Dream the Impossible Dream

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It only took half an hour for Andy Brown to resemble Ally MacLeod, hands in head, forlorn. Thirty minutes, doesn't seem much, but enough. Christian Dailly's red card seemed to herald a disappointing start to Brown's run as Scotland boss, but a second half penalty from substitute Andy Gray left Austria reflecting on a 1-0 shellacking from ten men and Brown a little more chipper. Sure, it was a friendly, and sure Scotland were bound to crash and burn eventually, but as starts go it wasn't half bad.

Brown was far from the impressionable rookie who began his career at Dunfermline before going on to manage Sunderland and Blackburn in the Premiership. He wasn't unknown internationally as the addition of Srecko Katanec as Assistant proved. He wasn't an idiot, snapping up experts Jim Duffy and Eddie Gray to work with the u21 and u19 squads, and he wasn't resented, with Walter Smith gladly accepting a coaching role alongside Ally McCoist, Gianpiero Ventrone and Alain Sutter. With Jim Leighton coaching the keepers and health and physiotherapy handled by David Wylie and Augusto Terzi, Brown had the staff in place to free himself to plan for opponents and create mismatches.

His first squad was fairly predictable. Goalkeepers Craig Gordon, the first choice, and David Marshall, the second, were supported by Paul Gallacher who's experience could prove useful.

In defence the starting four were, in the absence of the injured Gary Naysmith, left back Ian Murray, right back Jackie McNamara and central pairing Andy Webster and Christian Dailly. Depth and versatility was included in the shape of Adam Virgo and David Weir.

Nigel Quashie was Brown's preferred choice to anchor the midfield, with playmaking chores handed to Darren Fletcher and Barry Ferguson. Richard Hughes provided an option for the stay-at-home role, whilst Gary Teale, Sephen Pearson, Chris Burke, Paul Hartley and Kevin Thomson filled out the numbers, each bringing his own unique skills package to the table.

In attack Brown preferred a three-pronged approach, with Kenny Miller as the spearhead. James McFadden and Scott Brown were his initial choices to support, but Andy Gray and Shaun Maloney did well in the second half against Austria. With Gary O'Connor pulling out, David Clarkson made the 26, but he, Paul Dickov and Paul Gallagher did not feature in the match.

Competitive games loomed now for Andy Brown, the true test of his capabilities. Arrogant and optimistic outside of the matchday environment, he was certain his side would rise to the challenge.

[HD]

It only took half an hour for Andy Brown to resemble Ally MacLeod, hands in head, forlorn. Thirty minutes, doesn't seem much, but enough. Christian Dailly's red card seemed to herald a disappointing start to Brown's run as Scotland boss, but a second half penalty from substitute Andy Gray left Austria reflecting on a 1-0 shellacking from ten men and Brown a little more chipper. Sure, it was a friendly, and sure Scotland were bound to crash and burn eventually, but as starts go it wasn't half bad.

Brown was far from the impressionable rookie who began his career at Dunfermline before going on to manage Sunderland and Blackburn in the Premiership. He wasn't unknown internationally as the addition of Srecko Katanec as Assistant proved. He wasn't an idiot, snapping up experts Jim Duffy and Eddie Gray to work with the u21 and u19 squads, and he wasn't resented, with Walter Smith gladly accepting a coaching role alongside Ally McCoist, Gianpiero Ventrone and Alain Sutter. With Jim Leighton coaching the keepers and health and physiotherapy handled by David Wylie and Augusto Terzi, Brown had the staff in place to free himself to plan for opponents and create mismatches.

His first squad was fairly predictable. Goalkeepers Craig Gordon, the first choice, and David Marshall, the second, were supported by Paul Gallacher who's experience could prove useful.

In defence the starting four were, in the absence of the injured Gary Naysmith, left back Ian Murray, right back Jackie McNamara and central pairing Andy Webster and Christian Dailly. Depth and versatility was included in the shape of Adam Virgo and David Weir.

Nigel Quashie was Brown's preferred choice to anchor the midfield, with playmaking chores handed to Darren Fletcher and Barry Ferguson. Richard Hughes provided an option for the stay-at-home role, whilst Gary Teale, Sephen Pearson, Chris Burke, Paul Hartley and Kevin Thomson filled out the numbers, each bringing his own unique skills package to the table.

In attack Brown preferred a three-pronged approach, with Kenny Miller as the spearhead. James McFadden and Scott Brown were his initial choices to support, but Andy Gray and Shaun Maloney did well in the second half against Austria. With Gary O'Connor pulling out, David Clarkson made the 26, but he, Paul Dickov and Paul Gallagher did not feature in the match.

