Apologies for posting this in the main forum ...

Ryan Christie, Ryan Christie, Ryan Christie ... there we go, now its ICT related 😄

Do users want a separate sub forum for the World Cup (and by extension the Euros in a couple of years time hopefully) or should we simply stick with the "Other Football" category? A separate forum would allow us to keep it all in place and not get lost with other stuff, keeping it in the general football category could also be done if we just prefix every world cup thread with a tag of "world cup".

I am not bothered either way as neither is a huge task.

Can Scotland still win the World Cup in 2026? Asking for a friend!

Steve Clarke no longer the manager, just 3 weeks after signing a 4 year extension!

6 hours ago, Yngwie said:

Steve Clarke no longer the manager, just 3 weeks after signing a 4 year extension!

Such a shame and a sad ending for him after all he’s achieved climbing up the Nations League and getting us back to the World Cup and UEFAs. He did make us competitive again to a certain degree but after those displays I think he’s done the right and honourable thing by resigning.

So a new chapter awaits, Whoever takes over has plenty of time to work with his chosen squad before the next tournament and hopefully can build on the base Steve Clarke created and move us forward to the next level.

1 hour ago, CaleyCanary said:

Such a shame and a sad ending for him after all he’s achieved

I don’t want to criticise the individual as he was just the latest person to have to deal with a almost impossible task, which was to develop and progress a national team that could take the next step of qualifying to the knockout out stage of the Euro or WC tournaments.

I give credit to Clarke for having the common sense to know his time ‘had run’. It’s a statement (to anyone listening IMO) we neither have the organisational structure, people running the ‘show’ or players with the requisite ability or skills to take us to that level.

When to take in the populations of the major (successful) footballing nations then it’s clear numbers (players -competition-standards) count. eg

GRM - 85; FR - 70; ENG - 60; SPN - 48 Million.

Of our WC group, BRL-214, Morocco-39, HTI -12 M.

Equivalent Euro countries with Scotland 6 million, DMK -6, SWD -11, NWY-6, BLM-12, IRL - 6, PGL - 11.

Belgium and Portugal has proved that with the right vision, structure and people (weather may also be an important factor here), it is possible to compete against the ‘big’ countries.

The WC has proved that ‘small’ nations can however can provide exciting football, Curacao the prime example with there flair and quick moving football. They came unstuck of course points wise (2), however was an example (to me) that an adventurous approach is more appreciated than a Don’t - Loose one.

I think ‘adventure’ wasn’t in the Stevie Clarke training manual. It only happened by luck.

So to close, good luck to Mr Clarke if he wishes to continue in football management. There will be clubs willing to use his talents and experience.

For Scotland (and more importantly its fans). the challenge and expectations need to be kept in check. Ie what is realistically possible. Thats not to say don’t stop the tartan army having a great time at tournaments when we quality, quite the reverse, their brilliant ambassadors.

The only thing I would do is change the model (and leaders) at the SFA has for the development of our young players. The current one (employed for decades) has not worked or progressed your players skill set IMO.

I don’t wait in great expectation!

Thats it off my chest!!

bc

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by big cherly

We now know that the size of our defeat to Brazil actually made no difference, we weren’t even close and would’ve needed a 5 or 6 goal GD improvement to qualify. Realistically we needed to snatch a draw against Morocco.

Is the reason Clarke plays cautiously because he knows/believes that central defence is the weakest link? Hanley/Hendry/McKenna are obviously good defenders to a certain level but play for Hibs, Al Ettifaq and Dinamo Zagreb, and are past their best. Been a long time since there was a pairing you could really trust.

So who next for manager? Derek McInnes would’ve been the obvious choice until he got the Rangers job.

I know a lot of people will insist that we need a Scottish manager, but I’d be happy with Ange Postecoglu if he wanted it and was affordable.

Some possibilities - including Ange - discussed here - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/28/scotland-search-new-coach-replace-steve-clarke

Get Ange in 👍

Haven’t even seen the Brazil game although I’ve recorded it. We booked a cruise leaving from Helsinki a year ago. So left Helsinki on the Wednesday night for Tallin, and being 2 hours ahead, it kicked off at 1am. TV was dodgy at sea by satellite and saw a few minutes before it froze (a bit like Scott McKenna maybe). Saw two more snatches, each time realising we had lost another goal, then another bit in the second period when we seemed to be on top, before I gave up.