Craig Levein: The Saviour of Scottish Fitba?

[ArabFC]

No, seriously!

I don’t think anyone would argue that we currently have the strongest squad for quite some time and a youngish group at that.

But who’s responsible for it? I don’t actually know, but I propose that Levein must be among the leading candidates.

While manager at United - around 15 years ago - he completely revamped our youth setup with a focus on getting promising youngsters more coaching and more time on the ball to improve them technically. He also teamed up with a local school to do help do this.

When he took over the Scotland gig, he demanded that Scotland do the same - thus the performance schools were born. 

Now, not all our good players have come through this setup, but I do think Levein was fairly instrumental in shifting the focus in youth football to a more technical basis.

Obviously at the same time he did a shit job as the actual Scotland manager, but hey-ho, he had Jamie Mackie to play with.

I’m very probably overlooking some other influential voices in the game, but there’s no doubt that the new generations of Scottish player are technically better than a decade ago.

So thanks Sir Craig

[paranoid android]

You spelled 'slaver' wrong. 

[Richey Edwards]

Gordon Strachan identified that Scotland's footballers were genetically inferior to other country's footballers, so the current squad were created and artificially aged in a secret laboratory underneath Hampden Park.

[gannonball]

 

10 hours ago, ArabFC said:

 

 

 

While manager at United - around 15 years ago - he completely revamped our youth setup with a focus on getting promising youngsters more coaching and more time on the ball to improve them technically. He also teamed up with a local school to do help do this.

When he took over the Scotland gig, he demanded that Scotland do the same - thus the performance schools were born. 

Now, not all our good players have come through this setup, but I do think Levein was fairly instrumental in shifting the focus in youth football to a more technical basis.

 

 

 

The performance schools were recommended by the dossier by Henry Mcleish which was basically copying other nations who have done it.

Also Celtic were doing a link up I think before before Dundee Utd so he wasn’t implementing it for the first time in Scotland.

So to summarise he has f**k all really to do with any resurgence with Scotland. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by gannonball

[paranoid android]

1 minute ago, gannonball said:

 

 

Also Celtic were doing a link up before before Dundee Utd so he wasn’t implementing it for the first time in Scotland.

 

There you go, lads - it was all thanks to celtic's good work.

A rangers fan will be along the now to tell us what they did to help - glory halleluiah! 

[gannonball]

29 minutes ago, paranoid android said:

There you go, lads - it was all thanks to celtic's good work.

A rangers fan will be along the now to tell us what they did to help - glory halleluiah! 

Yeah I clearly never claimed it was, Scotland just like Celtic took a leaf out of other peoples books on the continent. I find it strange for the amount of people that claim to dislike the ‘old firm’ they will pigeonhole the tit for tat stuff in to discussions.

Edited September 28, 2022 by gannonball

[craigkillie]

I don't think the performance school set up was or is really that common elsewhere - certainly not working within existing schools in such an organised way as the SFA's scheme. We're only really starting to see the benefits of those, but we're ending up with a crop of mature and fearless players which I think comes from that extra time put into the non-footballing side of things at the schools.

[tellyboy]

Levein did contribute in a big way as no Scotland Manager ever again will attempt to play 4-6-0 (Or we hope not)!

[TheScarf]

1 hour ago, Richey Edwards said:

Gordon Strachan identified that Scotland's footballers were genetically inferior to other country's footballers, so the current squad were created and artificially aged in a secret laboratory underneath Hampden Park.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Strachan was a bang average manager who used to pick players over better ones, IMO, just to piss the fans off.  A stubborn wee gimp.  We finished below South Ireland under him ffs.

[Richey Edwards]

30 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Strachan was a bang average manager who used to pick players over better ones, IMO, just to piss the fans off.  A stubborn wee gimp.  We finished below South Ireland under him ffs.

I know, I was being sarcastic. That "theory" that he spouted was embarrassing and should have seen him binned straight away rather than waiting ages to decide whether to give him a new contract or not.

[TheScarf]

Just now, Richey Edwards said:

I know, I was being sarcastic. That "theory" that he spouted was embarrassing and should have seen him binned straight away rather than waiting ages to decide whether to give him a new contract or not.

