Anyone see this last night?  A report by Jim Traynor on the state of the game in this country.  Loads of different folk on it, but Henry McLeish nailed it for me - he chastised our "top" players for the length of time it takes for them to bring the ball under control.  This is my biggest bugbear about our pros.  It is the fundamental skill to our game and so many can not do it properly and I'll be fucked if I'm forking out over £20 a game for the privilege.

 

But, the programme had contributions from German coaches, Dutch coaches... both sets alluded to the need for technique to be pushed at young ages instead of the "roll the sleeves up and get stuck in" attitude.  Levein said - as if it a genuine eureka moment - Scotland shall play the same style at all age groups from here on in.  The Dutch have only been doing that for over 40 years, afterall...

 

So... there's a kind of sequel on tonight in the form of a debate at 2235 on BBC1. Not sure of the panel but I'm sure some of you'll tune in...

 

Do you have a plan for Scottish Football?

 

Do you have a plan for Scottish Football?

 

Rip it up and start again.

Wasn't overly impressed with last nights programme, didn't really shine any new light on the issues with Scottish Football; poor technique, effort over skill and competition over development at Youth level and all that on the back of a crazy top heavy system of administration and a chronic lack of facilities.  Good to hear about the new National Academy set up and the links with schools but all of this is at least 20 years later than it could have been.

 

Panellists include Scotland manager Craig Levein, Hibs chairman Rod Petrie, Falkirk manager Steven Pressley, SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan and the journalist Jim Traynor. Plus a studio audience of interested parties drawn from across Scottish football

Missed it last night but will tune in to Rob McLean. McLeish is stating the obvious, something many of us have been saying for years. The fact that our football administrators, our coaches and our managers have failed to do anything about the obvious is an indictment of the type of brain power in the Scottish game. A passionate chairman with vision could have leapfrogged this shadow of shite that are SPL teams. It's fuck all to do with money and everything to do with passion, intelligence and vision. We got fuck all of any of this in Scotland.

Interesting point from Shiels, which although about NI is probably relevant to Scottish football. Commented that he would be at courses for coaches to gain their badges etc where they would learn about passing, technique, tactics etc then he would watch the same coaches in the Irish League at the weekend and it would be all hoof and chase.

Plan for scottish football is to remove this fear of change.

Getting fed up with the media, fans and even people who know fuck all about football (if last saturday nights conversations are to be taken seriously) essentially stating the game in scotland will die overnight if yon Blue Meenies vanished and never returned.

 

People say a drastic change is required and the loss of one of the 2 largest clubs in the league or as it seems to me - one of the crutches- is probably as drastic as it can get. I say it would force the rest of the clubs to rethink how to survive and perhaps they might find out having yon currants turning up at their stadium once or twice a season doesnt actually make them that much cash once the extra policing, stadium repairs and surrounding area repairs have been accounted for.

If Sky, espn etc fucked off then the only way to make cash is to get off your ass and get the fans back in. Perhaps start using your youth players instead of bringing in players from the mainland europe equivalents of east fife for vast sums

The theory that celtic would be untouchable is not the case I say. My dad used to say to me the key to winning the league isnt worrying about beating Rangers and Celtic. It is making sure you beat all the other clubs first. I might be living in quckoo land but I say within 3 seasons celtic would be cut down to size. Particularly if their only cash advantage is driven by their own fanbase as opposed to Extra TV revenue.

 

Starting thinking outside the status quo box and seeing what you could achieve!

The Bremen coach had it spot on. He said the clubs all need to work together. The Old Firm need to start by ensuring a fairer split of TV money in Scotland. Perhaps even have some of that TV cash be directed straight into youth academies for each club.

 

Young players don't get a chance because it is so results driven. Look at how many pish foriegners we have, and all other SPL clubs. Managers take a chance on these players because they can provide a quick fix while youngsters are left sitting on the bench/youths and are seen as a last resort or something that can be "given a chance" if the team is comefortable.

 

Coaches on the show all made the right noises about coaching technique but 99% of them don't have the passion or desire to coach in any different way than comes naturally to them - highlighted by Shiels' NI Coaches example.

 

The show also claimed everyone agreed we need 1 body instead of the SFL, SPL and SFA yet cut straight to Doncaster and Regan clearly looking after their own arses trying to slip in phrases like "the bodies need to work closely together" and shite. Until cunts like that are got rid of there will be no proper reform in Scottish football. All looking after their own jobs.

SPL & SFA run by two Englishmen.

 

We get the organisation we deserve.

 

Two fucking weak, ineffective Englishmen to boot.

 

A coupla major fannies.

A coupla major fannies.

 

I'm no concerned where they're from but they definitely seem to be the above and most definitely ineffective.

I caught Traynor's program on Monday night and got round to watching the debate last night. The one that went up most in my estimation (apart from the Werder Bremen coach for remembering that there's more than two teams in Scotland) was Steven Pressley. I don't think there was anything he said that I disagreed with.

 

I agree about Regan and Doncaster being a pair of fucking fuds. 3 governing bodies in this tiny country is a fucking joke. Get 2 of them to fuck.

 

Doncaster was going on about how we can't afford to listen to the fans and go for a bigger (at least 16 teams) league because it would leave the game £20m short. If we went for a 20 team league that's us back up to 38 games and would surely reduce that £20m figure? Aye we'd have less games against the old firm but so fucking what?

