Like most football reporters, I’ve enjoyed highs and lows.
Among the highs was Scotland’s 1-0 win in Paris 16 years ago, when James McFadden scored a wonder goal which ranks in the top ten of Scottish strikes.
Working for BBC television, I sat 20 yards diagonally behind the French goal as McFadden unleashed the shot which sent a nation wild.
In my post-match interview with boss Alex McLeish, he was ecstatic at the result. But as Scots we’d been there often enough to know that moments like that come round very infrequently in our football history.
Watching France dismantle Scotland 4-1 in the midweek friendly is the kind of result which brings us back down to earth.
Steve Clarke and the players have a done a magnificent job in qualifying for Euro 2024 in Germany and we’ve got the best squad we’ve had in a long time.
But when the big boys in football bring their A game, we fall far short of what’s needed in athleticism, technique, touch, thought, and movement to offer a serious challenge.
There was arguably a time back in the Dalglish and Souness era when a Scotland team could boast two or three players of genuine world class.
Even then we usually managed to fall at the hurdles but there was little doubt of the quality we could field.
That time is long gone.
In fairness, the Scotland support adopts the Rudyard Kipling approach of treating the two impostors of triumph and disaster just the same.
Looking forward to Germany next summer, we’re assured of some serious partying. But long experience sadly suggests that our results won’t match our current reverie.
Time for a Summer football discussion?
Preparations for football in Scotland are regularly weather dependant, as recent events prove.
There’s often an impossible balancing act for clubs trying to get games on, caught between risking the wrath of fans who are already travelling or preparing to, while having to adhere to safety advice of police, the authorities and match officials.
Then there’s the additional element of trying to find training facilities for teams when the elements conspire to thwart preparations.
Dundee United won’t have been alone in having their training plans ‘scuppered’, as Jim Goodwin described it, with 50 MPH winds creating near impossible conditions for any serious ball work at their St Andrews base.
☔️ Stopping at nothing to ensure we're ready for the challenges ahead#PARUTD | #cinchChamp | #DUFC pic.twitter.com/eq6L0seGKa
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) October 20, 2023
Wind and rain are constant companions in the Scottish season.
Despite clubs like United having access to much better facilities than previously, there are still limits, particularly when it comes to finding affordable and suitable indoor facilities in the event of inclement outdoor conditions.
Every now and then, summer football crops up as a hot topic in Scotland. We’ve rehearsed the arguments so many times — for and against — that it’s become a national pastime.
BREAKING: Dundee and St Johnstone games OFF as Storm Babet also hits Arbroath v Raith Rovers https://t.co/hllIVon87M pic.twitter.com/IIPbJkndnd
— The Courier Sport (@thecouriersport) October 20, 2023
But despite the fact that a Scottish summer is an imprecise science at the best of times, I’m still a fan of giving it a try.
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