By Chick Young BBC Scotland football correspondent

First the good news. The economy of the travel business is thriving thanks to an rush of early holiday bookings for the summer of 2006 - to Spain, France, Portgual, USA and Australia. Anywhere, actually. Except Germany.

In fact the moon might seem a right good option at the moment. For a holiday that is. There's a fat chance of anyone Scottish feeling over it.

We're rubbish and we know we are... but blaming Berti Vogts for all our ills is like blaming Michael Fish for the weather.

I'll tell you right now, if you think sacking the manager is the cure-all elixir for the Scottish game then go and discuss it with the fairies at the bottom of your garden.

Berti Vogts is facing the end of the road in Scotland

He has got to go of course. The old two strikes and you're out rule will take care of that and Scotland are now so far off the pace in Group Five that we couldn't make up the gap with the help of playing a joker. Although in fairness we have fielded a few lately.

But that's the Scottish way. Heap all the blame on a scapegoat and bundle him off into exile.

Like maybe there aren't other reasons why our international game is on its knees.

For example? OK, the refusal for years of our leading clubs - the 0ld Firm by name - not to invest in Scottish youth.

It is still a scandal that Celtic do not have premises for a youth academy and training ground worthy of their stature in the European game.

Not that others are much better. Just about every other SPL club has at one time or another been wooed by exotic foreign names.

I'm not talking Henrik Larsson and the like, genuine class who contribute.

I'm talking journeymen -in some cases just bad players - who were signed for mad money and kept better Scottish kids on the outside of the game looking in.

Berti Vogts might have turned out to be a bad appointment. But the idea of employing him wasn't.

When Craig Brown left, a snooze button had been applied to our international game and the introduction of a foreign coach with a startling c.v. was as exciting as it was innovative.

So it didn't work out. And of course we will never know if, in the fullness of time he could have got it right. The lynch mob will get their way, because in football they always do.

Scotland were miserable in Moldova

No reasoned argument, no examination of the reasons. Just a public hanging.

And of course all will be well when Gordon Strachan or Walter Smith or Paul Daniels takes over. Just magically.

Aye right. There is no overnight solution to this. The binning of Berti will ease the public conscience. And then off we jolly well go again.

Against Spain, Slovenia, Norway and Moldova there was not one thing wrong with the attitude of the players. They had spirit and character. What they didn't have was the ability.

And with the appointment of a new manager there is not likely to be a bolt of lightning from heaven infusing our troubled young stars with such a commodity.

But when such a communication comes from above you might want to take the opportunity of asking the Great Man who triggered the flash if He might be interested in the job.

I'm afraid it might be our only hope.