Why vodka supplies will be low in Scotland tomorrow morning

Internationals / Dan Fitch / 16 November 2007 / 1 Comments

Dan "The Betting Man" Fitch on why Italy may be a bridge too far for Scotland's brave warriors

Scotland fans find themselves in both familiar and unfamiliar territory this weekend. They are well used to donning the replica shirt of whatever far flung nation have the opportunity to inflict harm upon England and all of Scotland will be hoping that Russia can break Sassanach hearts on Saturday. In recent years, England's failures have been all that the Scots have had to look forward to, but this weekend they'll be more preoccupied with the fate of their own team.

Scotland just have the little matter of the reigning world champions Italy, between them and qualification for Euro 2008. But win, lose or draw, no one can doubt the progress Scotland have made, just to be in a position to qualify from a group that contained the might of both Italy and France.

Scotland have always struggled to qualify for the European Championships, with their only appearances coming in 1992 and 1996. They have fared better in the World Cup and throughout the seventies and eighties Scotland could always be relied upon to qualify. Unfortunately, once qualified for the tournament, the Jocks would generally lose to some third world nation, win their second match to raise some false hope, before drawing their last game, to limp out on goal difference.

Such glorious failures are now looked back upon fondly, by a nation whose last tournament was the 1998 World Cup in France. Since then there have been some dark years (also known as the Bertie Vogts era), when Scottish football just didn't produce top flight players, either in the Premiership or in the domestic Premier division. During this period, whilst there was clearly no talent coming through to rival the likes of Souness, Dalglish and Hansen, the decline also coincided with the healthy finances of the Old Firm affording them the luxury of filling their sides with top foreign, rather than young Scottish players.

The days of Scottish football being able to attract the likes of Brian Laudrup may be gone, but it is to the benefit of the national side. The squad that faces Italy includes 10 players from Rangers and Celtic, with the majority of the rest of the squad, being made up of players from the English top flight. On this solid foundation, Scotland's management have organised them into a very difficult side to beat.

Walter Smith's reign as manager began with an immediate upturn in results. Yet few would have predicted the flying start they made in Group B, which included a 1-0 home win over France. What surprised me and I'm sure many others, was how the results kept coming once Smith left for Rangers and was replaced by Alex McCleish.

It's easy to categorise McCleish's reign at Rangers as being a failure, yet he managed to win trophies without the transfer budget of his predecessors and was up against the Celtic side created by Martin O'Neill. More impressive are his spells at Motherwell, who he took to a second place finish in the SPL and Hibs, who went from the First Division to third placed in the Premier League.

Scottish fans will be hoping that their recent successes (which has seen them rise to thirteenth in the largely nonsensical FIFA world rankings), should ensure them an easier draw for the next batch of qualifiers. This might persuade the sought after McCleish, that the challenge of managing the national team, is one worth pursuing.

It's a shame that Scotland have to face a side in Italy, who are so adept in the art of not losing. Therefore, the draw is tempting at [3.15], with Scotland available at [4.4] and Italy [2.16], for the braver amongst you. I reckon 0-0 will be a popular correct score bet at [8.4] and this price will quickly tumble, should Italy's defence look its impenetrable self, in the opening of the match.

I'm afraid I just can't see Scotland qualifying. At least though when the match is over and the tears have been shed, they'll be able to ditch the tartan and watch the second half of Israel v Russia. Expect supplies of vodka to be low in Scotland come Sunday morning.

Comments (1)

1. Terry Jenkins | 16 November 2007

   I quite fancy Scotland to be honest. They have already beaten some top teams at home and i dont think the Italians will like the freezing tempratures and the hostile crowd