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Scotland: How does Alex McLeish stack up a year after first game in charge?

By Stefan Bienkowski BBC Sport Scotland

Last updated on .From the section Scotlandcomments371

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Alex McLeish's first game back in charge of Scotland.

His second stint began with a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, and he has suffered a further six defeats during his 12 months in the job.

Since replacing Gordon Strachan as Scotland manager in February 2018, McLeish has been under constant scrutiny to prove he can end the 22-year wait for qualification for a major finals.

However, the jury is still out on the 60-year-old with just four wins from 11 matches.

So are Scotland improving under McLeish or are we once again going nowhere, fast? BBC Scotland takes a look...

Placing in the world

There's no doubt McLeish deserves credit for reaching the play-offs of the Nations League ahead of Israel and Albania, but besides that there has been very little to help Scotland push up the FIFA rankings.

In fact, things have got worse.

When McLeish became Scotland manager in early 2018 the national team were ranked 32nd in the world. Yet since then they've dropped as low as 42nd, to then rise slightly to today's ranking of 40th.

In January 2017 Scotland were even further down the rankings in 67th place, wedged between Benin and Guinea-Bissau. Yet a run of eight games in which Scotland won four and drew three hauled Strachan's side up to 32nd.

Points and goals

To properly assess McLeish's record since returning to Hampden, we need to go a little further back and compare the national team's performances under his predecessors.

For example, Scotland are currently averaging just 1.09 goals per game in McLeish's second stint in charge. Not only is that considerably less than the average during his previous spell - 1.44 - but it is also the third lowest return since Scotland last reached a major tournament.

What is perhaps even more concerning is that Scotland's defensive record under McLeish has shot up to 1.64 conceded goals per game. This is not only considerably worse than the 1.1 goals per game conceded under Strachan, but also surpasses the rather abject performances under Craig Levein, George Burley and Berti Vogts.

After 11 matches, the national team are averaging just 1.09 points per game. To put that in context, it is not only around half the return they picked up when McLeish first took over in 2007, but is also the second lowest return for a Scotland manager since 2002.

Burley, with an average of 0.86 points per game, spares the current Scotland manager from the wooden spoon.

More players, less consistency

One of the reasons for McLeish's ineffective restart as Scotland manager could be the manner in which he has chopped and changed his squad so much.

Although he has had to contend with injuries, he has also searched high and wide for alternative options in a number of positions as the nation transitions from one generation of players to the next.

Indeed, as we can see in the table above, McLeish has already called upon 46 players over just 11 games. Not only is that almost double the 26 players he stuck with during his first stint in charge, it suggests he's well on course to quickly surpass the 58 Strachan used during his four-year tenure.

In fact, when we break it down to different players called up per match, McLeish's average of 4.18 is higher than any of his last five predecessors and considerably more than Vogts' 2.48 - despite the German coach's notorious reputation for handing out call-ups on a whim.

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371 comments

  • Comment posted by asitseems, at 11:45 23 Mar 2019

    I am in 2 minds regarding the lack of quality of player we have. 1 side tells me we lack quality (mostly SPL and Championship players) and therefore not good enough at International level.

    BUT then you look at teams like Northern Ireland and Iceland - how are they managing to be competitive?!

    Must be something else....

  • Comment posted by cbeb, at 11:18 23 Mar 2019

    "However, the jury is still out on the 60-year-old with just four wins from 11 matches."

    The jury is still out? There are people out there who STILL don't see that he's completely useless?

  • Comment posted by arab87, at 11:43 23 Mar 2019

    The players that cry off from representing their country having just played for their clubs the previous week are the true disgraces and most to blame. Robertson, Tierney, Paterson, Fletcher, Fraser, Snodgrass, and McArthur, I'm talking about you! How is any manager supposed to pick a consistent winning team when there are so many disgraces in the ranks. Shame on them!

  • Comment posted by Drexl Spivey, at 11:25 23 Mar 2019

    The man is a prize lemon. Always has been. His opinion of himself far outstrips his abilities. They'll need to drag him kicking and screaming from the job. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

  • Comment posted by Huggie, at 11:27 23 Mar 2019

    We need analysis of the rise of Kazakhstan into the footballing powerhouse of today.

    Surely that's the only reason Scotland lost so convingly

  • Comment posted by Bob, at 11:22 23 Mar 2019

    Mr McLeish, please go. You are miserable, the players are miserable and so are all the fans.
    You are only to blame for the recent farce but those at the SFA are the bungling idiots who have oversaw and allowed Scottish football to decline over the decades... should all should go too.
    We need real football people at the helm but we need rid of the dross and freeloaders first.

