Lee Wallace Called Up To Scotland Squad

[andy steel 0]

Who's that, then? The guy they talked about this evening, can't recall the name, was born in Scotland so that seems fair enough to me.

[RANGERRAB 3,653]

The more you look back at it, giving Levein the job was just crazy. I think it was Gordon Smith who has to carry the can for that one, though I'll be happy to blame Regan given half a chance.

 

I mean, Levein's c.v read like a check list of danger signals:

 

No major club experience

No surprising Cup success at a smaller club

Feeble attempt at managing in England

History of greeting in public when his team lost

Inability to shave or dress as befits a man in his late 40's

Worrying east coast accent, eh

 

Add to that minor data like being unable to organise a defence, enable his team to pass to each other or possess a backbone (cf: Lee Wallace) and his appointment remains a mystery, unlike his subsequent disappearance into the footballing void.

 

didn't Rhegan extend Levein's contract for the current WC qualifying campaign ? only to sack him after 4 games and 1 point on the board almost a year ago which cost the SFA quite a bit in compensation

[ian1964 10,720]

Scotland new boy Ikechi Anya a Gers fan

HIS dad is a Nigerian scientist, with a doctorate in metallurgy (no, me neither).

 

His mum is a Romanian economist. He was born in a council estate in Glasgow’s Castlemilk. His big brother qualified as a GP and makes rap music in his spare time.

 

Five years ago he was playing non-league for Halesowen Town in Dudley. Two years later he was signing for Sevilla’s B side in Spain. He’s a devout Christian. And a Rangers fan.

 

And now, at the age of 25, he’s a Scotland player. As back stories go Ikechi Anya’s is as fascinating as they come.

 

But now that he’s here, this international man of improbability plans to write a new twist into his personal tales of the unexpected.

 

Anya, a speedy wideman for Watford, is back in the country where it all started. And this time he plans on hanging around for a whole lot longer.

 

He said: “I don’t remember too much about life in Glasgow. But one game at school sticks in my mind. We won and afterwards a friend and I were confronted by a bully who cracked our heads together.

 

“I was only seven at the time but it was a hard neighbourhood in Castlemilk. Well, that’s what I was told. Being seven you don’t really know any different.

 

“Don’t get me wrong, it was okay. We played football on the streets and it was fine.

 

“I was back in Glasgow in January with my brother and he went back to where we used to live. He said everything had changed and it was different.

 

“I just remember the flat we used to live in and how, in the communal area, the pool table was broken. We couldn’t use it. I went to Spittal Primary school. We played football during break time and that’s when the head cracking took place.”

 

Shortly after this incident his parents moved the family to London. But clearly – and to the obvious frustration of his father Chinasa – this playground bashing didn’t knock much sense into the youngster.

 

Because the young Anya had made up his mind already that his future was in football.

 

He added: “I grew up as a Rangers fan but didn’t get to go to any games because my dad was big on education.

 

“He would probably have preferred me to go down an academic route but fortunately for me the football worked out.

 

“My dad is a scientist and my mum is an economist. My brother is also a doctor and that’s what my dad had in mind for me.

 

“He wanted me to do anything academic. I remember every day after school he made us study for extra hours. But by the time I was year eight or nine the time I was spending with the books was getting lower and lower because I was into playing football.

 

 

 

“Dad wanted me to be like my brother but I’m not as clever as him. He’s a GP and a hip-hop artist in his spare time.”

 

Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he be? These Anyas, after all, are a diverse and talented bunch.

 

He said: “My dad did his university degree in Romania. He then got a got a job at the University of Strathclyde.

 

“I was born here but when I was seven my dad got another job at the University of Oxford. But when Scotland played England I was always the one on the street saying, ‘Come on Scotland’.

 

“My parents have fond memories of Scotland. We only left because of work.”

 

And now work brings him home. But even the story of the stop-offs he has made along the way mark this player out from the rest.

 

Anya was released by his first club, Oxford United, as a kid. He signed for Tony Adams at Wycombe – becoming the club’s youngest player at 16 – before spending the next nine years doing more wandering. All the way to Dudley in fact.

