We are opening up this search to our readers, rather than forcing our top ten on you. So we would like you to send in your top ten Scottish players who you believe should be on the list for 2012.

No matter where the player is based, as long as he is Scottish or has played for Scotland then he or she is eligible. Yes, I said she. The nominations are open to both male and female Scottish football players.

There are a number of ways to post your nominations. You can tweet us @scotzine, email to editor@scotzine.com or take our survey by clicking on the link below:

http://www.scotzine.com/survey/

The nominations received will see a list of players selected depending on the number of nominations they receive and then from that list we would open the voting to you the reader, to see which rank the player comes in at. The player with the most votes is ranked number one, the player with the least is ranked number ten.

Nominate your top ten young Scottish footballers now. The voting is open until the end of February, however we shall be publishing articles over the coming days and weeks on which players the fraternity of bloggers and journalists think should be watched.

A statement on the Manchester United website read: “Over the past year he has had several absence periods which we have attributed to a viral illness in order to respect his right to medical confidentiality. Darren has, in fact, been suffering from ulcerative colitis (a chronic inflammatory bowel condition) for some time preceding this.

“Whilst he was able to maintain remission of symptoms for a considerable period this has proved more difficult recently and Darren’s continued desire to play and his loyalty to both his club and country has probably compromised the chances of optimising his own health and fitness.

“He has therefore accepted medical advice to take an extended break from the demands of training and playing in order to afford the best chance possible of achieving full remission once again.”

Over the years Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that Darren was always the first name on the Manchester United team sheet, such was his worth to the side.

This is just the latest blow to the Champions who have lost vital members of their side over the last few weeks to injury and this latest blow may just force Sir Alex into the transfer market in January.

Two big players in Darren Fletcher and Nemanja Vidic will now miss the rest of the season for Manchester United, but I am sure even though Nemanja will be concerned with his own battle to get back to full fitness, his thoughts will be with Darren.

After coming through the ranks of Manchester United’s Youth Academy he has gone on to achieve a number of honours with the Red Devils.

In total he has won: 4 Premier League titles, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups, 1 Champions League and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. Not to mention the Kirin Cup in 2006 with Scotland.

He is highly rated by team-mates and opponents alike and he was included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for 2009-10.

Not one to hide when he came in for stick from someone, such as Roy Keane, when it was reported that Keane said after seeing United lose 4-1 against Middlesbrough, “I can’t understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher.” However, Keane later attempted to set the record straight stating, “If you listen to any of my comments over the last two or three years, if I’ve given any player credit over the years it would be Fletch. Fletch will tell you that himself.”

But Fletch just kept playing and performing the way he does and it was his goal in the November of 2005 that ended Chelsea’s 40 match unbeaten run in the Premier League.

At 27 years old has had highs and he has had lows in his time in football but he has played over 300 times for the Old Trafford club scoring 22 goals for the Red Devils and loves playing for the club and Sir Alex Ferguson.

He has had the heartbreak of missing a Champions League final and played in the 6-1 hammering against Manchester City, scoring the goal of the match in the defeat but he bounced back from that.

Fletch is not only an important player for his club, but he is a vital part of Craig Levein’s Scotland set up and after making his debut in 2003 he has gone on to feature 58 times for his country scoring seven goals and he has shown leadership qualities with both club and country and has been proud to wear the captain’s armband for his country after the previous captain (Barry Ferguson )was banned from international football for a breach of regulations.

Fletch was given the captain’s armband in August 2009 and has given his all for his country such is his pride to represent his country and despite his critics, he proves time and time again that he is an important player for club and country. Craig Levein and Sir Alex Ferguson have appreciated his talents over the years, lets hope it’s not long before fans of both Manchester United and Scotland can appreciate his talents once again.

His last appearance in international football came in November’s 2-1 friendly win over Cyprus in which he played for 64 minutes before being replaced by Brighton’s Craig Mackail-Smith.

