Holland 3 v Scotland 0

           

This nightmare of a sporting year for me continued on Saturday at the Amsterdam Arena. No, I wasn't expecting to see Scotland get a result but I was hoping for a performance. We got neither. Scotland played with absolutely no ambition and the game was over on the stroke of half-time as Robin Van Persie headed home the second unopposed header of the game. It wasn't even as if Holland were anything special - they just didn't need to get out of second gear.

I left early in the second-half in search of solace in beer at £6-7 a pint. On the trudge away from the stadium, I got talking to another disgusted looking Scotsman who was adamant that the problem was we were watching a Championship manager with Championship players playing Premier League opposition. He had a point and was too gracious to remind me that Charlton are really a League One club now when the obvious subject of the Addicks came into the conversation.

I am not going to Hampden to watch the Iceland game and I won't be at St Mary's on Saturday. Instead I think I will put an afternoon's graft in the garden.