By Neil Macdonald
03/09/08
THE Tartan Army, along with the four teams competing in Scotland’s World Cup qualifying group, will discover shortly whether George Burley can continue the progress achieved firstly under Walter Smith, then Alex McLeish.
The double-header – away to Macedonia and Iceland, fixtures from which Scotland MUST take a minimum of 4 points – will go some way towards defining Burley’s success as an international manager. They might not be the easiest of fixtures but both are winnable, and maximum points would set Scotland up nicely to host a waning Norway in October.
Burley perhaps has some burden to bear: prior to Walter Smith’s appointment early in 2005, the nation’s football was a laughing stock as the Berti Vogts experiment unravelled at its seams. If Berti deserved any credit, it was that he tore up the ‘old school’ manual of which predecessor Craig Brown was such an adherent, and set about blooding as many youngsters as possible. Some, like McFadden, Fletcher and Hutton, proved enormous hits while others, such as Robbie Stockdale, Richard Hughes and Kevin Kyle failed to cut the mustard.
Scotland had slipped so catastrophically that it might have taken years to redress the decline. But Smith immediately instilled solidity, making the team difficult to beat, and sticking largely to a settled line-up slowly garnered a string of impressive results. When Rangers prised Smith away, McLeish replaced him seamlessly at the helm, steering Scotland to famous home and away wins over France, with qualification for Euro 2008 still possible right up until the final minute of the final group game versus Italy. Notwithstanding a calamitous night in Georgia, Scotland had an outstanding campaign, one that would have been unthinkable three years ago.
But can George Burley maintain this form? Three relatively uninspiring friendlies have yielded two goals, from Clarkson and Miller, and two draws. No victories yet must be a worry because Scotland need at least one, if not two, to emit the correct message to Norway and Holland. And Burley has a hard act to follow.
A spate of injuries has not helped his cause. Ferguson, Hutton and Weir will definitely miss the trip and with further call-offs likely, continuity has been an impossibility. Systems and formations have been tried, the team has been tinkered with, and several players have been tested. But all this means little to supporters who have not seen their team compete at a major championship for ten long years. No-one is going to judge Burley on three meaningless friendly matches but the real test begins on Saturday in Macedonia when Scotland simply must produce the goods, goals and points – there is nothing surer.
