Euro 2024

Euros 2024.

When I’m not watching fitba, I watch Scotland. I want Scotland to win and England to lose. Scotland didn’t so much get beaten in the opening match as humiliated 5—1 by the host nation Germany. For once, the pubs were busy. Even my gang hut The Drop Inn. One woman customer was on her toes screaming, ‘Penalty! Penalty! Even when a less drunk guy *(if such a thing exists in The Drop Inn) explained to her that it was a penalty not to Scotland, but to Germany, she didn’t get it. She continued screaming, ‘Penalty.’ Maybe she still is. There are penalties for living in a parallel universe.

It was also a red-card. Ryan Porteous will miss the next two games. So it wasn’t that bad.

A sad punter had put Scotland on to win the tournament. His odds were 80—1. Shite odds. 8 000 000 000—1 and I’d stick a pound on our boys.

I’m Celtic through and through. West Germany duly beat Hungary 2—0 and qualified from Group A. I’m thoroughly familiar with European ties and not finishing bottom of the group and finishing bottom, anyway.

The other side of that, of course, is glorious failure. Celtic and Scotland always come up trumps. The first World Cup I watched from start to finish (Germany beat Holland in the final) we beat Zaire and drew with Brazil in the group section. We had to beat them but were squeezed out.

Glorious failure didn’t come better than having to beat the Dutch of Cruyff and Neeskins in 1978 by three clear goals to qualify. Impossible. But we nearly done and it were dreaming when  European Cup winner, Archie Gemmill scored that goal to put us 3—1 up. Holland scored again of course. I forgave them when they gave us Wim Jensen.

Scotland will not win the tournament. I’m not sure we’ll beat Switzerland or Hungary.  

England might win the Euros. I don’t hate England in the way I hate Rangers. I’m largely indifferent to them. Alex Ferguson would call them our ‘noisy neighbours,’ multiplied by media jingoism and flag waving 48 million fold. It’s not a good mix. England have the players to win it. I’m not sure they have the team. Germany, on home soil, looks the team to beat. They haven’t actually played anyone yet. But they have coasted through two matches. England struggled but still won. They’ll meet in the quarter-finals if everything goes according to plan (it rarely does, even for Man City). Penalty! Penalties?

https://amzn.to/48khBJ5

Scotland 2—2 Austria

Watching Scotland play is a duty rather than a pleasure. I was brought up in an era when fitba was on the telly you watched it. If Celtic was playing Clydebank at Parkhead I’d go to the game and rush home to see if I was on the telly with the other 17 000 crowd haunting Paradise. I didn’t go very often. Obviously, watching every single game when Scotland played in the World Cup in 1974 and 1978. We beat Brazil and there was that Archie Gemmill goal against Holland when we nearly qualified for the next round. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hLuv5AlXWE

It was great being on the road with Ally’s army. I didn’t go anywhere, but the idea was a good one. I’ve only been to one Scotland game at Hampden. I was accompanying some adults with Learning Disabilities. They were looking at me and I was looking at them. And I know what they were thinking…

Obviously, I’m a Celtic man. So I gave David Marshall the once over. Celtic flung £5 million at a Greek keeper that couldn’t catch a pound coin if you handed it to him. So signing Marshall on a free transfer takes me back to Hampden with those Learning Disability adults. Marshall made a couple of good saves here. But he was at fault for the first goal.  Grillitsch hit it from about 30 yards.  Marshall palmed it to his right. The six-foot-seven Austrian powerhouse, Kalajdzic, swooped and scored from the rebound in the 55th minute. Kalajdzic had another goal disallowed two minutes later for a push on Tierney. Scotland got lucky there, because there was little contact.

Tierney was Scotland’s best player. Captain Andy Robertson plays in front of him. I don’t think that works. Both are full backs. I think it’s either/or, not both. And Tierney is simply better. Celtic rather that wasting £20 million on duds should have kept him for another season. He’s sorely missed.

On the other side of the defence, we had the Belgian phoenix Jack Henry. Playing Henry allowed Clarke to push McTominay into central midfield. The Manchester United played had not a bad game. Henry in comparison is Mr Potato head, six foot five and he can’t head a ball. He’s not one I want to keep at Celtic. But he’s good enough for Scotland. Strangely, a Scotland team without any of the Champion’s players. We even had my namesake, O’Donnell, playing at right back (I’m better than him, but slower, a lot slower, and can’t take shys). O’Donnell proved his worth by taking the free-kick from which Hanley equalised on the 71st minute.

The Austrian backline played high, the ball scooped in behind. The Austrian keeper, Schlager, had the option of coming for the ball but hung back. Hanley didn’t. Schlager also made a basic goal-keeping mistake on the cusp of half-time. He passed the ball to Lyndon Dykes, perhaps time-wasting, knowing Dykes doesn’t score many goals. But Dykes found Christie and the Celtic forward hit the keeper with it. It’s not been a great season for him either. I’ll miss Christie when he leaves Celtic.

I’ll mention Stuart Armstrong because he also played for Celtic. Scotland are good at draws and the game looked to be petering out to a 1—1. Then a nothing ball was thrown into the box and Kalajdzic from the penalty spot, with the ball slightly behind him, powered it into the net. Marshall had no chance with this one.

I didn’t rate Scotland’s chances. With ten minutes to go it looked like another defeat. Armstrong played his part by going off a substitute. This allowed Celtic stalwart McGregor to come on and John McGinn to push forward and play up front with Adams (an Englishman winning his first cap for Scotland).

Kalajdzic’s goal was a beauty. But John McGinn’s was even better. You may remember that Celtic let McGinn go to Aston Villa. And he’s a Celtic die-hard, his grandfather player with Celtic. And I played with his McGinn’s uncle, Johnny Gibbons, in the school team. (I may have peaked too early here). Gibbons’ sister and McGinn’s mother played in the netball team. Some thought that’s where I belonged. The goal McGinn scored was probably offside, but even Scotland needs a bit of luck. Another bog-standard cross into the box. It wasn’t very high. McGinn did an overhead kick and it soared into the corner. The kind of winning goal that you dreamed about when playing school fitba—even though it wasn’t the winning goal. Scotland had to hang on for a draw. I wonder what the odds are for Steve Clarke being the next Celtic manager?

Clarke brought on ex-Rangers player McLean to run about for thirty seconds, which was an improvement on bringing on McBurnie. Next up Israel (again). We play them every second game. That’ll give me a chance to sympathise with El Hamad for not being good enough for Celtic. And to call for Bitton to be give a free transfer. He’s nearly as bad as Henry. If I’ve missed mentioning any Celtic player let me know (James Forrest doesn’t count. And we all know where Griffiths is at, but whose box he’s in is anybody’s guess).