NEARLY 60 days have passed since Scotland’s disappointing Euro 2024 campaign ended with a Hungarian sucker-punch in Stuttgart. With just over two weeks until the next assignment, the 2024 Nations League followed by the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, and the hangover from that exit is still lingering.
The anger from fans and media over the manner of our performance in the finals remains. Even before 20 of the teams played their final group game, Scotland were either bottom or second bottom in expected goals (0.97), attempts at goal (18) and attempts on target (a miserly three), whilst we were in the top two of unwanted statistics in expected goals conceded (4.3) and goals conceded (seven). There is no “glorious failure” chapter here, we were the worst team in the tournament and the stats back that up!
Deafening silence
Steve Clarke hasn’t been seen in the public eye since his post-match press conference, where he slaughtered the Argentinian referee and tried the positive spin of us scoring more goals in Germany than we did in the last Euros. Of course, the man deserved a holiday, there’s no getting away from that, and we know he’s not one willing to give many interviews outwith the international camps and squad announcements. However, the silence is deafening, and it comes across that Clarke is hoping that the hysteria has died down and we can all move onto the next campaign without dwelling on events of the summer.
Next week, he’s due to announce his squad for the September instalment of the Nations League, a home match with Poland and a trip to Lisbon to face Portugal. Those journalists and reporters attending the media conference of that announcement no doubt will, and should, be ready to hit Clarke with questions that have had them and the Tartan Army scratching their heads since we exited the competition, such as…
• Why were so negative in our approach?
• Why did he wait until so late on in both the Switzerland and Hungary games to make changes?
• Why did he stick with three at the back when Kieran Tierney was injured?
• Why was an in-form James Forrest kept on the bench when a creative outlet was required?
These are all points that Clarke has to answer before we move onto the next assignment, and we have a right to ask these questions after the outlay fans and the media put into the trip to Germany only for a woeful performance to be served up and, it appears, no lessons learned from the previous tournament.
The system question in particular is one to be raised as the whole point in Clarke, traditionally a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 man, introduced it in order to fit Tierney and Andy Robertson into the team. When they’re both fit, the system by enlarge has worked as the stats read 14 wins, ten draws and seven losses from 31 matches since September 2020 when it was introduced (the stat doesn’t include a 2-0 loss to Denmark when both players played as wingbacks, Robertson on the right and Tierney on the left). By contrast, when Tierney has been unavailable, the record books show four wins, one draw and six losses from eleven games, and two of those wins were against Armenia. This is not to say that Tierney’s replacements have done a bad job, but they don’t offer the same assets that the current Arsenal man does to offer fluidity to the system, and that’s the biggest issue.
What is also worth noting is that on the rare occasions that Andy Robertson has been injured, mainly September 2022 for three Nations League matches, Clarke has switched to a back four and Scotland got some joy out of that with wins over Ukraine and Ireland then a goalless draw against the Ukrainians that secured promotion to League A. It begs the question, why change it when Robertson is injured but not Tierney? Most of Scotland’s players play in various systems based on a back four, so why not revert to that if one of Tierney or Robertson is injured? With Tierney still on the sidelines, it’s something Clarke has to address before Poland come to Hampden.
Mitigating circumstances
One area of the team that the manager currently has issues with is the right back/right wing back position. Scotland went into the Euros without their two first choices thanks to hamstring injuries to Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson, with Hickey’s scenario more mysterious as a three-month diagnosis last October turned into one that ruled him out of the finals. Neither are back until mid-September at the earliest and one of those brought into the squad to replace them, Ross McCrorie, has also picked up a hamstring injury that’s kept him out the Bristol City side this season. With Anthony Ralston, who started all three Euros matches, only accumulating 36 minutes from the Celtic bench so far this season, and possible next in line Max Johnston still a substitute for Sturm Graz, whoever wears the number two shirt against Poland isn’t going to fill the rest of the defence with confidence.
The lack of competitive minutes is a concern right through the squad that will also give Clarke a headache when it comes to next weeks selection. Of the 26 who made the trip to Germany, seven have yet to kick a ball for a variety of reasons, with two of them (Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Jack) currently without a club, whilst Lewis Ferguson is still recovering from an ACL injury that’s keeping him sidelined until the new year. Add into the mix the international retirement of Callum McGregor and you get the picture of the problems Clarke is taking on when he gets ready to name his squad for the upcoming matches.
Nations League hope
Whilst there is sympathy towards him for these issues, there is no doubt Steve Clarke enters this Nations League campaign as a man under pressure, and performances will need to be much improved if he wants the chance to lead us to the World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026. He can take a crumb of comfort from the fact that Scotland’s performances in this competition have been very good with a total of ten wins, two draws and four defeats across three campaigns (four of those games under predecessor Alex McLeish).
Our Nations League record is impressive, and one that will be tested as the Scots now go into League A, raising the bar of opposition compared to who we’ve been facing in League B over the last two editions. Having said that, coming up against a Croatia side in transition, albeit Luka Modric remains on board despite speculation over his international future, and a Poland team who also didn’t perform well at the Euros is not as daunting a proposition as we could’ve got, albeit Portugal with or without Ronaldo will be a monumental task. Also, it must be pointed out, the Croats and Poles will also not be daunted at the prospect of facing a Scotland side who struggled in Germany.
There have been debates as to whether or not Steve Clarke should even be in the dugout for the upcoming matches, with a poll I ran on Twitter concluding that he has enough credit in the bank having guided us to these two Euros. That was a big swing from a poll I ran less than 24 hours after we lost to Hungary, which shows how much people have simmered down since then, but there is still an element that think Clarke is lucky to have kept his job.
As for me, I haven’t changed my stance and think that Steve Clarke has reached the ceiling as Scotland Men’s National Team Manager. There’s no doubt that he’s been a very good manager for Scotland, and he’s given this generation some of the best moments by taking us to two Euros. However, the team is in need of a transition, and I’m not sure if he’s open enough to make the changes that are needed, both in personnel and tactically, for us to be remain in Nations League A and qualify for the World Cup. That said, there was no way the SFA were going to make the change now, and I will get behind him and the team for these upcoming matches
The Nations League has been a great thing for Scotland since its inception in 2018, resulting in the long wait for international tournaments coming to an end and elevation to League A from League C in the process. Clarke will be hoping that record continues if he is to hold onto his dream of leading Scotland to the World Cup in less than two years time, and will need to learn some lessons from Germany, because if he doesn’t the credit in his bank will expire by the new year.
Scottish Football Forums 
Leave a comment