Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Interesting fact
Scotland haven't scored in an international friendly at Hampden since Ally McCoist scored against Australia in 1996.
Perhaps Berti's record in friendlies isn't that bad after all. I remember Craig Brown got good results away from home (1-0 v Germany, 0-0 v Holland spring to mind) but this stat would indicate his home friendly record wasn't great.
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Perhaps Berti's record in friendlies isn't that bad after all. I remember Craig Brown got good results away from home (1-0 v Germany, 0-0 v Holland spring to mind) but this stat would indicate his home friendly record wasn't great.
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Berti must... stay?
[I write this before the Scotland-Romania game at Hampden, anticipating another defeat - I just can't see an injury-decimated Scotland squad getting a result against any half-decent team.]
The knives are out for Berti again - nothing new - the press have had it in for him since day one:
Read - BBC News
Read - Herald
Read - Scotsman
The fact that the press are against him should be enough to make you want him to stay, but unfortunately time has to be running out for der Terrier. Today's result may have an impact on his Scotland future, but it ought not to, really - the team will be completely different from our full-strength team, and the guy should be judged on his competitive results, which are OK (not great, not terrible).
I have my issues with Berti, and too many friendlies is one of them. He complains about not having enough time with his players... so why not cancel the friendly and just get the squad together for a week of training. I guarantee there'd be less call-offs if this approach was taken, as well; and it avoids the risk of a(nother) morale-busting gubbing. Good for team-building, and maybe they could all take German lessons to make the communication better...
However - in Berti's favour - let's not forget no-one else wanted the job at the time; right now it looks like we have the makings of a half-decent team (when they're all fit) but would Craig Brown have played McFadden, Pearson, Fletcher? Many of Berti's 'experiments' have failed but two years ago there was little option but to cast the net far and wide. I was there in Busan and Hong Kong, painful to watch but you have to take your medicine.
On balance? If Strachan wanted the job I'd have him in a heartbeat, but until the complainers can come up with a viable alternative, I'm sticking with Berti.
0 comments
The knives are out for Berti again - nothing new - the press have had it in for him since day one:
Read - BBC News
Read - Herald
Read - Scotsman
The fact that the press are against him should be enough to make you want him to stay, but unfortunately time has to be running out for der Terrier. Today's result may have an impact on his Scotland future, but it ought not to, really - the team will be completely different from our full-strength team, and the guy should be judged on his competitive results, which are OK (not great, not terrible).
I have my issues with Berti, and too many friendlies is one of them. He complains about not having enough time with his players... so why not cancel the friendly and just get the squad together for a week of training. I guarantee there'd be less call-offs if this approach was taken, as well; and it avoids the risk of a(nother) morale-busting gubbing. Good for team-building, and maybe they could all take German lessons to make the communication better...
However - in Berti's favour - let's not forget no-one else wanted the job at the time; right now it looks like we have the makings of a half-decent team (when they're all fit) but would Craig Brown have played McFadden, Pearson, Fletcher? Many of Berti's 'experiments' have failed but two years ago there was little option but to cast the net far and wide. I was there in Busan and Hong Kong, painful to watch but you have to take your medicine.
On balance? If Strachan wanted the job I'd have him in a heartbeat, but until the complainers can come up with a viable alternative, I'm sticking with Berti.
0 comments
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
A Shite of Glory
A Shot At Glory was on TV here the other night. I didn't watch it as I own the DVD - it was given to me by a friend. It's the story of a "wee team" making it to the cup final.
It's possibly the worst film I've ever seen. Robert Duvall is appalling as a small-town team manager - he does an awful Scottish accent, he seems to think saying "cheers" at the end of every sentence makes him sound like Bill Shankly. Not quite.
Ally McCoist is almost the best actor in the whole thing - which tells its own story.
The only highlight was spotting the pros and ex-pros in the football scenes - Ian "Jobby" McCall, Peter Hetherston, Andy Smith...
However that minimal fun was neutered by watching scenes of Ally McCoist's greatest Rangers goals digitally altered to look like he was wearing a green-and-white shirt. I kid you not. I guess it was intended to make Sellik fans take to his "Jackie McQuillan" character, but I'm sure it just pissed off everyone.
How this film gets a score of 6.5/10 in imdb.com is beyond me.
0 comments
It's possibly the worst film I've ever seen. Robert Duvall is appalling as a small-town team manager - he does an awful Scottish accent, he seems to think saying "cheers" at the end of every sentence makes him sound like Bill Shankly. Not quite.
Ally McCoist is almost the best actor in the whole thing - which tells its own story.
The only highlight was spotting the pros and ex-pros in the football scenes - Ian "Jobby" McCall, Peter Hetherston, Andy Smith...
However that minimal fun was neutered by watching scenes of Ally McCoist's greatest Rangers goals digitally altered to look like he was wearing a green-and-white shirt. I kid you not. I guess it was intended to make Sellik fans take to his "Jackie McQuillan" character, but I'm sure it just pissed off everyone.
How this film gets a score of 6.5/10 in imdb.com is beyond me.
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Groundsharing (consistency please)
The SPL have approved groundsharing plans for a number of teams, allowing the Jambos to move to Murrayfield; Dundee to share with Dundee United; and Falkirk to play at East End Park should they get promoted (unlikely, this year).
Partick Thistle are not happy at this situation, and rightly so - they spent millions bringing their stadium up to scratch per the SPL criteria. If I was a Falkirk supporter, I'd be furious as well - given the SPL's complete turnaround on this issue since last year (denying Falkirk promotion because they did not have their stadium complete, and not allowing them to use Broadwood).
Don't get me wrong; I think groundsharing is a very good thing and opponents of it are short-sighted (if it's good enough for Milan & Inter, Roma & Lazio, then it's good enough for Dundee & Dundee United!) but the SPL's inconsistency over this issue is disgraceful. Are they now getting rid of their "minimum stadium requirements" full-stop? Or will they continue to issue rulings on a year-to-year basis? (Rulings which will doubtless change depending on how many teams are in administration and who is likely to get relegated.)
This is even worse than the late 80s/early 90s when the Premier League size was adjusted depending on who was bottom of the table that year (yes, I'm still bitter that Aberdeen escaped relegation because of a league expansion).
Read
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Partick Thistle are not happy at this situation, and rightly so - they spent millions bringing their stadium up to scratch per the SPL criteria. If I was a Falkirk supporter, I'd be furious as well - given the SPL's complete turnaround on this issue since last year (denying Falkirk promotion because they did not have their stadium complete, and not allowing them to use Broadwood).
Don't get me wrong; I think groundsharing is a very good thing and opponents of it are short-sighted (if it's good enough for Milan & Inter, Roma & Lazio, then it's good enough for Dundee & Dundee United!) but the SPL's inconsistency over this issue is disgraceful. Are they now getting rid of their "minimum stadium requirements" full-stop? Or will they continue to issue rulings on a year-to-year basis? (Rulings which will doubtless change depending on how many teams are in administration and who is likely to get relegated.)
This is even worse than the late 80s/early 90s when the Premier League size was adjusted depending on who was bottom of the table that year (yes, I'm still bitter that Aberdeen escaped relegation because of a league expansion).
Read
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