The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


The bigger picture

Posted on September 11, 2012 by

We’ve never in our entire lives wanted Scotland to do anything other than win a football match. Tonight, that might change. The dismal but all-too-predictable performance against Serbia on Saturday was another soul-crushing 90 minutes under Craig Levein. His tactic of playing every game looking for a 1-0 win on the counter-attack, despite having a defence almost totally incapable of keeping a clean sheet, was thrown into sharp relief last night as Andy Murray – once a notoriously passive and defensive tennis player who regularly failed at the last (or second-to-last) hurdle – finally completed his transformation into an attacking powerhouse capable of going toe-to-toe with the likes of the brutally talented Novak Djokovic and winning.

From Levein’s pronouncements since the feeble 0-0 draw with Djokovic’s Serbian countrymen at the weekend, the Scotland coach shows no signs of learning the lesson of Murray’s magnificent victory, and seems perversely determined to stick to a losing formula as much out of sheer stubborn petulance as anything else.

Starting the qualifying group with two home points from six would leave Scotland with a mountain to climb, but with eight games to come it wouldn’t be a completely insurmountable one. The catch, however, is that it WOULD by any sane analysis be an impossible task with Levein as manager.

If he plays this defensively at home – and incredibly, it’s by no means inconceivable that he’ll once again line up in a few hours in 4-1-4-1 formation with Kenny Miller alone up front – it’s safe to say our chances of securing the away wins we’d need to stand a chance would be nil. And more to the point, even four points from six are unlikely to be enough with the best teams in the group still to come, if we keep playing this way.

Scotland fans who don’t want the next two years to be over before they’ve begun now face a gruesome reality. Victory over Macedonia would secure Levein’s position for the forseeable future, which would almost certainly doom the qualification attempt to failure. Two more dropped points, on the other hand, might just be enough to see him sacked. The national side currently has a more talented group of players available than at any time in the last decade, and is stronger in attack than in defence for perhaps the first time in 20 years. A more positive manager might well still be able to save the campaign, even from such an inauspicious start.

But tonight’s game is the last point at which that will be true. The next round of matches sees us away to Wales and Belgium, and if Levein is allowed to oversee the dropping of any more points there then the situation will be utterly irretrievable. In this blog’s view, Scotland’s only hope of qualifying for World Cup 2014 is to draw tonight. (A defeat would be a catastrophe too far for any manager to recover.)

So do we pray for victory over 90 minutes no matter what, or take the long-term view? This blog, for more than just footballing reasons, finds itself – albeit uncomfortably, reluctantly and painfully – in the latter camp. What do you think? The poll’s at the top of the grey column just to the right of these words.

41 to “The bigger picture”

  1. MajorBloodnok says:

    I don’t know much about football but I think we need Andy Murray up front.

    Reply
  2. Doug Daniel says:

    I see what you’re saying, but I just can’t bring myself to hope for a Scotland loss. Besides, the next manager will pick Kenny Misser up front on his own too. They all do. The only guy who tried something different got hounded out!
     

    Reply
  3. Iain says:

    …and Lendl in the dugout. Perhaps he could give us some tips on a velvet divorce while he’s at it.

    Reply
  4. Craig P says:

    I believe the chant for tonight is ‘there’s only one Andy Murray’

    If you are going looking for a scenario, how’s about this one. Sean Connery contacts the SFA today (having spent yesterday discussing the issue with SAF over the tennis), offers them a few million to get shot of Levein and get Strachan in. The SFA, being practical men, have no principles that can’t be bought, and Levein’s last game in charge ironically turns out to be his best, as Scotland come out the traps fighting and beat Macedonia 3-0 – a perfect springboard for Strachan taking over the next day.

    I’ll take that scenario, though might take a bit of loopy juice before I can believe in it.

    Reply
  5. Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

    “but I just can’t bring myself to hope for a Scotland loss”

    Me either. As I said, one point from six would probably be unrecoverable, as it would mean we were already behind Macedonia. A draw is the least-worst outcome.

    Reply
  6. Dave says:

    The bottom line is that we’re going nowhere under Levein.  A win tonight will see us limp along just as we’ve been doing before the inevitable in the next few games.  3 competitive wins out of 9 and all by the odd goal against minnows, one in the 97th minute FFS!

