The last few days have given us time to reflect on Gordon Strachan’s latest Scotland squad, another squad with just one Aberdeen player and only four players based in Scotland.
Don Mark Reynolds has been named as one of Strachan’s eight defenders, while Celtic trio Craig Gordon, Scott Brown and James Forrest have also made the cut.
Outwith the four players plying their trade in the SPFL Premiership, the squad boasts eight English Premier League players, with 13 playing in the English Championship and Shaun Maloney in MLS.
A number of English Premier League players have missed out on the squad including George Boyd, Matt Phillips and Scott Arfield, while Celtic trio Gary Mackay-Steven, Stuart Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths also missed the cut, as did Aberdeen’s Ryan Jack, Peter Pawlett and Ash Taylor.
Pawlett was called up by Gordon Strachan for the friendly against Nigeria in May last year, while Scotland assistant Mark McGhee recently said that both Jack and Taylor were being watched and considered by the Scotland coaching staff.
But, if Jack and Taylor are seriously under consideration, is a friendly against Northern Ireland and a qualifier against Europe’s most recently recognised football nation, Gibraltar, not the ideal time to do it?
While Strachan has been very consistent with his squad selection, he has shown he is more than happy to call up an extra player, almost a trialist, in each squad. Former Dundee United trio Ryan Gauld, Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong all received call ups , while former Rangers youngster Lewis Macleod was the latest to benefit from the philosophy – making the last squad, for the Republic of Ireland and England matches.
Ryan Jack
There has been many a call for Ryan Jack to be included in the squad as Strachan’s ‘trialist’ but this time that honour appears to have been bestowed upon Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie.
Of the above mentioned ‘trialists’, Gauld has dropped back to the under-21 squad, while Armstrong and Mackay Steven have missed out this time around, however, Ritchie will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Ikechi Anya, another player added to the squad by Strachan on a trial basis who has now gone on to establish himself as one of the first names on Strachan’s team sheet.
The one thing each of these players have in common is their position and style of play – they are all attacking midfielders, all able to play as a winger.
Ryan Jack, on the other hand is best deployed in a more central, more defensive role and therein lies the problem.
While Strachan is clearly a fan of 23-year-old Jack, a number of mainstays of Strachan’s squad play in that very role.
When fit, Darren Fletcher, Scott Brown, James Morrison, James McArthur and Charlie Mulgrew are among the first names in Strachan’s squad and all play in Jack’s favoured position.
Even beyond the first choice pool of central midfielders there are a number of other options playing in the English Premier League, in the shape of Stoke City’s Charlie Adam, Burnley’s Scott Arfield and Sunderland’s Liam Bridcutt, meanwhile Derby County midfielder Craig Bryson has also established himself as a regular in recent squads.
Strachan himself admitted just that, saying: “The problem for Ryan is the same as it is for Scott Arfield, who is getting great reviews down the road. I saw Scott against Spurs and he is very capable at that level.
“We have such strength in that area so you need to displace the likes of Scott Brown, Charlie Mulgrew, James Morrison and James McArthur.
“But Ryan and others can trust that we’re doing our due diligence.”
Ash Taylor
Taylor has emerged in recent weeks as a surprise answer to Scotland’s defensive shortages.
After his first few performances in a Dons shirt he was considered a struggling Welsh/Englishman but now the 24-year-old born in England, capped at under-21 level for Wales, with Scottish grandparents, has been one of the most important members of an Aberdeen defence that has kept 18 clean sheets this season and he has now been linked with a Scotland call up.
Assistant manager Mark McGhee confirmed that Taylor is under consideration for a place and the squad, saying: “We’re aware of Taylor and have talked about that. He’s one we will look at.”
While the north-east calls for international recognition for Jack may be louder, Taylor is arguably closer to making his way into the national squad.
While Jack is kept out of the squad by a number of quality options in central midfield, there certainly is not that same level of competition for places in the centre of Strachan’s defence.
Four central defenders were named in this week’s squad, with Reynolds competing with Ipswich Town’s Christophe Berra and Brighton defender Gordon Greer to start alongside Norwich City captain Russell Martin.
Blackburn captain Grant Hanley has been ruled out through injury, however, beyond Hanley and the four in the squad, Gordon Strachan is rather thin on the ground when it comes to central defensive options for the remainder of the campaign.
Hearts captain Danny Wilson and Motherwell’s Stephen McManus are two of very few central defenders still playing with previous Scotland experience but with Wilson playing in the Championship and McManus struggling to reach the level of performance he showed during his Celtic days, Taylor’s claim for a place in the squad looks rather strong.
So will any Dons players feature in the remainder of the Euro 2016 campaign?
Mark Reynolds appears to have just about established himself as Scotland’s fifth choice centre half, as Gordon Strachan’s ‘go-to man’ whenever there is an injury in his defensive ranks.
Ryan Jack has a long way to go before he breaks in to Strachan’s squad, never mind establishing himself there.
Ash Taylor could prove to be the surprise package. If he continues to produce consistent, reliable performances and a couple of Strachan’s first choice defenders pick up injuries, we could well see Taylor’s name in the squad before we set off to Paris to win the European Championships.