Sigma Olomouc 8 – 1 Aberdeen (the seeded team in the tie)
FC Vaduz 2 – 1 Falkirk
Steaua Bucharest 6 – 1 Motherwell
There you have it folks. Four results in the space of a few weeks that show the standing of our national game against our European neighbours. Celtic are guaranteed European football by virtue of the safety net of the Europa League following an expected thrashing against Arsenal and Hearts will shortly embark on a difficult trip to Zagreb. We could be facing the very real prospect of Rangers being expected to represent the interests of the entire nation and trying to save 5,000,000 collective faces against our footballing betters.
The Scotland side facing Norway was missing some high profile players. Kevin Thomson was unfit, Davie Weir was ignored and the quartet of McGregor, Ferguson, McCulloch and Boyd were unavailable for selection through indiscretion or personal choice. Does that excuse that level of performance? The brothers grim in defence will be playing top flight football north and south of the border. Fletcher possesses an EPL title medal and will face Berra, Hutton and Alexander in the coming season, whilst rivals Brown and Miller will be looking to make an impact both domestically and in Europe. The squad was full of experienced players and yet indiscipline, coupled with poor preparation from a failed manager whose best days were with Ipswich a decade ago made honest professionals (and Norway are no world beaters) look like real class acts.
So how does this impact on Rangers? The obvious is that Rangers were represented by Miller and Whittaker and both McCormack and Hutton are former Gers. Should Rangers take a share of the collective blame that must be dished out? Of course, but no more than the rest of Scottish football and certainly less than the press will undoubtedly allocate. I'll lay my cards on the table right from the off – I couldn't give a damn about the Scottish national side. International football is a distraction from the club game and I refuse to give pelters to thugs and Rangers haters one weekend only to cheer them the following Wednesday. The SFA have done Rangers no favours in the recent past and whilst Ferguson's outburst was undesirable (I still think he let himself and the club down), his frustration is surely understandable. I cant blame any Gers fan who feels disassociated from the national team as the Tranny Army look for their favourite scapegoats who'll turn out on Saturday wearing a blue jersey of an entirely different hue.
Scottish football is run by the so called “Largs Mafia” and yet players in the twilight of their careers are eager to earn their coaching badges in the seaside town. The SFA coaching course regularly attracts top quality players studying for their future career in coaching and first rate managers willing to pass on their experience. Alex Ferguson is one of the most successful managers in football and his hand-picked successor, if rumour is to believed, will be another Scot famed for his straight forward, no nonsense attitude. We have a talented former pro in the corridors of power, yet you cannot escape the feeling that he wields as much actual power as the guy who runs the Hampden car park and our national stadium is home to an amateur club with the bare minimum of ambition.
The answer may be in the writings of a famous Scot. Adam Smith, the father of the free-market economy, believed that the invisible hand of the market would act in the greater good as a result of even the most selfish of acts. A company which brings out a new product to generate profit creates jobs in manufacturing, retail and service and will generate a tax revenue for the state – their selfish act for the benefit of their shareholders unintentionally serving to better society in general. And so it must be for football. Rangers have spoken of bringing through youngsters for some time now and every year we're told that this crop is leaps and bounds ahead of the last. Its been 20 years since Scotland under 16s were beaten by suspiciously moustachioed Saudis in the youth world cup and yet only 3 players from that side – Brian O'Neill, Andy McLaren and Paul Dikov – went on to represent the full Scotland team. That's simply unacceptable.
That's the thing that gets me. For years Scottish football has underachieved. We haven't brought through the youngsters and we've thrown what TV money we earned (chump change compared with our neighbours to the south) at overrated foreigners who came here looking to top up their pension. I couldn't care less about coefficients and the three Euro flops undoubtedly got what they deserved but the knock-on effect is that weak opposition and a limited pool of professionals makes it that bit harder for Rangers. We cant go from playing 3rd rate teams at home to playing top class opposition in Europe and expect anything other than damage limitation.
Those who follow the national side cannot hope for a return to the glory times of Dalglish and Souness when clubs steadfastly refuse to invest in facilities and youth development and our kids are forced to play illicit games of football in public parks missing their goalposts because the park authority reckon its easier to maintain the grass in the summer if they take the goalposts down. How do Rangers trade their way out of debt without selling home-grown players? How do we attract new investment into a club that exists as a big fish in an ever decreasing pond? Do we really want to suffer the same fate as Benson the famous 52-pound carp who long ago stopped being the prize catch of anglers everywhere? The future of Rangers in a rapidly diminishing league must surely be of concern to every Gers fan.
And that's where Rangers come in. Its time for the benefit of our own club that Rangers set the agenda in Scottish football. The consequences of greater involvement from our club may certainly be a stronger SPL, better facilities for lower league players and fans and a steadier stream of professionals with the potential to represent Scotland at international level. I can't deny that our rivals may well benefit but first and foremost I'm concerned with the progress of Rangers and our club will not progress in a footballing nation that's rapidly becoming the laughing stock of Europe. We may have to make temporary peace with our enemies because its as much their fault as it is ours. We may have to talk with people who have previously maligned us and the subtle art of diplomacy would surely be called for if the SFA are ever to listen to the people who are actually vital to the game.
We need a redistribution of both wealth and power in the Scottish game. Clubs should not be unduly penalised for investing in their infrastructure and its a disgrace that teams were forced to build stadia they had no chance of filling at the expense of investing in training facilities that could in turn generate an income all year round for smaller community sides. The white elephant currently occupying the Mount Florida area of Glasgow will continue to cost football for years, long after it's rendered unfit for purpose – what did we expect clubs to do when the SFA insisted on throwing money at a relic of the past whose time was surely up?
It's similarly unacceptable that a nation of around five million people is expected to sustain 42 full time clubs, each looking for their slice of the pie. Youngsters shouldn't be asked to warm a bench with no real chance of meaningful action at the expense of continuing their development at sides who would offer them first team football – the idea that football wouldn't bring through youngsters without legislation may have been true of the boom years of the 90s but its hardly had the desired effect and in lean times clubs will be forced to turn to younger reserves anyway. Most of all we need a single body to guide Scottish football through dangerous waters. The SPL, SFL and SFA represent an unacceptable level of bureaucracy that must be streamlined. We need a single governing body acting on the recommendations given by football and for the long term benefit of football.
The consequences of failing to set Scottish football on the correct path wont just be felt in the pubs around Hampden by those whose own sides struggle in lower league oblivion. Rangers are facing up to a potential £30million debt, unable to strengthen a paper-thin squad and looking forward to the prospect of trips to all corners of the nation against all kinds of opposition – Steven Naismith certainly found out to his cost the consequences of facing a hammer-thrower from the lower leagues who believed that venom was an adequate replacement for skill. Its time for the people who really matter in Scottish football – the clubs and the fans – to set the agenda for the next decade of the game. The consequences may unfortunately be an improved Aberdeen side or a greater threat from Dundee or Edinburgh but a Rangers crippled by debt and left floundering in the backwater that is Scottish football must undoubtedly be facing an uncertain future.
If Rangers really are the institution club of Scottish Football's proud past then it's time to take their share of responsibility to the game – for the good of the club itself as much as for the good of our national game.