As a wise man once said, football is a funny old game. How true. There are certain scenarios within the realms of the beautiful game that are indeed funny, or at least they are when funny means incomprehensible, as opposed to comical.
Take, for instance, the current stand-off between Scotland manager Craig Levein and Steven Fletcher, the result of which is the Wolves forward’s continuing absence from the national squad.
Initially, this situation caused little more than mild bemusement among the Scottish footballing fraternity. But latterly, considering its potential to wreak damage upon the national team’s future prospects, the spat has attracted no little derision by all and sundry.
Lest we forget, Scotland won’t be troubling any of the combatants at this summer’s Euro finals. Of course, this is nothing new, given the Tartan Army haven’t been required to dig out their passports for a major finals since 1998. Fourteen years and counting, and yet Scotland isn’t able to call upon the services of one of the country’s most prolific strikers at the moment.
It will be recalled that the cold war between Levein and Fletcher dates back to an infamous night in Prague two seasons back, when Levein sent his team out without a recognised forward player to its name. Astonishingly, we were told that a 4-6-0 formation wasn’t necessarily a defensive option, but the Scottish fans didn’t buy that, and neither did Fletcher, who watched the inevitable depressing loss from the stand.
Fletcher subsequently criticised the manager for his tactics that night – as did anyone with a modicum of passion for the beautiful game - and then made it known through a third party that he wouldn’t be available for selection in future.
You wonder whether, with the passage of time, Fletcher has a hint of regret about how things unfolded. There’s little doubt that his act of petulance was somewhat ill-advised, although Levein’s response, then and since, has been ridiculed by many.
Levein, of course, has become adept at talking up the ability of his team, and the great strides forward it is allegedly pursuing. However, even acknowledging that Levein’s job is partly about painting a positive picture, many remain deeply sceptical about just how much progress is actually being made.
Much has been made about the manager’s determination to cast the net wider, and seek out players who, while far from household names, can bolster the squad.
However, no disrespect to the likes of Jamie Mackie and Craig Mackail-Smith, but the feeling persists that those players are unlikely to restore Scotland to the role of regular participants at major finals any time soon.
Which takes us back to the Steven Fletcher situation. Despite playing for a side operating at the wrong end of the Premiership, Fletcher has weighed in with a healthy ten league goals so far this season. That’s more than celebrated luminaries such as Jermaine Defoe and Didier Drogba.
With the 2014 world cup campaign due to start this autumn, Levein patently doesn’t have an embarrassment of riches to select from (particularly in the forward areas), so it beggars belief that he continues to ignore one of the best talents at his disposal.
Compared with some of his predecessors, Levein has enjoyed a relatively easy ride by the media in Scotland to date. Whilst the likes of Berti Vogts and George Burley were frequently ridiculed for poor results and questionable tactics, Levein has been let off the hook by comparison. And this despite his failure to qualify for the European championships from a qualifying group that was some way short of demanding by any standards.
Levein continues to insist that it is for Steven Fletcher to make the first move if he wants to be considered for international duty in future. However, as manager of the national side, this column would contend that Levein’s job is to make the best of the resources at his disposal.
In all professions, effective management is about getting the best out of your staff, and if that includes coaxing performances out of even the most truculent of individuals, so be it.
Levein should pick up the phone to Fletcher without further delay, and end the striker’s exile. If Scotland are to have any hope of joining the greatest show on earth in Brazil in two years, the country’s best players must be available for selection.
Over to you, Mr Levein.