SIDELINED... THE KID WITH REAL IMPACT
THE SFA’s new performance director, Brian McClair, is being paid generously for his expertise. But many would have paid a penny for his thoughts last night. The moment he read the quotes of his colleague Ricky Sbragia on young Jack Harper. To the uninitiated, Harper is Scottish football’s new wonderkid. Islam Feruz without the attitude. Mark Wotte — McClair’s predecessor — dubbed the Real Madrid youth player Scotland’s answer to Robin van Persie. He did so because, by all accounts, Harper does not fit the typical Scottish mould. He is not quite a No 9, not entirely a No 10. He is a creative type who scores goals under the watchful eye of Real coach Zinedine Zidane. So far this season he has scored three goals for Real in the UEFA Youth League and is midway through a five-year deal signed in 2012. Born in Fuengirola, near Malaga, the 18-year-old is Spanish. And Spain’s Under-19 coach Luis de la Fuente has used his birth certificate to try to recruit him. Marvellously, however, Harper does not want to play for Spain. His parents are from Barrhead. He wants to play for Scotland. Incredibly, Scotland seem less keen on him. Sbragia’s Under-19 squad are currently preparing for the UEFA European Championship elite round with games against Austria, Italy and Croatia this week. And Harper, dubbed a ‘luxury’ player, is nowhere to be found. In a throwback to the old school thinking which preceded the SFA’s high-profile 2020 performance strategy, Sbragia explains his absence by saying: ‘Our concentration is on the opening game with Austria and we’ve deliberately got more height in our squad. That’s one of the reasons why Jack isn’t in. ‘The last time he was with us, he did OK, but I wanted a little more impact. ‘At Real Madrid, he can float all over the place. But with us, he has to be more disciplined. ‘It’s purely tactical and there certainly hasn’t been a lack of enthusiasm from Jack about playing for Scotland.’ There might be now, of course. Most of all when Harper learns that young Oliver McBurnie, an 18-year-old striker who plays for Bradford City is in the squad. Currently McBurnie, 6ft 2in in his stocking soles, is on loan at Chester City — a non-league club in the English Conference Premier. Within the SFA, there is recognition of how damaging and old-fashioned all this looks. Regarded as a progressive, forward-thinking and intelligent coach, Sbragia’s quotes on Harper hint at something else. For McClair, a cerebral former Manchester United colleague of Sbragia’s, the Harper conundrum represents an early test of his diplomatic skills. Scotland boss Gordon Strachan — no giant himself — washed his hands of the matter yesterday, saying: ‘I’m not involved in that at all. I let the other guys get on with it. I’ve no idea if it’s physical or whatever.’ Pointing out that most of the country has never seen Harper play, Strachan added: ‘I’ve seen a few people at Chelsea who never get a game anywhere. They go on loan somewhere and disappear into no man’s land.’ That was the fate of Feruz — the ‘wonderkid’ who turned his back on Scotland and was last heard of having a loan deal at Blackpool cancelled. Before leaving his post last October, Wotte urged Scottish youth football to rid itself of the ‘win-at-all-costs’ mentality and develop skills. An appeal which fell on deaf ears with at least one SFA colleague. ‘We have to match these teams physically,’ said Sbragia of the challenge facing his Under-19 side. ‘The more I’m seeing games, the more I see things going back to physicality and the height factor.’