Andy’s Sting In The Tale (04/10/24) “Passive or Active?”
Date: 4th October 2024
(Photo:@Homesoffootball)


Well done Hearts but my take on our Champions League and Europa results is simple.
Scottish football has mostly lost the ability to develop the right elite talent to fight for places in our teams.
And our leagues are classified as mediocre by agents so we end up with players they can’t place anywhere else.
Here’s a wee thought.
According to my reckoning the number of Scots in the starting line-ups were Celtic 2, Hearts 7, and Rangers 2.
I’m old enough to remember Scottish teams winning European trophies and come close too with Scottish players, born and bred.
History tells us that after the now ditched McLeish Reports that academies for elite talent were introduced and most are still active.
They do produce players, a lot of them too.
But a very real problem is they are not consistently producing enough top level players.
Graeme McDowall’s wonderful book, The System: ‘What we can learn when science and reason collide with Scottish football’ looked at the facts.
Basically Graeme tells us that in Scotland, after analysis, the most important means of assessing young elite players is more by strength and size than potential.
As such our elite programme is biased and statistically full of kids born close to the start of a year group rather than Oct to December.
Worse still, Graeme identified that there are almost no current routes for late developers.
Some of our best ever footballers have been late developers.
So we have an inherent elite recruitment problem.

We also have a long-term grass roots problem because every decision at the top seems to be about money especially for our dominant teams.
We all know it then gets pissed away as top teams recruit mostly second rate mercenaries not wanted elsewhere but hopefully good enough to help them avoid relegation.
The only way to correct it is probably quite radical change.
Imagine if every top club ditched one player and instead helped fund grass roots just think where we might be.
I say that knowing of a squad player at Celtic earning around the million mark.
How many players at St Johnstone or Aberdeen come close?
Someone once told me the definition of insanity is, from memory, ‘Doing the same thing and expecting different results ‘.
Scottish football is trapped in that parallel universe of hoping a wave of exceptional talent will just materialise like it used to rather than becoming uber serious long term about kids.
Ask Yourself, Where Does Football Start?

When you think about it, every player at the top level started humbly at grass roots.
Every single one from Callum McGregor to our lowest ranked amateur side’s hapless goalie whoever he or she is.
Our Academies have kids and they and their parents usually think they have made it.
Till they get dumped.
One very good friend, an ex-manager and I were discussing what happens more often than not.
We don’t pick the best kids and our biggest clubs are playing a cynical numbers game.
Our kids have become overcoached and fixated by coaches on not losing the ball rather than using skill to beat players at the risk of losing possession.
Basically Danny thinks over-coaching is stifling kids.
The sideways passing game that seems to dominate kills any green shoots of flair.
I also have a feeling that football has become
less fun for kids and there is too much emphasis on winning and pressure from parents and coaches.
It’s not about winning guys.
It’s about skills development, talent encouragement and flair.
It’s about our game being ‘Active rather than Passive’, from the bottom up.
European Wake Up Call
. I watched the Rangers Lyon game last night and thought Rangers would play their tried and tested format and do well.
I was blown away by the French Team.
In the Uefa 5 year rankings Rangers are ranked at 26 some 21 places above Lyon and that shows that rankings can sometimes be off the pace.
I wanted our team to win but Lyon did things that used to be a natural part of our game and did them well.
Let’s call it Physicality, and Flair. Cherki, a French man, was a wonderful, captain Lacazette, also French, was magnificent and I’d pay to watch 19 year old Belgian Fofana any day of the week.
He will probably end up at a huge club.
Last night you could easily see that Lyon knew what to expect at a hostile Ibrox.
Water off a duck’s back and such, they were not intimidated and matched our team and more.
By more I mean that I watched something that is almost alien to our top league.
When moving forward Lyon players were willing to take the risk and take on and beat their opposition rather than pass sideways to keep possession, and when they lost the ball their inbuilt recovery was impressive.
They seemed to be able to penetrate through the Rangers lines at will and kept isolating the men in blue.

