The Tartan Army finally accepts it's Moldova

Published on Friday 15 October 2004 01:07

IT WAS Robert Louis Stevenson who said that "to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour".

For the hardiest of Scotland’s beleaguered football fans, shivering in their kilts in a bleak corner of eastern Europe this week, that sentiment may not have immediately sprung to mind, but they would have almost certainly berated themselves for not taking it on board.

Even with the permanent, unsteadying presence of alcohol coursing through their veins, Scotland’s long-suffering tartan-clad followers always seem to make it to their destination, no matter how impossibly remote, an oversight that routinely brings heartfelt woe.

This week it was Moldova, a depressingly run-down former Soviet republic tucked between Ukraine and Romania. And true to form for the 3,000 fans who broke the bank, and in some cases their relationships, to make the trip, the journey ended in misery and disaster in the shape of a hard-fought draw - a result that almost certainly put paid to any hopes Scotland have of competing in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

On the back of a recent roll-call of shame that has seen Scotland’s international football team humbled by the Faroe Islands, Wales and Hungary, there has been a growing amount of evidence that the towering edifice of good humour constructed by the Tartan Army over many years is slowly beginning to crumble.

At Hampden Park on Saturday, after a defeat at the hands of a poor Norway side, scarves rained on to the pitch from the West Stand in protest at Scotland’s lacklustre performance.

Across the stadium a small group of supporters uncharacteristically surrounded the manager, Berti Vogts, berating him for the lack of spirit shown by the side, and calling for his resignation. The world’s best fans they may be, but even the Tartan Army appears to have found its breaking point after decades of disappointment and under-achievement.

Psychologist Stephen Smith claims returning Scotland fans regularly encounter feelings of deep discontent, suffering the same symptoms as women with post-natal depression.

A Glasgow-based specialist in sports psychology, Dr Smith even goes so far as to warn fans’ partners and families to be on the look-out for tell-tale signs of depression.

Many politicians, cultural commentators and disgruntled fans are also concerned at the side-effects of Scotland’s football failures and suggest they may be even damaging the national psyche, which has become increasingly negative.

And according to the historian Professor Tom Devine, Scotland’s inept footballing performances in recent times could have a significant effect on how Scots think about themselves.

He said: "For a lot of people, sporting success or failure does have a lot of significance. Globally, in the last 50 years, sport has become a hugely important factor in national identity.

"Scotland may not have the confidence to regard sport as just another aspect of the entertainment industry, because for centuries it has lived in the shadow of its big partner to the south. It’s always had a sensitivity, a chip on its shoulder about defeat, and the under-performance of the national football team won’t help this."

Sporting success can electrify a nation, according to Neal Ascherson, the author of a number of books on Scottish and European politics. "Success in sport can heighten a mood of confidence which will prompt people to make more adventurous choices. I’ve never known such a long period where people regarded Scottish football with such hopelessness. No-one, in their hearts, has expected anything good to happen for ten years. You get used to being held to a draw by lesser opponents and this isn’t exactly a positive thing. Our expectations of success should be growing, not shrinking."

What is certain is that Scotland’s supporters will return for more punishment.

The determination to get behind their team, no matter how bad it really is, was forged in the early 1980s when attempts by the English FA to ban Scottish fans from Wembley prompted over 50,000 Tartan Army members to descend on London for the annual fixture with the "Auld Enemy".

There was even a banner unveiled at Wembley in 1981 which said: "If the game was on the moon we’d still be there, Mr Croker". Ted Croker, of course, was the FA official who imposed the ban and a great number of Scots fans believe he was the force behind the eventual cancellation of the fixture.

According to Tartan Army fans’ spokesman Alastair Robertson, the fans appreciate the limits of the team but look to the recent relative success of small nations like Holland, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland and can only come up with one conclusion: "The fans are angry and blame the SFA. Not enough is being done at grassroots level to bring on younger players.

"Berti Vogts isn’t the issue; he is a poor tactician, that’s clear. But we need to learn from other nations and adopt their model of success. Football means so much to Scots from all walks of life. It can unite the country in a positive way; we saw that when we beat Holland at Hampden. With the problems surrounding the Scottish Parliament and the relative success of England, Wales and Eire, we need to bring back the feel-good factor to Scotland, with our sporting heroes performing at the highest level.

"We are realists but at the moment we don’t even get a chance to dream."

Don't worry about the fans' morale- they are immune to failure

Dr Jack Boyle

AT TIMES, it almost seems that Scotland supporters share a perverse pleasure in defeat, as if their good behaviour in the face of adversity, more often than not in the shape of abject defeat, somehow proves their worth as human beings, writes Jack Boyle.

The reality is that the Tartan Army expect to lose and follow the team abroad largely to get drunk with their pals. While I believe, for a small minority of fans, particularly those who spend every penny following the team around the world, regular defeat can lead to some kind of depression, the majority are psychologically immune to the team’s under-achievement.

This may sound controversial, but football as a national spectacle is on the wane. You only have to look at the reduced capacity of Hampden Park to realise there isn’t as much interest in the national team, so when people claim losing has an adverse effect on the national psyche, I am always sceptical.

For the relatively affluent, football is not the be-all and end-all. These days, people spend their money on foreign travel, eating in nice restaurants and seeking other entertainment such as the cinema.

Looking at the nation as a whole, women have always been too sensible and well-balanced to take the Scottish football team seriously. For them, quite rightly, there are many more profound things to get upset about than losing to Moldova.

I don’t believe Scotland’s performances on a football pitch have a major impact on national morale. The most important question from a psychological perspective, and you can put your answers on a postcard, is: who in their right minds would follow such a bad team to the far-flung depths of Moldova?

• Dr Jack Boyle is a Glasgow-based psychologist.