    I still can’t say it though.  🙁  

    Reply
  7. velofello says:

    In boxing terms if your style is that of a counterpuncher then you need a sound defence and a good strong counterpunch. 
    if these aren’t your strongest assets then fluidity of movement and constant jabbing at your opponent seems a better option. Keep him away from your chin. If he can’t hit you he can’t knock you out. 
    Seems to me that Scotland needs to adopt the fluidity of movement and one touch (jabbing) passing game. It certainly works for Spain. One-touch passing doesn’t work well on muddy pitches so a winter shutdown would be advisable.
     

    Reply
  8. balgayboy says:

    One can only hope that Andy Murray’s latest fantastic victory and his endeavours to achieve his aims can inspire the Scotland national football team to greater things. Granted the manager has his ego trip which has not proved fruitful nor nice to watch. But let us stick together and support our Scottish teams whatever sport they participate in. All for one and one for all. We will need it come 2014.

    Reply
  9. Silverytay says:

    Never Ever in my entire life have i ever wanted Scotland to draw never mind lose .
    It would go against the grain to want Scotland to lose , no matter what the principle behind it was .
    It would probably be far better if the supporters who have bought their home tickets for the duration of the competition sued under the trades description act .
    money is the only thing the blazers understand . 

    Reply
  10. Appleby says:

    A bitter pill, but perhaps the medicine that is needed. Certainly the outlook as is seems bleak.

    Reply
  11. Juteman says:

    A better scenario.
    Scotland win 10-0, and England are so impressed, they offer the SFA £20,000,000 compensation for Levein.
    The SFA grudgingly accept. 🙂 

    Reply
  12. scottish_skier says:

    @MajorBloodnok says:
    I don’t know much about football but I think we need Andy Murray up front.

    My concern here is he’d hit the ball just a fraction over the net each time… After all, he’s getting good at that now. 😉

    Could never wish Scotland not to win however much I understand the problem described. I’ll hope for Juteman’s scenario.

    Reply
  13. Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

    The better scenario is, of course, that Levein actually picks Jordan fucking Rhodes, sends the team out to have a go, we win 3-0 with a Rhodes hat-trick and the thick twat FINALLY twigs that maybe attacking actually works.

    Reply
  14. Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

    (I know I’m a bit sweary about this, but I really, really hate Craig Levein.)

    Reply
  15. scottish_skier says:

    Just put some cash in the swear box Rev Stu and you’ll be alright.

    Reply
  16. Arbroath 1320 says:

    (I know I’m a bit sweary about this, but I really, really hate Craig Levein)


    Your not are you Rev?
    I’d never have noticed if you hadn’t mentioned it. 😆
     

    Reply
  17. Craig P says:

    Trouble is there was a manager who tried the attacking philosophy.

    George Burley.

    Levein is travelling the well-worn, safety first ‘hard to beat’ road. 

    Reply
  18. Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

    Levein has won the same amount of competitive internationals Burley did (three), except against worse opposition (two were against Leichtenstein, and one of those took us until the 97th minute at home). Burley also had all manner of internal and external crises to deal with, and got hardly any time.

    Reply
  19. KOF says:

    I s it me, or are most footballers not the most intelligent of people? I was thinking about the Scottish rugby teams of the past (when we were actually good) and I was thinking to myself about it. Most of those classic rugby teams came through the university rugby system, so were actually quite intelligent people. ie People who ACTUALLY think on a daily business. Today it seems, most sports people tend to be because they are the fastest or strongest . It’s the only thing that seems to matter nowadays. Just because someone is faster and stronger, doesn’t mean they are any better at whatever sport it is. The best sports people tend to be those who are strong, fast and have the capability to think, hence adapt to any changing dynamic of the game. 
    I don’t really think there is much thinking going on in football and the like, especially in the international side, on either side. Most teams tend to rely on the strongest and fastest aspects to win, which is easy when you have a population tens times as large as your opponent. If a great footballer is one in ten million, then England (for example) would have six great players to choose from. We would have a half.
    We need to rethink our complete sporting strategy to to have any long term sporting viability. We’ve trained all the other muscles in a body, we need to start training the most important muscle. The brain.
    I didn’t realise I was rambling, I’ll stop now. It was just a thought that had been rumbling round the back of my brain. I’m not a sporty person, so don’t really know what goes on with football and such. Just thought I’d share an impression.

