He was no worse than the rest of them to be fair. Talentless bunch with poor touch and a geriatric striker. At least he has some ability. Scottish football is a complete and utter joke.
Depends what you’re judging it against, Scotland is tiny compared to England yet the best team in Scotland just knocked the best team in Sweden out of Europe and the second best team just knocked the second best team in Poland out - victories over the equivalent teams from two countries with significantly bigger populations.
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
I am comparing it to the football I watch every week which pisses all over Scottish football, including the best of it. I watched today's game to see Aribo and I thought the level was even worse than I was expecting. Heavy touches, wrong decisions, poor defending, little skill on display. Celtic were better than Rangers but not by much.
He was no worse than the rest of them to be fair. Talentless bunch with poor touch and a geriatric striker. At least he has some ability. Scottish football is a complete and utter joke.
Depends what you’re judging it against, Scotland is tiny compared to England yet the best team in Scotland just knocked the best team in Sweden out of Europe and the second best team just knocked the second best team in Poland out - victories over the equivalent teams from two countries with significantly bigger populations.
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
Why don't Scotland produce any world class players anymore? There must be a reason that Scottish talent is so thin compared to similarly sized countries like Holland and Belgium.
I am comparing it to the football I watch every week which pisses all over Scottish football, including the best of it. I watched today's game to see Aribo and I thought the level was even worse than I was expecting. Heavy touches, wrong decisions, poor defending, little skill on display. Celtic were better than Rangers but not by much.
He was no worse than the rest of them to be fair. Talentless bunch with poor touch and a geriatric striker. At least he has some ability. Scottish football is a complete and utter joke.
Depends what you’re judging it against, Scotland is tiny compared to England yet the best team in Scotland just knocked the best team in Sweden out of Europe and the second best team just knocked the second best team in Poland out - victories over the equivalent teams from two countries with significantly bigger populations.
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
Why don't Scotland produce any world class players anymore? There must be a reason that Scottish talent is so thin compared to similarly sized countries like Holland and Belgium.
Belgium has twice the the population of Scotland and Netherlands three times - they really aren’t “similar sized countries”.
He was no worse than the rest of them to be fair. Talentless bunch with poor touch and a geriatric striker. At least he has some ability. Scottish football is a complete and utter joke.
Depends what you’re judging it against, Scotland is tiny compared to England yet the best team in Scotland just knocked the best team in Sweden out of Europe and the second best team just knocked the second best team in Poland out - victories over the equivalent teams from two countries with significantly bigger populations.
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
Why don't Scotland produce any world class players anymore? There must be a reason that Scottish talent is so thin compared to similarly sized countries like Holland and Belgium.
Belgium has twice the the population of Scotland and Netherlands three times - they really aren’t “similar sized countries”.
Scotland also has a significantly higher population than Croatia, who are consistently producing world class players...
Croatia has a tiny population compared to England but they still knocked us out of the World Cup. Iceland has a tiny population compared to Croatia but they knocked us out of the Euros. I am dreading meeting The Faroe Islands in any football competition!
He was no worse than the rest of them to be fair. Talentless bunch with poor touch and a geriatric striker. At least he has some ability. Scottish football is a complete and utter joke.
Depends what you’re judging it against, Scotland is tiny compared to England yet the best team in Scotland just knocked the best team in Sweden out of Europe and the second best team just knocked the second best team in Poland out - victories over the equivalent teams from two countries with significantly bigger populations.
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
Why don't Scotland produce any world class players anymore? There must be a reason that Scottish talent is so thin compared to similarly sized countries like Holland and Belgium.
Belgium has twice the the population of Scotland and Netherlands three times - they really aren’t “similar sized countries”.
Fair enough about the relative populations but the point stands about talent production. Scotland haven't produced a world class player in over 30 years, Holland in particular and Belgium must have produced scores. There’s got to be a reason.
They used all their luck up in the past . Dalglish , Souness , Hansen , Gemill, Gordon Strachan etc
I used to enjoy watching the sweaties as a youngster in the World Cups , cheering them on before I turned as bitter as them and now rejoice in their shitness
He was no worse than the rest of them to be fair. Talentless bunch with poor touch and a geriatric striker. At least he has some ability. Scottish football is a complete and utter joke.
Depends what you’re judging it against, Scotland is tiny compared to England yet the best team in Scotland just knocked the best team in Sweden out of Europe and the second best team just knocked the second best team in Poland out - victories over the equivalent teams from two countries with significantly bigger populations.
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
Why don't Scotland produce any world class players anymore? There must be a reason that Scottish talent is so thin compared to similarly sized countries like Holland and Belgium.
Robertson is probably the best left back in the premier league, but i'm struggling to think of any other top class Scottish players. Tierney perhaps but we haven't seen him at Arsenal yet.
To Santaclaus,they dont produce them because like most english clubs,they prefer to buy the finished articlle(They often turn out to be a waste of space)therefore like most english clubs the kids done get a chance.
