Seamus Shilling

Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba agus gnìomh gnàth-shìde. Oxford MA; Imp College MBA; Juris Doctor - Law. Far more intl experience & a better CV than any politician!

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

Picture of me on the Great Wall of China in 1988! Deng Xiaoping was still paramount leader & there were only a handful of cars in Beijing. This was me taking a break from my Mandarin studies touring around iconic sites in China. Can't believe this was 37 years ago! #China

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@msm_monitor @alphonso1234x Now tht they're out, wonder if Dutch are asked if they support Belgium ? Only in the UK do Scots get asked this. Rarely gets asked in reverse. Many English think the UK is akin to a 'family'. It's not. It's a group of nations & a province handcuffed to a greater English union.

[Jamie McIntyre @_JamieMcIntyre]

If England win the World Cup, will they then have sufficient self-confidence to believe they can be an independent country? (without Scotland)

[Bill Cruickshank @BjCruickshank]

Norway funnels over $400 million annually into into national youth sports with a substantial portion dedicated to football. Norway has a $2.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Scotland has no sovereign wealth fund. Norway is independent, Scotland is not. Spot the difference.

[Laura Webster @LauraEWebsterr]

Here's a question for those committed to the Union. If it's so radical that we will have a PM who knows England exists beyond the M25, what makes you think Scotland has *ever* or ever will be a valued member of the Union? They. Don't. Care.

[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.

[Karen @foreverrfc]

England…listen to your man 😁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@IndigoFast Let's see how they do against quality opposition : no offence to Croatia but they were pretty poor tonight overall..France, Spain, Argentina, Germany..etc

[Cate @Catherinelc94]

Dunno what it is, I’m an England fan but every other country has managed to celebrate without dragging another country’s team/supporters down.. but England just can’t do that for some reason? They just seem so hostile and volatile

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@J4m35c4mpb3ll English like these two twats love to make snidey remarks abt Scotland esp on football to disguise a chronic inferiority complex. They just can't stand how Scots are so much more loved than English globally.W/o Scotland England has zero soft power/branding - a complete non entity

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

Geez that was nervey! A win is a win though..!! #Scotland #SCOvHAITI

[Football @BostonConnr]

So glad the Scottish are in Boston

Maybe the best fanbase fit to a city for the entire World Cup

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@JamesK80P @IndigoFast I lived in a British colony for 12 years. Don't remember being imprisoned w/o trial. Despite being a colony though it had far more autonomy than Scotland currently enjoys.

[Jack Prandelli @jackprandelli]

Norway and the UK drilled the same North Sea.

🇳🇴Norway got $2 trillion.
🇬🇧The UK got tax cuts.

Same basin,Same era.... Completely different outcomes.

Norway captured $30 per barrel in government revenue. The UK captured $11.

That gap, compounded over 50 years of production, is the entire difference.

Norway's model was simple: tax heavily (78% marginal rate), take direct equity stakes in fields via the SDFI, own part of Equinor, and put everything surplus into a fund invested abroad.

The Government Pension Fund Global now holds over $2 trillion in assets.
That's $390,000 per Norwegian citizen about 1.5% of all listed equities on earth.

The fiscal rule: only spend the 3% annual real return. Never touch the principal.

The UK started producing earlier, at lower prices, with a lower tax rate (40%) and no saving mechanism.

North Sea revenues flowed straight into the general budget.

Economists estimate the UK missed out on roughly £400 billion compared to a Norwegian style regime.

The windfall largely financed tax cuts in the 1980s rather than a fund.

Where things stand in 2026?

Norway's petroleum sector will generate $63 bn in net cash flow this year alone feeding a fund already large enough to cover 10-15% of the national budget from returns alone.

The UK is a net energy importer.
Since 2021 it has paid countries like Norway more than £100 billion for gas.

One country treated oil as a finite resource to convert into permanent financial wealth.

The other treated it as income.

image source:eia

[Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys]

Immigration makes Britain brilliant.

[Hazel Lyon @HazelLyon16]

I'm also Scottish not British 💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@AngusBMacNeil @afneill I think you're right abt the frequency of his posts.Looks as if he's getting genuinely spooked about the increasingly real prospect of a break up of the UK.If I was him I would focus on soaking up the French sunshine & nibbling on scrumptious croissants rather than raging on X...

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@RuthHen05786097 @allanukscotland He purports to be a go-to expert on political/constitutional matters/energy/economics (despite wht appears, from at least his published CV, to be a less than diverse career background). These guys are PR proponents only when it suits their agenda. Always shifting goalposts..🤦‍♂️

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@RuthHen05786097 Love how they seem to adore proportional representation when it suits them but argue a strong case for FPTP also if it suits their narrative. Unless you 'hard code' thresholds for constitutional change into legislation you can't just make up arbitrary % targets when it suits you

[Seamus Shilling @JamesFranW]

@gordymeister @afneil Last time I checked we don't have pure PR. Under a predominantly FPTP system in HR & WM that's how we get Brexit, Johnson, Starmer etc Whether it's indy, Brexit or whatever the manifesto policy the party which secures power under the prevailing system secures a policy mandate.

[Ruth Henderson @RuthHen05786097]

🤔Andrew Neil on 2nd Independence Referendum 👇

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