THE Sweaty Socks have really got their sporrans in a twist over Football Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics.

Sorry. Translation: Sweaty Socks = Jocks = Cockney rhyming slang.

So much so that the Scottish FA refuse to sanction and acknowlege a Great Britain XI for fear of losing their national identity.

How pathetic is that? More appropriately, how many Scottish players would be in contention for a place in the team? None. Darren Fletcher of Manchester United? Charlie Adam of Liverpool? No thank you very much.

I seem to have started something here. So wearing my Bamber Gascoigne hat (I cannot stand that arrogant Jeremy Paxman) here is your starter for 10 – Name the LAST world class Scottish footballer. Not easy is it?

In fact, it is Kenny Dalglish of Liverpool. And all those years ago in the 1970s and 80s. That all-conquering Bob Paisley team also boasted fellow Scottish greats such as Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness.

It is a sad reflection on how a prolific production line that once delivered international class players at the rate of a car plant has been red-uced to idleness. It seems a lifetime ago when Scots lit up the English game like Olympic torches.

The Wembley Wizards who thrashed England 5-1 in 1928 and which contained legends like Alex James of Arsenal and Hughie Gallacher of Newcastle might be ancient history but the Scots still talk of them in awe to this day.

As a young reporter in the 1960s I will never forget Jim Baxter. He destroyed world champions England almost single-handedly at Wembley in 1967 and even arrogantly sat on the ball because he was getting bored teasing and tormenting the “auld enemy”.

He had a left foot which could open a can of Fosters – which he did frequently!

Not forgetting the immortal Lisbon Lions – Celtic, of course – who became the first British side to win the European Cup in 1967.

Almost every leading side benefitted from these great Scots – Paddy Crerand and ‘The King’ Denis Law at United. Ian St John and Ronnie Yeats at Liverpool. Billy Bremner and Eddie Gray at Leeds.

Alex Young at Everton. Frank McLintock at Arsenal. Alan Gilzean at Spurs. Charlie Cooke at Chelsea. The list is endless.

But my favourite Scot of the lot was the dynamic Dave Mackay of Spurs. This barrel-chested mini-mountain snapped and snarled his way around the pitch like a guard dog. He would cost £50 million in today’s transfer market. And cheap at the price.

Their plight is all the more galling when you consider that Wales have two prime candidates for selection – Gareth Bale and Ryan Giggs.

So why is Scotland now so bankrupt of genuine talent?

I asked big Ronnie who runs his own business, RJP Electrics in Weymouth. He is forever a passionate Scot despite being happily domiciled in his beloved Dorset for the past 20 years.

“Don’t forget Gordon Strachan,” he is quick to point out. “He could play a bit. But you’re right. I don’t know what has happened to the game back home. I was brought up Celtic but down here I am Arsenal. God knows why at the moment.

“Scotland is such a small country and the kids now have so much more to do – computers for instance – instead of kicking a ball in the streets which is what everybody used to do.”

Then he quickly quips: “But we Scots now make a name for ourselves as managers. Like Fergie.”

Dalglish (Liverpool), McLeish (Villa), Kean (Blackburn), Coyle (Bolton), Moyes (Everton) and Lambert (Norwich) endorse that. But how the Scots could do with another braveheart like Law.