Two left-backs and what’s next for Scotland
How do you fit two left backs into a team?
It’s rare for a country’s two best players to both be left backs, but that’s the exact problem Scotland boss Steve Clark has faced during his tenure as head coach of that national side. Throughout the past few years Clark has experimented with a four-man defence and even playing Robertson on the right side of defence before seemingly settling on the current setup. Scotland predominantly line up in a 532, with Kieran Tierney playing as a makeshift left sided centre-back, and Andrew Robertson occupying the wingback slot.
To provide sufficient room to accommodate both wingbacks, Scotland don’t use any wingers, preferring instead to play with two forwards that sit fairly narrow. The likes of Ryan Fraser, Stuart Armstrong and James Forest who typically play in wider positions for their club sides are instead played as a second striker, a midfielder or a right wing back respectively. It’s a theme of this Scotland squad, a lot of other players playing slightly out of position in order to accommodate the real quality down their left.
Those narrow forwards allow Robertson to collect the ball close to the touchline, much like he does for Liverpool, his runs forward do however differ from his club side, being slightly more inverted and usually ending up on the corner of the penalty area. Whilst Robertson is lurking around that half space, Tierney’s overlapping run draws away defensive pressure allowing Robertson to cross the ball from a dangerous position or play through his compatriot to cross from a wider position. Callum McGregor will also drift to the left side of midfield to help create these overloads or offer an out ball to recycle possession.
Scotland’s narrow attack has the added bonus of limiting opposition build up play through the centre of the pitch. Che Adams and Lydon Dykes can opt to trigger a higher press and chase down opposition centre backs whilst workhorse midfielder John McGinn will sit on their number 6. That pressing formula was particularly influential against England, effectively pressing Rice out of the game and crippling England’s typical pattern of play through the centre of the pitch, all which led to an impressive 0–0 draw in the Euros.
Out of possession, Clarke’s three-man midfield allows the team to go man for man in midfield, nullifying the common pitfalls of five at the back systems that sacrifice a midfielder. The two forwards now aim to cut central passing lanes to any deep lying playmaker.
The Right back issue
Whilst there is undeniable quality on the left side of the defence, the same cannot necessarily be said for the right side. The depth at right wing back is a particular issue, whilst Stephen O’Donnell seems to have secured his starting spot, Clarke has resorted to playing Robertson there several times in order to nullify left sided attacking players like Joakim Maehle in the Euros. Nathan Patterson’s transfer to the Premier League has yet to see him star for a miserably poor Everton side and was recently ruled out for the rest of the season following an ankle injury. There’s also the option to play young left back Aaron Hickey on the opposite side, he’s very two footed and has debuted for Scotland already, however his poor attacking output would do little to solve Scotland’s lopsided threat.
Perhaps the last bastion of hope could be resorting to calling upon players with a dual nationality, as Scotland did with Che Adams. Whilst Premier League right backs Ryan Fredericks and Tino Livramento could possibly switch allegiance, it’s perhaps unlikely whilst the latter seems within a real shout of an England cap in the years to come. Fredericks on the other hand should improve the squad and despite reports Steve Clarke was targeting the 29-year-old a few years ago but there’s been no movement on his declaration ever since.
It’s worth mentioning that Celtic’s Anthony Ralston’s form has significantly improved under new boss Ange Postecoglou, he’s been called up once by Steve Clark but has failed to claim the right wing back slot despite impressive performances in the Scottish Premier League. A few years back, Ralston was primarily a defensive fullback on loan at St Johnstone committing full blooded tackles one would expect from Scottish football, but this season his creative output and composure on the ball is noticeable and has probably warranted a call-up.
More makeshift centre-backs
Centre back options like Liam Cooper and Scott McKenna (the latter has been a key part in Nottingham Forest’s impressive 343 system) are both left footed and can only really play on the left side of defence, a position Tierney has seemingly claimed as his own. Whilst right foot Jack Hendry does make appearances, Clarke has preferred Scott McTominay playing as the right sided centre-back. Whilst Scott McTominay is some force in the air, ranking in the 91st percentile for aerials won amongst other midfielders across the top 5 European leagues, that’s not the reason Clarke opts for the United man.