Not to mention that Celtic and Rangers also have the problem of losing their kids to the top six down here
Islam Feruz who didnt make it and Billy Gilmour who both went to Chelsea are examples of that
Then you've got Ryan Gauld who ended up @ Sporting Lisbon after being tipped as the "next Messi" but again didnt make it, whilst Jack Harper who came through the Real Madrid academy has been pretty much ignored by Scotland Squads for some reason, despite doing quite well in Spain over the last few seasons
Think Jack Harper's case is Scotland's issue to be honest... Remember reading that Ricky Sbragia hadnt called him up for a Scotland youth team because he was a luxury player and opted for players with size instead - Of course he may not have been worth a call up regardless but when thats your style of Football with the kids, what hope do you have for the senior team?
To Santaclaus,they dont produce them because like most english clubs,they prefer to buy the finished articlle(They often turn out to be a waste of space)therefore like most english clubs the kids done get a chance.
I think there’s a massive social issue at grassroots level. Scotland has the highest rate of heart disease outside of the US and it’s children are incredibly unhealthy on average compared to their equivalents in the western world. One thing that strikes me when I’m in Scotland is how few football pitches I see in parks compared to England.
I believe, as a % of population, Scotland has (or thereabouts) the highest aggregate attendances of any nation on earth but Scotland has become a nation of football watchers rather than football players.
If I were in charge I would:
- change the league structure to two tiers of 16 teams - change to a summer calendar like some Scandinavian nations. This would have the dual effect of allowing football to be played in better weather and the Scottish league wouldn’t have to compete every Saturday for attention with the English league, which is a war it cannot win. Additionally there is evidence that a summer league calendar benefits teams in the early stages of the European competitions, the point at which lots of Scottish clubs get knocked out - give up on Hampden, it’s an unnecessary millstone around Scottish footballs neck, costs a fortune, is never full for the national team and is an absolutely dreadful stadium to boot - have the Scottish government and Scottish FA devise an actio plan that gets more kids playing the game which will go someways to address the health issues described above and could create another pipeline for talent to be spotted
If the Rangers fans are turning on him (cowardly social media twats) then that is indeed indicative of the secterianism of Scottish football and the very nature of the annual 2 horse race for the title, Rangers could so very easily have been booted out of the leagues up there but their huge following was far too irresistable to the provisional teams, unlike poor old Bury.
If the Rangers fans are turning on him (cowardly social media twats) then that is indeed indicative of the secterianism of Scottish football and the very nature of the annual 2 horse race for the title, Rangers could so very easily have been booted out of the leagues up there but their huge following was far too irresistable to the provisional teams, unlike poor old Bury.
What would turning on Aribo have to do with “the sectarianism of Scottish football”?
To Santaclaus,they dont produce them because like most english clubs,they prefer to buy the finished articlle(They often turn out to be a waste of space)therefore like most english clubs the kids done get a chance.
I think there’s a massive social issue at grassroots level. Scotland has the highest rate of heart disease outside of the US and it’s children are incredibly unhealthy on average compared to their equivalents in the western world. One thing that strikes me when I’m in Scotland is how few football pitches I see in parks compared to England.
I believe, as a % of population, Scotland has (or thereabouts) the highest aggregate attendances of any nation on earth but Scotland has become a nation of football watchers rather than football players.
If I were in charge I would:
- change the league structure to two tiers of 16 teams - change to a summer calendar like some Scandinavian nations. This would have the dual effect of allowing football to be played in better weather and the Scottish league wouldn’t have to compete every Saturday for attention with the English league, which is a war it cannot win. Additionally there is evidence that a summer league calendar benefits teams in the early stages of the European competitions, the point at which lots of Scottish clubs get knocked out - give up on Hampden, it’s an unnecessary millstone around Scottish footballs neck, costs a fortune, is never full for the national team and is an absolutely dreadful stadium to boot - have the Scottish government and Scottish FA devise an actio plan that gets more kids playing the game which will go someways to address the health issues described above and could create another pipeline for talent to be spotted
Amazing to think that all of Celtic’s 1967 European Cup winning team were born within 30 miles of Glasgow.
Scotland also produced a lot of very good players in the 70s and 80s but, since then, very few indeed. I’m guessing that a lot fewer kids are now playing the game
I remember Bill Shankly saying that you'd never find a decent player who lived in a centrally heated house.
In those days it was common for a manager throughout the English leagues to look to Scotland to bring in a hard nut player to stiffen up the defence. To be fair there was also a fair amount of decent talent around too, such as Alan Gilzean, Denis Law, Billy Bremner, Pat Crerand, George Graham ... in fact the list goes on ... Scottish players used to populate most teams in the English leagues back in the 60s and 70s.
Not sure what went wrong, maybe the requirements have changed now with the modern game. Discipline, Intelligence, fitness, diet lifestyle.
The Scots haven't changed with the times, they are a proud people ... but you know what pride comes before don't ya?
If the Rangers fans are turning on him (cowardly social media twats) then that is indeed indicative of the secterianism of Scottish football and the very nature of the annual 2 horse race for the title, Rangers could so very easily have been booted out of the leagues up there but their huge following was far too irresistable to the provisional teams, unlike poor old Bury.
