The big lesson for our country from Russia 2018 World Cup

[Greenmachine]

Never again will I give any credence to the view that Scotland is too small a nation to be a force in international football. Croatia, with a smaller population than Scotland and with a top league whose average attendance is around 8,000 may just be crowned World Champions on Sunday evening having previously been WC quarter finalists 20 years ago. They have world class players playing for some of the biggest clubs in the world in the top leagues in Europe. Why has this happened ? Why can't Scotland produce players like they can ?

It's too easy just to blame the SFA or the nasty Old Firm for all this. It is also too easy to have a go at the Scotland manager whoever he happens to be and say it's because he is not picking that guy or this guy. International management is all about getting the best out of whatever players are available to you. If the majority of the players the manager has to select from are not international standard that is not his fault. It must go deeper than this. Scottish football had a golden era between 1967 and 1983. In that time three scottish clubs won European trophies and between 1974 and 1998 (a period of 24 years) Scotland qualified for every single World Cup bar one (USA 1994). We produced world class players. We tended to be very unlucky in world cups but we got there and apart from Argentina '78 we did not disgrace ourselves.. So what has happened ? It's not just Croatia who have prospered..other similar sized nations to Scotland like Denmark and Switzerland have also done well in this World Cup and are way better than us.

Here's my thoughts and I know this has been touched on in other threads;
1/ There are simply not enough lads playing football on a regular basis.
2/ The young lads who have talent and are spotted by major clubs think they have made it from the moment they sign for a major club. It takes a huge amount of hard work, dedication, sacrifice and luck to succeed in football at the highest level.
3/ Nowhere near enough investment in football or sport in general from governments of every party.
4/ The drink culture (and this for me is a huge reason for our continued failure). It's endemic and is the scourge of our nation.
5/ Lack of indoor facilities.
6/ Lack of interest in the national team. I'll bet you the ambition of every single young Croatian footballer is to play for their national team. They are a young country and they feel confident and proud. They are a positive progressive nation. Scotland is far too steeped in tradition and past sentiment.

I would like to hear what other Bouncers feel about this subject and it would be good to get some ideas on how we could remedy the situation and help get Scotland in a position where it is us who are cuffing England in World Cup semi-finals and being one game away from being World Champions. We have produced great players and great teams before. There is no reason whatsoever why we can't again.

 

[Purple & Green]

As I understand it, all Croatian players have a pathway set out in conjunction with the fa and the clubs.

The objective being to develop the players to the highest level possible. It would be interesting to see how the players move between clubs, because in Scotland the old firm aren’t going to move on players to competitor clubs if there’s a possibility that those players may come back to damage them.

The spl was set up in 1998, and I can’t quite put my finger on how that has impacted the national team, indeed is it a coincidence?

What is true though is that in the 80s and 90s the top league in England had many Scots. Did Bosman kill that? Scots are rare now in the epl.

 

[tayside hibee]

I think your bang on the money with the drink culture. Other countries produce athletes who live like professionals, while we have fit players who like a bevvy . It's ingrained in our culture. Look at the scenes after we won the cup , in the dressing room the players were on the beer, the Scandinavian was drinking a protein shake!!
I think the fans need educated as well. As soon as a team play patient possession football , the cries of getting up the park begin. Players who want to change to a more European style get labelled " Barry the crab" for instance.
Also, the desire for 4 Glasgow derbies a year forces to play a horrendous league, where 60% of the teams are fighting off relegation from game 1. Young skilful players learn from an early age to keep it safe, if in doubt , keep it tight, all that guff dosent help.
For years we have needed ( Scotland) a management and above who state that we probably won't qualify for the next tournament as we are about to embark on a new era , with young players with a different mentality and attitude and that in 4 years time hopefully we have set up to be proud off.
But all we get is the old guard , desperate to win every win , whether it's a friendly or a qualifier at any expense . Get the tried and tested and failed 30 year olds and throw in Davie Weir and let's try and get a one nil win cause it looks good on the managers stats.

 

[Zab]

At the simplest level it’s a case that the cost of playing foootball is too high, and they only way to make it more accessible is for government/SFA investment.

There needs to be a clear pathway from youth level to club Academy level to the first team. More of a link needs to be development with local boys clubs and professional clubs.

