Indulging in feelings of nostalgia and reminiscing about the good old days is scientifically proven to have a positive effect on our mental wellbeing. A study by the University of Southampton in 2006 found a direct correlation between people who reminisce the most and those who enjoy the happiest lives. Professor Clay Routledge discovered nostalgic … Continue reading Is the Scotland squad really that bad?
Category: Scottish National Team
Dour And Defensive Steve Clarke Right Manager At The Wrong Time
After back to back 4-0 defeats against Russia and Belgium, the inquests have begun. Is Steve Clarke the right man to take Scotland forward?
There is no denying that what Clarke achieved at Kilmarnock, considering what he inherited and what his resources were, was nothing short of incredible. Clarke also has experience at the highest level in England with stints as a coach with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool and as a manager for Reading and West Brom. It is completely understandable why the SFA wanted someone that has demonstrated resilience and tactical capability like Clarke has to take over from the disappointing second Alex McLeish era.
Clarke ticks a lot of boxes but there is one box that looks to have been missed in this humble writer's opinion.
"Does the manager's style get the best out of our current player pool?"
Cardiff City’s Callum Paterson could prove Scotland’s saviour
When Callum Paterson netted Cardiff City’s third goal in a 3-0 win over Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday night, he ended a goalscoring drought. A drought that hadn’t seen him net a Bluebirds league goal since scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory over Southampton in December 2018, when Cardiff were still a Premier League … Continue reading Cardiff City’s Callum Paterson could prove Scotland’s saviour
Our Girls, Our Game: Assessing Scotland’s Women’s World Cup Squad
It's official Shelley Kerr has selected her twenty-three women squad for Scotland's debut at the Women's World Cup in France. Here at Pure Fitbaw we give you the low down on the names and faces you'll be cheering on this summer as Kerr's side take on England, Japan and Argentina in Group A before hopefully going further than any of our national sides have gone before … Continue reading Our Girls, Our Game: Assessing Scotland’s Women’s World Cup Squad
The Alex McLeish Sympathy Bandwagon
🚨 @PureFitbaw Podcast 🚨 In episode 11, The Alex McLeish Sympathy Bandwagon, of the Pure Fitbaw Podcast Gavin and Owen discuss some - sort of - under radar Premiership players, @LiviFCOfficial’s season, Championship relegation fight & our takes on @ScotlandNT job. Apple: tinyurl.com/PF11iTunes Spotify: tinyurl.com/PF11Spotify Stream: tinyurl.com/PF11Stream
Scotland Just Lack A World Class Goalscorer
International tournament qualification is, for a country of Scotland's size and quality level, tough and getting tougher. There's a lot of luck and factors that can't be controlled at play such as the group draw and injuries and fair comparisons cannot be drawn with the relative regularity with which we qualified in the past.
Maybe using the limited coaching time to focus on defensive organisation and marginal gains such as set pieces can increase our chances but my feeling, based on analysis of the teams in the UEFA Nations League pot above us (all of whom have qualified for one of the last three tournaments), is that we've really just lacked a top class attacker who can conjure goals from nothing and be clinical in the limited opportunities international football provides.
Is Tactical Analysis McCall Guesswork?
Pure Fitbaw spoke to Stuart McCall at the IRN-BRU Cup 2nd Round draw recently and we took the opportunity to ask him about his experiences playing for Scotland and his thoughts about the national team ahead of our fixtures in September. McCall was selected for Italia 90 just months after his international debut and scored his only Scotland goal in the group stage match against Sweden. We've reviewed the goal to understand how this incredible moment came about for the player.
Young, Scottish and off the McLeish
Alex McLeish's first matches in his second spell as Scotland manager take place this Friday 23rd March 2018 and next Tuesday 27th March 2018. In this preview article we highlight some changes in approach under the new manager and areas to improve upon, provide some detail on the opposition Costa Rica and Hungary, take a … Continue reading Young, Scottish and off the McLeish
Tartan Spotlight: McBurning Up
Six goals in nine games, a player of the month award and his first ever senior international call up - it has been a hot few weeks for Oliver McBurnie. McBurnie was born in Yorkshire but this photo (with younger brother Zander) suggests that his footballing allegiance to Scotland was never in doubt. His club … Continue reading Tartan Spotlight: McBurning Up