In contrast to other defensive options, McTominay has a unique ability to progress the ball, often carrying the ball out of the back, he’s a vital part of Scotland’s initial build up play. In McTominay and Tierney, Scotland have two centre-backs that are equally capable on the ball and allow Scotland to build from the back rather than lump it up to a target man. That’s particularly useful considering Scotland’s best striker, Che Adams, is rather diminutive and unlikely to win too many balls that are lumped up to him, and despite target man, Lyndon Dykes, offering the side that direct option, McTominay and Tierney’s technical ability means Scotland aren’t forced to go route one.
There are of course significant downsides to using makeshift centre-backs. There are times where McTominay lack of defensive awareness and his positioning can afford the opposition chances. His midfielder instinct naturally makes him want to press the player in front of him, but now he leaves a significant gap in behind. As such it’s easy for better passing sides to manipulate this to create a half space by drawing McTominay out of position. McTominay’s defensive positioning can also be an issue in transition, not quite recovering into the right position which allows counter attacking teams to take advantage of this space this affords them, as was particularly noticeable against Israel.
On the other side of defence, Tierney has a significant lack of aerial ability, ranking in the 22nd percentile for aerials won amongst other fullbacks. In the recent Euros game against Croatia, Tierney was easily beaten by Perisic from a corner, and in the game against Denmark, he repeatedly lost Daniel Wass at the back post which eventually led to Denmark’s early goal. Whilst I’m sure some will point to the slight push in the back Tierney receives, he’s not nearly physical enough to challenge for a header, and that’s ignoring how often he completely loses his man whilst getting caught ball watching.
Clarke has built Scotland’s defence to facilitate their attacking play rather than be defensively resolute, whilst a back 5 preserves a modicum of structure, multiple makeshift centre-backs can inevitably destabilise the defence. Kieran Tierney’s inclusion as a left sided centre-back creates interesting attacking overloads akin to Sheffield United’s overlapping centre, whilst sacrificing the aerial ability McKenna or Cooper would provide.
Whilst Scotland’s narrow midfield and attack provides room for Robertson and Tierney to create chances it also means there’s space for the opposition to overload in wide positions. Whilst this vulnerability is unlikely to cause Clarke too many headaches against Ukraine because their fullbacks are primarily defensive, should the Tartan army progress past the World Cup playoffs, teams with decent left wingbacks should be able to find space in wide areas.
What’s next for Scotland?
Inevitably just when I’m ready to mark this piece as finished, Tierney picks up an injury during an international friendly that rules him out for the remainder of the season and most likely the World Cup play-offs too. Whilst that injury will impact Arsenal’s top four ambitions the outlook for Steve Clark will most likely result in a revisioning of his tactical approach.
If Steve Clark persists with the 5-3-2, Scott McKenna or Liam Cooper will look to replace the Arsenal man at left centre-back, but neither will be able to replicate Tierney’s attacking overloads which was the entire reason Clarke had settled on a 5 at the back approach in the first place.
This could well signal a foray into a four-man defence, moving McTominay back into a more familiar midfield position, with recognised centre backs shoring up the lack of numbers. However, with Robertson now isolated on the wing, the current narrow attack and midfield may well be revised to ensure Scotland can still create those wide overloads and focus the play through their most creative player.
Whilst Callum McGregor can help with attacking play anywhere across the final third other advanced midfield options like Ryan Christie, John McGinn or Stuart Armstrong general prefer to take up possession on the right side of the pitch for their club sides. Clarke may have to look towards Ryan Fraser more often, ensuring he cuts inside thus leaving space out wide for Robertson to advance into, but it’s questionable whether Fraser is good enough to retain possession under pressure when he’s more akin to running into space on counter-attacks.
Build up play from the back will have to be revised too, with any combination of Cooper, McKenna or anyone else alongside Grant Hanley, Scotland won’t have a natural wide centre back that will carry possession into the midfield as well as McTominay or Tierney could. Rather than resort to the typical long ball approach, I’d expect to see an increase in Billy Gilmour’s involvement in the initial build up phase, before switching the ball out to Robertson, much as Liverpool can do with their defensive midfielder and wingbacks.
