Seb Pocognoli’s November Scotland Men’s National Team (SMNT) squad will be announced today. Following our article on midfielders, in the 5th of our series of pre-squad announcement articles, we explore Scotland wingers to assess who is likeliest for a call-up. Similar to our article on FBs, Pocognoli’s mind can be trickier to read re wingers, given his preference for wingbacks. Of course it is up to Pocognoli which players he picks & where he plays them.
Published stats are as per date & time of article publication. Stats in linked sources change with passage of time.
Danny Armstrong
| Age | 29 (11.10.1997) |
| Current club | Dinamo București |
| Current club division | Romanian 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 74.2 (47th globally) |
| SMNT caps | 0 |
| In most recent SMNT squad? | No |
14 September update
Armstrong has started this season in scintillating form for his club. In 9 league games he contributed 4 goals & 7 assists, rocket-boosting his ratings across all stats platforms. As watchers of Opta rankings will know, over weeks & months the Scots top tier & English 3rd tier fluctuate at around the same rating & ranking. The Romanian top division currently ranks below the Scots top tier. It is, however, rated one position above the English 3rd tier. Hence, Armstrong will be on Pocognoli’s data driven radar as much as players below who play in Scotland.
Armstrong has spoken in the press that despite approaches to play for the Republic of Ireland, he has held out for his dream of playing for Scotland. It seems though fanciful to expect a Scotland squad call up for Armstrong tomorrow.
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His stats playing this season in Romania are somewhat jaw-dropping. Headline among those are 6 goals & 10 assists from 14 league games contributing to an 8.16 FotMob rating. The ex-Kilmarnock, Raith, Ross County & Dunfermline winger is unsurprisingly earning rave reviews, He has been described as the man of the moment in Romanian domestic football, & could even be in contention for Player of the Season in Romania.
Could Danny Armstrong be in line for a call up for the upcoming international break?
Harvey Barnes
| Age | 28 (09.12.1997) |
| Current club | Newcastle United |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 92.1 (1st globally) |
| SMNT caps | 0 |
| In most recent SMNT squad? | No |
14 September update
In this article in 2020 interviewing Harvey Barnes’ father, Paul, Paul states that the SFA’s Malky Mackay asked ‘quite a few times’, if Harvey would be willing to play for Scotland. The paraphrased response in that article is, “but Barnes is England through and through.” To be clear, that is neither a direct quote from Barnes nor his father. There is though no evidence anywhere that Barnes is interested in playing for Scotland. Never mind recognising that doing so is an honour & a privilege. Harvey Barnes is the Danny Armstrong of England, although Barnes has played for England in 2 friendlies.
Fitba.scot has no expectation that Barnes will be in a Scotland squad at any point. He is though included in this list for completeness, since tomorrow is the first Scotland squad of the Pocognoli era. No hard feelings Harvey. Onwards & upwards.
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In short, a FotMob 7.11 rating indicates a player in good form playing in the world’s highest Opta rated division. Fitba.scot though still has no expectation of Barnes switching allegiance to join the ranks of Scotland wingers. He remains included in this list only for completeness.
Tommy Conway
| Age | 24 (06.08.2002) |
| Current club | Middlesbrough |
| Current club division | English 2nd tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 80.5 (10th globally) |
| SMNT caps | 8 (zero goals, 1 assist, 253 mins) |
| In most recent SMNT squad? | No |
14 September update
Conway was unfortunate to miss out on the World Cup selection due to injury when he appeared firmly in Steve Clarke’s plans in the March internationals.
Conway missed the first Boro games of the season with an ankle injury. He has since played no more than 67 minutes in any of the 5 games he has played in since coming back. Boro boss, Kim Hellberg, continues to play Conway at wide left of the attack, utilising hardworking Conway’s pressing abilities. Conway’s unconvincing numbers since his comeback were boosted by 2 assists in the 63 mins he played in the 4-3 home win against Norwich City on Saturday. Has that been enough to tip a Scotland squad place in his favour tomorrow?
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We previously featured Conway among strikers. However, such is his extended deployment out wide for Boro, this time we look at him among Scotland wingers. Conway’s current good form is exhibited by stats such as a current 7.11 FotMob rating. He has 1 goal & 4 assists in his last 8 Boro games, all in the league. With his newly found success playing wide left in the Boro attack, does his hard working style qualify him for consideration at LWB?
Findlay Curtis
| Age | 20 (01.10.2006) |
| Current club | Rangers |
| Current club division | Scottish 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 74.8 (39th globally) |
| SMNT caps | 6 |
| In most recent SMNT squad? | Yes |
14 September update
All 5 of Curtis’ full Scotland caps have been as sub, accruing 92 mins of match time. He was in the Scotland squad at the World Cup, playing twice.
