Two end of season international friendlies to wind up the season. Two losses to add to the record books. The next serious international will be in September with a return to Malta, the scene if the defeat to Italy last Sunday, as Scotland begin their World Cup qualifying campaign. Just what did manager Gordon Strachan learn from the exercise against two favourites for EURO2016? Was he doing his international managerial colleagues a favour by allowing them to head to France with another win under their belts? I am not suggesting Scotland lay down to either side, we are not that good to take a beating to keep in with other sides. Strachan still enjoys a degree of media protection due to his openness with the press and his press conferences are never dull. However, playing tried and tested old guard as he builds towards another championship campaign does not exactly set the heather alight. Scotland can no longer hold their own against countries that seem to have progresses at a higher rate than Scotland. Not one Scotland based player made the team which is not that much of a surprise. We may have a few very talented players making their living up here but of international standard of the likes of France or Italy - eh sadly not yet.
There must come a time when those younger players which are added to the squad 'for experience' should be considered as active participants and gain some playing experience at the higher level. Of course you do not want to throw them to the lions while blooding them but why not make sensible choices when looking for international friendlies. Scotland are number 43 in the FIFA rankings and, although the rankings are often said to be misleading, perhaps we should be looking at countries around our level to allow players to gain experience. Greece (who were beaten by Australia 1-0 tonight) are at number 40; Denmark number 38; Paraguay number 44. Would it not be possible to arrange games against them to test ourselves rather than Italy (number 12) and France (despite not playing a competitive game for two years are at number 17). France were always going to be difficult as they are keen to make a good showing in EURO2016 on home turf. Should we have been the lambs to the slaughter tonight? We need to learn how to win games and that will not happen when playing with one up front and a dodgy defence. Is Strachan the saviour he was hailed to be when appointed? It doesn't look like when the majority of his selections look very familiar to those selected in the past.