Auld Lang Syne Derby finishes in score bore.
After all the exaggerated hype, speculation, posturing and the inevitable needle, England and Scotland battled out one of those now predictable no score draws that some of us privately feared. Many decades and centuries of history have passed since that famous first international football match between the two old rivals in 1872. For Glasgow back then read a soggy, wet and inclement Wembley Stadium in 2021 where all of those personal animosities and feuds were once harboured and still exist to the present day.
Before this latest Auld Enemy confrontation, hordes of fervent Scottish supporters had gathered in London's Leicester Square to let off steam before that celebrated dust up between England and Scotland. The Tartan hordes then migrated to the West End and marked their territory in Trafalgar Square. It was the prequel to the sequel, another outpouring of lively, good natured spirits and loud pronouncements of Scottish pride and, for some, Scottish independence. For if, as you suspect, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon gets her way the two countries could have separate identities and, quite possibly, passports.
But this was the re-enactment of a hundred Bannockburns and Cullodens, a reinforcement of all those old resentments, trench warfare, the baying for blood, revenge, retribution and honour. There have been a number of notable matches throughout the years and, some more than others, that have amused and shocked us in equal measure. The shields have been brandished, the lances and various bits and pieces of ammunition that have fired up this fixture in the past and then the old conflict on the muddiest of battlegrounds.
There was the now notorious pitch invasion at the old Wembley in 1977 when the stampeding hordes of Scottish supporters flooded onto the pitch in the now defunct Home Internationals. Then they proceeded to climb onto the crossbars, bounce up and down on them violently before snapping them in half. Before you could blink nets were broken, posts and crossbars were no more than the cracked debris of some petty argument.
Then the Scots celebrated their 2-1 win with goals from Kenny Dalglish and Gordon Macqueen as the fans dug up the hallowed Wembley turf, cutting out huge divots of grass and taking them back to Scotland as souvenirs of their eventful visit to London. It was an occasion almost branded on the history of England- Scotland matches rather like a nasty burn mark that took ages to recover from.
Further back in time Scotland came to Wembley a year after England had won the World Cup in 1966. Jim Baxter, Tommy Gemmell and Bobby Murdoch were all responsible for one of Scotland's most heroic victories. You'd have thought the Scots had stolen the World Cup back from England's grasp. It may well have been regarded as some kind of Pyrrhic victory for the Scots, a settling of old scores but in retrospect it now seems like some trivial act of childishness, a grudge that had to be resolved.
Back in 1975, a personal memory took you back to an Auld Firm Derby in the old Home Internationals. By half time England were three goals up and cruising against Scotland, Colin Bell, Kevin Beattie and captain Gerry Francis weighing in with the goals, Francis with a thunderous rocket from outside the penalty area. It was the first time you'd ever seen Scotland looking so sheepish and humiliated. There have been fewer games in the history of this contest that have been so heartlessly one sided apart from Scotland's 9-3 defeat to Jimmy Greaves and co in 1961.
And now England met Scotland again 25 years almost to the day since Gazza collapsed onto the Wembley grass and invited his colleagues to pour water down his throat in what was known as the dentist chair treatment for whatever reason. Paul Gascoigne remains one of the finest midfield players of modern times and when the outrageous foolhardiness was left behind him in his private life, Gazza dominated the match single- mindedly and Euro 96 will forever be England at the height of summer.
On a warm summer day in 1996 the whole of England embraced Gascoigne rather like one of those demobbed War heroes who hadn't seen their family for years and years. Against Scotland, Gazza dragged the dark navy blue shirts across and every which way, cheek, audacity and mischievousness in his every movement. But when he chipped the ball over the head of Colin Hendry, the rugged Scotland centre back, collected the ball on the other side of Hendry, the England scamp, the rascal and rapscallion just brought the ball down onto his feet and calmly drove the ball low into the net for England's winning goal.
Last night the conditions couldn't have been more different. The rain fell like tears from the heavens and there was an even more theatrical feel to the game as if reputations were on the line. And maybe we should have known that this would never materialise into the same kind of match that so held our attention 25 years ago. Different water has passed under the bridge and after a global pandemic that has now lasted well over a year now, it was good to see the fans again albeit spread out in tight little huddles.
After seeing off Croatia by the odd goal last weekend it may well have been assumed that this would be the second instalment of England's cavalry charge towards the Euro 2020 winning promised land. But this time the words were all very garbled, the script had been soaked beyond recognition and this was a deeply uncomfortable watch. The lines were tangled and communication had fallen down at roughly the hour mark.
