and is struggling with form, yet is somehow still the chosen front man for Strachan. This suggests Scottish players are playing second fiddle to English and foreign exports more than ever.
Conclusion
Before I began this article, I felt the Scottish League was a lazy stick to beat the Scottish national team with; however, upon reflection, it’s not.
It’s a valid point about the standard of which the national team is playing, and the only way it will get better is if the Scottish FA acts. There is no doubt in my mind that Rangers being liquidated has affected every club and team in Scotland, and that includes the national oufit. The FA will want Rangers to be promoted with Hibernian this year, so that all four best-supported teams in Scotland are in the top division and fighting for European qualification with Aberdeen, Hearts and Celtic. As soon as Rangers are promoted from the Scottish championship, the investment will come back; the interest in developing players to be good enough for the top teams will return and, most importantly for the FA, the fan interest will return in their product. Not just in Scotland, but across the UK and the world, this interest will start to make people watch what will be an exciting title race, which usually goes right down to the wire. Once the League is stronger than it is now, it will make club European qualification easier and simpler channels for the Scottish clubs will be open for them to face chances of playing in the Champions League group stages. This will then make the local Scottish players better by coming up against better opposition.
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