The Number of the Beast
11 October, 2011
6-6-6 used to be enough to strike terror into the heart of God-fearing Scots. Now the number of the beast is 4-6-0, the formation Craig Levein decided to utilise when Scotland played the Czech Republic in Prague in October 2010, an event that will be hereafter referred to as THE 4-6-0. To send out a team without a recognised striker was anathema, heresy to Scottish football fans that still cling to misty memories of the 1950s Dundee and Hibs teams, five forwards and tricky, strawweight wingers. Tonight, just over a year to the day since THE 4-6-0, Scotland lost to Spain and as a result saw their hopes of Euro 2012 qualification evaporate once again.
I didn’t watch the game; I’ve seen this film too many times. I went to the cinema instead. Driving back, I listened to the phone-in on Radio Scotland, and wasn’t surprised to hear calls for Levein’s resignation, with most of them referencing THE 4-6-0, and some suggesting the names of replacements, such as Graeme Souness and Jim Jefferies. I know Scotland have lost (against the World champions no less) and have failed to qualify for another tournament, but we need to exercise a little circumspection here.
THE 4-6-0, used as a stick with which to beat Levein, is a red herring. Or a knee jerk reaction. Or a car-crash of a mixed metaphor. As Jonathan Stevenson notes in his book Inverting the Pyramid, 4-6-0 may well be the next stage in the evolution of formation (football’s dominant formation has already lost roughly a striker every decade since the 60s). And people bemoan 4-5-1 as a defensive formation. The truth is, the attacking or defensive quotient of a football team is not decided by the formation, but the players utilised in that formation, and the team’s tactics. Scotland’s problems under Levein have not been so much as a result of the formation, but more a crippling fear of losing and the fitting of square peg players into round hole positions. So let’s have more informed criticism of Levein’s methods and less invoking the bogeyman of THE 4-6-0.
(A digression; you could argue that Barcelona, arguably the greatest club side of all time, technically play a form of 4-6-0; after all, who needs a designated genuine no. 9 when you have Leo Messi?)
At this juncture, I don’t think Levein should be replaced as manager. For his array of failings, he has instilled a sense of camaraderie in the squad, and results have picked up somewhat since the Burley days (this wouldn’t be hard admittedly). I would like to see a continuity of squad and manager into the World Cup 2014 qualifiers, and as we haven’t (yet) lost any players to retirement I don’t believe it would be wise to replace the manager. Who would take the job anyway? There’s a reason Graeme Souness is working as a TV pundit and hasn’t had a management role since being sacked as Newcastle manager five years ago.
That said, there are certain criteria Levein has to meet in the next qualification campaign. Finishing at least second in the group is a must. Sorting out the ridiculous Steven Fletcher situation is another necessity. I don’t mind Scotland playing 4-5-1 so much, but packing the midfield 5 with 5 central midfielders is counter-productive. The incessant dropping back to our own penalty box when we take a lead needs to stop as well. And we need to lost the fear. Exercising caution against teams like Liechtenstein and Lithuania is in many ways respectable, but it’s getting us nowhere as an international football team.
In conclusion, I’m broadly in favour of Levein continuing. He’s not perfect, but I think he will learn from his mistakes (begrudgingly). But we could, and we need, to do better.
