jdilla
Well-Known Member
IN an ideal world, Scotland would have battered Holland on Thursday as Northern Ireland were taking five off the Swiss in Belfast.
Nobody would have deserved that scenario more than Stewart Regan.
On the day Hampden’s top man jumped the gun by ruling Malky Mackay out of the Scotland job during a radio interview, Regan would have been left squirming.
You can bet the SFA chief executive hopes Switzerland end Northern Ireland’s interest in next summer’s World Cup.
That’ll allow him to move on Michael O’Neill.
If that’s not his gameplan, he’s not as bright as we’re led to believe.
But if the Belfast boys make it to Russia, Regan will have to look elsewhere.
The SFA can’t wait until next summer for O’Neill.
Which makes his ruling out of Mackay before the Holland match all the more bizarre.
Since handing Malky that game, Regan has had weeks to clarify Mackay’s position. He chose not to.
As recently as Thursday morning, Scotland’s interim boss was odds-on with the bookies to replace Gordon Strachan permanently.
Quizzed by the media on the possibility, Mackay made no attempt to rule himself out.
Cue Regan’s radio appearance on the day of the game, when he hung Mackay out on a washing line.
That was accompanied by the usual guff about Project Brave and the great job Malky is doing there.
As if that position is remotely as important as the Scotland manager’s job.
Trust me, the Scotland head coach gets the biggest salary at Hampden for a reason.
The idea that Mackay would be more useful reshaping the youth system is utter nonsense.
He’s a time-served coach with experience of the highest level, not a Hampden babysitter.
Mind you, we all know Malky’s real problem.
He’ll struggle to shake off the stigma of the text-gate scandal that buried him at Cardiff.
Despite attending equality and diversity training, the politically-correct Stasi would march on Hampden if he got the big job.
While Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby believes Mackay deserves a second chance, the PC zealots are having none of it.
Fair to say the SFA wouldn’t fancy the heat appointing Mackay would bring upon them.
That still doesn’t excuse the ham-fisted way Regan undermined Malky at Pittodrie.
Here was a new Scotland squad, ready to bust a gut for a coach they thought could be Strachan’s successor.
Then, just hours before kick-off, they discover he’s only going to take two internationals. His first and last.
Regan’s radio appearance cost Malky every ounce of authority in the Scotland dressing room.
He was a lame duck before he’d given his team talk.
Spotted in deep conversation with Regan pre-match, Malky claimed his position wasn’t discussed.
If you believe that you must have fairies at the bottom of your garden.
In front of the microphones, Mackay was left with a damage limitation job on behalf of Regan.
A night that should have served as Malky’s audition for the Scotland job turned into an embarrassment.
Come to think of it, if the Holland match wasn’t arranged to check out Mackay’s credentials, what was the point of it?
Standing in the tunnel before the game, wee Wesley Sneijder looked as if he’d been kidnapped by Hezbollah.
Having swapped the south of France for Aberdeen, Sneijder was at least spared a bounce game that saw Holland play in second gear.
In the meantime, can we trust the SFA to get the next appointment right?
The last time they were in this position they went with the popular vote.
With the Tartan Army screaming for Strachan, Hampden didn’t dare look elsewhere.
To be fair to Gordon, he gave it his best shot.
But Strach was a typical SFA appointment.
Compensation wasn’t an issue for a coach who’d been out of management for two years.
This time Regan’s gang have to show more ambition.
They must look beyond the usual suspects and find out who else is out there.
If he’s foreign? Fine. If he’s demanding top dollar? Give him it. Quality comes at a price.
Right now, our international team has never been less relevant.
Failure is now met with a shrug of the shoulders.
Regan’s job is to find the guy who can change that.
—
Quite incredible, really. Not wanting a homophobic racist leading your country apparently makes you a "PC zealot"
Nobody would have deserved that scenario more than Stewart Regan.
On the day Hampden’s top man jumped the gun by ruling Malky Mackay out of the Scotland job during a radio interview, Regan would have been left squirming.
You can bet the SFA chief executive hopes Switzerland end Northern Ireland’s interest in next summer’s World Cup.
That’ll allow him to move on Michael O’Neill.
If that’s not his gameplan, he’s not as bright as we’re led to believe.
But if the Belfast boys make it to Russia, Regan will have to look elsewhere.
The SFA can’t wait until next summer for O’Neill.
Which makes his ruling out of Mackay before the Holland match all the more bizarre.
Since handing Malky that game, Regan has had weeks to clarify Mackay’s position. He chose not to.
As recently as Thursday morning, Scotland’s interim boss was odds-on with the bookies to replace Gordon Strachan permanently.
Quizzed by the media on the possibility, Mackay made no attempt to rule himself out.
Cue Regan’s radio appearance on the day of the game, when he hung Mackay out on a washing line.
That was accompanied by the usual guff about Project Brave and the great job Malky is doing there.
As if that position is remotely as important as the Scotland manager’s job.
Trust me, the Scotland head coach gets the biggest salary at Hampden for a reason.
The idea that Mackay would be more useful reshaping the youth system is utter nonsense.
He’s a time-served coach with experience of the highest level, not a Hampden babysitter.
Mind you, we all know Malky’s real problem.
He’ll struggle to shake off the stigma of the text-gate scandal that buried him at Cardiff.
Despite attending equality and diversity training, the politically-correct Stasi would march on Hampden if he got the big job.
While Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby believes Mackay deserves a second chance, the PC zealots are having none of it.
Fair to say the SFA wouldn’t fancy the heat appointing Mackay would bring upon them.
That still doesn’t excuse the ham-fisted way Regan undermined Malky at Pittodrie.
Here was a new Scotland squad, ready to bust a gut for a coach they thought could be Strachan’s successor.
Then, just hours before kick-off, they discover he’s only going to take two internationals. His first and last.
Regan’s radio appearance cost Malky every ounce of authority in the Scotland dressing room.
He was a lame duck before he’d given his team talk.
Spotted in deep conversation with Regan pre-match, Malky claimed his position wasn’t discussed.
If you believe that you must have fairies at the bottom of your garden.
In front of the microphones, Mackay was left with a damage limitation job on behalf of Regan.
A night that should have served as Malky’s audition for the Scotland job turned into an embarrassment.
Come to think of it, if the Holland match wasn’t arranged to check out Mackay’s credentials, what was the point of it?
Standing in the tunnel before the game, wee Wesley Sneijder looked as if he’d been kidnapped by Hezbollah.
Having swapped the south of France for Aberdeen, Sneijder was at least spared a bounce game that saw Holland play in second gear.
In the meantime, can we trust the SFA to get the next appointment right?
The last time they were in this position they went with the popular vote.
With the Tartan Army screaming for Strachan, Hampden didn’t dare look elsewhere.
To be fair to Gordon, he gave it his best shot.
But Strach was a typical SFA appointment.
Compensation wasn’t an issue for a coach who’d been out of management for two years.
This time Regan’s gang have to show more ambition.
They must look beyond the usual suspects and find out who else is out there.
If he’s foreign? Fine. If he’s demanding top dollar? Give him it. Quality comes at a price.
Right now, our international team has never been less relevant.
Failure is now met with a shrug of the shoulders.
Regan’s job is to find the guy who can change that.
—
Quite incredible, really. Not wanting a homophobic racist leading your country apparently makes you a "PC zealot"
