Cringeing down the road
Posted on
March 19, 2013 by
Rev. Stuart Campbell
An alert viewer directs us to the Scottish FA’s “Supporter Registration Page”. Click the image below for a bigger picture, but a much smaller sense of self-worth.
We have a vague nagging sensation that something seems to be missing from that list of nationalities, but we just can’t quite put our finger on it. We’re sure it’ll come to us.
Wow, even St Helena gets a mention.
Of course, the answer to your question is obviously “South Sudan”.
Didn’t you hear? We were extinguished!
I keep wanting to buy a globe, but every time I see one they still have Sudan as one country. When will globe people release products that don’t say UK on them – a month after indy? A year? Five years? There’s no way of knowing…
Oh, I’m starting to sound like Willie Rennie.
Did anyone checkout country names next to Albania…. Aye, that’ll be it!?
Yie could’ny make it up!
Shhh! Don’t tell Mr Blatter!
@ Matt
Now there is a crook if ever there was one.
They are using a standard list of countries. But it is a simple matter to add Scotland to that list and there is no excuse for not doing so.
An HTML drop-down country list including Scotland – https://dl.dropbox.com/u/10347839/HTML%20country%20list%20including%20Scotland.txt
It is the old Scottish establishment in action here. Their view is we can have our own football and rugby teams. However, any silly notions of actually running our own affairs are completely out of the question. This is what other small European countries do but not us. We have to remain welded to Westminster, whatever the cost in terms of the social, economic and political price. This is because over 300 years ago our pre-democratic rulers in Scotland made a very costly mistake in the Darien Scheme. The fact that Westminster politicians often do this passes over the heads of the Scottish cringers. In their zeal to do Scotland down they are willing to do whatever their masters in London require of them.
Ach, it’s the SFA we’re talking about here. Nothing more than bumbling ineptitude is to be expected!
Interesting article from the BBC on Friday’s big match, with some mistaken references to non-existent countries corrected:
Former captain Barry Horne expects the UK to beat the UK in their World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park on Friday.
A late Gareth Bale double inspired the UK to a 2-1 win against the Brits at the Cardiff City Stadium in October.
And Horne believes Chris Coleman’s side will complete a double because they are simply a better team than the UK.
“I expect the UK to win in the UK,” said former Everton midfielder Horne, who won 59 Wales caps.
“That will paint a rosy picture. We need to do something against Croatia because the two away games were very poor.
“I hate to say it, but realistically if the campaign has not gone for us completely, it has certainly started to slip away from us. We have to be brutally honest about that.”
The UK are fifth in their six-team qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup, seven points adrift of leaders Belgium and second-placed Croatia.
After the UK match in Glasgow, the UK then host Croatia in Swansea on 26 March.
Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen has been ruled out of the British squad for the double header because of a shoulder injury.
The 23-year-old needs an operation and is expected to be out for up to three months when he finally goes under the knife.
Allen, along with Leeds United striker Steve Morison, had been included in Coleman’s initial squad but both have been ruled out with injury.
Jermaine Easter, on-loan at Millwall from Crystal Palace, and Bristol City’s Lewin Nyatanga have been called up to the squad.
Horne believes the impact new manager Gordon Strachan, who replaced Craig Levein, will have on the UK against the UK will be diluted. Strachan led his side to a 1-0 win over Estonia in his first game in charge in February.
“He has had his first game, he has had that reaction,” said Horne.
“We have better players than them. That is the top and bottom of it. The Brits will have a decent and passionate crowd, but we have got better players.”
Horne claims the UK have improved through this qualifying campaign after a poor start, but insists the national side have to capitalise on the feelgood factor around British football.
Swansea have won the Capital One Cup and are in the Premier League, while Cardiff City are top of the Championship and Wrexham and Newport are chasing promotion from the Blue Square Bet Premier.
“We have had good performances and good results, maybe [we can have] decent crowds to build up the interest in British football nationally,” said Horne.
