Katy Barden

Freelance copywriter/feature writer and communications specialist. Former Head of PR & Comms at the NEC Group. Love sport. Views my own.

[Ika Ferrer Gotić @IkaFerrerGotic]

Glasgow deserves better than periodic ritual condemnation.

If I hadn’t spent real time in Glasgow; walking those streets at 3am feeling safer than in most European cities; I might have swallowed the latest BBC framing wholesale.

But I have been there. I’ve seen the city at night, felt its pulse, and known its people. So when pieces like this reduce Glasgow to drugs, violence and racism, it lands as something more than journalism. It feels like a selective, recurring campaign that shows little regard for the community it claims to examine.

Every city has problems that demand honest attention and real solutions. Pretending otherwise helps no one. Glasgow is no exception. But painting an entire city and its people through the darkest lens available, while treating occasional disorder as defining character, is not balance. It is disregard.

Glaswegians have long punched above their weight. The “People Make Glasgow” ethos is not empty branding; it is lived reality.

Problems exist and should be confronted without denial. But reducing a complex, resilient city to a weekly dossier of its worst moments, while soft-pedalling the everyday dignity, creativity and solidarity of its people, is not serious analysis. It is a narrative that erodes more than it illuminates. Again, Glasgow deserves better than periodic ritual condemnation.

| #Glasgow #Scotland #PeopleMakeGlasgow

[🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Tartan Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @TartanArmyGroup]

We’re not going to pretend to know much about the new manger other than what we’ve read about his time at Union SG, and how he likes to set his teams up. It’s an uncharacteristically bold appointment by the SFA. Some of the names in the bookies top 5 didn’t inspire confidence so this is a welcome appointment.

#NoScotlandNoParty

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

@7Sport Brilliant job @7Sport - I thought your coverage was excellent.

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

@seaningle Great piece Sean.

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

Outstanding 🌟. In a recent interview for @AthleticsWeekly he told me “…if you’re consistent, if you can show that you can jump 8.05m, 8.10m, 8.15m in every competition, you're going to be a threat. So that's my goal…” and he nailed it. Top class from the Ullapool man.

[scottishathletics @scotathletics]

LONG JUMP BRONZE
#SALtogether
Stephen Mackenzie 8.08m @Team_Scotland @Glasgow_2026🥉
Scottish Native Record🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👏
📷@Bobby_ThatOneMo
@SALChiefExec @OvensDavid @EdinburghAC @InvCourier @SAL_Coaching @SALDevelopment

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

@Jason_AW Great stuff Jason. I really enjoyed reading it. I thought I might see you but - a bit like you - I spent a substantial amount of time getting lost in stairwells and corridors that I’ve walked many times before! In the end it was worth it. Josh was immense.

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

@benbloomsport And the same man behind both fields!

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

What a moment. The hard work paid off.

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

I really enjoyed catching up with Lee. She was the ‘poster girl’ of Scottish athletics - Scottish sport more generally, even - during my time at @scotathletics and she certainly did her fair share of media duties. I was pleased she didn’t turn me down on this occasion! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[scottishathletics @scotathletics]

STAY FOCUSED
#SALtogether
'Stay in your own lane - don't be distracted or worry about rivals'
@LeeMcConnell400 has sound advice for @Team_Scotland @Glasgow_2026
✍️Brilliant read by @katymaybarden
https://t.co/5ztJ09OVQY
@SALChiefExec @leslie_roy1 @EilidhDoyle @SusanEgelstaff

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

❤️

[Heart of Midlothian FC @JamTarts]

Craig Gordon, Hearts legend ❤️

[Scottish Football Away Days @scotsawaydays]

Vamos Argentina🇦🇷

[Paddy Power @paddypower]

Football is a simple game. 22 players chase a ball for 90 minutes, and England lose to the first good side they play in a tournament.

[Paul Bronks @SlenderSherbet]

Actual footage of every penalty run up in the World Cup.

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

As a lover of football and athletics I’m enjoying the crossover and commentary from @stevemagness. Main takeaway so far is football *appears* to be a bit behind on best prep for heat and altitude. Looking forward to seeing how things play out 🇲🇽

[Katy Barden @katymaybarden]

@KatiePurves490 It’s definitely on - it’s on iPlayer I think 👍

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

All of the elite athletes I know eat ice cream, pizza, candy, and have an occasional beer.

All of the mediocre athletes who are big on social media: lose their minds at the thought of some of those things.

This holds beyond nutrition.

Build robustness, not fragility.

[John McGinn @jmcginn7]

Scotland days at school, kids faces painted in saltires at nursery, the excitement and togetherness that this tournament brought to everyone in our country means so much to us all.

No one wanted to progress more than us players, and as much as the experiences and memories we’ll share will last forever, that doesn’t take away from how much this still hurts.

What the gaffer has given this group, on and off the pitch, has been immense. Not only by taking us to major tournaments but by how together we have felt as a squad and as a nation. Representing Scotland means everything to us and to him I’ll be forever grateful.

