WE now know that Scotland’s final three friendlies before the World Cup will be against Chile, Brazil and Jamaica. The squad for the first two was named on Wednesday, while it was confirmed on Friday that the home send-off game will be at Hampden Park on May 28.
Sandwiched between the two announcements was the abject performance of the Scotland men’s team in Kazakhstan. Capitulation is one of the many unflattering, but apposite, descriptions of a 3-0 loss to a side ranked No 117 in the world, but who were better in every respect than Scotland.
Compare and contrast that perform-
ance with those of Shelley Kerr’s sides recently. Even a team of second- string players against Euro 2017 finalists Denmark displayed more tenacity, mental toughness, tactical awareness and desire to win than the pitiful effort at the Astana Arena.
Scott Booth, the Glasgow City head coach, was a member of the 1998 Scotland men’s squad which was the last to qualify for a World Cup, or anything for that matter. His take on recent events is therefore of pertinence.
“When I played for Scotland we were qualifying for tournaments and had players who had been in the squad over a 10 year period,” said Booth, whose side play Celtic in an SWPL Cup quarter-final tie today.
“They were vastly experienced while still having a lot of football in their legs.
“That is also the case with the current women’s team. Anna Signeul stuck with much the same squad, and while obviously the older ones have gone, the younger ones are still there with all that experience.
“They are the backbone of the team, now know how to qualify for tournaments, and you are able to supplement that with the Erin Cuthberts and Lizzie Arnots.
“The other difference is that the national team is still viewed as the pinnacle in the women’s game. You can see the players really want to play for their country.
“For young players especially, there are so many doors that can be opened by being in the national squad. That’s when the top teams start taking notice of you.
“I don’t think that’s the case any more for the men’s players. Most are earning a lot of money for clubs
who need them to be playing for them.”
IT was a pleasure to sit down with Kevin Murphy and Roger Arnott at Tynecastle to hear their plans for a “one-club” philosophy at Hearts. That has been examined in detail elsewhere, but suffice to say the Edinburgh club are determined to go down the Manchester City route of equality.
As of the end of this season the girls' academy will mirror that of the boys'. Same amount of hours, same sports science support, and for the best the opportunity to attend the club's performance school at Balerno.
What impressed most was the response of Arnott, who is the men's academy manager, when it was pointed out that – unlike the boys – there was no chance of the club getting a return on its annual six figure investment. That might change if Fifa introduce compensation payments for developing players, but not to any significant degree for a long time.
“This is not about money,” he said. “We're going into it to give an opportunity for girls to develop with the same resources thrown at them, and the same support from the club, so they can reach their potential. That way the game can move forward.”
Neither Arnott nor Murphy expect the Hearts women's side, which is still in SWPL2, to be going full time any time soon. Semi-professional would be the first option, but even that would be some way down the line.
A BUSY week also included a UK record £10 million Barclays sponsorship of the FA WSL, spread over three years. The English governing body and the clubs deserve it for their investment in the game, but through Scottish eyes the windfall is yet another indicator of the massive disparity in football finances on either side of the border.
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