Competitive games loomed now for Andy Brown, the true test of his capabilities. Arrogant and optimistic outside of the matchday environment, he was certain his side would rise to the challenge.

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Author's Note: 6.0.2, SPL is the only division running, all Scottish players included, Small DB, should be speedy. Have a nice day.

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An unchanged squad named for the games with Italy and Norway meant no place for Clarkson in the 26. Shaun Maloney came in for Scott Brown, halting any charges of nepotism from the boss, but there were no further changes.

Craig Gordon's flying save prevented Alessandro Del Piero netting a ninth minute penalty as the game began in a surprisingly open, end-to-end manner. Both Gordon and Morgan De Sanctis had saves to make before Stefano Fiore opened the scoring 12 minutes before the interval. Mauro Camoranesi doubled the advantage in first half injury time, and anyone following on teletext would feel the Scots had been battered into submission.

A much better second half performance meant the scoreline remained unaltered to the whistle, but defeat more or less ended any hopes Scotland had of qualification.

Andy Gray replaced Maloney in Oslo, but it was McFadden and Kenny Miller who combined to put the Scots ahead ten minutes before the break, the Wolves man firing home from close range before being denied from the same position moments before the break.

With Christian Dailly unable to play after the interval, Adam Virgo came on with Barry Ferguson assuming the captaincy. Six minutes later Miller struck again to send the Scots into raptures and raise Slovenian hopes for qualification. Maloney and Brown came on for the final fifteen minutes, but it was Miller who came closest to adding to the scoring, flashing a header over the bar. Still, the 2-0 victory gave Scotland the tie breaker over their rivals and kept a glimmer of hope alive.

[Peacemaker7]

Scotland stories are the best

I was thinking of doing one, based on legendary players but its a hassle. If only we had legendary db's like OOTP

Anyway, good luck

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The press had noticed, and so had the Tartan Army. Scotland were almost unbelievably one win away from a virtual playoff-for-the-playoffs. Victory at home to Belarus coupled with a win for Italy over Slovenia would send the Scots to Ljubljana needing any win to finish second in the group. Probably. Precisely what happened if Norway also finished on 15 points was not clear. Time would tell.

The key task for Brown and his staff was to ensure the team remained focussed on the next match. Belarus were an undoubtedly talented side and victory was in no way guaranteed. Injury to Harchester United's Steven Pearson meant a first call up for Craig Beattie of Celtic. The forward is on his way back from injury, but will likely not feature.

It was an unchanged XI and bench that took the field at Hampden looking to avoid a costly slip-up and perpetuate the nation's World Cup dream. An injury to Gray after just six minutes saw Brown thrown into the fracas, but it was clearly the visitors who had started brighter until a stunning 25th minute goal from Barry Ferguson. Collecting the ball wide right, the Rangers player cut inside, driving forward before unleashing a 20-yard strike that nearly burst the net.

It was to prove the only goal of a tense first half, but Scotland came out fired up in the second, looking to kill off their plucky opponents. Miller twice drew saves from Khomutovskyi before sealing the win fifteen minutes from time when Brown laid the ball on a plate for him five yards out. All eyes now turned to Italy as the dream was passed on to Scotland's friends to the south.

Italy's 3-0 win and Norway's failure to break down a stubbnorn Moldovan defence in Oslo made everything crystal clear - win in Slovenia and Scotland were going to the playoffs, lose or draw and it would be the home side who would advance.

With Andy Gray facing four months on the sidelines, Scotland turned to Kris Boyd to make up the numbers, the Kilmarnock striker keen to gain experience around the international setup, but it was Scott Brown who slotted into the lineup and Paul Gallagher who filled the vacated spot on the bench as the action got underway.

With Slovenia's pevious manager as Assistant, Brown felt he had the inside track on what to expect, and a couple of early chances indicated Scotland's opportunity was in no way marginal. Still, a nervy, goalless first half meant that somehow the Scots had to find a goal in the final 45 minutes, or face a summer at home whilst the big nations had their fun.

Three minutes later James McFadden was wheeling away in triumph and Scotland had their goal. Now it was a case of rejecting Slovenian advances and ensuring the lead remained intact. All three strikers were replaced late on to provide fresh legs and it looked to have done the trick as Slovenia failed to find the key to Brown's defence. Time ticked away and his side had done the impossible. All they were waiting on was UEFA confirmation that the sums were correct and a playoff awaited.