Scotland manager Craig Levein said: “I am obviously absolutely devastated for Darren because I know how hard he has worked to get back to playing regularly for his club and country.

“He is one of the most inspirational players I have had the pleasure of working with and, on behalf of his Scotland team-mates and my backroom staff, I sincerely hope this time off, allied to the support of his family, will enable him to make a full recovery.”

Levein hailed Fletcher’s on-pitch efforts, adding: “Darren has shown tremendous dedication and fortitude, demonstrated by his ability to overcome this illness and perform at the highest level for Manchester United and Scotland.

“I spoke with Sir Alex Ferguson and Darren this week and the most important thing, at this stage, is for the player to be given time to rest and recuperate. Nobody is more committed to his country’s cause than our captain.

“He is a central part of our plans for the World Cup 2014 qualifiers but, at this stage, his health is paramount and I would like to reiterate the best wishes of everyone at involved with the national team and the Scottish FA.”

A decent bloke, an honest professional who gives nothing less than 100% for club and country, a player who has given his time for fans and pundits, time and time again.

I have been lucky enough to speak to Darren on a couple of occasions and you get nothing but honesty from him, here is a guy who has played with some of the greatest players ever to pull on a Red shirt at Old Trafford but time and time again the name of Darren Fletcher has outshone even the biggest stars at Old Trafford.

Get Well Soon Fletch from everyone at Scotzine!

Booth, 39, will work alongside the Performance Director, Mark Wotte, with the Victory Shield squad. The former Aberdeen, Borussia Dortmund, Utrecht and FC Twente forward will also play a role within the new National Performance Schools. Details on the National Performance Schools and their respective coaches will be announced shortly.

Scott is currently undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence and has already achieved his A and B licences.

“I am excited by the new Performance Strategy,” said Booth. “I worked under Mark at Utrecht and I know he has ambitious plans for the Scottish FA in the area of elite talent development. It is a privilege at this stage of my coaching career to be working alongside Mark with the Victory Shield squad and I look forward to learning from his experience and imparting my own knowledge on the next generation of talented Scots.

“Playing for Scotland was the highlight of my career and nothing would make me happier than playing some part in helping future generations of players fulfil their international ambitions.”

Scott scored six goals in 22 appearances for Scotland and featured in both the Euro 96 and World Cup 98 squads. Wotte believes he will be an asset to the national teams coaching stable, which also includes Ricky Sbragia, Billy Stark and the Men’s A coach, Craig Levein.

“I have known Scott from his time in Holland when I managed him at Utrecht,” said Wotte. “He was a very talented, technical player and I know he is now a young, hard-working and ambitious coach. I am sure many of the younger players will look up to Scott and I will work closely with him in a mentoring capacity to aid his own development.

“I am sure he will be an asset not just to the Victory Shield and other national youth teams but also to our new Performance Schools.”

This is another forward thinking move by the SFA as Scott has a wealth of experience playing and watching football over the years as his media work with ESPN and the BBC has allowed him to watch games all over the UK and may just have given him a few ideas that he may just take into his new role.

Billy Stark has worked wonders with the Scotland Under-21 side and it is great to see Scott come in to help assist with the National Youth teams, he has the experience coming through as a kid at Aberdeen and may just be able to pass on knowledge to the youngsters coming through on the international set up.

Things have looked rosy with a number of the youngsters coming through as I said under Billy Stark but now having someone of Scott’s experience beside him to help not only find the stars of tomorrow but help them along and keep them on the right road, will be a massive help to everyone at the SFA.

As the words of the Whitney Houston song go:

I believe the children are our are future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me

If you look at the words of this song it could indeed be written by Scotland manager Craig Levein, children are the future and it is so important for our game that we start finding them and teaching them the way to play football from an early age, it can only benefit our game in the long run as can the appointment of Scott Booth, good luck to him and here’s to a bright future for our national team at all levels.

Three games later on September 11th, Scotland will play their second game of the campaign, also at home, with Macedonia the visitors.