    PS – the only “sport” I do actually sit down to watch is the shinty. Get some shinty manager to manage the Scotland football team. They’ll show’em how to attack the game. 😉

    Reply
  20. Dave says:

    Team announced apparently:

       —————-McGregor—————-
    Hutton—Webster—Berra—Dixon
    —————–Caldwell—————-
    ———–Morrison—Maloney——–
    Forrest——————Mackie
    ——————-Miller——————-

    If true it looks like that Morrison clown is well nigh undroppable no matter how crap he is.   🙁

    Reply
  21. Alex McI says:

    Ah well Forrest and Maloney might get some teasing crosses in for the striker. Ah right what is the point of that when there’s no one to get on the end of the fucking cross.
     

    Reply
  22. Juteman says:

    I disagree KOF.
    Maybe that was true before the game went pro. As soon as it went pro, ‘niceness’ became a liability. New Zealand are so succesful because ‘ordinary’ folk play the game there, and can make a living from it. If you need the money, you will do more to win. A ‘brickie’ won’t think twice about elbowing you in the pus. Just look at boxing.
    I remember having a conversation in a pub whilst watching a Scotland rugby game, and said the same thing to a family at the same table.
    One of the women told me that i was being silly, as the pro Scots players only earned £30,000 (at the time) a year, so who would want to play rugby for the money. She seemed shocked when i explained that the only folk in the housing schemes of Dundee earning £30,000 a year were drug dealers.   

    Reply
  23. Gaavster says:

    Scotland line up confirmed here

    link to bbc.co.uk

     

    Reply
  24. Alan says:

    Levein is dodgy and in the pockets of the London Establishment. See, ‘The Big Picture’.

    Reply
  25. KOF says:

    Juteman said, “As soon as it went pro, ‘niceness’ became a liability. New Zealand are so succesful because ‘ordinary’ folk play the game there, and can make a living from it. If you need the money, you will do more to win. A ‘brickie’ won’t think twice about elbowing you in the pus.”

    Yes, I’m sure “niceness” did become a liability, as the game got tougher, people were more willing to putting the elbow in and whatnot. Bullying tactics can indeed be very successful, but does it have to be? Do we have to rely on instinctive violence and greed to progress the game? Are there not “better” ways to win? Shouldn’t there be better ways to win?

    Which is more important, winning, or how we win?

    Anyhoo, just some thoughts from a non-sporty type. 

    Reply
  26. Juteman says:

    Who mentioned bullying?
    Modern rugby is a physical, violent game.  It isn’t a gentlemans game anymore.

    Reply
  27. Craig P says:

    Aye Stuart, good point re Levein’s competitive record being no better than Burley and against inferior opposition. Must confess I left early in stoppage time against Lichtenstein and haven’t been back to Hampden since. That was shaping up as the worst Scotland result of all time and I just couldnae take it. 

    Reply
  28. Alex McI says:

    Just listening to Amy McDonald sing flower of Scotland, what happened to the second verse, did the SFA only pay for two, c’mon tae fuck, if yer going to sing it at least do it justice.

    Reply
  29. charlie says:

    one down…

    Reply
  30. cynicalHighlander says:

    Seems Levein is as popular as Clegg.    for those who don’t want to watch or listen. 
     
    link to sport.stv.tv

    Reply
  31. YesYesYes says:

    cynicalHighlander,

    “for those who don’t want to watch or listen”.

    I’m not sure if I can bear to watch or listen to this anymore. But at least we’ve got a goal back, even Miller couldn’t miss that one. 

    Reply
  32. Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

    Well, we got out of jail on several levels there. Macedonia should have won, and the Belgium-Croatia draw means we’re miraculously only TWO points off the top of the group (with everyone having played the same number of games) when it should have been five. That’s a totally retrievable situation, IF we get a new manager in NOW.

