Scotland likely to lose Celts for May friendly

March 30th, 2008 | By: Ian Rose | 4 Comments »

It’s difficult to talk about Scottish football and the Old Firm without bringing up pendulums. Everything seems to be constantly shifting between the two Glasgow sides … one year one is ahead, the next year, the other. And now, we Scotland fans may have to switch which of the two we’re most annoyed with. Rangers seemed certain to hold that dubious honor when four of their best players, Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch, Christian Dailly and Barry Ferguson, called out sick from the national team’s match with Croatia, then all played a full game three days later against Celtic. Those must be some good doctors at Ibrox.

But now, it’s Celtic that is causing furor in the Tartan Army ranks. It seems that the Bhoys will be on a Japanese tour in the end of May, during the national team’s friendly in Prague with the Czech Republic.

Now, I’m no big fan of either Old Firm side. They are arrogant and spoiled, which I imagine I would be as well if I was in the habit of winning everything for as long as I could remember. But I have to admit, Celtic did their part in Wednesday’s friendly. Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus were really solid in defense, and Paul Hartley was adequate to the job in midfield. Scott Brown was atrocious, but you can’t fault him for not showing up, at least in a literal sense.

I understand the club vs. country conflict. But club friendly vs. international friendly? Clearly, the national team takes precedence over a publicity tour, and any player that doesn’t make that known is below the quality deserving of a Scotland cap. I want the national team to be less dependent on the Old Firm, but for now, many of our best are still based in Glasgow, and it appears we won’t see a full complement of them until the first World Cup qualifier. That’s if they don’t have other plans.

Tags: Celtic, Club vs Country, George Burley, Old Firm, Other News, Rangers, Scotland

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Comments

By Jan | April 1st, 2008 at 12:02 am

I wonder whether the Czech Republic will be happy with this arrangement either. I remember that Jogi Löw once decided to play a B squad in a friendly against Denmark which caused a very negative backlash. On the one hand the fans, who came to see their World Cup heroes, were unhappy and Denmark were unhappy because they wanted to play Germany to play a tough opponent and not a better U21 side. Since the match is played in Prague, there’s probably no backlash to fear from Scottish fans, but I wonder whether the Czechs are happy with playing a weakened Scottish side. In the end, they need to prepare for the Euros and when they would have wanted a weak opponent, they would have invited a different team.

I also wonder, whether it’s not all about Nakamura anyway? I guess the Japanese want to see their best player in action and Celtic want to sell a lot of Nakamura shirts and not Gary Caldwell’s…

By Ian | April 1st, 2008 at 1:09 am

Absolutely right, Jan. The Czechs seem to get less of a workout, but remember that Croatia could claim the same, with Rangers essentially pulling out of their friendly. The difference is that Celtic primarily provides the defensive end of the Scotland side, and Rangers the offense. The central defense without Caldwell and McManus would likely be Berra and … maybe Weir? One was too young for the Croatia match, the other too old, so I’m not terribly confident about that as a starting situation. Still, Burley did well with what he had against Croatia, and I expect the same against the Czechs.

By Chris | April 9th, 2008 at 10:55 am

Its about time Scotland (players, club managers and fans alike) take International friendlies more seriously. The result may not matter but friendlies are some of the only chances the manager will get to work with his team. I personally find club football, especially in this country to be a plague that must be brought down a notch. The monotonous rivalry between Celtic and Rangers has went on long enough and I have no idea why the fans of these teams aren’t even getting bored. Most other countries realize that club football is nothing but the stepping stone towards building a descent national side, but Scotland is too busy fighting with itself that we only truly get along with each other when Scotland are winning games. It is a fact that most or all attention will get focused on club football because sadly, like everything else these days, theres very good money to be made from it.

I think its about time this country slaps itself awake and realizes whats important.

By Ian | April 9th, 2008 at 11:36 am

Amen, Chris. I’m not sure I agree that club football exists ONLY to build toward national duties, but things are certainly far too skewed toward clubs, especially in Scotland. I wish Celtic fans would remember that their hero, Jock Stein, was equally a Celtic and Scotland man. Same goes for Rangers - their best throughout history have been Scotland players, and valued both duties. Last year was great for the national side, but you’re right - it had more to do with winning than really gaining any real ground in the public’s mind. To fans like you and me, Scotland will always be more important than any club, and its sad how few of us there are.

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