“When you think that Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham are all doing brilliantly in their respective divisions, it’s a shame the national team isn’t getting the support that we would like.
“With all the clubs doing so well, it would be nice to get the crowds back behind the Welsh national team.
“Who knows, they then may do their bit on the pitch.”
Seems we have something in common with Diego Garcia………..
Shetland will soon be on the list, however, according to Tavish.
That’s what happens when your IT provider buys in your country list from a standard template…
Matt, love your report!
Sorry for a quick off topic, looking at the attitudes to devo max from the Scottish Social Attitudes survey, Defence & Foreign affairs seems to be the only sticking point amongst those surveyed, to essentially Scottish Independence.
http://www.scotcen.org.uk/study/scottish-social-attitudes-2012
We’ve already won the arguments on the economy/taxation, we’ve won or rather Westminster has lost (the plot) and the arguments on Welfare.
It seems to me the only argument we have left to defeat is the Scottish Cringe itself?
@ray, i think it took 7 years before i saw croatia on a globa
In the 1960’s, before “It’s Scotland’s oil” was slogan of the day, Nationalist sentiment was expressed by:
taking our seat (at the UN) between Saudia Arabia and Senegal
It is good to see that in the 50 or so years since then – despite the huge enlargement of that Organization – nobody has taken that seat!
“When will globe people release products that don’t say UK on them – a month after indy? A year? Five years?”
Oh my God. I had never before given a second thought to the poor old globe makers. That’s it for me, it’s a definite no now you’ve pointed out the work involved in creating whole new globes and world maps. What country would we get if we go indy, btw?
“looking at the attitudes to devo max from the Scottish Social Attitudes survey, Defence & Foreign affairs seems to be the only sticking point amongst those surveyed, to essentially Scottish Independence.”
Yes, I noticed there was a certain element of panic in the reporting of this around, “how do we get people to support devo-max”. These figures plus the figures of those who want rid of Trident are interesting.
I saw a slogan a while back it might be worth repeating often: devo-max means Trident and no oil; independence means oil and no Trident.
More satire….
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sy18gl949euediv/2014WorldCupUK.png
The UK punching above its weight as usual!
I think it was Chuckles Green that probably had Scotland removed from the list…
(Only a joke Gers fans)
@cath
I saw a slogan a while back it might be worth repeating often: devo-max means Trident and no oil; independence means oil and no Trident.
Duly posted on Facebook.
Craig Levein infuriated me on Sunday night when talking about MacFadden by saying “He’s too good for the SPL”. What an attitude.
Anyone else suspicious of the timing of the England Scotland match at Wembley in Aug 2014?
Hope it backfires on them.
Common wee Gordy.
@pmcrek
The updated Scotish Social Attitudes Survey makes very interesting reading. Judging by their figures, we would only need around 11% of Devo-Maxers to vote for Independence to be ahead of the game?
I live for the day when a pull down menu, to indicate where you come from, gives me the choice of ‘Scotland’. I absolutely detest having to put ‘UK’ as the country where I live.
I’m sure I’m not alone?
Yes, but doesn’t it say plenty about the bright chaps and chap-esses who are paid by the SFA / Scottish supporters, who haven’t even looked at drop-down menu on this site.
I say this in all kindness, because to even consider that it has been noticed and nothing done about simply beggars belief!
Whit’s that again – about organising a pi**-up in a brewery?
Jeannie
At the risk of being too optimistic, I think 34-38% of the population support independence right now and throughly intend to vote that way, I am convinced by scottish_skier that the majority of 8-10% dont knows that are going to vote are going to vote yes and I dont think the remaining 52-56% of people represented in polls as supporting the union (mainly because its the default position) actually care enough about it to bother voting in any great numbers. The 12-18% that want Holyrood scrapped thats the core of the no vote. I think thats what all the scaremongering is about, trying to whip up enough fervour to make the soft no vote care enough about it and the shift to indy in polls shows its not actually working at the moment.
Scottish products should be marked as SCO or Scotland! Not UK (pronounced as YUK!).