What would turning on Aribo have to do with “the sectarianism of Scottish football”?
If the Rangers fans are turning on him (cowardly social media twats) then that is indeed indicative of the secterianism of Scottish football and the very nature of the annual 2 horse race for the title, Rangers could so very easily have been booted out of the leagues up there but their huge following was far too irresistable to the provisional teams, unlike poor old Bury.
If the Rangers fans are turning on him (cowardly social media twats) then that is indeed indicative of the secterianism of Scottish football and the very nature of the annual 2 horse race for the title, Rangers could so very easily have been booted out of the leagues up there but their huge following was far too irresistable to the provisional teams, unlike poor old Bury.
What would turning on Aribo have to do with “the sectarianism of Scottish football”?
Sam Lawrie, Alan Campbell, Matt Tees, Willie Duff, Charlie Wright, Mark Reid, Stuart Balmer, Colin Walsh, just a few of many that immediately spring to mind that I have seen in my lifetime.
I was going to mention him but he was really South African.....although he had a Scottish mother. Did you know, as well as football, he also represented Scotland at baseball in The Olympics. I went to his funeral in Boston a few years back. He once gave me a bollocking for running on the pitch and having a go at the ref at The Valley.....I was about 15 at the time. He had just lashed home a fantastic free kick into the top right hand corner at the Jimmy Seed End but the ref disallowed it because he hadn’t blown for it to be taken, despite the fact the keeper never would have saved it anyway. Back in those days I was led back around the pitch (with our fans cheering me all the way), to the main stand by a club official, given a little ticking off, told not to do it again and given a terrific seat on the halfway line.
Comments
Scottish football is rubbish compared to English, but for a small country it’s actually pretty astonishing that it is able to support its league structure, especially with the worlds most watched sports league just over the border - I think the “complete and utter joke” stuff on this thread is a bit much.
Why don't Scotland produce any world class players anymore? There must be a reason that Scottish talent is so thin compared to similarly sized countries like Holland and Belgium.
Dalglish , Souness , Hansen , Gemill, Gordon Strachan etc
I used to enjoy watching the sweaties as a youngster in the World Cups , cheering them on before I turned as bitter as them and now rejoice in their shitness
Islam Feruz who didnt make it and Billy Gilmour who both went to Chelsea are examples of that
Then you've got Ryan Gauld who ended up @ Sporting Lisbon after being tipped as the "next Messi" but again didnt make it, whilst Jack Harper who came through the Real Madrid academy has been pretty much ignored by Scotland Squads for some reason, despite doing quite well in Spain over the last few seasons
Think Jack Harper's case is Scotland's issue to be honest... Remember reading that Ricky Sbragia hadnt called him up for a Scotland youth team because he was a luxury player and opted for players with size instead - Of course he may not have been worth a call up regardless but when thats your style of Football with the kids, what hope do you have for the senior team?
I believe, as a % of population, Scotland has (or thereabouts) the highest aggregate attendances of any nation on earth but Scotland has become a nation of football watchers rather than football players.
If I were in charge I would:
- change the league structure to two tiers of 16 teams
- change to a summer calendar like some Scandinavian nations. This would have the dual effect of allowing football to be played in better weather and the Scottish league wouldn’t have to compete every Saturday for attention with the English league, which is a war it cannot win. Additionally there is evidence that a summer league calendar benefits teams in the early stages of the European competitions, the point at which lots of Scottish clubs get knocked out
- give up on Hampden, it’s an unnecessary millstone around Scottish footballs neck, costs a fortune, is never full for the national team and is an absolutely dreadful stadium to boot
- have the Scottish government and Scottish FA devise an actio plan that gets more kids playing the game which will go someways to address the health issues described above and could create another pipeline for talent to be spotted
Scotland also produced a lot of very good players in the 70s and 80s but, since then, very few indeed. I’m guessing that a lot fewer kids are now playing the game
In those days it was common for a manager throughout the English leagues to look to Scotland to bring in a hard nut player to stiffen up the defence. To be fair there was also a fair amount of decent talent around too, such as Alan Gilzean, Denis Law, Billy Bremner, Pat Crerand, George Graham ... in fact the list goes on ... Scottish players used to populate most teams in the English leagues back in the 60s and 70s.
Not sure what went wrong, maybe the requirements have changed now with the modern game. Discipline, Intelligence, fitness, diet lifestyle.
The Scots haven't changed with the times, they are a proud people ... but you know what pride comes before don't ya?
Did you know, as well as football, he also represented Scotland at baseball in The Olympics.
I went to his funeral in Boston a few years back. He once gave me a bollocking for running on the pitch and having a go at the ref at The Valley.....I was about 15 at the time. He had just lashed home a fantastic free kick into the top right hand corner at the Jimmy Seed End but the ref disallowed it because he hadn’t blown for it to be taken, despite the fact the keeper never would have saved it anyway.
Back in those days I was led back around the pitch (with our fans cheering me all the way), to the main stand by a club official, given a little ticking off, told not to do it again and given a terrific seat on the halfway line.