Why Scotland should go Oranje

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Before last Monday, you would be excused for your unfamiliarity with the details of Mark Wotte’s role as the Scottish FA's performance director.

After his press conference, Wotte left us in no doubt of two things: his consternation at the grim state of Scottish football; and that he is the single most important man in lifting the national game from the scrapheap.

Let it be perfectly clear: Wotte’s job is not an easy one and, by his own account, it will take time for his plan to come to fruition but what is obvious is that he has done his homework and he knows his stuff.

The Dutchman acknowledged the youth infrastructure problem is not a new one but, rather, a perennial issue entangled in bureaucracy that stretches from Holyrood to primary school level, but he has already made a crucial step forward into unchartered territory by capturing the public’s imagination.

If the ba’ was burst, then it’s certainly half full now.

This feat is all the more impressive considering the xenophobic legacy created by Berti Vogts’ disastrous reign as Scotland manager. "I have had enough of being the scapegoat for mistakes made in Scotland 15 years ago,” whimpered Vogts upon his resignation.

Wotte can now embrace the challenge of addressing those failures behind the scenes without the pressure of the public, which will be levelled at his colleagues, Stewart Regan and Craig Levein.

So what’s the plan? Well, short term, the Scottish FA are in the process of developing seven ‘performance schools’ – academies for elite youth players between age 12 and 15 where children will receive an additional hour and a half of football education on top of a regular curriculum – increasing ‘quality football’ time for the best young talent in the country.

Longer term: well, there’s the sticking point. Wotte says he hopes that by 2020 there will be six or seven players with a performance school history in the Scotland squad–fair enough–but will he be around to see it?

The 50-year-old is somewhat of a managerial journeyman; his current position is the seventh he’s held since 2006, and he hasn’t held on to a job for more than two years since 1988. Remember that ba’ earlier? You might say this is a different kind of position to any he’s ever held before and he’s in this for the long term.

Alas, in reality he’s probably not going to be around to see the opening of the performance schools, but has laid their foundations. The performance school legacy will be, Wotte hopes, a move away from the traditional Scottish style of play of blood and thunder, or thud and blunder, towards an intelligent passing game.

This has been a long time coming. Scottish football must adapt now or continue to slide down the footballing ladder where we currently sit just three places ahead three places ahead of Burkina Faso.

We all know Scotland loves a tackle–Wotte applauds it–and few can rival Scotland for commitment and endeavour, but our reliance as a nation on industry is a last resort in the absence of skill, talent or invention on the park.

The Scots’ penchant for a grafter is perhaps embodied by Gennaro ‘Rino’ Gattuso. Gattuso made less than forty appearances for Rangers, but remains a cult figure to the Ibrox faithful.

Gattuso’s style of play has often courted controversy, but he made global headlines in more tragic circumstances last month after a freak collision with teammate Alessandro Nesta blinded the midfielder in one eye.

Here in Scotland, Rangers led the well-wishing to the ex-Ibrox star, who maintains cult status on Glasgow’s south side, with a tribute on their official Facebook page which was raucously received by the Ibrox faithful with 2,371 ‘likes’ at the time of writing–almost four times as many ‘likes’ current star, and the club’s player of the year for 2010/11 Steven Naismith received from fans following a similar post when he was ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage.

Every Scot can see a bit of Gattuso in them, but the same can’t be said for Charlie Adam, James McFadden or Barry Bannan, amongst Scotland’s most talented players but often the most maligned when their ambition exceeds their ability.

Perhaps the values Wotte desires to instil in our coaches teaching our youngest kids–encouraging initiative, even if it does not reap rewards–should be shared by those in the stands at all levels.

Patience is key now because if we do not try something new, our game is in serious danger of trailing further behind the nations we used to compete with.

In an age where television revenue dictates the strength of a league or a nation, we cannot afford to tailor our game around our introspective enjoyment of the game.

The world wants to see the game played on the ground, and the Scottish FA have to get the ball down at grassroots level and start all over again. If we don’t act now, we might not get a second chance at it.