Scotland Euro 2020 - The Right Back Conundrum

Scotland qualified for their first major tournament in almost a quarter of a century  when they beat Serbia on penalties in November. The nation was sent into sheer ecstasy when David Marshall threw himself to his left to save Alexander Mitrovic’s penalty. The last time the national team was in a major tournament was World Cup ‘98 in France. Then, Scotland lined up with the likes of John Collins, Tom Boyd and Gordon Durie to name but a few. Now we have two Champions League winners in Billy Gilmour and Andy Robertson, Premier League stars Kieran Tierney, Che Adams and Scott McTominay and several household names from both sides of the Old Firm. However, arguably one of the weak points of the team is the right back position and today we’ll be discussing options in said area and who should be chosen for the all important fixtures against Czech Republic, England and Croatia. 

Steve Clarke was appointed Scotland manager in May 2019, the then 55 year old came with a good pedigree having brought relegation fighting Kilmarnock European football. The well travelled Scot replaced Alex McLeish in the hot seat after the former Rangers manager lead the Scots to a play off for Euro 2020 through the newly formed UEFA Nations League. Clarke’s first five games were possibly the toughest of his tenure so far. His side faced Cyprus at Hampden then Belgium and Russia home and away. Rather unsurprisingly, the Scots only managed a single victory out of all these encounters, a 2-1 win at Hampden over Cyprus. However since around October 2019 things have really begun to look sanguine for Scotland. Steve Clarke’s men have only suffered two defeats, one at the hands of Slovakia and the other away to Israel. This run is even more impressive when you find out the two defeats were in the aftermath of the high of the Euro 2020 play off win against Serbia in Belgrade. More recently, Scotland have had impressive results against Austria and the Netherlands, drawing both games 2-2. The national team’s final fixture before Euro 2020 was a trip to Luxembourg for a friendly; a match which ended in a 1-0 win for the visitors. Ahead of Scotland’s opening game against Czech Republic next Monday, let’s look at the potential options at right back for Steve Clarke who could solve his dilemma. 

Due to COVID, teams are allowed 26 players for the Euros this summer. This has certainly benefited Scotland, with Steve Clarke giving exciting youngsters David Turnbull, Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour their first call ups to the senior team. Rangers teenager Patterson is one of two right backs in the squad, Stephen O’Donnell the other. Steve Clarke regularly deploys a five at the back system for Scotland so it is safe to say the full backs are a pivotal part of the team, being required to get up and down the wings at ease. Stephen O’Donnell certainly fits into this category, Clarke has stayed loyal to the man who helped his Kilmarnock side achieve so much, this is evident because O’Donnell has 19 caps. The 29 year old now plays with Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership and provides a solid option. Nathan Patterson on the other hand is a quick, explosive, physical presence. Despite making his senior debut in January 2020, Patterson has only really begun to get a regular run of games since the turn of the year. The 19 year old had big boots to fill when James Tavernier got injured but he definitely stepped up to the plate, helping Rangers to become Invincibles in the league. In total, Patterson only has 16 appearances for Rangers but it says a lot about his performances considering he earned a Scotland call up. I mentioned earlier how there were mainly two choices for Steve Clarke at right back however somewhat of a curveball is James Forrest. Forrest is traditionally a right winger but has been deployed as a wing back before - in Neil Lennon’s 3-5-2 which seen Celtic rampage to 9 in a row. You don’t quite get the best out of Forrest when playing the 29 year old at wing back, he has to keep his defensive discipline. Even still, defending, needless to say, isn’t Forrest’s main attribute. He has played at Celtic his whole career however his absence from the side this season has left a gaping whole. Forrest splits the opinion of many Hoops’ fans but with 415 appearances for the Bhoys, he is almost a club legend. In contrast, for the national team, Celtic’s ‘Homegrown Hero’ hasn’t quite hit the heights of his club career. 5 goals and 3 assists in 37 appearances isn’t the greatest. Nevertheless, Forrest provides a more attacking threat from the right hand side. All of the above are options within the squad however let’s look at an alternative out with the group. 

Shaun Rooney was one of many St Johnstone players who took their game to different levels this season. The Saints won the Cup double in the most successful season in the club’s history. Rooney scored the winner in both finals, two headers against Livingston and Hibernian respectively. The 24 year old only joined St Johnstone for a free in June 2020 from Inverness but has already wrote himself into the Club’s history books. Rooney is familiar with the role he would take up in the Scotland team, having played at right wing back for St Johnstone this season. He’s made 39 appearances this campaign scoring 6 goals and grabbing 3 assists so is undoubtedly a goal threat. Standing at 6”2 Rooney could also do a job at right centre back in a back 5 if required. In my opinion, if Nathan Patterson didn’t make his breakthrough into the Rangers team this season, Shaun Rooney would’ve most likely made the cut this summer. There still may be a chance however for Rooney to get into the squad should Scotland get unlucky with injuries or COVID. 

So who will get the nod then for Scotland’s Group D fixtures? There have been calls for Nathan Patterson to start against the Czech Republic after the youngster impressed off the bench against Luxembourg although many are of the opinion that the team that started that game will be the team that lines up on Monday. It was Stephen O’Donnell who played there and having started 7 of Scotland’s last 12 games, it is to be expected the 29 year old will be in from the start on Monday afternoon.