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<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

P W D L F A Pts

1. Italy 10 8 1 1 22 6 25

2. Scotland 10 4 3 3 8 6 15

3. Slovenia 10 4 3 3 10 9 15

4. Belarus 10 2 5 3 15 15 11

5. Norway 10 2 4 4 8 10 10

6. Moldova 10 0 4 6 2 19 4</pre>

The playoff draw paired Scotland with Switzerland and real, genuine, realistic hopes of actual, physical qualification were raised. Andy Brown had brought his team to the brink of a miracle revival.

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Rangers' win over Basel in qualification for the Champions League guaranteed Scotland's progress to the World Cup, or so you'd be led to believe by the tabloid press.

With Ian Murray and Paul Hartley injured, Gary Naysmith and Kevin McNaughton were drafted in to the squad, the former making the starting XI for the match, the latter the bench. Beattie and Boyd remained in the 26, but it was only Naysmith who disrupted the XI that had won in Slovenia.

With Hampden filled to the rafters and the Hampden Roar deafening, play began positively for Brown's side. Then disaster struck - just eight minutes in an innocent looking challenge left Barry Ferguson writhing in agony, and the task was handed to Gary Teale - give us a chance to win was all Brown asked of him, and one thing he knew was that Teale would not lack for effort.

Half time was reached without the scoreboard ticking over and Brown was reasonably satisfied. Not conceding an away goal was ultimately the challenge for the players. Anything tallied in Scotland's favour would be seen as a bonus by Brown. As it was the final scoreline represented an hour-and-a-half of graft, determination and fight. The goalless draw had been earned and Scotland now looked to Berne for a glory day, or a glorious failure. The dream lived.

Martyn Corrigan joined up with the squad in Ferguson's place, and Steven Caldwell replaced the hurt Kevin Thomson but it was Richard Hughes who got the nod for the second leg.

The Swiss twice went close in the opening ten minutes of the second leg, but the next ten belonged to Scotland, neither side finding a breakthrough thanks in part to some decent goalkeeping. With Hughes struggling against a leg knock, Corrigan came on for the second half in an effort to drive Brown's side on.

Genuine opportunities to score were at a premium, so it seemed the first goal could win the tie. With ten minutes to go a long clearance put Kenny Miller through on Jorg Stiel, but the striker whiffed and the chance was gone. Paul Gallagher replaced the front man moments later and a big finalé seemed inevitable.

There was no glorious chance missed as time expired, both sides clearly nervous, and extra time ensued. Both sides had half chances in the first period, but neither scored. Then it happened, Switzerland struck through Alex Geijo and the dream was done.

Bugger it.

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Four months later an experimental side faced South Korea at Hampden, but it was a lacklustre affair punctuated by only occasional chances and few moments of excitement. The game ended nothing each and few would have noticed if Brown hadn't bothered sending a team out for this match. It was a complete waste of everybody's time, still the defensive system looks solid, so that's nice.

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Although the next fixture was a friendly with Switzerland, even victory would bring no measure of revenge. Still, Brown selected his strongest squad, with Iain Turner joining Marshall and Gordon as keepers, Anderson, Gary Caldwell, Dailly, Alan Hutton, John Kennedy, McNamara, McNaughton, Naysmith, Virgo and Webster competing for defensive roles, Ferguson, Fletcher, Hartley, Hughes, Murray, Quashie and Teale in midfield and the usual suspects Brown, Maloney, Gallagher, Gray, McFadden and Miller in attack.

Sean Mackle was summoned to replace the injured Scott Brown, but only after Paul Dickov shocked the nation by rejecting the call. Andy Brown would perhaps have been lenient had Dickov not been such a fringe member of the squad and aging rapidly. As it is, the wee striker can expect to never play for his country again.

After Switzerland thoughts will turn to a tough qualification group for Euro 2008. With only the top two qualifying it is hard to see Brown steering his side past Spain and Germany, though with Russia, Latvia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg rounding out the group third place is a real possibility.

Brown's selection showed a real determination to beat the Swiss. Gordon in goals is a no-brainer, but the rest of the team was solid. McNamara-Webster-Kennedy-Naysmith across the back, Murray, Ferguson and Fletcher in the midfield and an attack featuring Miller, Gray and McFadden. The shackles were off and it was time to show how they should have done it.

At least that was the plan.

And so it proved. Miller struck in each half and Darren Fletcher scored in between to give Brown's men a comfortable win. Just for good measure Paul Gallagher added a late fourth. If only it had been the last time. If only, if only, if only...

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The SFA had taken the unusual step of setting up a friendly at home to Cameroon just four days ahead of the European Championship Qualifying opener against Germany, also at Hampden. As a result, Brown opted to play his strongest side in both games and take his chances - since it had been six months between the Swiss friendly and this game, the practice was necessary.