A trip to Cardiff is next on the cards as Scotland take on Wales on October 12th, followed by a trip across the channel to Belgium on the 16th October.

Levein’s side will then play host to the Welsh at Hampden on Friday 22nd March 2013, before travelling to Serbia on March 26th.

The final leg of the qualifying campaign would see Scotland travel to Croatia on June 7th 2013, before two games in four days against Belgium at Hampden on the 6th September and Macedonia away on September 10th.

Scotland’s final game of the qualifying campaign will be played at home against Croatia on October 15th.

Manager Craig Levein told the SFA’s official website: “At various stages we thought we had reached agreement but then negotiations broke down again. You could write a book about some of it. From our point of view, we got most of what we came for: two home games to start the campaign with, at least one Saturday afternoon kick-off at home for the sake of our supporters and a home game to finish with.

“Obviously playing Croatia in June was the one concession but with an evening kick-off I was prepared to make that sacrifice in order to protect our other wishes.”

SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan added: “Obviously we went in to the meeting aware of the potential difficulties in negotiating while not being allowed to play on a Friday night but after positive discussions with the police, they have given approval for us to play on a Friday, which is a huge help to Craig in terms of giving the squad extra recovery time between games in a double header.”

Scotland’s WC2014 qualifying games:

Saturday, September 8, 2012: Scotland v Serbia
Tuesday, September 11, 2012: Scotland v Macedonia
Friday, October 12, 2012: Wales v Scotland
Tuesday, October 16, 2012: Belgium v Scotland
Friday, March 22, 2013: Scotland v Wales
Tuesday, March 26, 2013: Serbia v Scotland
Friday, June 7, 2013: Croatia v Scotland
Friday, September 6, 2013: Scotland v Belgium
Tuesday, September 10, 2013: Macedonia v Scotland
Tuesday, October 15, 2013: Scotland v Croatia

Craig Levein’s side have risen two places to 49th position in the world rankings, in part thanks to their 2-1 win over Cyprus this month.

According to STV Sport, that 2-1 win in Larnaca gained 240 points for the Scots towards their world rankings.

Their record in 2011 stood at six wins, one draw and three defeats.

Spain remained the world’s number one, while Holland are second, Germany third and England are ranked fifth, ahead of Brazil.

Scotland’s World Cup 2014 qualifying opponents had mixed fortunes, Wales dropped to 50th one place behind Scotland. Croatia moved up four places to eighth, while Serbia dropped four places to 27th, Belgium are 41st and Macedonia are in 103rd place.

Scotland national manager, Craig Levein, said: “I’m really pleased to accept the invitation to travel to Slovenia. The players are all looking forward to another opportunity to continue building momentum as a group.”

Earlier this month, Scotland played against Cyprus securing a 2-1 win, while the EURO 2012 playoffs were taking place.

Levein added: “After a positive week, and result, in Cyprus recently, this match is another crucial step in our preparations for the World Cup qualifiers. Slovenia will provide a tough test at the right time for us.”

Slovenia are a tougher test than the Cypriots, ranked 27th in the world, according to FIFA rankings. They failed to qualify for EURO 2012 coming fourth behind Italy, Estonia and Scotland’s World Cup 2014 qualifying opponents Serbia.

The last time Scotland faced Slovenia was in a World Cup qualifying game in 2005, as goals from Darren Fletcher, James McFadden and Paul Hartley securing a 3-0 win for Scotland.

A win is a win when FIFA rankings are involved, that is why Scotland and Craig Levein selected to play Cyprus, but despite the win it proved to be nothing more than a game to hand the usual suspects another cap and a few days in the sun.

All the talk leading up to the game was of Craig Levein experimenting with the side against a Cyprus side that were missing six key players. Cue the day of the game and Craig Levein announced his squad:

McGregor (Rangers); Whittaker (Rangers), Caldwell (Wigan), Berra (Wolves), Bardsley (Sunderland); Robson (Middlesbrough), Cowie (Cardiff), Fletcher (Man Utd), Morrison (West Brom), Miller (Cardiff), Mackie (QPR).

