The appointment of Gordon Strachan as the new Scotland boss was hardly met with a wave of enthusiasm and hope by the nation. Strachan comes to the job when Scottish football is at its lowest ebb. Scotland is now languishing number 72 in the world rankings and qualification for the World Cup in Brazil is already as dead as the Dodo.
The domestic game is on its knees and the standard of quality in playing personnel has dropped to an alarming rate. Strachan will replace Craig Levein who was sacked in November. The Scots have not reached a major football final in fifteen years. A friendly against Estonia in February will be the start of another new dawn for Scottish football. The man who in his playing days won 50 caps for Scotland has vowed to find a way to turn around the fortunes of the national side and make them winners again.
With Scotland sitting bottom of their qualifying group with two points from a possible twelve it seems very unlikely that Strachan can bring Scotland into contention again for the trip to Rio. Strachan has refused to rule anything out and is adamant that he can at the very least use what is left of the current campaign to salvage some pride and put down roots for future campaigns.
The next campaign will be the Euros in France 2016. Strachan’s record at club management is mixed. In Scotland he managed Celtic to three titles in a row, the first time the club achieved this since the days of Jock Stein. In Europe he also took the club to the Champions League last sixteen on two occasions. He has also managed Coventry City, Southampton and Middlesbrough, none to any great degrees of success.
As a player he has played for Dundee, Man United, Leeds United, Coventry City and Aberdeen. Playing for Aberdeen was probably his most successful period, helping Sir Alex Ferguson break the Rangers and Celtic hold over the Scottish domestic scene and winning European honours such as the European Cup Winners’ Cup with a win against Real Madrid. Aberdeen then went on to win the European Super Cup against Hamburg in 1983.
When not managing a football team, Strachan has spent his time working in the media, mostly on Match of the Day.
Former Motherwell and Aberdeen player Mark McGhee has been Strachan’s first appointment. McGhee tales up the post of assistant manager.
SFA boss Stewart Regan has gone for the popular choice after the disaster that was Levein. There will be a few noises made about Strachan’s style of play and management style; he was criticised at Celtic for being too boring and his ‘winning the game is the only thing that matters’ attitude. He can also be confrontational in his dealings with the media.
With fifty caps for Scotland there is no denying that Strachan has earned a shot at turning around the fortunes of the national side. He must start by playing his best player, something that Levein refused to do. Witness the fallout with Steven Fletcher. Scotland has been dire for too long. It is time to get serious about the national side and bring passion, pride and most of all unity back to the game we call our national sport.
Although the big challenge for Strachan is; does anyone still care?
Follow me on Twitter @Cyberted72
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/42143
http://rangersthefallandrise.wordpress.com/
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.