If Craig Levein were in charge of England, fans and the media would be calling for his head right now! Following their 2-1 over the footballing giants of Lichtenstein, courtesy of a 97th minute winner from Stephen McManus, Levein admitted that he was massively relieved that he didn’t have to face a humiliating result in his first competitive game at Hampden Park. Gone are the days when the SPL was compared to the EPL in terms of strength and ability and last night’s results have proved this. England were well organised and thoroughly deserved their 3-1 victory over Switzerland. Levien claimed that Scotland thoroughly deserved their win but a 97th minute winner doesn’t really justify the comments does it Craig?
Scotland fans must have expected a performance against the football minnows, something Levein said not too expect against a nation that currently sits 149th in the FIFA rankings. Yet, this game fully justifies my opinion that Scottish football has fallen much further behind the English equivalent. However, fans of Celtic and Rangers still feel as though their respective teams can give the likes Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal a run for their money. We just have to look to the npower Championship and see how dear old Middlesbrough are performing under former Celtic and Southampton Manager, Gordon Strachan and how his acquisition of some of the SPL’s better players are performing in a league that is a massive standard below the EPL. So Craig, I think it is fair to say you need to ask more from your players in order to avoid anymore, potential, upsets in the future before making Scottish football a bit more of a joke than it already it is.
John Toshack really is trying his hardest to discourage all Welsh footballers for the future isn’t he? First he tells Robbie Savage and Craig Bellamy, two of Wales’ better players, that they are not welcome to play for the country anymore then he decides to alert the media that he intends to quit his post as Wales manager before a decent replacement is found. John Hartson has admitted that he wants the post, thankfully, following his recovery from cancer yet there is always the argument that he isn’t ready for the step up to international management (although, it worked out for Mark Hughes). In my opinion, Wales need a fresh approach to the role. Hughes was perfect when he was appointed and showed passion for the game. Maybe the WFA feel Hartson would provide the same results that Hughes provided when he was in charge. However, doing this will be a massive risk on the WFA’s part as it doesn’t always work out the way it should but who knows, Hartson may step into the role perfectly and provide a much needed fresh approach to the role.
So, it is Scotland’s backtrack of talent versus Wales’ lack of stability and fresh talent – I will let you decide the winner of this argument.
