SOUTH AFRICA, HERE WE COME!KEVIN DONNELLY IS FEELING OPTIMISTIC
Okay, there is nowhere in Eastern Europe on the list where you can score a hooker for the price of a gallon of petrol but at least we didn’t get Kazakhstan. The thought of some unfunny twat from Stranraer doing endless impressions of Borat didn’t bear thinking about but I suppose for once it might have been possible to understand him. The lack of either Lithuania, Italy or San Marino is another plus. All the match venues are of a size which should ensure all travelling Scotland fans get tickets as well. From a footballing perspective we should be looking at a minimum of second place. I believe we have won every competitive fixture we have played in Norway and hopefully we will get them in September or October as their domestic season is winding down. With so many players playing outside the country in other leagues with the same season as the UK I have never really understood this argument but hey, go with the Tore Andre Flo as they used to say down Stamford Bridge. As ever a small mortgage will have to be arranged before ordering a round in a bar but I have been informed there are a few places in Oslo where it is only, yes, only, £4 for a pint of Fosters. I have heard of people bartering with bottles of whisky for drinks and whilst I may have the brass neck to sell badges I won’t be lowering myself to do that. Does anyone know anything about FYR Macedonia? No direct flights from London but one hardly expects Chisinau type hardship with the lights getting switched off at 7.30 every night and police looking to introduce mugging as an essential part of their pay structure. Iceland away is a trip not to be missed and hopefully we will see the re emergence of Kenny Nicol with his supermarket white trilby hat and little name badge. Who can forget the staggering raw beauty of the island which compared very well with the part of Rekyjavik that one wag compared to “a Dundee council estate circa 1950”. Whilst prices were comparable to Norway its incredible how the magic of a victory can erase the financial pain post match. We will have to be on our guard this time given their recent victory over the re emergent European footballing superpower, Northern Ireland. Fortunately there will be no U21 match this time so the opportunity of being drenched in the open air stadium in the place where the trolls come from will be removed from the tour itinerary. It was a battle hardened few who stuck out the full 90 minutes the last time but we were well rewarded by Sean Lynch’s last minute effort which sealed the 2-0 victory. Some people tell me the Dutch are on a bit of a downward curve at the moment and this could be a good time to play them in a qualifying tournament. I very much hope this is true but, as ever, one will take anything you can from them in Amsterdam and be looking to repeat our previous victory over them at Hampden under Berti. That win gave us delusions of grandeur -hopefully our new manager can turn those dreams into an African reality. |
Looking ahead to the WC2010 qualifiers with a confidence you can almost touch, the average Scotland fan will be relatively happy with the draw for the group.
