THE ORIGINAL gung-ho battle cries uttered by George Burley when he became Scotland manager may have to be tempered somewhat in the coming few weeks. After three friendly games in charge which have yielded two draws and a defeat, the phoney war stops on September 6 with the opening World Cup qualifier in Macedonia.
I was initially impressed by his positive attitude and apparent determination to go with a more attacking style of play than we have witnessed over the past few years under Walter Smith and Alex McLeish.
That restrained style actually goes back f
urther than that. With the exception of the random tactics deployed by Berti Vogts, the national team have generally been more concerned about losing goals than scoring them – a philosophy that dates back to the early days of Andy Roxburgh.
Roxy and Craig Brown habitually packed the defence and midfield hoping to either play on the break or benefit from our strengths at set pieces. These were understandable tactics against the more powerful nations with better technical players.
As players, however, there were occasions when the team as a whole felt that we should be let loose to have a real go for it now and again. I particularly remember during the Euro 92 finals after narrowly losing to the Dutch in the first game, it wasn't until the second half and a goal down against the Germans that we were set loose and allowed to play with the flair and the attacking attitude the group felt confident with.
We battered them but it was too late and we lost. The third game of the group, a 3-0 win against the CIS (Russia), suggested that just maybe if we had set about the previous two teams with the same gusto, we could have finally got through a group stage at a major championships.
Sixteen years later, and after almost perfecting a game built on work rate, team spirit and above all meticulous defensive organisation, George assured us that it was time to look to a more current style. A more attacking daring attitude, a fast passing game, to be played on the deck and in the opponents half, utilising a 4-4-2 formation.
However, the displays so far have been less than inspiring and Wednesday night's showing against Northern Ireland was a classic case of the biter bitten. Nigel Worthington's worthy team were set up in a 4-5-1 that mirrored Scotland's system that frustrated the might of the French and others in our most recent Euro qualification group. We lacked the sophistication to provide a cutting edge, even at home, against the severely depleted visitors because of their stuffy organisation.
By the time we face Macedonia in ten days time, Burley might be looking back to another game in the last campaign when we lost 2-0 in Georgia. For once Alex McLeish went for the away win that night with a positive system and paid dearly when our admittedly weakened team was picked off effortlessly and the three points meekly surrendered. Three points that were in the end the difference between reaching the finals and watching it enviously on TV.
Without spelling it out directly this week, the new manager appeared to have moved closer to the idea that, in the upcoming game in Skopje, discretion may well be the better part of valour. A defeat there would scupper any real chance of winning the group and it would make it very difficult even to reach the more realistic target of second place and a play-off tie for a chance of reaching South Africa.
Although in some respects it will be disappointing if the team has to revert to the more stoical style, with the recent friendlies at least the team has had some experience playing positively. The manager now has an idea who can and who cannot deal with the demands of this system.
Of course it wasn't just the system George Burley was analysing during his first few games, it was the ability of various personnel to step up to the international level. Little is going to change in attack; we all know what we have there, the same can be said about the centre of the defence and in goal. The central midfield area is particularly strong with Barry Ferguson, Barry Robson, Darren Fletcher, and Paul Hartley all worthy of being trusted for the big games.
It is in the wide areas where there are still too many uncertainties for comfort. On the left wing/left midfield area, James Morrison certainly hasn't done enough in dark blue to command a starting berth. His replacement, Kris Commons, looked energetic but there wasn't enough evidence of the craft or sophistication of someone like John Collins in his prime. In fact, the best quality service from the left hand side on Wednesday came from full back Gary Naysmith.
There is the option of the power of Lee McCulloch or the pace of Stephen Pearson but in reality the only player who we can be certain of performing as an attacking left midfielder is James McFadden. The talisman prefers to play up front, even though he almost always looks more dangerous running at defenders from deep with the ball at his feet than when he receives it with his back to goal.
On the right Scott Brown still isn't quite realising the outstanding promise he showed as a youngster at Hibernian. That may be partly down to the fact that he is more effective in a slightly more central role, one in from the widest man. Once again it is at full back where we can rely on quality delivery and as such we hope and pray that Alan Hutton makes a miraculous recovery with the help of the Spurs physios.
The more you look at it, the more it seems certain that, in the short term, George Burley will have little option other than to play more conservatively. It will be wing backs instead of wingers, a packed midfield filled with his best players playing in their best positions and a lone striker being helped by them whenever possible.
As a confirmed believer in the beautiful game, it pains me to say, but I will have no complaints if Burley goes with his head and reverts to the set up that has been relatively successful in the recent past. Just as long as it is a stepping-stone to the style he promised us at the start, the style he believes in at heart.
The full article contains 1109 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