@ David Barrie Grieve
There is only one way to follow your post, but don’t take it personally. UKOK!
It’s strange that folk are getting themselves into a lather about the form but aren’t concerned about our further “absorption” caused by picking the likes of the player on the left.
Scotland on drop downs were never on the majority but at one time it was common enough to make it worth having a check for it. But its years now that it hasn’t been worth the effort of checking.
@ David Beveridge
I’m not up on current players, so I take it he is perhaps not 100% Scottish? A bit like a Findus lasagna. Aren’t we all like that?
@ CameronB
No we’re not all like that. Not everyone has said that their chances are limited with England so they’ll consider the Scotland “option” and that they “spoke to their agent who said it’d be good for their career”.
Not for me thanks. Our hallowed jersey shouldn’t be whored out to people like that.
@ David Beveridge
That is a different kettle of fish and I’m 100% behind you. What I was alluding to was that I’m sure most of us have a little bit of this and that in us, if we go back far enough. I have an English Great Granny and a couple of Scotland caps at under 16.
Who is he anyway?
On some internet forms the “home” country of the website is often at the top of the list while all others are in alphabetical order. I hope someone has checked to make sure the “missing” Scotland option isn’t first in the list?
I once complained to some Scottish retailer’s webmaster about the lack of a Scotland option on their pull-down list and he said it was because there was no top level domain for Scotland. He did, however, also say he could just make one up and I suggested .aa (for Alba) and he duly added it to his list. I’ve only just now realised that the USA does not have its own top level domain (afaik) and yet they’re always on those lists. Maybe webmasters just make up .us for them, or maybe .us really is the top level domain for the USA but it’s rarely used.
You don’t need a top-level domain to add the word ‘Scotland’ to a drop-down list. You just need to know how to edit the list. ~However, most websites will use pre-populated list widgets created by people who don’t recognise Scotland as a country or Scottish as a nationality and most ‘webmasters’ won’t have the first idea how to change that list. It would be an enormous task to update every list on the internet – 14,000 lists on every website, apparently – which is why we should vote ‘No’. An independent Scotland would be cut off from the international community for breaking the internet.
@ Jiggsbro
Aren’t kittens and porn going to break the net anyway?
@Jiggsbro
😉 Love the last bit.
“A top-level domain” Is that what they are called. I think that I read in the not to distant past that Scotland was getting an official one as in
http://www.bladebla.co.sco still to see one. Or did I make it up in a nice dream.
@pmcrek
Just realised I was havering on a previous post. Based on the updated Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, we’d need approx 43% of Devo Maxers to vote Yes to get a majority for Independence. In my defence, I was hanging wallpaper at the time and the fungicide went to my head.
Well, at least they were decent enough to include South Georgia, famously home to thousands of Scotland supporters, and not make the terrible mistake of just lumping it in with the Falklands. So that’s something.
Only one major global hotel chain has Scotland in its drop down list when entering personal details, and that is intercontinental hotels (Holiday Inn) etc… No other major chains seem to do this, so far as I can see.
Any Scottish business which doesn’t have Scotland in its drop down list, deserves to be criticised.
@ CameronB
James Morrison. You have to wonder about a selection policy whereby we pick players who aren’t good enough to even be 4th or 5th choice for their own country. This nonsensical grandparent rule has brought us nothing but garbage.
Agreed there’s probably no such thing as a 100% Scot if you go back far enough. I myself would qualify to represent Canada although VERY tenuously. However, had I been blessed with fitba skill there would’ve been only one colour of jersey for me and it’s not too much to ask that those who get the privilege of wearing one feel what I would’ve felt. 🙂
@ Dave Beveridge
I’m feeling a bit Tim nice but dim, but I just realised there are blogs behind a lot of the names in blue. Yours has got flashing lights, which was nice. Its a bit late for me to get in to now, but I’ll be hoping for plenty of satire when I do. Aren’t you a bit back-to-front though, being a Canadian Scot rather than a Scots Canadian?