Is an outsider right about reasons for Scottish football's ills?

Image source, Reuters/Getty Image caption, Ian Wright (right) said he felt sorry for Scotland fans following years of unfulfilled potential By Nick McPheat BBC Sport Scotland Published 1 hour ago As forensics prepare to start a post-mortem into another botched attempt by Scotland to progress from the group stage at a major finals, has a former England striker managed to hit the nail on the head regarding the reasons for Scottish football's ills? Rather than pointing the finger at PlayStations, 'no ball games' signage or rising pitch hire costs, Ian Wright called for a "bolder, braver vision" and suggested "somebody is letting down Scotland on a massive scale". His reasoning stemmed from undervalued broadcasting deals to unfulfilled potential, but how much weight does his theory hold? With Steve Clarke's side's World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, BBC Scotland has had a look. From 42% to 5.26% - how Scotland's World Cup hopes are fading Published 13 hours ago Are Scotland 'not good enough' to impress at World Cup? Published 1 day ago Latest from Scotland camp as World Cup hopes hang by thread Are Norway comparisons fair? To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Norway are heading for the World Cup knockout stage - something Scotland have never achieved - after defeating Senegal and Iraq Arsenal great Wright leaned on comparisons with Norway, a country with a similar population to Scotland's five million. Like Scotland, Norway failed to feature in any World Cup between 1998 and this summer. They have played in the Euros once - in 2000 - while the Scots have reached the past two after being absent from the tournament since 1996. Spearheaded by world-class Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, with elite-level Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard pulling the strings, Norway's current crop are heading to the knockout phase of the 2026 World Cup, the third time they have managed to do so in the competition's history. Scotland, meanwhile, are increasingly likely to be heading for an early exit after picking up three points from their three group matches. But former Celtic forward Wright looked at the domestic games in both countries, suggesting Norwegian clubs attract average domestic crowds of between 6,000 and 7,000 per week, while in Scotland that number shoots up to 16,000. Those comments are backed up by Transfermarkt's attendance data, with an average of just over 7,000 fans attending Norwegian top-flight games each week across the 2025 season. It was just about 16,000 for Scottish Premiership matches last campaign, a number heavily inflated by the crowds Celtic and Rangers attract. A Uefa report published in September last year revealed that for the third year in a row, football fans across Scotland recorded significantly higher top-flight attendances per capita than any other league in Europe. Is Scottish football undervalued? Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Former Ar