    Reply
  33. cynicalHighlander says:

    IF we get a new manager in NOW.    
    Its all about money as sport is a smokescreen to give greed credibility
    OT for your CyberBrit archives.
    link to facebook.com

    Reply
  34. KOF says:

    Who mentioned bullying?

    Modern rugby is a physical, violent game.  It isn’t a gentlemans game anymore”

    I thought the “bullying” reference was inferred by ” If you need the money, you will do more to win. A ‘brickie’ won’t think twice about elbowing you in the pus.” 
    Rugby has always been a physical, violent game, but it never was a gentleman’s game. The way it was explained to me when I was a child was that it is a “ruffian’s game played by gentlemen”. Yes, you went in hard and fast, you neither gave nor asked for mercy, but you always played with honour. You applauded your opponents as they left the pitch, no matter how tired you were, nor much much you lost by. You played the game, a fair fight, a fair go.
    There were indeed those who would use the scrum to jab you in “the puss” with their elbows and fists, or who feigned injury for tactical purposes. They were and probably still are dis-honourable and untrustworthy people, or just plainly ill-educated. 
    Football was a gentleman’s game played by ruffians. It is played by even bigger ruffians now from my limited viewpoint and not just on the field. 
    If our only strategy to win is to be a bigger better more violent ruffian, then what hope is there? Surely being more intelligent thinking capable beings is better than relying on mere brute force to win? There is more than one way to skin a cat and there are certainly more ways to win than being more violent and dis-honourable than your opponent.

    Just a thought.
    .

    Reply
  35. Dcanmore says:

    Scotland 1 Macedonia 1

    Well there we go, utter shite once again. Sloppy passing and gaping holes with tactics that I couldn’t fathom out (neither could the players) … reminded me of Vogts aaaagh!

    Reply
  36. MajorBloodnok says:

    Scotland 1     Macedonia 1
    England 1     Ukraine 1
    N Ireland 1    Luxembourg 1
    Wales 1         Serbia 6
     
    I see the Better Together London Brit-Nat Olympic euphoria has rubbed off then (but oddly, only on to Serbia).

    Reply
  37. charlie says:

    just as my friend used to paraphrase “Football is a gentleman’s game watched by ruffians. Rugby is a wanker’s game watched by wankers”. Like all generalisations it’s true 😉

    Reply
  38. YesYesYes says:

    So that’s it then. We now travel to Cardiff in a month’s time to play a Wales team on the rebound from their thrashing from Serbia and still, our manager, who sounds more like Bungle from Rainbow with every interview, tells us not to panic. Doesn’t he realise that we’re not panicking, we’re in total fucking despair! Our only hope now is to make a collective investment in Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsay voodoo dolls, can’t be any worse than Craig Levein’s ‘tactics’. 

    Reply
  39. charlie says:

    Got your wish Stu, but my prediction The Jaikie will stay and futhermore announce SFA Rule 224 that ‘ “nae fucker fae a East Coast side wull ever again play fae us dimwits unless they ur fae ersatz Rangers, yon Jambos”. ‘Fuck it if we never ever win, at least we’re stupit’

    And now I hear rugby’s a great game, so many conflicting opinions…

    Cheers all

    Charlie

    Reply
  40. Silverytay says:

    The only thing that can be said about last nights game is that it was slightly more entertaining than Saturday,s boring game .
    There were times last night when I was beginning to wonder what team some of the Scotland players were actually playing for as a lot of the passes were so diabolical .

    Reply
  41. Morag says:

    We’ve never in our entire lives wanted Scotland to do anything other than win a football match.

    That’s your problem.  Right there.

    Signed, a euphoric Andy Murray fan.

