Further to Tom's account of taking in the match today - I didn't even bother leaving the house. The idea of wading through a sea of Jimmy-hatted wanks who had taken the game as license to act as if civilisation were a fledgling concept filled me with dizzying inertia. Not that I didn't care - it is simply that I can't face people when Scotland lose and I couldn't see how I'd be in any kind of nick to handle quite so abundant a crop of utter tubes even if we'd miraculously won.
Having lost the match and gone out, I feel physically ill. When Lord? Fucking when are we going to grasp opportunity instead of congratulating ourselves in failure? When are we going to loup the dike of success, instead of accepting the role of also-rans? How many times have we done this now as a footballing nation - come close to achievement only to fall at the last?
Because the harsh fact of the matter is that this campaign has seen us snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with our results in the last two games. Ultimately, for all the team's efforts, they have achieved next to nothing.
Tangibly, we'll get a slightly easier draw for the World Cup qualifiers maybe. That's all. Wait until next summer. Then it will all sink in.
For me the fact that we played well, beat France twice and still went out makes this harder to take, not easier. Where people are drawing the comfort from here escapes me.
I honestly don't know why we bother with the polavar of a professional football set-up if the national attitude to the sport is "win, lose draw, whatever, lets aw get pished." It's this wholesale acceptance of mediocrity that allowed debacles like the Berti Vogts era to happen.
I'm fucking pissed off we're out. Bet the players are too. And I bet the police van fulls of idiot jimmy hat wearing buffoons up on GBH charges come Monday morning will try and pass their secret rage off on "just having a drink and a laugh".
End of the day, the table doesn't lie - we had and still have capable players, now we need the correct attitude and, just for me, a lot less of these embarrassing happy-go-lucky fans.
2 comments:
I don't totally disagree with you there, Fraser but, I will say that I'm satisfied with the progress we have made under both Walter Smith and now Alex McLeish.
You know how poor a team we were when Smith took over; to be even talking about the fact that we should or shouldn't have beaten Italy is a remarkable turnaround in events.
Yes, it's another "glorious failure" but, faced with the alternative (Berti Vogts in charge, circa 80th in the World), I am pleased with what we've "achieved". That is to say, we're now back in a position where we can reasonably expect to qualify for the World Cup. If we don't, then i'll be upset.
What annoyed me was that everyone had their brave face pre-arranged just in case we "did a Scotland". I heard dozens of people coming out with the old " as long as we play well and try hard..." loser talk before we'd even kicked off. Then of course we get beat in a match we should have won and the team are treated like national heroes. Why try harder?
I'm not trying to be a wet blanket here nor am I suggesting that the team didn't do really well. But the campaign was about getting to Euro 2008, and as I said the hurt will really sink in next summer when we're watching England after they have unbelievably jammed through playing in a tournament we should be in.
I'd also be extremely careful of this "we'll walk World Cup qualification" attitude that seems to be spreading as well to be honest. I'm not sure players who are treated like Gods when the fail are in the right atmosphere to just assume success.
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