Scotland fans have been starved of great moments over the past decade or two. The Tartan Army might be renowned as one of the most vibrant fanbases in all of football, but even they have had their faith tested. Crowds are dwindling, as is the countrywide enthusiasm for the national team. These are bleak times.
The closest Scotland has come to a golden age since they last qualified for a major tournament back in 1998 was during qualification for the 2008 European Championships, specifically 2007. It was a year that saw the Dark Blues lose just three times in a group that contained the incumbent World Cup winners, the runners-up and a side that made the quarter finals in the same competition.
Alex McLeish was the manager at that time, riding a wave of national euphoria all the way to a showdown with Italy at Hampden in Scotland’s final qualifier. Of course, we now know how the story ends, with an all too familiar tale of glorious failure, but nonetheless, this is remembered as a good time to be a Scotland fan. It’s the primary reason why McLeish is on the brink of returning as Scotland boss.
And yet while it’s not untrue that things were at least rosier for Scotland, there has been a great deal of revisionism applied to this time in the national team’s history. Scotland might have come close to emerging from the group of death, but they were hardly sweeping through the competition playing dynamic, enthralling football. For the most part, Scotland at this time were dull. Dreary. Maybe even boring.
Indeed, McLeish is not a manager renowned for his attractive style of play. Aston Villa fans will tell you enough about that. So taking into account the complaints that were made of Gordon Strachan during his team as Scotland boss, that his sides weren’t imaginative enough, why is McLeish now deemed the solution?
Of course, the answer can be found in the make up of the Scottish FA’s board. There is a fundamental lack of foresight at the top of the governing body, resulting in a manager’s shortlist which has already seen one former national team boss, Walter Smith, turn down the position before they approached another.
If the Scottish FA wanted a national team manager who they already knew, had experience of the role and no recent track record in playing dynamic football, why did they force out Strachan in the first place? The case for Strachan’s exit was a strong one and his departure suggested a new direction for Scotland. Instead, they are only covering old tracks, taking the national team back to where it was 10 years ago. And that place might not be as glorious as we remember it.
