The Scotland captaincy debate

Scotland’s World Cup dream came to an abrupt end on Wednesday evening against Ukraine. 

Quite frankly, the visitors were better than the Scots in most departments and deserved winners in the tie. 

As a result of the loss and his exploits in Liverpool on Sunday, question marks have been raised over Andy Robertson’s status as captain of Scotland. 

His club Liverpool lost out on the Premier League title and were defeated in the Champions League final within the space of a week. 

However, the Reds still held an open top bus parade the day following their loss in Paris to celebrate their previous triumphs in the Carabao and FA Cups. The squad and fans were in party mode as was Andy Robertson. 

The left back was seen having a few beers, singing and dancing on top of the bus along with requesting DJ Calvin Harris to play the popular song now synonymous with Liverpool, ‘One Kiss’. 

It was not the best impression the Scotland captain could give of himself just three days before he’d play in one of the biggest matches he may ever for his country. 

As alluded to, Scotland lost to Ukraine and Robertson’s display was not the most inspiring. This inevitably caused last Sunday’s scenes to come back and bite the twenty eight year old with some sections of the Tartan Army heavily critical of his recent actions. 

It is not a good look for a captain to be out partying 72 hours prior to a crucial game but not just this, various wider factors such as his performances in big matches like last night’s and general leadership qualities have many questioning his credentials as captain. 

I’m almost certain Robertson will continue as Scotland skipper in spite of the flak he’s currently getting but it is hard to look past giving the armband to someone like Callum McGregor - a highly reliable, consistent performer who can solely galvanise a team with his performances. 

McGregor’s qualities as a captain have been made coherent through his 2021/22 season with Celtic. In a year of transition under new manager Ange Postecoglou, the twenty eight year old has helped gel a fresh squad together and win two trophies along the way. 

In addition, he never backs down in critical matches for club and country. McGregor was a standout for Scotland in the recent Euros, netting his nation’s single goal of the tournament against Croatia. Moreover last night, the midfielder was one of few players who stood out for Steve Clarke’s side. He was lively in the engine room and was able to half the deficit with just over ten to play but in the end, McGregor’s goal accounted for nothing. 

His leadership capabilities are clear and potentially even more plausible than that of Andy Robertson’s. Some have made the point Robertson was only given captaincy by Steve Clarke not for his influence and leadership, but due to him being part of a world class Liverpool team however this argument does seem slightly harsh. 

Nonetheless, the conundrum that currently surrounds Scotland captaincy is intriguing.

On one hand, you have Celtic’s skipper - one of the best footballers in Scotland in recent years who possesses invaluable leadership qualities and is a tremendous role model both on and off the pitch but on the other, you have a man who has attained the greatest of achievements in club football and plies his trade for one of the best teams in the world. It is certainly a big talking point at present. 

So, who do you think should be Scotland captain? Leave a comment below or get in touch with me on Twitter @Joshmcc_05 to let me know your thoughts. Finally, thank you for reading.