 

[HaarlemShuffler]

At the simplest level it’s a case that the cost of playing foootball is too high, and they only way to make it more accessible is for government/SFA investment.

There needs to be a clear pathway from youth level to club Academy level to the first team. More of a link needs to be development with local boys clubs and professional clubs.

Here's a thought: what if 0.2% of each player in prof Scottish football's salary went to delivry of a lot of football strips for all the amateur and youth setups in Scotland?

 

[PILTONSTANY]

Let’s no copy Croatia
Why Scotland fans are wrong to look to Croatia as a model to follow

The story behind Iceland's assault on world football

All the iceland coaches as are A or B licensed and there’s help from the Government,decent start.....

 

[SKII]

Let’s no copy Croatia
Why Scotland fans are wrong to look to Croatia as a model to follow

The story behind Iceland's assault on world football

All the iceland coaches as are A or B licensed and there’s help from the Government,decent start.....

Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse

Above linkto key part of this that nobody wants to address...They have a curfew on teenagers in the evenings to curb anti-social behaviours. It has greatly reduced alcohol, drug and nicotine use in Iceland's youth.

Imagine someone suggesting that here.

Croatia also has far fewer problems with poor health and lifestyle choices by teens. They proudly boast that their national addiction problem is strong black coffee. They currently have a problem in some resorts where young Australians visit in the way our youth visit Magaluf. It was in a number of papers last week, funnily enough. They are campaigning for something to be done about the anti-social behaviour of young Aussies, making the point that Croatians drink in moderation and don't indulge in the getting hammered at the weekend routine we are familiar with.

I think we can see in the strong, hard working, articulate and healthy living Flo Kamberi how cultural norms influence opportunity.

 

[PILTONSTANY]

Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse

Above linkto key part of this that nobody wants to address...They have a curfew on teenagers in the evenings to curb anti-social behaviours. It has greatly reduced alcohol, drug and nicotine use in Iceland's youth.

Imagine someone suggesting that here.

Croatia also has far fewer problems with poor health and lifestyle choices by teens. They proudly boast that their national addiction problem is strong black coffee. They currently have a problem in some resorts where young Australians visit in the way our youth visit Magaluf. It was in a number of papers last week, funnily enough. They are campaigning for something to be done about the anti-social behaviour of young Aussies, making the point that Croatians drink in moderation and don't indulge in the getting hammered at the weekend routine we are familiar with.

I think we can see in the strong, hard working, articulate and healthy living Flo Kamberi how cultural norms influence opportunity.

Interesting read.
Basically need to change our lifestyle,most responsible parents already use those curfew hours i reckon and online gaming is cutting the numbers on the streets.
The biggest problem where i live is folk that were arseholes in my school are having kids and bring them up as arseholes too.....

 

[Purple & Green]

I think the perpetuation is a massive issue; it’s about breaking the cycle.

 

[Jack]

Interesting read.
Basically need to change our lifestyle,most responsible parents already use those curfew hours i reckon and online gaming is cutting the numbers on the streets.
The biggest problem where i live is folk that were arseholes in my school are having kids and bring them up as arseholes too.....

Totally agree and when it comes to 3rd or 4th generation arseholes it's a long road back to try and doing anything to change the mindset.

 

[SKII]

I think the perpetuation is a massive issue; it’s about breaking the cycle.

And the political will to do that without tinkering around the edges. Current situation is that everyone expects schools to address the deficit. Schools now teach courses in resilience (Growth Mindset), learning skills (Learn to Learn and Learn to Think courses) parenting for pupils and parents (Raising Children With Confidence and Raising Teens With Confidence) deliver nurture classes for pupils who have no basic skills because nobody has taught them these...and many more. All taught by class teachers who are being charged with trying to reduce teen pregnancies, online grooming, anti-social behaviour, teen drinking and substance abuse, close the social gap and attainment gap...

It needs widespread cultural change and collective responsibility for our youth that can't happen in school alone.

 

[Zab]

Here's a thought: what if 0.2% of each player in prof Scottish football's salary went to delivry of a lot of football strips for all the amateur and youth setups in Scotland?

Simple yet effective idea. Pro clubs in Scotland could link up with local youth set ups to put such a system in place.