The 26 had a familiar look - Craig Gordon, David Marshall and new Rangers #1 Iain Turner in goals, Gary Caldwell, Christian Dailly, Alan Hutton, John Kennedy, Jackie McNamara, Kevin McNaughton, Gary Naysmith, Adam Virgo and Andy Webster in defence, Barry Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, Paul Hartley, Richard Hughes, Ian Murray, Nigel Quashie and Gary Teale in midfield with Scott Broen, Shaun Maloney, Paul Gallagher, Andy Gray, James McFadden, Kenny Miller and Newcastle new boy Derek Riordan competing for places in attack.

The starting XI was even less surprising as Gordon, McNamara, Naysmith, Webster, Kennedy, Murray, Ferguson, Fletcher, McFadden, Miller and Gray took to the field to face the unpredictable Africans.

Though Cameroon managed the only goal, it was the offside flag they had to thank as Scotland dominated the second half. The stage now was set for Germany, and few expected anything but a highly competitive encounter, though Germany's 3-0 win over Spain had a few of the more pessimistic columnists forecasting doom and gloom.

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Brown's gamble on going with his starters in the friendly paid off and he was able to go with an unchanged lineup against the Germans. A dramatic opening period saw Kenny Miller hit the post before Matthias Weiss gave the visitors an advantage that would last until half time.

Sadly the match progressed in an eerily similar manner to the Cameroon game, with Scotland pressing for the duration of the second half and no goals coming. Frustration spilled over late on as Riordan shoved an opponent and picked up a red card as the final whistle blew.

Promising though was Spain's failure to beat Russia in Madrid. With Germany looking strong, this group was all going to be about second place and Brown's men were determined to be a part of that equation, whatever it took.

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With John Kennedy injured, Christian Dailly stepped in to the starting XI in darkest coldest Russia and saw his side fall 2-0 behind despite dominating the opening half hour. Andy Brown's halftime team talks are far from legendary, but had resulted in improved performances for the past two matches. This time it would take something monumental to make a difference.

A fluke goal from substitute Shaun Maloney with ten minutes to play seemed to have set up a rousing finale, but Scotland could not produce even another shot on goal and thoughts of qualification slipped sharply after defeats in both of the key opening fixtures.

David Clarkson replaced an injured Nigel Quashie in the squad for the game against Latvia at Hampden. Suspension ruled out Andy Webster and James McFadden, whilst Iain Turner replaced Craig Gordon in goal. Shaun Maloney and fit-again John Kennedy replaced the suspended players for a game Brown's side simply had to win.

It was Maloney who fired an eighteenth minute opener, cementing his position as the only Scot to score in the qualifiers, before Verpakovskis came within inches of levelling. The second half ought to have been calmer, but with Kenny Miller obviously rusty from sitting on the Rangers bench many chances went begging before Darren Fletcher's 25-yard bullet sealed the game twenty minutes from the end.

With Russia losing in Germany the group, Deutschland apart, was looking as tight as expected. Scotland needed to take 6 points from Latvia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg and do their best in Spain if their home games against the Spaniards and Russians were to count for anything. Andy Brown had a masterplan, but it all banked on Spain having peaked at the World Cup, and a 5-0 win over Luxembourg cast that into doubt.

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Injuries forced a few changes to be made to the squad, with Gavin Rae, Martyn Corrigan and Lee Wilkie replacing Kevin McNaughton, Christian Dailly and Scott Brown, but mostly it was the same solid bunch of lads who got together to prepare to face Luxembourg away and Northern Ireland at Hampden.

It was a familiar side that took the field in the end, Webster and Kennedy reunited in the centre of defence, the usual suspects at full-back and in the midfield, though Richard Hughes replaced the suspended Ian Murray in the holding role, and McFadden, Miller and Maloney up front.

There didn't seem to be any chance of a shock as Shaum Maloney took all of 45 seconds to fire Brown's side ahead, but a couple of scares followed before Kenny Miller doubled the advantage. There was no further scoring, but an away win is an away win and thoughts turned to Northern Ireland's visit almost immediately.

Ian Murray replaced Richard Hughes for the big game. Normally a side of Northern Ireland's calibre could be dismissed, but the proximity of the nations presented a serious banana skin. A goalless first half did little to dispell Scottish fears, and as Roy Carroll repelled effort after effort the fight was lost. The points were shared and qualification would now be an uphill battle.

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A meaningless friendly in Cairo was the only fixture on the calendar for the first three months of 2007, so with trips to Spain, Latvia and Germany coming up Brown took the opportunity to let his fringe players come together a bit more.