I didn’t see the Celtic match but listened on the radio and saw the highlights.
We were not even at the races in Germany.
The result was embarrassing and it demonstrated how far our league has fallen.
Ewan Murray writing in the Guardian summed up our decline.
‘Celtic’s humiliation exposes the miserable state of Scottish football’.
‘Celtic’s European turmoil is intrinsically linked to the national team. Alarm bells should have run on both fronts long ago. Instead, provided with ample opportunity to reform, after the pandemic it didn’t happen’.‘
The problem is not just that Celtic need stiffer challenges. The real issue is the level in Scotland has to dramatically improve. It is curious that the Celtic board are not at the forefront of that agenda’.

‘Not only are Celtic miles adrift but our other ‘top-level’ clubs like Dundee Utd would be embarrassed by Newcastle, Motherwell by Rennes, Kilmarnock by Torino and history tells us that Hibs lost 8-0 on aggregate last year to Villa.
Aware of the divides in Scotland and the ridiculous schadenfreude between various fan groups, he finishes with a real insight.
‘Laugh at Celtic by all means.
But the real joke is on you and all of us.
Andy, that’s me, thinks ‘nail’ and ‘on the head’ come to mind.
Thanks Mr Murray
And this week Kieran Maguire, the football finance expert, came up with a really interesting graph about Celtics last two opposition teams.
Dortmund’s squad cost 6.1 times more than Celtic’s.
Massive.
But Celtic’s squad costs 185.7 times that of St Johnstone.
An even bigger gap and we want our league to be competitive.
Meanwhile in Azerbaijan
Hearts worked hard and got the points.
Well done the Jambos.
I didn’t expect that.
So a humbling week.
But the nonsense is we’ll soon forget it because we have games this weekend to talk about.
And that might subsume most of the fans.It always has in the past. But do we want Scottish football to continue its decline?
The sad reality is there are no short-term easy fixes.
No tick-box solutions.
And whatever we need to do has to be long term and real.
And it all starts at grass roots.
Kids football has to become fun again.
And not over-coached too soon.
Not somewhere the biggest and strongest kids dominate and nobody till Graeme had noticed.

Basically we have to relearn what we used to do naturally.
That will take serious investment from the very bottom up and probably a change of focus.
And it’s partly a numbers game because fun football recruits elite and also future active fans.
That makes our cake bigger.
Scottish football needs a 20 year rolling plan to make our grass roots, clubs and schools, the best example of community player development in the game.
Simples.
Andy’s Sting in the Tale
1. Right Sizing is the Only Option
2. Great TV
3. The New Uefa League Structures
4. Infantino’s CAF ‘Pal’ is Corrupt
5. Israel Fifa Ruling Imminent, Not
1. How’re You Doeen Mun?

My boyhood club were back in the news again this week.
As far as I know ICT have to raise £200k to stay operating or they will slide into pre-pack administration.
After 24 hours the pledges stand at £25K.
At least the SFA/Spfl rule makes it essential to pay VAT and tax.
Big Duncan is working for free.
But the real issue is the club was being run too big for its revenue streams.
I do know if the pre-pack happens, the chances of relegation are high and there will be not a version of the very secret ‘5 way agreement’ to allow them to stiff their suppliers.
I’ve run business and
right sizing has to fit the cash flow.
ICT’s now departed CEO has left chaos, mess and debts.
I’d rather my team were a league below for a while, profitable, with a youth policy and plans for finding the right level.
And just while I’m talking about right sizing.
I heard last night of a struggling SPFL bottom league club who had a player budget said to be £750K gambling on success that hasn’t happened.
A bite in the bum waiting to happen. Running a business is not rocket science.
2. The Early Rounds of the Scottish Cup are Wonderful
I was glued to the set last Friday watching Dalkeith Thistle get beaten by Broxburn Athletic.
Real football.
Passion skill and not the bloody high press nonsense dominating our game where every player is square passing to try to keep possession, and where the game is confined to a moving 30-yard band 0f 20 players with no room to swing a cat.
The second round was drawn last Sunday and there was no squiffy Rod Stewarts in sight.
I loved that when it happened.
There will be surprises.
My other team, Spartans are home to Cowdenbeath who are still hurting outside the SPFL, and East Fife v Banks o’ Dee will be interesting.
I hope to be at Linlithgow against Clach on the 26th.
I don’t know what game, if any. will be BBC on Friday the 25th.
Doesn’t really matter I’ll be glued either way.
Real football.
3. I Preferred Home and Away

