Celtic Diary Saturday October 11: Spotlight on Interassociations Football

Scotland will face Georgia at Ibrox tonight as the quest to qualify for a major international tournament continues…

It was 1998 when the Scots last appeared on a major stage, when their final game was a solid beating by the big guns of Morocco, which I think was also the title of a Humphrey Bogart film.

Not many people know this, but Bogart was actually from Govan, in Glasgow, and his original catchphrase was “who you looking at ya bassa? ”

Hollywood later refined this to who’s lookin at ya kid, and also removed the fag out of his mouth and the half bottle from his hand.

Also not widely known is the fact that his stage name, Bogart, was adapted from ” buggert “the Glaswegian word for “exceptionally tired at the moment ”

Its not just fitba on Etims.

Though you probably wish it was.

Scott Brown thinks that this is the nation-sorry regions-best chance of progressing.

“It’s definitely the best chance we’ve had to qualify, because it’s the best group of lads I’ve been in,” Brown is quoted as saying by the Evening Times.

“It definitely bothers me I haven’t played in the finals. I don’t want to look back over my career and say: ‘If I had only done this, if I’d only done that’. Everyone in that changing room is the same, giving everything to get there.

“We know it’s been a long time since France 98. We think we’ve got the quality to get there again and, with the extra qualifying place, that will definitely help.” 

Not having Craig Levein, Berti Vogts or Alex McLeish as manager probably helps as well.

One player who has made a name for himself at this level is Hull left back Andrew Robertson, who was rejected by Celtic when he couldn’t reach the contract that was offered to him

 Initially, he was depressed, and took to the drink a wee bit

 before he got his act together, and began to work hard on building up his diminutive frame

 Now, he’s at Hull City, and the local paper there is quite rightly proud of him.

Rejected by Celtic, how Hull City’s Andy Robertson went from part-time at Queen’s Park to big time in the Premier League 

Andy Robertson was an amateur when he last ran out at Ibrox but this evening, just 18 months on, he will help carry the hopes of his nation.

Scotland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Georgia will continue an inspiring tale of persistence and reward.

Five years after his release from Celtic for being too small, Hull City’s left-back is expected to win a third international cap for Gordon Strachan’s side and a first on home soil.

Among those in the Ibrox crowd will be one man who knows Robertson better than most.

David McCallum, head of youth development at Queen’s Park, will be there to see his finest graduate coming of age on the same night he collects his UEFA Pro Licence.

It is hard to know which will evoke more pride.

McCallum coached Robertson throughout his formative years, helping to nurture the talented young defender that has shone through the opening months of the Premier League season with City.

“Personally and as a club we take a lot of pride in seeing Andy do so well,” McCallum told the Mail.

“Two years ago he was playing in the Scottish Third Division and now we’re watching him every week on Match of the Day.

“He’s the example for all the young lads at our club of what you can achieve with the right attitude.”

Robertson’s rise has been remarkable. Not 21 until March, he has clambered up the ladder from junior and amateur football to the Premier League and international stage. So were his talents always so striking? Perhaps not.

“He was always very good technically,” explained McCallum.

“He played with his head up and looked to get on the ball all the time, but he was smaller than a lot of the boys in his age group. We can’t get the biggest and best youngsters at our academy but we always have the patience to work with them and Andy had that patience too.

“It was his willingness to learn that made all the difference. He was always asking questions if he didn’t know the answers.

“A lot of young boys think they know all the answers or if they don’t, they don’t make the effort to ask.

“Andy was the one always willing to ask questions. He wanted to improve at every opportunity and that was the key.”

Robertson has pinpointed his rejection from Celtic as the source of his determination.

The boy from Giffnock, a town 10 miles south of Glasgow, was pushed out of Parkhead and caught in the Queen’s Park net below.

It was during his time at Hampden Park, where he earned pocket money by handing out programmes at international fixtures, that Robertson began to show the promise not first apparent to Celtic.

“We’re only a part-time academy so the amount of time we spend with the youngsters is limited,” added McCallum.

“But it must have been around 2011 we went away to Turkey and Andy was part of that group.

“He’s the type of lad that just grabs the bull by the horns when ever the chances come along. It shows you the type of personality he’s got. When he sets his mind to something he doesn’t let go.

Brilliant and inspiring story, and good luck to the lad. As far as Scotland are concerned, Robertson and Paul Dixon both have the potential to be excellent left backs, but it begs the question as to why more players are not recruited from Scottish clubs instead of foreign projects.

Despite all the hype, with the likes of Islam Feruz, the Czech twins, the Icelandic twins or Freddy Adu, nothing has come from this policy, while the very same clubs who hold the five positions above Celtic in the league have been forced to recruit locally because they are skint.

 Just saying , like.

It also reminds me of a fellow I used to work with up in chorley, Lancashire, who was a scout for Blackburn Rovers, and would occasionally receive calls asking him to look at youngsters. His forst two questions were always ;

“How tall is he ? “

” How fast is he ? “

 I don’t know if he’s still a scout, but I do know that Blackburn are an awful side.

 Surely a little query on his football abilities would have been useful when assessing the poor kid.

 Mind you, its important to root out the short arses from the game, who apparently have  have little to offer the game these days;

 And thankfully, its a relatively new thing at Celtic…

Next week, Etims will run a series of features asking what readers would like to ask some of the people involved in the running of Celtic. Instead of assessing individuals and merely concluding

We’ll ask readers to partake in a discussion of the good and bad things that those such as Desmond, Lawwell, , Lord Parkhead and any others we can think of. There must be something you’d like them to tell us…I know I’ve a few questions….

 Especially now, as the more i think about it, the more i’m starting to think that Celtic are about to be sold. Maybe not this season, but certainly soon. Thats the only explanation for the lack of ambition on the field. Its all taking place in the boardrooms.

 Elsewhere, another myth was laid to rest in the news. apparently, more people choke to death on the packaging than the sweeties inside them. Gums don’t kill people, wrappers do.