Scotland's ill-fated World Cup story finally at a sorry end

Image source, Getty Images By Tom English BBC Scotland's chief sports writer in Charlotte Published 1 hour ago There was something pitiful about the way the lights went out for Scotland at this World Cup. Not just the on-field disappointment, which was tough enough to watch, but the grim and almost lifeless hope in the aftermath, including from Steve Clarke who would eventually resign on Saturday . Hanging from a cliff edge by their fingertips. Could Ghana beat Croatia by three clear goals, could DR Congo and Uzbekistan play out a draw, could Austria beat Algeria by two or more goals or could Algeria beat Austria by a minimum of four? Praying for results in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Kansas City. What a sorry end to the story. One night in Miami: The Scotsmen of the apocalypse Published 16 hours ago Scotland's elimination from World Cup confirmed Published 1 hour ago This tournament, just like all other tournaments that they've made it to, carries on into the business end without Scotland. One goal scored. Elijah Just of Motherwell and New Zealand has scored three times as many on his own. Jonathan David of Canada has a higher xG (expected goals) than the entire Scotland team. We could cite stats until the cows come home, but there's no real point. Everybody accepts that Scotland deserve to depart with their tail between their legs. The Tartan Army were the best of it, a travelling support that tried to lift the team up and carry them into the knockouts. Even for tens of thousands of foot soldiers, the load was too heavy. In three games, Scotland played admirably for two halves - the second against Morocco when they put them under pressure, and the second against Brazil when they finally had attempts on target albeit when already 3-0 down. Who is to blame for another anti-climax? There are layers to Scotland's failure. Some blame the manager's inability to get the best out of his group of players and want him removed despite his new four-year deal. Some cut the manager some slack by saying the players, though hard-working and fiercely determined, are over-praised and over-rated at this level. Others look deeper at the woeful inability of the Scottish game to develop athletic young talent and the aversion that top-flight clubs have in giving youngsters a chance of first team football and say what hope have you got. The truth is that it's a mix of all of these things - plus other things. Scotland were in an extremely tough group with the world's fifth and sixth-best teams. One win and two defeats is what most people should have expected, albeit the win was hairy and unimpressive. There was nothing surprising about what Scotland did, or did not do, against Morocco and Brazil. Those teams are better, pure and simple. Clarke is being pilloried for being overly negative in the way he set his team up, when he really wasn't. He's getting hammered for not getting the best out of what he had. That's a moot point. He's been in charge for seven years and has