Handing Clarke new deal seems so premature
HERE’S hoping Stage Two of Steve Clarke’s Scotland rebuild, as it was christened in midweek, offers something a little more dramatic in the way of progress than Stage One. Otherwise, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell and his board will have questions to answer over why exactly they have chosen to hand the 57-year-old a contract extension now.
This is not to say Clarke does not deserve to continue as national team boss. There have, at times, been encouraging signs over the course of his two years-plus in charge. The overall standard of performance in getting past Serbia in Belgrade in the Euro 2020 play-offs was a high point.
Likewise, the goalless draw at Wembley in the finals, which could have been a win were it not for one terrific Jordan Pickford save and a lack of composure from Che Adams, offered reason to dream of something better, somewhere along the line, than a lifelong diet of relentless failure.
Clarke’s reign has also brought creditable wins at home in the Nations League against Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
He is a solid coach with a solid CV. The problem is that he took stage fright when it mattered against the Czechs in the Euros and let his team be played off the park at home by an ageing Croatia. No matter the nonsense spouted in some quarters, the tournament was a crushing disappointment. In Clarke, as a manager, as much as anything. Particularly for those of us supportive of his appointment and who retained confidence in his abilities when he was putting the likes of Eamonn Brophy and Oli Burke up front.
In truth, Euro 2020 raised so many issues over whether he really is the right kind of guy to take Scotland to a level beyond just stabilising things after the chaos of the previous regime. Issues which these impending World Cup qualifiers away to Denmark and Austria appear ready-made to clarify.
It is why giving him that new deal until 2024 at this juncture — when the Qatar 2022 campaign is hanging by a thread and doubts exist over the suitability of his approach when it comes to making that next big step — just feels like the SFA being unnecessarily premature.
Listening to Clarke speak in midweek about being competitive and playing on the front foot during the summer was a plain revision of history. Sure, he said pre-match that he would go on the front foot against the Czechs at Hampden, but he didn’t. Not really.
He picked the wrong team. Let his preference for playing it safe get the better of him. Saw a promising start turn into an unholy mess.
Billy Gilmour, who might not have made the tournament were it not for Kenny McLean’s injury and UEFA extending the squad numbers to 26, was kept on the bench. Adams joined him there.
Watching the match descend into lumping the ball up the park became soul-destroying. Don’t these people still giddy with the thrill of seeing Scotland at a finals remember? Yes, we had some chances. Lyndon Dykes should have scored. But it was rubbish. Long-ball rubbish.
Clarke can talk all he likes about that being a consequence of the midfield becoming isolated rather than a deliberate plan, but we got what we deserved.
That the former Kilmarnock boss rang the changes for Wembley told you everything. He knew his back was against the wall. Gilmour was sublime. Adams, for all his imperfections, caused problems.
Even though victory was not forthcoming, the nation went into that home game with Croatia, underwhelming in their group games, full of optimism and belief…
Only to be hit with another mammoth buzz-killer. Gilmour’s absence thanks to coronavirus carried ominous portents. It was letting Croatia have the ball and allowing Luka Modric to run the show in midfield that was most difficult to understand.
We just didn’t have a go the way we should have. James Forrest, Nathan Patterson or even Ryan Fraser could have been used at right wing-back if we really wanted to get on the front foot. Instead, Stephen O’Donnell started all three games.
O’Donnell was good at Wembley. However, he wasn’t against Croatia and the Czechs. And if Scotland are to compete against high-level sides, fielding a player happy to stay at Motherwell is not the answer.
This isn’t a go at O’Donnell. The guy, a good pro with admirable resilience, has the been the victim of enough pile-ons. It’s just that he isn’t playing at an adequate level to make that jump.
Patterson seems his intended successor, but he isn’t playing much either. Forrest could surely be used there in matches in which we need to seize the initiative, though, and Aaron Hickey has got to come into the conversation at some point.
A shoulder injury meant the Bologna full-back’s outing against Salernitana last week was his first since February. He wasn’t ready for this squad. However, he can play right-back and it will be hard to ignore him should he carry on getting regular outings in Serie A.
Sure, there are difficult issues in defence that Clarke has to conjure with. Yet, the Euros suggested he doesn’t have the blend right at the other end of the park either.
Dykes looked exposed. Adams didn’t quite live up to expectations either, but he offered enough to confirm he’s the best we’ve got. How do we make the most of him, then? That’s for Clarke to figure out, but Fraser, underused at the Euros, did well in those Nations League wins over the Czechs and Slovakia as a second striker and is maybe worth another try there.
He is fast, dangerous and technical. And the more fast, dangerous, technical players we have, the better.
ONE thing is for sure. Clarke has to change things up and make Gilmour the fulcrum of his side. Having already drawn at home to Austria, he surely has to take the game to them in Vienna on September 7 — and show he can execute a real attack-minded plan.
Scotland have too many players, performing at a high level with their clubs, to settle any longer for just being hard to beat. They need to start winning more games.
Of Clarke’s 25 matches, there have been nine victories over 90 minutes. Six of those were against Luxembourg, the Faroes, Kazakhstan, San Marino and Cyprus (twice). Another came against a cobbled-together Czech Republic league select.
Austin MacPhee has joined the staff to help improve set-plays. Yet, his arrival to replace Steven Reid seems slightly peculiar as Clarke doesn’t know him well, while Chris
Woods, the new goalkeeping coach, hasn’t worked with him either.
Perhaps fresh eyes will bring fresh ideas. Euro 2020 was a step backwards after Serbia. Clarke admits international management takes him out of his comfort zone and it certainly looked that way.
This triple-header against Denmark, Moldova and Austria seemed an ideal opportunity to measure what he has learned, what he has devised in response and whether he can rebuild momentum.
Instead, the SFA jumped in and gave him a new deal. That’s fine. Even though he was still under contract, maybe they think it protects them if a club job comes up.
But if we play the way we played for two games out of three in the Euros and the World Cup is kaput in nine days’ time, it is their heads that will be on the block. Clarke’s sorted until 2024. When it feels like it just needed more in the way of conclusive evidence before making such a massive commitment to him.