Reports in the week leading up to the game linked Brown heavily with the soon-to-be-vacant position as manager of Kilmarnock. The smart thing to do was not comment, so he didn't. That was smart.

Derek Riodan's first international goal gave Brown's side a second half lead they never looked like relinquishing. It was such a good performance, in fact, that many of those involved had done their chances of playing in Spain a world of good. Perhaps the spark Brown had been waiting for was in the squad all along.

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Injuries saw Paul Gallacher, Steven Hammell, Kevin McNaughton, Kevin Kyle and Charlie Adam drafted in to the squad, though the lazy Scots media, as ever, reported that the 26 was unchanged. It seems they just don't care any more.

Spain were a daunting proposition for Brown and his side, but he went with the XI who defeated Egypt and hoped for the best. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

Actually, it wasn't quite the XI that beat Egypt, Martyn Corrigan came in at right back due to injuries, so it was X. Spain scored an early goal, but the game was less one sided than you might have anticipated until Fernando Torres scored twice just before half time.

Trailing by three at the interval Brown told his side that nothing less than a win was acceptable. Most laughed. How about we score a goal and call it quits? More laughter. Nothing like respect.

The game ended 3-0 and qualification was no longer a possibility. All that remained was to qin as much as possible and shore up that seeding, hope for a better group for the World Cup and perhaps cry a wee bit.

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Brown went back to basics for the game in Latvia, selecting Gordon, McNamara, Naysmith, Kennedy, Webster, Murray, Ferguson, Fletcher, Miller, Riordan and McFadden from the usual suspects. Victory in this game was a must if the Scots were to edge away from Latvia and Northern Ireland in the bottom half, but after a tough encounter at Hampden it wasn't going to be easy.

Indeed it was the home side who scored first, netting a fourth minute penalty, before play swung in Scotland's favour. Before anyone knew, however, another penalty was awarded, the score was 2-0 and things looked decidedly shaky for Brown's continued tenure as boss.

Derek Roirdan pounced on a slack backpass to pull one back before the interval and seconds later equalised as Miller broke free on the right and teed him up perfectly. If Scots around the world felt the danger was over they probably haven't seen a lot of Scotland games. Latvia struck again and led 3-2 at the break.

Quashie and McNaughton replaced Murray and McNamara at the interval, but it was Riordan who scored again with fifteen minutes of play remaining. Andy Webster was sent off for a second booking three minutes later and James McFadden was sacrificed for Christian Dailly. Depite being down to ten men, Brown told his players to go get a winner, and they did, Kenny Miller coming up with the goosd i the last of four added minutes.

After the game a breathless Brown was all smiles, and the press fury seemed assuaged. Despite Riordan's hattrick, it was Kenny Miller who won the plaudits. Slightly harsh, but who cares, Scotland won! 4-3, 4-3, 4-3, 4-3. The most famousest of matches.

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When Andy Brown's close friend Joél Garçon was surprisingly appointed Rangers manager in X 2006 on the eve of a vital Old Firm match it was one of the biggest shocks in recent Scottish football history. Despite holding a lead atop the SPL and continuing in the Scottish Cup, Alex McLeish was not considered to be doing a sufficiently competent job and the veteran Luxembourger was appointed in his place.

Despite being in the midst of a Championship run-in and knowing the support doubted him, Garçon embarked on an immediate restructuring of the squad, cutting loose veteran players who he felt weren't up to the task and promoting youngsters.

That initial Old Firm encounter ended 1-1, thanks largely to some poor Celtic finishing, but Garçon went on to clinch the title and win the Cup that year playing the likes of Roberto Giacomi, Robert Davidson and Lee Wallace week-in, week-out.

In the summer he was able to add talented players on free transfers, the most notable being Bosko Balaban, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Lamine Diatta, Mario Eggiman and Hervé Nzelo Lembi. With Vyacheslav Hleb in place to build around there was a lot of promise.

The problem position was proving to be goalkeeper. Garçon had intended to start Allan McGregor on his return from loan, but the youngster rejected a new contract and left the club. That meant money was spent on Everton's Iain Turner to fill the gap.

It was a good year, but not as successful as the last. Celtic were in great form and despite losing just one Old Firm game, and three total league games, Rangers finished four points behind their rivals in the SPL. There was a Scottish Cup win to savour along with a solid Champions League performance which saw wins over Panathinaikos, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon (twice), with only two injury time goals preventing a second triumph over the Italian giants. The group was won, but two red cards in the opening half hour of their last 16 game saw a 5-1 first leg defecit open up against PSV that was too much to recover from. The home game was won 3-1, but the tie was gone.

