Five debutants for Czech friendly

On May 30th, when Scotland travels to Prague for our first away match under George Burley, there will be some new faces on the squad, thanks to a few injuries to some of our aging stars. Burley’s list of 23 includes five uncapped players, and 16 under the age of 26, a nice thing to see for a squad that has been dominated by more …. let us say … experienced footballers.

The newbies on Burley’s list are: Ross McCormack (Motherwell), Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker (Rangers), Christophe Berra (Hearts) and James Morrison (West Brom). All have potential to do well for Scotland, and all should see this as a golden opportunity to make themselves noticed for World Cup qualifying. Morrison in particular has worked his way onto the radar, with some brilliant performances this season for West Brom, who were, in the second half of the season, far and away the best of the Championship. McCormack is also an overdue young player, and adds to the already potent strike possibilities up front for Scotland. Berra was on the list for the Croatia friendly, but never made it off of the bench. With a few key injuries in defense, his time has come.

A few names are conspicuous by their absence. Barry Ferguson, whose May is a bit busy as is, was left off by Burley to avoid further injuring his knee. Stephen McManus will almost certainly get the captain’s armband for the second straight match. Scott Brown is off the list, for the public reason of minor post-season surgery, but after a couple of dire Scotland performances, I hardly think he’ll be missed. Steven Fletcher, who did well in his debut against Croatia, is back, and we’re all thrilled to see James McFadden back in the lineup after missing the last match for keyhole knee surgery. Looking at the roster, I do think we could have done with one less forward and one more midfielder. Six strikers? Let’s be honest, two at most will start and three at most will play, so why put six on the roster? That’s a minor argument, though, and overall, I really like the squad list.

Here is the total list of twenty-three. If this young squad gets any sort of result in Prague, it will be a hugely positive sign of things to come from Scotland. Exciting times, these, for a fan of the side, and this makes me even more anxious for May 30th to come.

Keepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich)
Defenders: Russell Anderson (Sunderland), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Christian Dailly (Rangers), Alan Hutton (Spurs), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Kevin McNaughton (Cardiff), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United), Steven Whittaker (Rangers)
Midfielders: Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Celtic), James Morrison (West Brom), Gavin Rae (Cardiff), Barry Robson (Celtic), Kevin Thomson (Rangers)
Forwards: Kris Boyd (Rangers), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian), Ross McCormack (Motherwell), James McFadden (Birmingham), Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa), Kenny Miller (Derby)