Ireland fans were panicking when their young star striker, Evan Ferguson had to drop out from their latest squad.
Still scarred by Jack Grealish and Declan Rice changing their minds and choosing England, there was speculation that Ferguson, who has an English mum, wasn’t yet locked in.
Even though Brighton’s man of the moment has never given any indication he would contemplate switching, it took clarification of the rules to calm folk down.
Elliot Anderson dropping out of the Scotland squad has got some members of the Tartan Army fearing he’ll end up with three lions on his shirt rather than one.
It could well be a case of two plus two equals 49 rather than four.
Until I hear otherwise, Anderson has got a genuine injury and there’s nothing more to it than that.
#NUFC’s Elliot Anderson has withdrawn from Scotland's squad for the matches against Cyprus and England because of injury.
— Newcastle Fans TV (@NewcastleFansTV) September 5, 2023
But even if he is keeping his options open and still has England on his mind, Scotland are in a strong position to cope.
Steve Clarke, his coaches and his players are doing a brilliant job and we’re within touching distance of the Euro finals already.
The strength in depth in the squad – and on the fringes of it – is night and day compared to when the likes of Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy chose Ireland over Scotland.
Let them take their time
The way the manager deals with players who have a choice to make because of dual qualification is superb.
Remember Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes and Angus Gunn?
He let them take their time, didn’t put pressure on them and they ended up coming to the right conclusion from a Scottish point of view.
If Anderson’s heart tells him to go with England, that’s fine. We can cope.
But if he does choose Scotland then we’ll know it’s not been on a whim.
It might not be the worst idea if Ben Doak now gets promoted from the under-21s to the full squad.
🗣️ 'Anyone playing well for their club, especially at a club like Liverpool…they're always going to be close.'
Steve Clarke insists Ben Doak knows he's being watched by national team
WATCH MORE from Scotland boss HERE ⬇️https://t.co/wk47ooE7nA pic.twitter.com/ukuZwdIOpE
— PLZ Soccer (@PLZSoccer) August 28, 2023
Here’s a player who Jurgen Klopp is now trusting to come on for Mo Salah at Stamford Bridge for Premier League game-time.
Bringing him into the group for the friendly against England feels like a smart move.
It would reward a player who is on the fast-track to the Liverpool first team, would please the fans and would subtly show to Anderson that the talent pool is deep north of the border these days.
Sunday’s game at Ibrox wasn’t the best Rangers v Celtic game you’ll see.
It won’t be remembered for the quality of the football – even though the goal that settled it was a stunning strike.
But the stakes were high – both managers came into the game with fans on their back.
Brendan Rodgers has quietened people down but for Michael Beale the pressure has been taken up a few levels.
I was very impressed with Joe Hart.
Joe Hart 🧤🍀💚
Job done ✅ up the road , clean sheet slippers on
Scrappy game , great finish from Kyogo— Robert Douglas (@Robert__Douglas) September 3, 2023
People talked about the St Johnstone draw being a disaster but there were a couple of crucial saves made by Joe which prevented the result from being worse.
Everything I hear about him is of a proper pro who is great at the training ground and in the dressing room.
He was excellent when Celtic needed him towards the end of Sunday’s game and he won’t be under-appreciated by Brendan, that’s for sure.
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