  • Comment posted by sthomson22, at 11:24 23 Mar 2019

    We need to get over the sort of collective delusion of grandeur we have as a nation. Football is not the sport it was 50 years ago, much larger nations take it a lot more seriously now and have developed the game considerably more in these places. All you can ask for is that we play professionally and grind out results, we did that under Strachan, by and large. And he seemed genuinely committed.

  • Comment posted by theworthinger, at 11:55 23 Mar 2019

    Stop blaming the manager. Get your kids off their consoles and outside playing football. Demand free access to local pitches for kids.

    I grew up in Dennistoun and we had 24/7/365 access to the red ash pitches of the local schools. No charge. Through the gate and play. Easy.

    Not now. 20 foot fences and fees. Cars parked nose to tail on every street. What chance success.

    Rant over.

  • Comment posted by Nick, at 11:44 23 Mar 2019

    As an Englishman it's really bizarre to see the continuing slide into the mire of Scottish football after seeing so many wonderful players being produced for many decades. Some reasons put forward are poor facilities, lack of funding, a non-competitive atmosphere at youth level etc. Maybe it's all 3? tbc ...

  • Comment posted by Lionzinho, at 11:34 23 Mar 2019

    For an article focussing on stats, the use of the FIFA rankings graph is abysmal. A cursory glance at the graph suggests that Scotland’s position under McCleish has improved. The graph should be inverted (so it reflects the fact that a higher score is, in fact, a worse position - ie a ranking of 54 is worse than a ranking of 12).
    If you can’t get the presentation of stats right, don’t bother.

  • Comment posted by Hoopy, at 11:22 23 Mar 2019

    Forget the stats just sack him and end the misery.

  • Comment posted by sthomson22, at 11:56 23 Mar 2019

    27 -The fact that so many of our strongest players refused to play in the OPENING GAME of a group we actually had the potential to cause an upset in (with inconsistent Russia) and clinch 2nd place says it all. They refused because they worried about getting injured on a plastic pitch for their clubs? Priorities. It's just the way things are in Scotland, country comes 2nd (if at all). Pitiful.

  • Comment posted by Squeal Piggy iii, at 11:38 23 Mar 2019

    He clearly doesn’t have the decency ( or self awareness ?) to realise he should resign...

    The SFA are even more culpable for appointing him in the first place and for their silence now.

    Strachan was making steady progress and had the confidence of a core of players.

    The ‘had two campaigns and failed’ ethos that was pushed by the Scottish media has its share of blame to bear.

  • Comment posted by sthomson22, at 11:39 23 Mar 2019

    I was shocked at the time when Strachan was dismissed, and I had zero faith in the SFA locating and appointing a suitable successor. There were probably a large number of young, energetic, tactically/technically minded and committed candidates and they go with a thrice (or even four times) failed coach who hasn't lasted a year in a job since 2009 or something. Because his name? Living in the past

  • Comment posted by topoftheworldma, at 11:28 23 Mar 2019

    He's taken the national team to new depths..He can't take them any lower can he...have to feel for the fans great supporters deserve better....

  • Comment posted by D1679533670347, at 11:36 23 Mar 2019

    Listen up Scotland, Mcliesh is NOT the man for us , it was a job for the pals , sfa is rotten to the core, we have some good players and young talent coming through , a team even with limited talent should be hard to beat , if they are well organised and fit , he can't even get that right, time for a new manager , but who would want to work with the sfa ?? , that's the problem.

  • Comment posted by Jaco_bites, at 11:59 23 Mar 2019

    Echo what's already been said. The majority of blame sits squarely at the feet of the SFA, old boys club. Mcleish needed a job and applied, but it was the half-wits at the SFA that messed up the other options leaving no choice.

    The SFA is an overpaid clown convention. Make their salaries dependent on performance. Tie it to world ranking. Ni, Wales and Ireland, all with smaller population!

  • Comment posted by asitseems, at 11:38 23 Mar 2019

    Manager is part of problem but it all stems from the ineptitude of the SFA. They are a complete shambles and need a total clear out.

    How will that happen though? Unless there is some kind of organised revolt by the fans and possibly the clubs, nothing will change and we will go from one failure to another.

    I am totally fed up with the whole thing and will not be attending any games for now.

  • Comment posted by Can we have our ball back , at 12:07 23 Mar 2019

    Compare the population sizes of Iceland and Scotland and weep at the ineptitude pf the latter, from player through to administrator

  • Comment posted by Erik, at 11:53 23 Mar 2019

    There's no denying we have some pretty average players but a decent manager could have them playing as a decent team. You just have to look at what Steve Clarke has done at Killie.