 

In 2008 he wound up in Glenn Hoddle’s Spanish rehab centre for football’s waifs and strays. This was his last-chance saloon.

 

And from there his career trajectory has rocketed. Contracts were signed with Sevilla B, then Celta Vigo, before he landed a La Liga deal with Granada.

 

Eventually, he arrived at Watford where Gianfranco Zola now has him secured on a three-year deal. But Anya’s adventure continues at unrelenting pace.

 

And now he’s preparing for a baptism of fire against the Belgians on Friday. Yet delightfully he takes it all in his happy, bubbly stride. Anya’s faith commands nothing less.

 

He said: “I’m quite a religious man. This conversation might get a bit deep but it was instilled in me when I was young.

 

“I’m religious and believe if you work hard you’ll get your just rewards. That keeps me humble. I don’t get ahead of myself.

 

“I accept everything that happens to me in life and that helps to keep me stable.

 

“I’m a bit different from most players. If you talk to my team-mates they’ll all say that. It’s a good different though. It’s good to have variety with a different outlook on life compared to the cliched footballer.”

 

There is no cliche to fit this one. Nothing about Anya’s life can be placed in a box. How could it be when just five years ago he was playing non-league football.

 

The winger said: “I came out of the game for a while because of a knee injury and started up again playing non-league at Halesowen Town. I was only 20 and a bit naive.

 

“I thought I’d get over my injury and go straight back into the pro game. But now you see players who have clocked up top-flight games yet still can’t get a club.

 

“Through hard work and a bit of luck I kept climbing the ladder. And now I’m in this position. It’s a dream come true.

 

“If I get any minutes against Belgium and Macedonia I’ll show what I can do and hopefully I’ll get a call-up the next time.

 

“But I’m not getting ahead of myself and anything I achieve is a bonus. It’s just good to be here.”

[Gribz 850]

Kevin Thomson? That's a baffling one.

 

Wallace is a no brainer, should easily be Scotlands first choice LB.

[ian1964 10,720]

Okay, i'm in a contrary mood. Seriously, playing in Division Three is no preparation for playing international football though, is it? I like Wallace, he's easily one of our best players and reaching his peak, but should he be getting picked for Scotland? I've no issue with the young players getting into the under 19s and under 21 sides but full internationals should be playing at as high a level as possible. I'm pleased for him but it doesn't say much for the quality of player available.

 

Will Alan Hutton play tonight?,what club football is he playing?

[amms 0]

Will Alan Hutton play tonight?,what club football is he playing?

 

Reading this mornings papers he still seems to be at Aston Villa and none to pleased about it either. He was playing in La Liga until June, but I'm guessing the point you are making is should he start at all if he's not played any competitive football since June? It's a good question, the league has not long started but dropping him in favour of someone who is starting regularly (Whittaker for example) would hardly be controversial.

[ian1964 10,720]

Reading this mornings papers he still seems to be at Aston Villa and none to pleased about it either. He was playing in La Liga until June, but I'm guessing the point you are making is should he start at all if he's not played any competitive football since June? It's a good question, the league has not long started but dropping him in favour of someone who is starting regularly (Whittaker for example) would hardly be controversial.

 

I was just thinking when you here people saying because Wallace is playing in a lower division he shouldn't play International matches,yet Hutton who isn't playing any club football all will play!.

 

Not aiming this at you mate just thinking about it.

[amms 0]

I guess I just feel that if we weren't Rangers fans and Wallace played for any other 3r Div club we'd raise our eyebrows at his call up. It's a criticism of Scottish football more than anything.

[andy steel 0]

Hutton's season in La Liga looked to have done him a power of good. The last game I saw him in (Croatia, I think) he looked back to his old best, rather than the clogger the EPL seemed to change him into.

 

I hope he gets another move to a footballing league.

[Darthter 542]

I guess I just feel that if we weren't Rangers fans and Wallace played for any other 3r Div club we'd raise our eyebrows at his call up. It's a criticism of Scottish football more than anything.

 

The main real difference is that Rangers are not a typical 3rd tier club - they are a top tier club, playing in the 3rd. A normal 3rd tier LB would not get a look in.