With both Hleb and Balaban hitting 30 goals it was a good year of attacking football. Even Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink chipped in, netting 17 times. The youth movement continued as 16 year olds Scott Black and Paul O'Neill established themselves as first choices and the summer addition of James McFadden and Didier Drogba could now push the side over the top.

Why this becomes relevant now is simple - following the win in Latvia there was a shout for Brown to get a chance domestically. With Dundee United desperate for a revival they turned to Andy and he wasn't about to pass up this chance. Head-to-head with his buddy and day-to-day involvement, it was the right move at the right time. The new year seemed set to be one for the ages.

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X = March, forgot to go back and sort that

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It had been 530 minutes since Dundee United last conceded a goal - Macjec Zuawski scoring in the tenth minute of Celtic's 1-0 win. Since then Flora of Tallin had been defeated 2-0 at Tannadice and 1-0 in Estonia whilst Hearts, Kilmarnock and Motherwell were defeated by two, four and two goals respectively. These results, along with an opening day 3-1 win at Inverness where Lee Miller helped himself to a hat-trick, had led to second place, just a point behind Garçon's unbeated Rangers side, after five fixtures and a First Round UEFA Cup tie with Galatasaray in the offing.

In the meantime Brown prepared his national squad for the trip to Germany, reflecting on the panel's decision to award him second place - behind Garçon - in August's manager of the month prize. At least Dundee United players had won first and second place in the players' category.

With Webster suspended and McFadden injured it was a slightly altered line up that took the field. Iain Turner replaced Craig Gordon in goal, Christian Dailly took up his station at the back and Shaun Maloney started in attack. Ironically (if you take the tabloid press definition of irony) Jackie McNamara started at right back, whilst simultaneously failing to get a game for Brown's Dundee United team due to the form of fellow Scot Mark Wilson.

Derek Riordan's fifth minute goal stunned the hosts, but they took just six more to level the game through Kaufmann. Kenny Miller remarkably restored the lead with his tenth international goal two minutes later and the goal frenzy was over for the time being. A dubious offside flag denied Miller before the break and some great goalkeeping from Paul Martin in the Germany goal kept it at 2-1.

Despite his goal, Miller was playing poorly and debutant Andy Bagshaw of Tottenham replaced him at the interval. Some very unsporting time wasting tactics ensued and Scotland had a famous win. The momentum was now firmly in Brown's side's favour and all eyes were back on qualification.

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Andy Webster checked back in for Christian Dailly for the Russia game, but the side was otherwise unchanged from those who triumphed in Germany. A tight first half produced no goals, but Brown did lose Derek Riordan to injury, throwing young David Clarkson on in his place.

When Darren Fletcher was also injured in the second half it was Rangers' Charlie Adam who came on to make his debut. The play was slightly in Scotland's favour, but with time ticking away a goalless draw seemed inevitable. Ultimately so it proved, and any last hopes of catching the Russians probably dissipated with the final whistle. Three games remained, with Luxembourg and Spain to visit Hampden and a trip to Windsor Park in the offing. Seven points would be a nice haul, and the campaign could be written off to experience. Fingers crossed.

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After 575 mintues the run of clean sheets ended, Stephen McPhee equalising for Dundee in the derby. It didn't stop there though as the same man took advantage of a red card for Trond Erik Bertelson to win the game for the visitors. In Bertelson's absence United shipped 4 to Rangers and two to St Mirren in the league cup. There was no response at Ibrox, but Lee Miller scored six times at Love Street to ensure progression, before grabbing the only goal of a tense game at East End Park to renew the league campaign in a positive way.

Drawing 1-1 at home to Galatasaray may not have been outstanding, but Lee Miller's goal eight minutes into the second leg at Ali Sami Yen put the tie right back in the balance. The score remained 1-0 past the hour mark and a tense finish seemed all set up. With twenty minutes to go though, Miller struck again and the hosts needed three. United were in control now, and the revival never seemed on. A 3-1 aggregate win was achieved and Brown could turn his thoughts to the group stages where United would test themselves against Stuttgart, AZ, Atletic Bilbao and Torpedo Moscow. Qualification seemed a tangible goal.

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Mark Wilson and Lee Miller took advantage of day-to-day contact with Brown to earn callups for the games with Luxembourg and Northern Ireland. Miller was the main beneficiary, being elevated from non-involvement to the starting lineup at the expense of Derek Riordan. Mark Wilson also got the nod, but simply due to a suspension for John Kennedy which forced Brown to slide McNamara to centre back.

Luxembourg looked up for the game from the off, but Lee Miller's eighteenth minute penalty seemed to deflate them and Scotland pressed on looking to kill the game. Barry Ferguson duly obliged with a fine strike half an hour in and Shaun Maloney made it three a couple of minutes later.