The 1-0 home win v Motherwell is the only one of Rangers’ 12 competitive games this season in which Curtis has neither subbed on nor off. His full 90 mins in that Motherwell game contribute to the 579 mins of playing time he has so far this season. Has he done enough to retain his place in the squad tomorrow?
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Pocognoli named Curtis in the 28 man squad in September, before sending him to play a game for the U21s. Curtis was then recalled to Poco’s squad & played 17 mins in the troubling Hampden defeat by Slovenia.
Curtis is currently very much a squad player at Rangers. Derek McInnes consistently names Curtis in the match day squad with decreasing frequency in the starting line up.
With only 2 games in the forthcoming international break, Pocognoli may name a smaller squad than the 28 players he named in September for the 4 game break. If there is a squad reduction, Curtis could well be one among the Scotland wingers to miss out. Instead, he could return to the U21s who have 2 friendlies lined up in Spain. Curtis would be a real asset there, with Tony Docherty seeking to build a side to become the first Scotland U21 outfit in 30 years to qualify for the European Championships. Playing Curtis in the U21s makes strategic sense in seeking to foster a winning habit across age groups.
Ben Gannon-Doak
| Age | 20 (11.11.2005) |
| Current club | Bournemouth |
| Current club division | English 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 92.1 (1st globally) |
| SMNT caps | 21 |
| In most recent SMNT squad? | Yes |
14 September update
Ben Gannon-Doak is a rare entity in a recent Scotland squad in that he has genuine pace to burn. While the much hoped of him at the World Cup didn’t materialise, his Nations League performance against Croatia’s Joško Gvardiol, exhibited the issues Gannon-Doak can cause for even the best FB.
In 4 Bournemouth EPL games this season, he has played a cumulative total of 10 mins, subbing on in 3 matches & unused once. Such is his playing infrequency for his club, he currently does not have a FotMob rating. He did, though, play 78 mins in the 4-0 League Cup drubbing of Lincoln City last week. His injury record remains a major worry.
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Gannon-Doak has played only 85 mins in 9 Bournemouth EPL games so far this season. However, he features prominently for Bournemouth in cup games. Could his restricted club playing time be good for Scotland? He has a history of recurring injuries. However, with this limited playing time this season, so far he has remained injury-free.
Gannon-Doak was the only player in either team who was dribbled past in the Scotland Slovenia game. Not only that, he was dribbled past 3 times. If Pocognoli does as expected include Gannon-Doak later today, that reignites questions around optimising team formation & player deployment. Gannon-Doak offers much when viewed purely in the context of Scotland wingers. Is he though suited to a role at wingback?
Josh McPake
| Age | 25 (31.08.2001) |
| Year of last full cap | N/A |
| Current club | Heart of Midlothian |
| Current club division | Scottish 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 74.8 (39th globally) |
| SMNT caps | 1 |
| In most recent Scotland squad? | Yes |
14 September update
New Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken has attracted praise for not just the attractive playing style of his team, but also for how quickly his players have implemented his preferred methods.
Among the huge numbers of player ins & outs at Tynecastle in the Summer, McPake’s arrival is one of the big successes. Regular first team minutes producing 2 goals & 4 assists from his dangerous wing play. McPake will understandably hope his name is in the Scotland squad tomorrow.
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McPake joined the ranks of fully capped Scotland wingers when he subbed on late in the Hampden defeat to Slovenia, McPake did well perking up what had been an impotent attack. He remains a mainstay for Hearts for whom FotMob rate him at an impressive 7.76.
Calvin Miller
| Age | 28 |
| Current club | Heart of Midlothian |
| Current club division | Scottish 1st tier |
| Club division Opta rating | 74.8 (39th globally) |
| SMNT caps | 0 |
| In most recent SMNT squad? | No |
14 September update
Miller in his early career played LW, before retraining as a LB when at Celtic. Josh McPake has quickly cemented his position as first choice LW at Hearts this season. Hence, Miller has often slotted in away from his favoured LW slot, playing either again at LB or also on occasion at RW. He has already forged his place in Hearts folklore, with his goal of the ages volley at the end of his limping run in Vienna against SK Rapid. Not to mention having the guts to take & score with the first Hearts penalty in the subsequent shootout win there. If Poco wants Scotland wingers with guts & determination, Miller has the badges.
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Like his Hearts teammate, McPake, Miller has good stats this season. E.g., FotMob rate Miller at 7.26. However, the 2-1 League Cup semi final defeat on Sunday to Hibs was consequential for Miller’s hopes for an SMNT call up. Specifically, after assisting Claudio Braga for the opening goal, Miller subbed off in the first half with a knee injury. He was scheduled for a scan yesterday after leaving Hampden on crutches.
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