New Year, New Gaffer: Welcome, Craig Levein

December 23rd, 2009 | by: Ian Rose | Comments(2)

It wasn’t the easiest year to be a Scotland fan. Then again, for those of us that lived through the disaster that was the Berti Vogts years, it wasn’t the hardest. I had a lot of faith in George Burley coming in, but it just never worked. His tactics were questionable, his team and substitution choices uninspired. I wish him well wherever he ends up, but I’m glad he’s left us. It was time for a change. And now, we finally know who will be replacing him. The 20th manager in Scotland’s team history (for most of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, there was a selection committee, not an official manager) will be Craig Levein.

Welcome, Craig. You’ve done well at Dundee United, certainly cementing a place in the second tier below the intractable Old Firm, even challenging them at times. You’ve shown a solid commitment to youth football, which Scotland sorely needs, as well as the ability to spot talent where others might miss it. We the Scotland faithful will be behind you as long as you prove you are worthy of the honor you are being given.

Levein has some time to watch his men and build his new team, his first match in charge mostly likely coming on March 3, 2010 at Hampden, as the Czech Republic come for a friendly.

As pleased and hopeful as I am for our new manager, I cannot be anything but disappointed with the hiring process and with the Scottish Football Association in general. First, they only bothered to interview one applicant, which regardless of his quality, shows a lack of commitment to finding the best possible man. Second, the way they dealt with Dundee United Football Club, Levein’s employer, was nothing short of shameful. It showed not only a lack of legal and organizational competence, but a lack of basic respect. The SFA should be the foundation of Scottish football, a strong hub around which the national team can be rebuilt, stronger than it was. Instead, more often than not, it’s a nail in our sides, annoying at the least and at worst deadly to the cause it was founded to advance.

The draw for Euro 2012 is only a few months away, and the World Cup, from which we will be painfully absent, less than six. Let’s make this the last major tournament we miss. It has been eleven, going on twelve, long years since France 1998, and it has to end. Mon the Scots.