England looked clumsy, cumbersome, leggy, leaden and totally incapable of making their passes stick at any time. During the first half, they did achieve a reproduction of their Croatia victory last Sunday. There was a smoothness and cleverness about England for a while against Scotland. Kalvin Phillips was all hustle and bustle, whole hearted industry, honest commitment and application, while Mason Mount fluttered and flickered across Wembley, tickling his passes to all and sundry, delicate as a flower, dinking and jinking past gasping Scottish shirts while Declan Rice tidied up efficiently at the back, feeding simple short distance passes to Mount and Phillips when they were available.
But chances were few and far between and the game rarely caught fire. There was a wretchedly flat and lifeless air about the game that just seemed to sink into the quicksand. England looked as if an emotionally draining and gruelling club season had finally caught up with them. Passes were criminally undercooked, possession was lost far too easily and there was never a real sense of connection.
Raheem Sterling, the Manchester City winger who scored England's winning goal against Croatia, looked as though he wanted to bludgeon his way through every Scottish shirt, punch a hole in his opponents back four and then score goals for fun. But even Sterling was uncharacteristically sloppy and tired looking, lackadaisical and just losing the ball like a man confronted with a jar of sticky treacle. The ball would frequently escape Sterling just when you thought he might have treated the ball as if he was thrilled to see it and would never let it go.
As for skipper Harry Kane here was a man who looked totally pre-occupied with transfer speculation and his mind had no intention of focusing on the here and now. Kane trundled his way through the game, trying desperately to engage with his team mates but never succeeding. The legs were not working, while the shielding of the ball and the harmonious link up play was never in evidence. Kane was supporting somebody but you were never quite sure whom.
In the World Cup down Russia way three years ago, Kane was England's goal scoring inspiration and the goals were flowing like a waterfall. Three years on and Kane looked totally shell shocked at times, perhaps deeply affected by one of Jose Mourinho's biting verbal assaults. Kane, it has to be said, looked exhausted and almost bored by the surroundings. His club future at Spurs is still shrouded in doubt but Kane will now know that Gareth Southgate will be heavily dependent on him to score as soon as possible and preferably a couple against the Czech Republic will do nicely.
At the back Declan Rice, Tyrone Mings, John Stones and Luke Shaw initially were excellent and supportive influences and Stones did hit the post with a soaring header from a corner. But last night England were gripped with some nervous disposition that just consumed them. When Jack Grealish of Aston Villa came on as a second half sub, the balance, direction and tempo of the match should have changed the dynamics of the match. Grealish has dancer's feet, a waltz and tango never far from his thoughts, tricking his way through forests of legs, side stepping, stepping over, full of bewildering trickery and delightful deception. But this would not be Grealish's night under the Wembley lights.
Then with time running out England manager Gareth Southgate brought on Manchester United's Marcus Rashford but that was very much a last shuffle of the cards. Rashford did appear for the latter stages of the game but was never up to speed and then vanished. England were out of petrol and gas, the weariness plastered all over their faces, a team that wanted to win Euro 2020 but were obviously on some Mediterranean beach judging by this disappointing flop.
Scotland, to give them credit where it was due. played superbly or as well as they were ever likely to given that England were so poor. John Mcginn was all heart, earnest endeavour, quietly effective and often quite imaginative in his choice of passing. Grant Hanley was a giant piece of granite at the back for Scotland, clearing the ball under pressure easily while Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour were technically correct on the ball, thoughtful and analytical on the ball, reading the game and then translating the complicated bits in between with sure footed excellence.
The England goalkeeper Jason Pickford had to make some important saves when the Scots did attack and when Scotland perhaps should have scored. But the longer the game went on without a goal, the less a goal looked likely. A frenzied goal mouth scramble in the Scottish six yard box almost won the game for England but this would not have been the right result. Instead it was probably back to square one for both England and Scotland.
Going into the last matches of both England and Scotland's group, England need only a point to qualify for the next round of 16. Scotland must win their last group match against Croatia to follow England. So those are the harsh facts. It is at times like this when both English and Scottish football would welcome a stiff scotch to stiffen the sinews and perk up flagging spirits. There is a nagging feeling though that reality will come crashing in with a vengeance and both will have other commitments on July 11. Sadly, a Final for either of these two old foes can only be regarded as pie in the sky. But who knows? Stranger things have been known to happen.
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