Anthony Brown: Man-management crucial as Gord looks to lift Scots
In addition to the tried-and- tested 30 or so who Craig Levein, Strachan’s predecessor, generally called upon, this group would extend to youngsters such as Kenny McLean, Liam Kelly, Leigh Griffiths, Johnny Russell and Gary Mackay-Steven, as well as fringe men like Murray Davidson, Craig Bryson, Matt Phillips, Ross McCormack and Andrew Shinnie – and the forgotten trio of Kevin Thomson, James McFadden and Stephen McManus.
Aside from the 33-year-old Kenny Miller, none of the listed 51 are over 30, so Strachan has a solid pool he can work with for a few years, at least.
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Hide AdTop-class talent is thin on the ground, with the two Fletchers – Darren and Steven – as well as goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Craig Gordon (albeit the latter is still battling serious injury) probably the only Scots who would be considered by the top national teams in Europe. As a result, it is reasonable to assume that McGregor and the Fletchers will form the spine of the team, along with the Wigan Athletic captain Gary Caldwell, who was a linchpin of Strachan’s successful Celtic side.
After that, the rest of the team will be made up of a solid batch of reliable performers of whom there is very little to choose between. Take the full-backs, for instance, where he will have to pick any two from Phil Bardsley, Steven Whittaker, Alan Hutton, Russell Martin, Charlie Mulgrew, Danny Fox, Lee Wallace and Paul Dixon. If you asked a dozen people to pick their two full-backs, they would probably all come up with different combinations.
Likewise with the wide players, where you could throw a blanket over the likes of Steven Naismith, James Forrest, Robert Snodgrass, Shaun Maloney, Phillips, Kris Commons and Jamie Mackie in terms of what they bring to the party.
Of the 51, Strachan would have to leave more than half of these out of his squad and then another half again out of his starting line-ups. It makes for a lot of disappointed bodies and this is where Strachan’s man-management will come into play most. After all, it was strops from Kris Boyd and Steven Fletcher, when they were overlooked by George Burley and Levein respectively, that did no end of damage to the new manager’s immediate predecessors.
GOALKEEPERS
Allan McGregor (Besiktas)
Cammy Bell (Kilmarnock)
Matt Gilks (Blackpool)
Craig Samson (St Mirren)
Craig Gordon (unnattached)
Defenders
Alan Hutton (Aston Villa)
Russell Martin (Norwich)
Danny Wilson (Liverpool)
Paul Dixon (Huddersfield)
Grant Hanley (Blackburn)
Christophe Berra (Wolves)
Gary Caldwell (Wigan)
Stephen McManus (Middlesbrough)
Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen)
Andy Webster (Hearts)
Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic)
Phil Bardsley (Sunderland)
Danny Fox (Southampton)
Lee Wallace (Rangers)
Steven Whittaker (Norwich)
Midfielders
Charlie Adam (Stoke)
Darren Fletcher (Man United)
Kevin Thomson (Middlesbrough
Barry Bannan (Aston Villa)
Craig Bryson (Derby County)
James McArthur (Wigan)
Scott Brown (Celtic)
Don Cowie (Cardiff)
Graham Dorrans (West Brom)
James Morrison (West Brom)
Kenny McLean (St Mirren)
Andrew Shinnie (Inverness)
Murray Davidson (St Johnstone)
Liam Kelly (Bristol City)
James Forrest (Celtic)
Shaun Maloney (Wigan)
Kris Commons (Celtic)
Mackay-Steven (Dundee Utd)
Matt Phillips (Blackpool)
Robert Snodgrass (Norwich)
Steven Naismith (Everton)
Strikers
Ross McCormack (Leeds)
Steven Fletcher (Sunderland)
David Goodwillie (Blackburn)
Jordan Rhodes (Blackburn)
Kenny Miller (Vancouver)
Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton)
Johnny Russell (Dundee Utd)
Jamie Mackie (QPR)
Leigh Griffiths (Hibs)
James McFadden (Sunderland)