    Reply


Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,727 Posts, 1,215,186 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: “If it is, somebody should get them to read this afore they go: https://unherd.com/2025/04/trump-was-a-decoloniser-all-along/ Here’s a snippet: “As for the…Apr 8, 11:57
    • sarah on Mad caps: “Is Dave’s twitter about the 100 Scottish Liberation ambassadors attending the UN Committee 24 meeting in New York in June?…Apr 8, 10:43
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: “Welcome back Dan. The answer hasn’t changed since you were away. The answer continues to be that concerned, competent people…Apr 8, 07:49
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: ““now have to wonder about their validity” Welcome to the club. Vivian O’Blivion famously claimed on here that poot wants…Apr 8, 07:31
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: ““Justice may be on the horizon” Sure, Xaracen, but when, eh? When you look at the shit the UN is…Apr 8, 07:17
    • twathater on Mad caps: “A shoutout for Dave Llewellyn the Indy Ninja for his info on X https://x.com/TheIndyNinja1/status/1909240792356467126/photo/1Apr 8, 02:24
    • Mark Beggan on Mad caps: “Welcome to the machine.Apr 8, 01:56
    • Dan on Mad caps: “Aidan says: at 9:31 pm “You honestly think the Rev should ban people wanting to have serious conversations about Scottish…Apr 8, 00:25
    • Jay on Mad caps: “Vivian O’B, what is this ‘purple pish’ carry-on from you? I have read numerous comments from you but now have…Apr 7, 22:53
    • Aidan on Mad caps: “@Xaracen – you don’t personally rant and rave and that comment wasn’t aimed at you, whilst I don’t think your…Apr 7, 22:01
    • Xaracen on Mad caps: “Aidan said: “Exactly Robert – it’s full of people who rant and rave like you do. Nobody wants to be…Apr 7, 21:56
    • Aidan on Mad caps: “@Twathater (an interest way to project your self hatred but there we go) – I am delighted you aren’t responding…Apr 7, 21:31
    • sarah on Mad caps: “Crowdfunder for Independence Live – it needs a lot more donors. So far it has £900 of the £6500 target.…Apr 7, 21:04
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: “Lots going on in plucky, wee Norway – the country that all sane and rational Scots hold up as the…Apr 7, 20:37
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: “So you’re claiming that US soldiers on RF soil will be summarily dispatched. The RF won’t make any political capital…Apr 7, 19:53
    • PacMan on Mad caps: “The possibility might need to be considered that the higher percentage of support amongst younger voters in polls for independence…Apr 7, 19:49
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: ““after 300+years of neglect and abuse Scotland and Scots are worse off than they have ever been” Here you go…Apr 7, 19:47
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: “Calm down, Bob. This isn’t where you post your application for camp guard in the New Scottish Gulag you and…Apr 7, 19:38
    • PacMan on Mad caps: “To be fair, most of us where taken in by this be-Kind, inclusive, civic nationalism nonsense. Look where it is…Apr 7, 19:35
    • twathater on Mad caps: “@ Robert Hughes TBQH Robert I have more or less stopped responding tae these pricks , it is the same…Apr 7, 17:48
    • Jay on Mad caps: “I wonder what Belarusian govt would say if a US military vehicle drove across the border from Lithuania? Viv. OB,…Apr 7, 14:56
    • sarah on Mad caps: “Couch as in grass not as in putting ones feet up!Apr 7, 12:42
    • Mark Beggan on Mad caps: “Scottish media in panic about Universities and their subsequent bankruptcy. Page after page, comment after comment. Children are trapped in…Apr 7, 12:34
    • sarah on Mad caps: “The “age” question is interesting. Can you remember if younger people were very visible in the 2014 campaign? From memory…Apr 7, 12:03
    • agent x on Mad caps: “Not much in the Scottish press about Swinney’s trip to New York!Apr 7, 10:25
    • Vivian O’Blivion on Mad caps: “An excerpt from an article on the website of the Atlantic Council (see also Radio Free Europe); “Lithuanians paid tribute…Apr 7, 10:21
    • Aidan on Mad caps: “Exactly Robert – it’s full of people who rant and rave like you do. Nobody wants to be associated with…Apr 7, 08:56
    • Robert Hughes on Mad caps: “” it’s also that the campaign is too closely associated with anti-Englishness, sympathy for the Kremlin sometimes and increasingly wild…Apr 7, 08:25
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: “Don’t overlook the ingrained antisemitism which a close read of the clannish, self-congratulatory backslapping posts reveals. But yes, if they…Apr 7, 07:14
    • Hatey McHateface on Mad caps: ““We voters would be in the driving seat – that would be wonderful” Would it though, sarah? In all of…Apr 7, 07:05
  • A tall tale



↑ Top