I hope the generation of young Scots who experienced this World Cup grow up believing that seeing Scotland on this stage is the new norm.

Thanks to everyone in the stands and in the streets of Boston and Miami, and to everyone back home for the incredible support.

Proud to be Scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙

[Ross McCafferty @RossMcCaff]

tough watching the world cup at this stage, torn between wanting underdogs to triumph but also wanting decent teams to stay in it so they can beat england

[Hazel Stewart @HazelStewart09]

I’ve followed Scotland since I was 15 years old. I’ve travelled to all three games here in America and, like thousands of other members of the Tartan Army, I’ve lived every kick of the ball. The Tartan Army have put in the performances, brought the creativity and backed the team relentlessly. That’s why this isn’t about two defeats. It’s about recognising a pattern we’ve now seen for far too long.

The biggest question isn’t whether Scotland have reached the knockout stages. It’s whether we actually deserve to.

Against Haiti, yes, we won, but a deflected John McGinn goal was all we had to show for it. This was our chance to announce ourselves back on the World Cup stage. Instead, we laboured, created very little and never really put Haiti under sustained pressure. Winning matters, but performances matter too.

Against Morocco, we once again paid the price for poor defending. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb and although Morocco looked vulnerable in the second half, Scotland never adapted. We remained disjointed, failed to take advantage when the game was there to be rescued and ultimately paid the price.

Then came Brazil.

Nobody expected Scotland to dominate Brazil. But there is a difference between respecting the opposition and fearing them. Scotland looked like a team waiting for something to happen rather than trying to make something happen.

The biggest frustration for me was the lack of adventure. Why wasn’t Ben Gannon-Doak starting? Against the world’s best teams, pace and unpredictability are exactly what you need. Instead, we reverted to caution.

It also felt like our biggest players disappeared. Scott McTominay and John McGinn have carried Scotland for years, but they struggled to influence the biggest games when we needed them most.

And that’s what concerns me.

This feels remarkably similar to Euro 2024. Two years later we’re having exactly the same conversation. The same tactical approach. The same lack of creativity. The same inability to turn possession into genuine chances.

People will point to qualification and say, “We got here.”

They’re right.

But qualification papered over cracks that were already visible.

Even during qualifying there were warning signs. The performances weren’t consistently convincing. We relied on moments rather than sustained quality. Yes, there were outstanding performances, particularly against Denmark, but too often results masked deeper issues.

At major tournaments that simply isn’t enough.

There’s another uncomfortable conversation we have to have.

This is an ageing Scotland squad. We’ve remained heavily reliant on the same core of players for years. These players deserve enormous respect for ending Scotland’s long wait for tournaments, but international football moves quickly.

Every player has an expiry date at the highest level. Some of our core players now look a yard slower against elite opposition, and that matters.

Steve Clarke deserves huge credit for transforming Scotland’s fortunes and leading us back to major tournaments.

But with a new four-year contract comes a new challenge.

Can he evolve?

Can he trust younger players sooner?

Can he refresh a squad that now looks in need of fresh energy?

Because if we continue with the same personnel and the same tactical approach, we’ll be having this exact conversation again after the next tournament.

The Nations League in September gives Scotland an opportunity to reset.

To introduce younger players.

To challenge established names.

To build a team that isn’t simply grateful to be there, but genuinely believes it belongs there.

Scotland has made enormous progress.

But qualification cannot be the destination.

It has to be the starting point.

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

Scotland: "Players aren't good enough "🤣

The worst argument to appear in the hangover of this campaign & that we can't play football, it's coaching & style, 100%!

Scott McKenna - LCB
- Double winner in Croatia
- Voted in Team of the Year

All this in a country that we constantly use an example of a domestic league creating ball-playing technical footballers recognising him as one of the best...

Jack Hendry - RCB
- Defender of the Year in Belgium 2021
- Won Title with Club Brugge following that season 2022

Has all the attributes to be a very good level ball-playing defender and probably proved himself at this WC, one of the few.

Fullbacks:
- Hickey a £20m Premier League Right-Back
- Nathan Paterson a £10m Premier League Right-Back
- Andy Robertson a Prem, CL & Multiple trophy winning Premier League Left-Back
- Kieran Tierney, yes injuries have hampered him, showed in 2nd Half how good he is.

Midfielders:
- Lewis Ferguson was Serie A Midfielder of the Year 2024 & Won Coppa Italia
- McTominay was Player of the Year & a title-winner in 2025 with Napoli
- Ryan Christie has been exceptional under Iraola as a CDM for a top Bournemouth side but hasn't played that role under Steve Clarke
- John McGinn just captained Aston Villa to a European Trophy but again under clear instruction of Emery

Attackers:
- Lawrence Shankland scores goals, you just need to create a chance.
- Adams & Stewart similarly, you need to create chances
- Doak is hot & cold but has Elite-Pace & Fearlessness, feed him the ball in the Final Third to feet and allow him to create.

We need a "Style of Play" to show how good this Squad can be!