 

On a slight tangent one thing that struck me (again) is the huge amount of fucking sympathy Rangers are getting for the predicament they're in. If it was Aberdeen it'd be 100% pure hostility. Motherwell, Gretna and Dundee didn't get this. I'm sick of hearing how unfortunate they are. No. They've been run by crooks and it's biting them in the arse. Finally! Petrie was absolutely correct in what he was implying. Rangers have no one to blame but themselves.

To be fair there are plans to merge the 3 organisations (along with a pyramid and shake up of youth football) but it'll never happen overnight.  But even with all the vested interests the sfa have had major structural change in the last year or so with a lot of committees etc streamlined or voted out of existence.  They are trying.

To be fair there are plans to merge the 3 organisations (along with a pyramid and shake up of youth football) but it'll never happen overnight.  But even with all the vested interests the sfa have had major structural change in the last year or so with a lot of committees etc streamlined or voted out of existence.  They are trying.

 

 

They say they're trying. I'll believe it when I see it.

I also couldn't really care less where an individual comes from if they are competent but where they are recruited from another country - in these two cases from our auld enemy - AND they are patently INCOMPETENT, then it's quite obvious that the recruiters are not fit for purpose.

 

This is more evidence to support the case that football continues to be mismanaged. From Ernie Walker to Jim Farry to Lex Gold, all we've ever had are exploiting self-serving arseholes in Scottish fitba. Of more immediate concern to me is the exploiting self-serving arsehole who owns less than 30% of AFC and yet has been allowed to run the club into the dirt.

Agree with you tyrant re Pressley. A rare beacon of passion and common sense on the programme.

 

It was a shite "debate". Traynor's self-importance, bun-eating ill-disciplined fat cunt that he is, and Levein's wooden-ness stood out painfully. Quite liked Rod Petrie though.

Agree with you tyrant re Pressley. A rare beacon of passion and common sense on the programme.

 

It was a shite "debate". Traynor's self-importance, bun-eating ill-disciplined fat cunt that he is, and Levein's wooden-ness stood out painfully. Quite liked Rod Petrie though.

 

Levein's "you need to be able to play the long ball" crap in response to Mark Wotte underlining the importance of the emphasis of pass and move and dribbling made me die a little inside.  Flashbacks of his Hertz team with Mark de Vries and Kevin McKenna filled my mind.

 

It's that sort of response and attitude that has held our game back for years and this cretin is the manager of the national team.  What next...? Play a match with no one in the forward positions..? Oh... wait...

Levein's "you need to be able to play the long ball" crap in response to Mark Wotte underlining the importance of the emphasis of pass and move and dribbling made me die a little inside.  Flashbacks of his Hertz team with Mark de Vries and Kevin McKenna filled my mind.

 

It's that sort of response and attitude that has held our game back for years and this cretin is the manager of the national team.  What next...? Play a match with no one in the forward positions..? Oh... wait...

 

 

Levein is a fucking horrible cunt. That was the lowest point in my Scotland Football Club supporting life.

Quite liked Rod Petrie though.

 

He was speaking shite about his season tickets though and got onto that topic by not listening to what the Killie fans was saying about the price of traveling to football before paying at the turnstile.

Levein's "you need to be able to play the long ball" crap in response to Mark Wotte underlining the importance of the emphasis of pass and move and dribbling made me die a little inside.  Flashbacks of his Hertz team with Mark de Vries and Kevin McKenna filled my mind.

 

It's that sort of response and attitude that has held our game back for years and this cretin is the manager of the national team.  What next...? Play a match with no one in the forward positions..? Oh... wait...

 

I turned the programme off after that, thought there was little point in listening to anything else after his ridiculous remark

He was speaking shite about his season tickets though and got onto that topic by not listening to what the Killie fans was saying about the price of traveling to football before paying at the turnstile.

I suggest you may be mistaken mizer me old fruit.

 

Petrie made the point that a ST at Hibs equates to £12 a game. That's affordable and reasonable. How much it costs for away fans to get there is not a consideration he could reasonably be expected to consider. Kilmarnock is a shit hole but a carload of four of them would be less than a fiver a head in diesel for their knocked off motor and probably free given that they're using red diesel they chored fae some low paid mink's place of work.

Finally watched the debate.  I take my hat off to Pressley, he's not the utter cunt I thought he was and spoke a lot of sense.  Petrie was good too, if only Milne stared (a) some of his views and (b) his ability to string a sentence together. 

 

I don't like Neil Doncaster, he can get to fuck with his "you have to strike a balance between what the supporters want and reality" - condescending twat.

Finally watched the debate.  I take my hat off to Pressley, he's not the utter cunt I thought he was and spoke a lot of sense.  Petrie was good too, if only Milne stared (a) some of his views and (b) his ability to string a sentence together. 

 

I don't like Neil Doncaster, he can get to fuck with his "you have to strike a balance between what the supporters want and reality" - condescending twat.

 

I've been wanting Pressley as our next manager for a while now. Very switched on and seems to understand the fundamentals of the game.

Yeah He really came across well, not the first time i have thought that about him in the past year.  Much prefer Adams as our next manager though

I've been wanting Pressley as our next manager for a while now. Very switched on and seems to understand the fundamentals of the game.

 

I wouldn't object to this.

 

He's a right cunt, but i'd be more than happy for that cunt to be our cunt.

 

There's no chance of this happening though, as we'd need a board with some sort of vision and a plan for the future to appoint someone who might bring long term improvement to the club.