I know, I was agreeing with you at how fucking moronic a statement it was from a well known sarcastic and cheeky wanker in Gordon Strachan.

[gannonball]

35 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Strachan was a bang average manager who used to pick players over better ones, IMO, just to piss the fans off.  A stubborn wee gimp.  We finished below South Ireland under him ffs.

Ireland have qualified more for tournaments in my lifetime. There wasn’t any real  difference in quality in the squads at that time either so not exactly sure why you have mentioned them as if they are the Faroes or something. I do agree however Strachan is as stubborn as they come. Still can’t believe he’s at Dundee after the whole Mark Mcghee stuff.

Edited September 28, 2022 by gannonball

[TheScarf]

Just now, gannonball said:

Ireland have qualified more for tournaments in my lifetime. There wasn’t any real  difference in quality in the squads at that time either so not exactly sure why you have mentioned them as if they are the Faroes or something. I do agree however Strachan is as stubborn as they come. Still can’t believe he’s at Dundee after the whole Mark Mcghee stuff.

Because they had better managers than us (Trappatoni for example) and we had to make do with losers like Strachan.  We've always had better squads than them IMO, we finally have a better squad and a better manager and results are showing that.

[Richey Edwards]

1 minute ago, TheScarf said:

I know, I was agreeing with you at how fucking moronic a statement it was from a well known sarcastic and cheeky w****r in Gordon Strachan.

I don't know if he was trying to be funny, but it was one of the worst attempts at humour I have ever heard. There's a time to try to be funny and it is NOT right after a game that we needed to win but did not.

[TheScarf]

Just now, Richey Edwards said:

I don't know if he was trying to be funny, but it was one of the worst attempts at humour I have ever heard. There's a time to try to be funny and it is NOT right after a game that we needed to win but did not.

That's his personality though, fails at what he's been tasked with and turns into a sarcastic fud.  He and Clarke are like night and day.  A professional and serious guy who doesn't make excuses when we lose, and a stubborn arsehole who makes daft comments when asked legitimate questions about the game.

[Richey Edwards]

Just now, TheScarf said:

That's his personality though, fails at what he's been tasked with and turns into a sarcastic fud.  He and Clarke are like night and day.  A professional and serious guy who doesn't make excuses when we lose, and a stubborn arsehole who makes daft comments when asked legitimate questions about the game.

People call Clarke dour. I'd rather have a "dour" guy who knows what he's doing than a "character" like Strachan who did not have a clue.

[gannonball]

24 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Because they had better managers than us (Trappatoni for example) and we had to make do with losers like Strachan.  We've always had better squads than them IMO, we finally have a better squad and a better manager and results are showing that.

Scotland certainly have a better squad now but I think you are looking at Scottish players with rose tinted specs tbh, As shite as some of the managers were the squad pool under the likes of Vogts and Burley were pretty meh, not great under Levein either. Ireland have always in general had a smaller pool to choose from but always seemed to have the likes of Keanex2, Duff etc, even taking a few talents off Scotland who would have undoubtedly won a fair amount of caps for Scotland. The time you specifically mentioned it was a toss of coin really between the two, then they got out their group at the Euros ahead of Sweden who aren’t exactly farmers.

ETA - I do agree that in general Ireland have had better managers however in the time we are talking about.

Edited September 28, 2022 by gannonball

[bdu98196]

Definitely linked to the introduction of OF colt teams

[Miguel Sanchez]

56 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Strachan was a bang average manager who used to pick players over better ones, IMO, just to piss the fans off.  A stubborn wee gimp.  We finished below South Ireland under him ffs.

Craig Forsyth over Andy Robertson because he was tall

 

[KingRocketman II]

55 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said:

I don't know if he was trying to be funny, but it was one of the worst attempts at humour I have ever heard. There's a time to try to be funny and it is NOT right after a game that we needed to win but did not.

I think he was being serious. As your archetypal "wee man" he sees everything through the prism of height and had real hang ups about it. We could have had a team of players who would have been the same height as the Serbs but Strachan picked players that he favoured (who tended to be slighter). His post match comments on genetics was an attempt at deflection whilst returning to a topic that he was obsessed by.