A triple change at the break saw Charlie Adam, Craig Beattie and Derek Riordan replace Darren Fletcher, Kenny Miller and Maloney, but the team picked up where it left off, Lee Miller scoring his second almost immediately before going agonisingly close to a debut hat-trick on more than one occasion before clinching it with seven minutes to play.

Miller thought he had added a fourth with the last kick of the ball, but the referee had other ideas and the game ended with a fine 5-0 win for Brown's side.

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Ivan Sproule's seventh minute opener meant this fixture would be a real gut check for Scotland, but Kenny Miller responded within four minutes to return the game to stage one, and a red card for Northern Ireland's Chris Anderson with over an hour to play seemed to swing the tie in Brown's side's favour.

Still it was only 1-1 at the interval and it looked set to end that way until a lucky break allowed Shaun Maloney a clear view of goal and the little striker made it 2-1. Derek Riordan hit the bar late on as Scotland looked to seal the win, but it was to be a fine Barry Ferguson strike that ended the contest.

Scotland now sat on twenty points with a game to play. Ahead of them Germany were uncatchable on 24, Russia and Spain had 23 and both a superior goal difference. It would take an absolute miracle for Scotland to qualify and there could be no bones about it.

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Unusually it was the withrawal of a lame Lee Miller that led to a scoring burst as Torpedo Moscow came to Tannadice. Twenty minutes remained when Brown sent on Falcao, but the little Colombian still had time to fire a dramtic hat-trick, with Mark Wilson netting a penalty in between to seal an unlikely 4-0 victory.

The next big test would come at home to Celtic in a game that Brown would come to rate as his most disappointing so far. Goals from Cordoba, Falcao and Miller had reversed a 1-0 defecit. Miller's strike made it 3-1 in the 89th minute, but two injury time goals grabbed Celtic a point and there was no escaping the bottle job his side had performed.

With Rangers having conceded just two league goals through twelve fixtures and only consecutive 1-1 draws with Aberdeen and Dunfermline at the end of August blotting their copybook it seemed Joél Garçon would outduel Brown in their first season of direct competition. Even the loss of both centre backs seemed to have little effect on the Ibrox juggernaut, though Ajax did take advantage with a 3-0 win in the Champions League.

In the end United lost 1-0 at Bilbao, but it was a far from lucky performance and Miller and Falcao were denied by great stops. It wasn't outstanding, but it was so nearly a great away draw. Thoughts turned to AZ and to Stuttgart with probably four points needed to guarantee progress.

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Spain needed a win to hold on to any hopes of qualification, but they never threatened Iain Turner in the Scotland goal and the game ended 0-0. Wins for Germany and Russia saw them through to the finals, but for Scotland it was a case of pride salvaged after a poor start to the campaign. Brown held on to his job without much complaint from the support and thoughts turned to the World Cup.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

P W D L F A Pts

1. Germany 12 9 0 3 19 7 27

2. Russia 12 8 2 2 18 7 26

3. Spain 12 7 3 2 25 7 24

4. Scotland 12 6 3 3 19 11 21

5. N.Ireland 12 3 2 7 8 17 11

6. Latvia 12 3 2 7 13 18 11

7. Luxembourg 12 0 0 12 3 38 0</pre>

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For fans of "what if", wins at home to Northern Ireland and Russia would have put Scotland in a tie for second with the Russians on 25 points. Presuming nothing else changed.

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A friendly against an on-form England side wasn't the nicest way to end the itnernational year, and Jermain Defoe's opening goal made it less so. Still, the fans were into it so at least someone felt the match was worthwhile.

In the end it was a dull encounter that ended 1-0, but the songs continued long into the night, so that was nice.

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Despite losing 3-2 at home to Stuttgart (thanks to a controversial decision to disallow David Fernandez' last minute leveller due to a 'foul') United needed only a draw in Holland to qualify at the expense of AZ and Torpedo Moscow.

Internationally the World Cup draw paired Scotland with England, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg - an eminently more forgiving draw than the last one, and a group Brown would be looking to win.

Sadly United lost 1-0 in Holland and slipped out of the top three in the group. One win and three defeats, even if they were all by just a single goal, just doesn't cut it in the big leagues. Better luck next year.

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An embarrassing semi-final defeat to Morton ended Brown's League Cup run one stage short of a Final encounter with Garçon, but there were to be no bragging rights as the Luxembourger's Rangers side were eliminated from the Scottish Cup after taking Inverness too lightly not once, but twice, losing in a replay up north in the Third Round.

