Carver and Farke agree to disagree over Billy Gilmour
John Carver says Billy Gilmour now has a target on his back.
And the Scotland coach finds himself at odds with Norwich City boss, Daniel Farke, who has restricted the diminutive midfielder’s game-time during his loan spell from Chelsea to the Canaries.
Man-of-the-match against England at Wembley in the Euros, Gilmour has been widely acknowledged as one of the brightest young talents on the international stage.
And the effect of that enhanced status, Carver argues, is now being seen on the pitch, with teams doubling up on him to cramp his time and space, and also targeting him physically.
“This is absolutely happening and, listen, if I was the opposition coach and I had watched the videos before we played them, I would get someone to shut Billy down, if I could,” said Carver.
“If they are doing their jobs properly, teams will target him.
“Why? Because he is the focal point for our play. From their point of view, he is the danger man.
“So we have to be aware of that and, if necessary, find another way to get through the opposition.
“Happily, however, Billy is good enough to still be able to take the ball in when someone is tight to him and up his back.
“That is actually what I like about him more than anything else. He has a huge courage and he is fearless.
“It doesn’t matter to him if there are 50,000 people in a stadium, or zero people there. He will still play the same way.
“He doesn’t go missing in the game. When you are behind or in difficult situations, he still looks to get on the ball.
“No matter the circumstances, that is how he plays.
“The way Billy is, hopefully he is going to dominate international football for a long period of time if he stays out of trouble.
“He is something we need in the team, and we are building on it.”
While Scotland are more than happy to construct their team around Gilmour, Carver has been disappointed the 20-year-old has not seen more game time with Norwich City.
“I found it quite hard to believe he wasn’t in the Norwich team because since he has come into the group, he has been fantastic,” said the Scotland coach.
“I know they have been having a tough time, but he is a footballer.
“And if you want to play football, then you have got to have Billy Gilmour in your team, and get him on the ball.
“For such a young lad, Billy is a leader on the pitch. He has shown maturity beyond his years, which is great to see.
“Him playing regular football in the Premier League is going to benefit Chelsea, and it is going to benefit us.”
But Norwich boss, Farke, countered: “We are happy that Billy performs on this level and for the Scottish squad.
“With all respect, to play against the Faroe Islands is different to the Premier League.
“He is a fantastic player, I can always count on him, and I love his mentality.
“But he is also a young lad. We have to look after him and he also has to improve in a few topics.”
Maybe the German has forgotten Gilmour’s performance at Wembley?
Scotland have grown on the pitch since then, and Carver continued: “This is a resilient group of players, which is getting better and stronger.
“The team is gathering momentum, and it finds a way of winning games.
“It was pretty scary the other night in the Faroe Islands. We had to rely on one or two players, Craig Gordon in particular pulling off an incredible save at an important time.
“But it doesn’t have to be pretty. It was about going there, getting the job done, three points.
“We’d take the exact same in Moldova if it gets us three points.
“But, listen it is not one game we have left, it is two. I think we have a point to prove because when we played in Denmark, we did take a little bit of a kicking.”