The Fear.
This afternoon I watched Scotland play Ireland in the qualifying rounds for Euro 2016.
As usual we made life difficult for ourselves, and while it's hard to criticise an Ireland side that has beaten World Champions Germany, it seems obvious that Scotland have a higher calibre of player.
The problem we have, that we always have, and it seems to be a peculiarly Scottish condition, is one of self-belief!
We have some superb players, that while playing at the highest level in the Scottish and English Premierships: Steven Naysmith, Steven Fletcher, Darren Fletcher, Scott Brown... wobble significantly when placed on the World stage.
It's not just a recent occurence either; for most of my life this seems to have been happening! The last time we qualified for a major championship was 1998! And before that, while we had a right good run at World Cups from 1974 onwards (with truly world class players!), we've never made it past the first round.
Granted Ireland put us under pressure in the first half, but they did have Home advantage, and the rub of the green (or the luck of the Irish) for their first half goal, and let's be honest they are at best a pretty workmanlike team - even Robbie Keane didn't add much flair when he came on in the second half.
Okay, maybe we had a bit of Irish luck rub off on us with the equaliser at the start of the second half, but with the introduction of Ikechi Anya (who should have been on from the start), we pretty much took control for the remainder of the match.
I often wonder at the thought processes of managers, especially obviously intelligent ones like Gordon Strachan. Why tamper with a team that was interacting well within itself up to that point, all the little guys up front: Naysmith, Anya, Maloney (a reflection of Strachan's own strengths?), with the big guys in support and defence, in maybe the most important game of the group?
While Ritchie, Martin and Forsyth did okay, they seemed nervous, and that seemed to spread throughout the team, and when Scotland lack confidence, they may as well pack up and go home. Personally I would have taken Hutton off, as he seems to be a persistent liability lately, but regardless, we managed to scrape out a draw. While not the best, or worst, result, we really could have done with those extra points in the bag, particularly as we still have Germany to play again!
So what is it within the Scottish psyche that breeds so much insecurity?
It nestles within all Scottish ambitions: Sport, Politics, Celebrity... we have so much talent and ingenuity, yet seemingly lack the self-belief to climb beyond mediocrity, and yet, Scotland is the nation that practically invented the modern world! Okay, it's boring to keep repeating all the acheivements of the past, like: The Television, The Telephone, Tarmac, Penicillin, Radar, Electromagnetics, Insulin, The Bicycle, The Pneumatic Tyre, The Postage Stamp, The ATM, The Refrigerator, The Flushing Toilet, The Bank of England, The Bank of France... and these are just the most well-known, but why shouldn't we boast of these acheivements?
Would the English be so reticent, the Americans, the Germans?
I think as a Nation we need to start believing in ourselves, not just in a Sporting sense, or even in a collective sense, but as individuals!
Once we start to believe in our accomplishments, and to push ourselves to be all we can be, then maybe collectively, we can rise up and be that nation again that we've been singing about for 50 years, maybe then we can stop struggling to make our voice heard on a world stage, and maybe then, we can make our way, eventually, beyond the first round at last, and become real world class players!
This time let's not just dream, let's make it a reality!
