Scotland Football Team.

[bonzo]

More or less Brian. Even if we managed 2nd in the group there are 9 groups and only 8 play off places and our group is not sitting in the best position right now.

[brian f]

Hutton gets in the squad then for some reason retires.Broonie walks back in a few weeks after retiring.The omens are not good for the England game...?????

[Jim McCreadie]

Charlie Adams flapping his gums and mouthing criticism does team unity no favours! Height, retired, plays for a certain team, someone else should be given a go, pink strips, either SOUR GRAPES or BOVINE EXCREMENT!

FIFA - "S*d Off!" Wear the poppy and let the shiny-bums do their worst! 11AM on November 11th and associated customs have nothing to do with politics or PC!

[bonzo]

Here we go. On the train to that London there's always hope. Is it to early for a beer?

[Jim McCreadie]

It's NEVER too early for ONE beer!

[bonzo]

There lies the problem one always leads to another

[MANBEAR]

There lies the problem one always leads to another

No have one or two enjoy yourself while you can that's what I say hope you enjoy the match.

[bonzo]

Cheers manbear, of course you are right enough

[Jim McCreadie]

The secret to good drinking is knowing when you've had enough!
My Da.

[bonzo]

Oh well 4 games into the campaign and its probably over absolutely scunnered. Still off to watch the Lord mayors show.

[GEODGC]

It pains me to say it but I can't see us qualifying for any major tournament again. I grew up watching Scotland qualify for almost every tournament, I now have two sons in their early 20's that are part of a generation that have never seen us play at a major tournament, a depressing thought.
We seem to be the only home nation that can't produce a team capable of qualifying. Wales are a decent side and have less of a population than us, Northern Ireland are the same.
So, how can we turn it around? We've had Think Tanks, restructuring the youth system, schools of excellence. None of these have worked.
When was the last time we actually produced a player capable of playing on the world stage? Souness? Dalgleish? Certainly not anybody in the last 20 years or so.

[John Donnelly]

George,
I echo your thoughts to the last full-stop.
They set up their academies and throw money at the problem, but the real answer is dead simple and will have virtually zero cost. Get the kids playing in the street with a tanner ba' again. I know this is not feasible these days, but I don't mean it literally.
Get them started young and encourage their enthusiasm. When we were making a mark on the big stage, that was what was happening. Remember Brazil; their kids started playing in bare feet on the beaches.
Get the councils and school and most of all the dads, to get them out there kicking the toes out of their shoes. In my time, I was costing my mother a wee fortune in new shoes every couple of months.
Again, when we were doing things as a nation, Junior football was a big part of out lives in Scotland.
My message is, 'bring back the grass-roots mentality. If we've got thousands of kids 'playing in the street,' the great players will soon be noticed and can be nurtured. If we can't see them, we'll never be able to get them onto the big park. There are thousands of good, even great footballers out there wi' sair thumbs, playing with their play stations.
Buy them football boots instead and we'll be back on that big stage again in no time flat.

JD.