What a breath of fresh air it was to see Ben Gannon-Doak back in the Scotland starting line-up for this 2-0 Nations League victory over North Macedonia.
Over the past week, one of the main talking points to emerge from Sebastien Pocognoli’s first two matches in charge had been the absence of Gannon-Doak.
The young winger started on the bench in the matches against Slovenia and Switzerland, before eventually coming on as a substitute. But, in a match Scotland knew they simply had to win in Skopje, Gannon-Doak was thrust in from the start by the new head coach.
The fact that Sebastian Herrera, North Macedonia’s left wing-back, was substituted after half an hour spoke of how he had been terrorised by the Scotland man.
Gannon-Doak ran riot down the right flank for Scotland. They fed him the ball relentlessly and, whilst his final ball could have been better at times, he still caused major problems for the opposition.
North Macedonia had no answer to him and Gannon-Doak was unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty early in the second half, with the on-field decision being overturned after a VAR check.
Ben Gannon-Doak was a constant threat at right wing-back for Scotland
Gannon-Doak goes down in the box but the penalty award was overturned by VAR
This was a reminder of what Gannon-Doak can be for Scotland. Even being asked to play in the unnatural position of right wing-back, he was electric.
The notion that Pocognoli can pick a Scotland team without the 20-year-old being one of the first names on the team-sheet just feels silly and counter-productive.
Gannon-Doak is the most dangerous player we have. Even when he’s ring-rusty and lacking game time at club level with Bournemouth, he still provides the X-factor for Scotland.
Pocognoli spoke earlier this week about how players who are not featuring regularly at club level might struggle to get into his team come the Euro qualifiers next March.
If Gannon-Doak continues to be a bit-part player with Bournemouth, it will be most interesting to see how the head coach handles it.
Does it really matter that he’s not playing every week? Is it a red herring? Is his talent so special and so unique to this Scotland squad that he simply *has* to play?
What Pocognoli will have to do moving forward in the long-term is tweak this system to maximise the ability of Gannon-Doak.
Against superior opposition, he can’t be expected to play out of position. Scotland were so dominant last night that it didn’t really matter.
But he could be exposed as a weakness defensively against the likes of a Switzerland if he is asked to play that role in games where Scotland will have to defend without the ball.
Ultimately, Gannon-Doak’s best position is as a right winger. If we all agree that he is Scotland’s most dangerous player, which most folk do, then the system should be built to maximise that talent.
Shoehorning him in as a right wing-back limits what he can do. Solving the Gannon-Doak riddle will be the key to Pocognoli really unlocking the attacking potential of this team.