With Rangers managing just one home win - against Arsenal of all sides - and crashing out of the Champions League with only 8 points, then losing 2-1 on aggregate to Marseille in the UEFA Cup it wasn't such a good year for Scottish sides in Europe, with the exception of Celtic who progressed to the Champions League knockout stages and proceeded to eliminate Villarreal.

Lee Miller had fired 30 goals before the New Year arrived, but injuries curtailed his start to 2008 and he missed a hatful of chances in his comeback as Kilmanock travelled to Tannadice for a Scottish Cup Quarter Final tie. With Seong Hyun struggling to make an impact and former Parma and Dortmund man Amoroso injured it was left to Dany N'Guessan to make up for Miller's poor finishing with an equaliser before David Fernandez and former Birmingham man David Dunn made it 3-1.

Sitting third in the table and having reached a second semi final in his first season at the club, Brown could have rested on his laurels, but not this guy. Every interview, every comment pointed towards progress. Having taken a side slated for relegation to unknown highs the plan now was to trim the fat, streamline the playing staff and make the club self-sustaining and successful.

Brown was not a man to rejoice in small triumphs.

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Correction: I got ahead of myself there - Celtic were actually horsed by Villarreal in the second leg and were eliminated.

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As this tale of Brown's fortunes continues inexorably towards a second page, the man himself was gearing up for a Scottish Cup Semi Final against a Celtic side he'd failed to beat all year long, a Celtic side on a 16 game winning streak in the league up until a dramatic recent 4-1 loss at home to Raners and a Celtic side who had whittled Joél Garçon's Rangers side's ten point lead down to one before that game.

There was much of concern. Lee Miller hadn't scored for about a month, league form had been poor and Amoroso kept getting hurt. A top six place that seemed guaranteed about six weeks previously had all but evaporated and doom and gloom was the prevailing mood.

Morton put up a valiant fight against Rangers in the League Cup final, but Bosko Balaban's 65 yard effort into an open goal as time ran out sealed a 2-0 win for the SPL leaders. In truth the Greenock side were never in the match, but the close scoreline kept it interesting until the finish.

After the semi, United would need to beat St Mirren and hope city rivals Dundee failed to match that against Motherwell. For now though attention was on Celtic alone.

Craig Beattie opened the scoring with 25 minutes of play remaining. Amoroso and David Dunn missed great chances to level, but Steven Whittaker sealed the game for the Glasgow side with a fine second goal. Celtic would face Hamilton Accies in the Final.

Brown signed a new 2-year deal in the week following the semi, having been initially offered a 3 year contract. He insisted upon improved training facilities and was appeased.

St. Mirren were now the sole focus and gameplanning was hampered by Lee Milelr's flu. It was always going to be tough for him to be fit enoguh to play and in the end he failed a late fitness test and would not feature.

Trailing 2-0 after half an hour it looked bleak for United. Amoroso though netted before the interval and centre back Brian Easton levelled from the spot with half an hour to play. From there United would have hoped to press on for the winner, but with time running out Brown was forced to gamble, sending on a fourth striker. There was to be no Latviaesque heroics however, time ticking away and with it a top six finish.

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Typically United ended their 10-game winless league run by defeating St Mirren. Goalkeeping was identified as the issue and a return to early incumbant Derek Stillie produced the clean sheet and three points. Stillie is poised to move to Manchester City in the summer, but Brown knows he needs him to salvage respectability from the remainder of the campaign.

After drawing 1-1 with Kilmarnock goals from Falcao and Mark Kerr for Hibs condemned United to another defeat and put Brown's wisdom for selling the pair in question.

Garçon's Rangers clinched the title with a 0-0 draw in the Old Firm game at Ibrox and the party began in Glasgow. For United it was a dreary end to a season that started out so promisingly. There's always next year...

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<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Rangers | | 38 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 95 | 24 | +71 | 94 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Celtic | | 38 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 78 | 25 | +53 | 88 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Hearts | | 38 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 56 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Aberdeen | | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 75 | 75 | 0 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Motherwell | | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 53 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Dundee | | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 62 | -19 | 49 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Dunfermline Ath | | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 49 | 63 | -14 | 55 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | *** | Dundee Utd | | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 54 | 58 | -4 | 49 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Hibernian | | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 50 | -1 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Kilmarnock | | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 39 | 72 | -33 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Inverness CT | | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 35 | 70 | -35 | 30 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | R | St. Mirren | | 38 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 67 | -36 | 28 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

As the table showed, it hadn't been a great year in the end for United, despite two semi finals. Brown though had learned his lesson and would never again f*ck with a winning side. Thoughts of rebuilding were now paramount and Andy Brown sat down to compile his off-season dossier.