Silence over the Life of Brian adds to comedy of errors
WE need to talk about Brian. And a few other things, for that matter. It is now five weeks and three days since the lesser-spotted Master McClair decided he was about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike in his role as performance director of the Scottish FA and disappeared into the night.
Outwith a press release, issued by the SFA, in which everyone, including him, seemed to agree that he should never have been given the job in the first place, that’s been it. Nothing since. Not a cheep.
There is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it advertisement for the position in the ‘vacancies’ corner of the association’s website. It is listed below ‘Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football’ and ‘Media and Communications Officer’ and just above a job as a part-time shop assistant in the Hampden Museum.
It is tempting to think these career opportunities have been listed in order of importance. The SFA are certainly doing a good job of making it appear as though they want the whole issue of what precisely is happening with their performance strategy to disappear until they cobble something new together.
This, admittedly, is not terribly sexy when placed beside the return of Celtic to the Champions League and a group which brings no end of little nuggets such as Kolo Toure up against Yaya, Patrick Roberts up against his parent club, Scott Sinclair going back to the place that almost ruined him and Pep Guardiola going back to the place that made him.
Yet, it remains important that we discuss, publicly, what has been going on at the SFA of late. This role of performance director was not always to be avoided quietly, rather like the man on the bus in the too-tight tennis shorts.
Consider the mood in June 2011 when Mark Wotte, who also left under a cloud, was being unveiled as the nation’s saviour.
Stewart Regan, SFA chief executive, stated that the creation of the job was ‘the single most important recommendation’ in Henry McLeish’s report into the state of the game. He was also quoted as saying that ‘this is the key appointment that could turn round Scottish football.’
Big words. Sadly, we see little of Stewart these days to ask if the sense of such infinite possibility still makes him tingle.
Is this job still regarded the way it once was? Is it, as must be feared, now to be filled by a ‘yes’ man willing to settle for half-baked reforms and just get the whole, awkward issue off the agenda?
Regan is back on Twitter after deleting his account in the wake of abuse over the questionable handling of Rangers’ meltdown in 2012. He keeps a lower profile nowadays, though. Gone are the days of slagging off referee Charlie Richmond in 140 characters.
He has been posting pictures of sunsets. Oh, and he has pointed out there is a PR position going at his work. No mention of the biggestever job in the entire history of Scottish football being up for grabs as well, though.
He also appears busy by upsetting Rangers over the Scottish Cup final’s descent into a riot.
However, there are important questions over McClair which he really ought to address.
When Wotte got the job, it was stated, even then, that administrative experience and ‘political awareness’ would be essential. Regan cited McClair’s dislike of lobbying and presenting in boardrooms as a reason his position became untenable.
How did he get through the interview, then? What exactly was the selection process?
Was this, with McClair’s former Manchester United team-mate Gordon Strachan in with the bricks at Hampden, just some old pals’ act? Above all else, what comes next?
Whilst Regan remains as elusive as the snow leopard, Strachan did make an appearance outwith television’s lucrative cash-for-questions circuit this week when naming his squad for the World Cup qualifier in Malta. He would not address enquiries about McClair’s departure, though.
As you may remember, Strachan was working with him on a blueprint for the future of grassroots football, which was supposed to be unveiled last December. He’s been talking about carrying on until pensionable age to fix our game.
‘It has become my thing now,’ he said. ‘It’s become an obsession.’
From an obsession to an unwelcome diversion in a matter of months, it seems.
If the self-interest of clubs, as we are led to believe, really did scupper McClair’s work and his attempts to streamline the dreadful, bloated Pro-Youth set-up, why not confirm it? At least, then, we will know how things stand.
Instead, we were served up nonsense from the national manager about no one knowing Oliver Burke until he picked him. His assistant Mark McGhee then upbraided Under-21s coach Ricky Sbragia for not selecting Motherwell midfielder Chris Cadden and effectively admitted that Scotland’s senior management team have limited communication with that age group. Is this the joined-up thinking performance strategies demand?
There is real pressure on Strachan and Regan to deliver on and off the field right now.
If they don’t, that ‘Situations Vacant’ page of the SFA website will surely have another couple of exciting career opportunities on it.