Other than the return of Jamie Mackie from injury, the others were the usual suspects selected by Levein through the European Championship qualifiers. The same players who failed to qualify for the same European Championships.

For such a meaningless friendly would it not have been better to give the likes of Matt Gilks or Craig Samson a chance to prove themselves in goal? Why not give Jordan Rhodes 45 minutes at least, rather than four measly minutes. Then you had the likes of Grant Hanley, Ryan Stevenson, James McArthur and David Goodwillie – why call them up and not even give them game time?

A 2-1 win over a weakened Cyprus does not prove anything to the Tartan Army nor our World Cup 2014 qualifying opponents.

Likewise the notable omissions of Paul Dixon, Jamie Murphy, Steven Hammell, David Templeton, Ross McCormack and even the demotion of James Forrest to the Under-21s is baffling for a game that could have given such players much needed international experience. The demotion of James Forrest is explainable given that the Under-21 game against Holland was a competitive fixture and tonight saw Billy Stark’s side secure a superb win over their Dutch counterparts.

Will the 33-year-old Barry Robson be part of the World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign? Likewise the 31-year-old Kenny Miller? How about the 30-year-old Stephen Crainey? I always thought that such meaningless friendlies were a way for managers to experiment with new formations and tactics, along with bringing through players of the future.

Craig Levein stated before the Cyprus game that the friendly would be deemed a success if just one future international star emerged, similar to what happened when Barry Bannan came to the fore against the Faroe Islands last year. The only potential star of the future who took to the pitch that had not been there and got the postcard was Jordan Rhodes, and with just four minutes of game time can he be judged on that? So in other words despite the victory, the friendly was not a success – we never learned anything we didn’t know already.

Match reports in the Scottish media quoted statistics which showed that Scotland under Craig Levein was on the up. One statistic proves otherwise – failure to qualify for the European Championships 2012 in Ukraine and Poland. That is the most important statistic, another failure by Scotland to qualify for a major tournament.

Scotland’s future stars that are under the tutelage of Billy Stark proved tonight that some of them have a bright future. The likes of James Forrest, Tom Cairney, David Wotherspoon, Gregg Wylde, Leigh Griffiths, Jordan Rhodes etc are just some of the players that need to be brought through into the senior squad and put the old guard put out to pasture.

But hey lets all celebrate a 2-1 win over Cyprus, a side ranked 120th in the world.

Meanwhile it looks like Craig Levein is set to become Scotland’s Jack Charlton as the Scotland side could become an England B team.

We could have a full starting eleven of players that were never born in Scotland and only qualify through the parents or grandparents ruling. Is Scotland so bereft of talent that we have to resort to bringing in Angles?

Matt Gilks, Phil Bardsley, James Morrison, Craig Mackail-Smith, Jamie Mackie, Jordan Rhodes and Kris Commons have already been called up to the squad. While Levein is currently looking at Spurs defender Steve Caulker, Sunderland’s Craig Gardner and now Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.

But am I being anti-English? Or do I just want a Scotland national side to be represented by Scottish players?

With the likes of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland against a Team GB at the 2012 Olympics because they could lose their independence, what happens to a Scotland national side that is bereft of Scots? What happens to our identity then?

SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan hit back at critics of the surge of Angles into the Scotland side via his twitter page, he said: “It’s not just a Scotland thing. It happens all over the world. Klose in the German team is Polish born. Most of the USA team are born overseas. Lots of Germans are in there because of Jurgen Klinsmann as coach. We need to compete until we develop our own players.”

Emmet Ryan, editor of Action81.com, stated on the Jack Charlton-era as manager of the Republic of Ireland: “The long history of Irish immigration to the UK meant that nearly everyone on the island has a cousin born or living in a large English city. That naturally meant that second and third generation players, some of whom may not have spent any time in Ireland prior to donning the jersey, would be seen as having a link to their historical home. That was a big factor in calming any concerns over players not being accepted by fans.

