The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Strachan’s fond memories of Wembley
WITH THE encouragement of a London bobby, or so he claims, off went Gordon Strachan running across the Wembley pitch.
By his own admission too small to grab the crossbar, the then 20-year-old Scotland fan satisfied himself with a piece of the hallowed turf just like countless thousands of other Tartan Army members.
His wee bit of grass was planted somewhere in a back garden in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, although Strachan when pushed couldn’t recall the exact location.
The day in question was June 4 1977, and goals from Gordon McQueen and Kenny Dalglish had just secured a famous 2-1 win over the Auld Enemy, with Mick Channon’s late penalty meagre consolation for the home side.
What happened on the park during the 90 minutes was almost eclipsed by what happened on it afterwards, however, with the famous – or infamous, depending upon your viewpoint – invasion by Scotland supporters living long in the memory and on the TV screens.
Among the throngs celebrating or doing a bit of amateur gardening was, indeed, the current Scots national coach.
However, as Strachan looked ahead to the restaging of the world’s oldest international fixture at the newer version of Wembley on August 14, he argued that the chances of scenes like that happening ever again are close to zero and that any “nastiness” that was in these battle of Britain clashes around about that time has long since disappeared.
Strachan, speaking at Hampden yesterday as he unveiled his squad for the eagerlyanticipated clash against the English and where a four-year sponsorship extension with Vauxhall was also announced, made his case for it being a healthy rivalry when the two nations meet in the Teenage Cancer Trust international.
“It is not a home or away game for us, really,” he said.
“It is a showpiece that will be played out on middle ground.
“For when we think about Wembley, we say we are all right with it and will enjoy it. That goes for players, fans and coaches. “So it is a kind of neutral game for us. “I am sure that (England manager) Roy Hodgson will experiment a bit, as will we, but it won’t be a normal friendly where you get multi substitutions and it will be competitive.
“I also would hope there is a bit of pantomime about it because we (the Scots and English) get on well when it comes to other things.
“We want to win, that’s for sure, but there will be a bit of camaraderie among the two groups of players because they know each other well. Even the fans — a lot of our supporters who will be at the game will live in England.
“And when it is a bit pantomime we can all enjoy ourselves.
“If it goes over the top it gets a bit serious, as is the case in other parts of the world where it gets nasty in a football ground.
“I don’t think there has been nastiness for years at these games.”
Strachan’s mind then went back to the summer of 77, when he watched Scotland defeat England at Wembley while on his honeymoon.
The Scotland boss claims he was urged by a policeman to join in the pitch invasion.
“There was me, my wife and my best man standing on the terracing,” he recalled.
“We were the only three left in our section and a policeman said to me, ‘Look, do yourself a favour and get on the park as you look silly standing there.’ “So on we went. “You need to remember I was only a boy at the time — 20 years of age.
“I was glad I was on the park and I didn’t wreck anything. I couldn’t reach the bar!
“There is still a bit of Wembley turf somewhere in Broughty Ferry tucked away in a back garden.
“I don’t know exactly what house but the FA can get it back if they want to pay for it — that’s not a problem!”
Strachan believes that mutual respect between the two sets of players and the Tartan Army’s long-held pride in how they conduct themselves will ensure they will be there to enjoy the fixture and that it will be football that will be getting talked about afterwards.
“There is nothing wrong with rivalry, you get that in all sports,” added Strachan.
“For example, you have Phil Mickelson andTigerWoods in golf and Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in tennis. “But there is a respect that goes with it. “I played against England boys like Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins and they wanted to beat you, trust me, but there was respect and that’s the way it is now.
“I think the travelling support are like that too. There isn’t an aggression towards England.
“We and they are very proud of who we are and what we are and that manifests itself now in the good behaviour from the fans.
“Maybe 30 or 40 years ago it was aggressive behaviour but I don’t think it’s like that now. They now say, ‘Look at us — we know how to support our team.”