A RANDOM Scotland team of almost 40 years ago contained four players later voted into the country’s greatest ever XI, a quartet of European Cup winners and only two would end their careers having not played in a European final.
And they weren’t even that great in October 1980 because we drew 0-0 at Hampden with an average Portugal right at the beginning of what ultimately was a successful World Cup qualifying campaign. Do you remember them?
The side picked by Jock Stein that cold night was Rough; McGrain, Miller, Hansen, F Gray; Strachan, Gemmill, Souness, Robertson; Dalglish, A Gray. The game itself was notable for two reasons. The referee turned down two big penalty appeals for the Scots and it was my first ever match at Hampden.
Danny McGrain, Willie Miller, Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish were world class and have yet to be bettered by any of their fellow countrymen. John Robertson and Alan Hansen were no slouches either, starring as they did for two of the most successful English club sides of all time.
Only Alan Rough at Partick Thistle got nowhere close to European success. Archie Gemmill was surprisingly dropped by Brian Clough the night before the 1979 final. How was this seven-year old supposed to know that a game without any goals would prove to be something of a high in terms of supporting the national team?
But here we all go again. Another match, another campaign and whether you are a hack, ordinary supporter or those attention seekers who wear kilts and feathers in their hats to games (it’s not a great look, chaps) we head to Hampden in the hope something dreadful won’t happen this time.
The thing about being a Scotland supporter is that even when the team are good they are at the exact same time also a bit rubbish.
My first memory was the 1978 World Cup when, after the win over Holland, my mother had to explain to her young son that we had been knocked out the competition, which was some way from being the winners which is what my little brain had worked out had just happened.
My own mother! The woman has been trying and failing to build bridges with me since then.
In 1998, Craig Brown’s side finished bottom of their group after losing 3-0, we were lucky to get zero, to the might of Morocco, and that was in a World Cup. That’s when we had tangible success, the last time we did anything of note other than invading small eastern European countries and taking just two days to drink all the alcohol.
During the years when we’ve failed to qualify for anything, there have been four third-place finishes in qualifying, a play-off defeat to England when we won at Wembley and were still knocked out, Holland humped us 6-0 thanks in part to a goalkeeping display by Rab Douglas which was so strange that it was nominated for the Turner Prize that year, and the SFA felt that Berti Vogts was the man to lead us to the promised land.
And then just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, George Burley stumbled into view. Is it any wonder that some of us feel less than thrilled these days about international football?
On Saturday, for the ninth time, our brave lads take on Lithuania, a football team so boring that the only subject anyone wants to ask their manager, Edgaras Jankauskas, is about how mental was it to work under Vladimir Romanov at Hearts.
And yet the stadium will be more or less full, and that’s after it was revealed Radio Clyde’s George Bowie is to play a set before the match. If you are unaware of who George is, let’s just say that when it comes to music his big brother David got all the taste and talent.
You didn’t need such gimmicks back in the day because watching Dalglish in the flesh was worth the admission money on its own. That didn’t apply to me as I was lifted over the turnstiles, something I continued to at least try well into my thirties.
What we are all looking for is a win for the boys in blue and to play some good football. Neither of these goals is asking a lot from a group of players who have talent, a work ethic and thankfully a passion for Scotland.
Speak to Robert Snodgrass and you will see what playing for his country means to him, and the bold Snoddy has a way of making the rest of the dressing room feel the way he does. There is room for some confidence.
Lithuania and Slovakia away on Tuesday are must-win games. Four points will not be enough because, and this is taking England out of the equation, we will mess up somewhere down the line, so best to bank as many wins right now before the inevitable disaster.
Shaun Maloney was right to say there is a desperation all over the country with regards to the national football team. For too long it’s not been close to good enough and that easily can change in this campaign.
There will be at least one young supporter making their Scotland debut and it would be nice to think they would leave with a lovely memory before a lifetime of defeats and regret.
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