Meagaidh

Re Barnes et al, I’m surprised nobody seems to be considering the effect just parachuting these guys into the squad on the eve of a tournament might have on the current positive group dynamic. Yes they may well improve on existing players, but persuading (and that’s what’s happening here) English players to represent Scotland now that we have qualified could stick some noses out of joint if it means that guys who have turned up to every camp during qualifying are squeezed out of the 23. The tournament itself should be a reward for the players who got us there. Were it up to me, if players like Barnes have signalled they want to be involved, they should be brought in after the Euros, starting with the Nations League campaign. While this might come at a cost to the on-paper strength of the team at the tournament, I don’t think any of the suggested players are good enough to merit potentially upsetting the harmony and togetherness of the current squad.

Looking through squads and lineups from the last few years, we can never seem to get an even spread of good players. There always seem to be two or three 'problem positions' at any given moment. Right now it's centre-half, right back, and centre-forward. In the past we've been short of left-backs, wingers, and so on. Got me thinking what would our strongest eleven would be from the players to play since we last qualified for a major tournament? For what it's worth, I'd suggest something along the lines of... Gordon Hutton Weir Caldwell Robertson Fletcher Ferguson Maloney McFadden Snodgrass Miller Subs: McGregor, Dailly, Tierney, Brown, McGinn, Christie, Griffiths Though I'm sure there are options I haven't considered.

For the last couple of qualifiers going into the playoffs, I would like to see: Marshall Tierney Souttar McKenna Robertson Fraser McTominay McGregor McGinn Christie McBurnie The theory being that Fraser offers natural width on the right, with McGinn slightly narrower on the left allowing Robertson the space to overlap. Christie has the intelligence to drift into space and interplay with McBurnie (who isn't effective in isolation). I think this system also offers some reasonable depth across the positions. For instance, Fleck or Armstrong could easily be swapped in for McGregor (though it would be good to see the latter get more game time at Southampton). Jack/McLean for McTominay. Forrest for Fraser, and so on. Obviously Griffiths still to come back; would be a straight swap for McBurnie if fit and raring..

I'm a huge Robertson fan, but definitely thought he was an odd choice for captain. Not only does his character seem not quite suited to leadership (yet: he may grow into it), but it further complicates the whole Robertson vs Tierney headache that faces every Scotland manager for the next decade. What happens if Robertson loses his Liverpool place or his form dips while Tierney performing well as left-back for Arsenal or Atletico or whatever? Dropping the captain seems potentially messier than just making a judgement on full-back. I also thought that making him captain had the potential to disillusion Tierney, since it makes it all but certain that he won't play left back while Robertson is fit. Maybe we're seeing a bit of that with Tierney's recent run of unavailability. Character-wise, I think the obvious stand out for captain is actually Tierney. But then the national captain should be someone who starts every game (this is different to domestic football, where you can have a club-captain who can be more active off the pitch - like a Kompany type figure), and we don't have many of those. For what it's worth, at the time I would have suggested that the captaincy be shared between Gordon and McGregor, with whoever starts of those two taking the armband. But in hindsight that solution wouldn't have lasted very long...

Good photo in this of Robertson playing for Dundee United against Partick Thistle, taking on... Stephen O'Donnell. Interesting comparisons to be made between these two full-backs both released by Celtic as youngsters.

Expecting something like... vs Cyprus Bain O'Donnell Souttar McKenna Robertson McGregor McGinn Forrest Cairney Fraser Brophy vs Belgium O'Donnell Souttar McKenna Robertson McTominay Forrest McGregor McGinn Fraser Brophy