“Winning helps and most of the Charlton-era British players were either good or scored important goals. This is particularly crucial given how long Ireland had gone without making an impact on the big stage.

“Kevin Sheedy, born in Wales with a father from Clare, scored the equaliser against England in Italia 90. Ray Houghton, born in Glasgow to a Donegal father, scored two of Ireland’s most famous goals ever (vs England Euro 88, and vs Italy at USA 94). Even Alan McLoughlin, born in Manchester to parents from Galway and Limerick, got in on the act by scoring the goal that sent Ireland to USA 94. That’s even before getting to Irish-adopted Scouser John Aldridge.

“There have been failures since that era, most notably Paul Butler but most of the British born players to don the green jersey have either won over fans with their work-rate or drifted out of the squad.”

Maybe there is a case for introducing some English-born players into the Scotland squad, but a full starting eleven? It could be worse though couldn’t it? We could have the likes of Nigel Quashie playing for us again.

After the England team received the green light to wear poppies on their black armbands when they face Spain, Scottish FA Chief Executive Stewart Regan commented that Scotland would follow suit, subject to the approval of the Cypriot FA.

Stewart Regan said on his twitter page: “Pragmatic solution in poppy debate between FIFA & FA. A black armband with a poppy on it will be worn by players in memory of those who have given their lives fighting for their country. Subject to approval of Cypriot FA, as host nation, we will adopt the same approach.”

FIFA had originally blocked England and Scotland’s plans to wear poppies on their playing kit, but have now softened that stance to poppies on black armbands.

An official statement from the SFA read: “Prior to their departure for Cyprus, the Scottish FA made plans for the Scotland National Team players to mark Armistice Day by wearing poppies on their anthem jackets before the match.

“We have kept track of the ongoing debate between the FA and FIFA this week. The decision to allow players to wear black armbands featuring poppies during the match is a pragmatic solution to the fact that FIFA’s rules forbid the wearing of the poppy on the match shirt. Subject to the approval of the Cypriot FA as the host nation we will also adopt this approach in our friendly match on Friday night.

“We believe this is a fitting way to show our respect for those members of the armed forces who have lost their lives fighting for their country.”

The world governing body bans political, religious or commercial messages on shirts, which caused the initial fracas as the Poppy is deemed as a political emblem.

Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes is called up to the squad for the first time, while there are returns for Norwich City defender Russell Martin and QPR striker Jamie Mackie.

Aston Villa Barry Bannon has been dropped by Levein in the wake of being arrested for drink driving, while Celtic’s James Forrest is dropped also. Rangers forward Steven Naismith has been ruled out for up to nine months following confirmation that he has an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

However there is still no place for Leeds United striker Ross McCormack, Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew, Motherwell’s Jamie Murphy or out of favour Wolves striker Steven Fletcher.

Full Scotland squad:

Charlie Adam (Liverpool)
Phil Bardsley (Sunderland)
Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Gary Caldwell (Wigan Athletic)
Don Cowie (Cardiff City)
Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion)
Darren Fletcher (Manchester United)
Matt Gilks (Blackpool)
David Goodwillie (Blackburn Rovers)
Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers)
Alan Hutton (Aston Villa)
Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Jamie Mackie (Queens Park Rangers)
David Marshall (Cardiff City)
Russell Martin (Norwich City)
James McArthur (Wigan Athletic)
Allan McGregor (Rangers)
Kenny Miller (Cardiff City)
James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion)
Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town)
Barry Robson (Middlesbrough)
Robert Snodgrass (Leeds United)
Lee Wallace (Rangers)
Steven Whittaker (Rangers)

Scotland have lined up a friendly match with Cyprus on Friday 11th November, the game will take place on the same night as the play-offs for the EURO 2012 finals.

“The players are all looking forward to getting together again and building on the progress we have made as a group,” said Levein.

“Going to Cyprus will give us an opportunity to build on the team ethic and provide another chance for players to show that they are heading in the right direction as we begin our preparations for the World Cup qualifiers next year.”