I agree with the exceptional football writer, Rory Smith.
There is a danger the new format designed for more games and more revenue has lost the excitement of 4 team pools
He talks about it becoming ‘exhibition matches’
Well Celtic certainly made an ‘exhibition’ of themselves in Dortmund.
Rangers played well enough but Lyon were magnificent.
I love good football.
Maybe our two Glasgow giants are glad they’re not scheduled to meet their humblers later in the year.
4. What a Surprise, Corruption in African Football

Confederation of African Football secretary general Veron Mosengo-Omba is being investigated for fraud and forgery by Swiss prosecutors.
He is described as a ‘foot soldier’ for Infantino.
Politics in world football is dirty but a few years ago Infantino saw CAF as guaranteed deliverable votes for his future.
Veron was parachuted into his current job by Infantino in 2021 and as briefed delivers loyalty like a loyal collie.
He is now being scrutinised for ‘irregular’ payments into a Swiss Bank Account.It all makes me angry and a little sad but not surprised.
If we all really knew what really goes on we’d all be angry and demanding transparency and ethical changes.
5. Fifa Bottled it Today
A headline in ‘Inside World Football” today shouted.
Fifa kicks potential landmark ruling on Israel’s suspension into the rubble of Gaza.
“Fifa’s all powerful Council were expected to take a giant courageous leap and side with the Palestinians”.
Instead they ignore the stark fact that Israeli Football is playing in the ‘UN declared’ illegal (and anexed by settlers’) West Bank where there are football grounds that Palestinians are now no longer allowed entry and it is not one side, 8 or 9 teams are flaunting something that is wrong.
Today’s press release bullshit reads, “Fifa is opting for a compromise by opting for an investigation into allegations of discrimination”.
Palestine, Lebanon and Israel are equal members of the Fifa family.
Guess which two are less equal than the other.
A UN release said
‘The Israeli FA and Fifa are tacitly contributing to the unlawful presence of Israel in the now occupied Palestine territory’.
Football can be a power for good and a statement to nations and their people.
Fifa should have had the balls to make the point, like they did to Russia and GazProm their biggest sponsor at the time.
And yes they only did that because there was rebellion in the ranks led by Norway’s inspirational Lise Klaveness.
I don’t know how our SFA voted or even who was there.
That’s it for another week.
Feedback and wee stories always welcome.
Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Eponymous First Album

In 1976 my sister gave me a record for Xmas which I tnitially thought ho-hum but it blew me away at the time and still does today.
A mix of Cajun Folk and grass roots Celtic music.
Not a dud track.
And real gems like Complainte Pour Ste-Catherine, Heart Like a Wheel, and my favourite, a copy of Loudon Wainright’s ‘Swimming Song’ which always makes me smile.
Here are some reviews from back in the day of the then unknown duo.
‘Quite simply a near perfect record’.
A real bona fide Appalachian masterpiece with exquisite singing, bluegrass banjo and accordion’.
‘It was surprising that two hitherto unknown Canadian sisters came up with the finest Americana album of all time’.
I saw them at the Playhouse in the early 80s and they never came back because Kate, mother of Rufus Wainwright passed away early in 2010.
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