The exit of three Scottish clubs from the Europa League on Thursday night was disappointing to say the least. However, I personally don't believe Scottish football is at that lower ebb.
While the Scottish domestic scene is undoubtedly encountering a rough period, both on and off the pitch, in truth what do the Scots really expect? They are a small nation and have punched above their weight for many years.
As recently as 2007, Celtic took AC Milan (the eventual winners) all the way to extra time in their second round knock out match at the San Siro. Earlier that same season, the Hoops defeated Manchester United at Celtic Park. A year later, Walter Smith guided Rangers to the UEFA Cup final in dramatic style, overseeing several away performances as good as any one could hope for in European competition. So why the sudden demise?
As recently as last season, Rangers were still involved in European competition up to March. So why should this be deemed a failure? It is true that both Glasgow sides are massively supported around the globe, but they are involved in a league without the finance, competition or infrastructure to really expect any more than that.
It should also be noted that during the late 1960s, 70s and 80s, when Scottish football experienced it's so called 'golden period', things were very different, both politically and within the sporting world. Football was not the prolifically global game it is now, and there were far less teams and indeed countries to compete against.
Remember, back then, the Soviet Union was just one country, and one league - as was Yugoslavia. Scotland were far more likely to qualify for major tournaments in those days - and they frequently did. In fact, between 1974 and 1990, the Scots qualified for five World Cups in a row - an astonishing feat for such a small footballing country. They even managed to make it to Euro 92 (in the days when only eight teams qualified). However, it has been pretty much all downhill from there.
The Scottish national side have needed to re-group, and the emergence of the previously exiled countries, such as Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia, the Baltic States and the other Balkan states have made Scotland's hope of qualifying for major tournaments even harder. In the qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup, for instance, the Scots were eliminated by the Croats. While in recent years, they have suffered several disappointing defeats in in Eastern Europe - to opponents they would not have had to have faced back in the 'glory days'.
If you assess the qualifying campaign the national team undertook for the last European Championships in 2008, for example - Scotland very nearly made it! They twice beat France (under Walter Smith, and then under Alex McLeish), but lost in Georgia and and Ukraine. Scotland have a habit of raising their game against the 'bigger' sides, which, to some extent, illustrates the passion and ability they possess. But they also have an unfortunately poor record against 'minnows' when it really matters. Costa Rica and Peru, for instance, are just two of the names Scottish fans probably like to blank out of the minds altogether.
As with the English, football is undoubtedly in the Scot's 'blood'. They haven't only produced players of top quality - good enough to play in the world's top teams and top league's in the past, they have, in fact, produced some of the very best.
Kenny Dalglish would perhaps, alongside George Best, be most people's choice as the finest ever player to emerge from the UK. During the late 1970s and early 80's, there were few players in the world who could compete with Dalglish on both a domestic and European scale for guile and technique. If he had been Dutch, German, French, or even English, he may well be ranked in many's people's top ten greatest ever players. But, although, he pulled on the shirt of the less 'glamorous' Scotland on 101 occasions, his country never progressed beyond the group stages of a major tournament - despite his own gut-busting efforts.
Other players, such as Denis Law - a European Footballer of the year in the 1960s, Alan Hansen - a winner of three European Cup winners medal's at Anfield and Graeme Souness, the captain and lynchpin of the all conquering Liverpool teams of the early 1980s, were players, who were at the very top of their profession, domestically and on the European club stage. They were the equivalent of a David Villa, a Gerard Pique or a Xavi by today's standards. While perhaps most potently there was the legendary Celtic "Lisbon Lions' - the glorious 1967 European Cup winning side consisting of eleven home grown players - all born within a 50 mile radius of Glasgow. This will surely never be done again, as, let's be honest, football just isn't like that anymore.
However, what can be done again is bringing through the quality of players there once was. Granted, Glasgow has changed a lot over the years, and, following it's elevation as the European City of Culture in 1990, has grown into a far more prosperous place - almost un-recognisable in parts.
Maybe you don't find as many kids learning their trade on the streets of Britain's third biggest city any more - having a 'kick about' with their mates, and perhaps this is fundamentally the problem. Of course, Glasgow still has it's social problems, but perhaps the industry based mentality that graced some of the those ex-players (many are now top managers) needs to be re-instated into the minds of the young Scottish kids. They certainly possess the right DNA to make it to the top.
The fact that there are so many great Scottish managers is an illustration of how the Scots appear to have the 'right DNA'. But maybe this is also part of the problem. During the early 1980s, for instance, when Aberdeen were a power-house of European football, their manager was a certain Alex Ferguson. Perhaps the fact that most of the best coaches are snapped up by English teams now is restricting the Scottish youngster's development in their own nation, while the Scottish sides are left with the 'best of the rest', who are not quite up to scratch.
The so called 'Glasgow Mafia' of the Premier League are prudent to this argument. Two of the very best - Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish are from the rough and tumble of Glasgow's gritty past. David Moyes, Owen Coyle and Steve Kean also hail from that part of the world. In addition, there is Paul Lambert, a former European Cup winner and boss at Norwich, while Alex McLeish (a former Scotland boss is) now managing another huge club, Aston Villa, and was a League Cup winner last year at Birmingham City.
Perhaps if these managers didn't have to fly the nest and head to England, then Scotland may have more of a chance to be a footballing heavyweight once more. But with the lack of finance available to the Scottish League, there is little hope of these top managers staying and it appears for now to be like 'pie in the sky'.
There, is however, some hope on the horizon. Scotland - now under the stewardship of Craig Levein, have made a solid start in their qualifying campaign for Euro 2012. In fact, for the first time since the mid 1990s, they can now boast players who are playing top English sides.
Darren Fletcher is a regular starter at Old Trafford, and when fit, is probably their first choice central midfielder. There is also the much improved Charlie Adam, who is settling into his new role as the midfield playmaker under Dalglish at Liverpool. In addition, Barry Bannan is a very talented young player coming though the ranks at Aston Villa and Gary Caldwell is a regular starter at centre back for Wigan Athletic. While, adding even more to the Scottish kudos south of the border, Phil Bardsley is a regular full back at Sunderland, Alan Hutton, likewise, at Tottenham, and James Morrison has developed into an excellent attacking midfielder in Roy Hodgson's fledgling West Bromwich Albion side.
As well as those fore-mentioned top flight stars, Craig Mackail-Smith, a rather late developer, lower down the leagues, is a goalscoring machine at Brighton, and appears to be set for the top too.
Things certainly look rosier, and hopefully the grim days of George Burley having to pick players from the English championship to compete with the Xavi's and Iniesta's of this world look, at this current time to be a thing of the past. In fact, to be perfectly blunt, a fully firing midfield pairing of Charlie Adam and Darren Fletcher alongside each other at Hampden is quite a daunting prospect for any opposing teams to face. These two names alone, suggest it's not all doom and gloom north of the border.
Perhaps a smidgen of success for the national team (such as qualifying for a major tournament for the first time since the World Cup of 1998), can help bring about and inspire a new crop of Scottish footballer's to rival the greats of yesteryear. This is turn will not only aid the plight of the Scotland team, but also, hopefully, bring a little ray of light to the domestic game.
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