Scotland’s day in the sun is just over the horizon
MAYBE it’s the heatwave that promotes a sunny disposition of Scottish football. A rare break in the clouds so to speak.
Watching another World Cup with only Superior Striker Allan Russell providing any tartan presence, albeit from the unpalatable position from the England bench, has provided a ray of light.
Shyness McGonnagal aside, the Three Lions have shown what can be achieved when a plan finally comes together.
This is a nation which was scrambling for a footballing identity and it all came to a head in 2000 when then FA technical director Howard Wilkinson spearheaded a revolution over how to produce players.
An ambitious charter for quality is now bearing fruit. World champions at Under-17 and 20 level, three-in-a-row winners of the Toulon tournament and if time lines are to believed, when it comes to global dominance, it should be our turn next.
For Burton-on-Trent St George’s Park complex, read the Oriam.
Edinburgh’s football factory is now fully operational and we are also well down the road with the SFA’s Performance Schools so it’s just a matter of working and waiting until a golden generation comes to fruition.
The FA’s base is a copycat of the legendary French set-up at Clairefontaine which is three decades old this year.
A talent generator which includes 302 beds, 10 pitches, a sports science laboratory, a games room, a library and a cinema room.
It’s housed the bulk of the current French squad as well as a host of former graduates who’ve gone on to claim superstar status in the European game. National training centre par excellence.
Belgium have followed suit, with performance school initiatives started in the millennium, now making their mark in Russia.
It’s all about cycles and Germany are a case in point. After bombing at Euro 2000, a strategy was drawn up to overhaul their youth development.
It has paid off in spectacular style with stunning success at both international and club level. Don’t be fooled by their elimination, it was complacency rather than a lack of talent which sunk Joachim Low’s side.
All of these nations and the upturn in their fortunes should be welcome news for the SFA. Scottish football has started its ascent, after being on the road to nowhere for so long.
A combination of performance schools, academies and national training centre should have superkids shortly coming down the track.
Billy Gilmour, Harry Cochrane and Dean Campbell to name but a few are now emerging and have shown an ability in tender years to suggest they’ll will be no flash in the pan.
This year will be the third graduate class since the introduction of the SFA’s performance schools in 2012.
It’s a bold statement to suggest we could be ahead of schedule but the sun’s out so why not.
The sky should be the limit, just ask Superior Striker.
A guy who couldn’t get a game for St Mirren and now guiding Harry Kane towards the Golden Boot.
The Three Lions have shown what can be achieved when a plan finally comes together