When Wolves striker Chris Iwelumo put his effort post the post in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Norway, the other Kris in the saga, Rangers striker Kris Boyd, must have looked over at his manager along the bench and wondered when the nod to start his warm-up would come.
Having already seen Scotland’s top striker James McFadden coming off, his lone-ranger role at the heart of one of the tallest central defences to be found in a national side in Europe failing to deliver the goods, Boyd must have been thinking that this was the time that the Rangers striker could do what he does best: score goals.
As he sat waiting on the bench, with the clock winding down, he must have been thinking about the impact he could make on the game, to come on and add to the seven goals he’s scored for Scotland since he won his first Scotland cap.
Instead, Burley went with Steven Fletcher, an established U21 international but with little full team experience, and Chris Ilewumo, the Wolves striker who has scored six goals in his four performances for the Championship side. Fletcher we all know about – a dangerous, much fancied striker currently building up a lethal partnership in an attacking 4-3-3 Hibs team with the reinvigorated Derek Riordan and Colin Nish.
Burley’s second substitution, Chris Ilewumo, was a bit more of a risk. Only recently returned from a three-match ban for headbutting an opponent, the 30 year-old was a bit of an unknown quantity. An initial good start to his career at Stoke, where he scored 15 goals in 44 appearances was followed by a fallow period which included several free transfers to lower league clubs, before ending up at Charlton (10 goals in 37 appearances), Colchester (35 in 87) and finally Wolves (6 in 4).
In any other game, the friendly against Argentina that’s coming up in November for example, you could have understood why Burley would put on two relatively experienced club players with little international experience; a nice run-around, a chance to get used to the squad, the manager, the system and so on. Both Fletcher and Iwelumo are strikers capable of finding the net and both players are on a good run of form.
But then again, so is Kris Boyd.
Despite being the clubs top scorer in the league since joining from Kilmarnock, Boyd has not always been a regular in attack for the Ibrox side. Quite why this is we’re not sure – Boyd is, after all, a proven goal scorer. At Kilmarnock, his 64 goals in 106 appearances over a six year period saved Jim Jefferies on many an occasion. In the eight games of this season, Boyd has played in 6 (and was substituted in three of those, twice for Darcheville and once for the long departed Daniel Cousin) and didn’t come off the bench in the other two. Still, despite this, he’s the clubs top scorer again this season after Kenny Miller.
But what a difference three feet can make. Had Ilewumo scored, Kris Boyd would still be in the squad, Burley would be seen as a tactical genius and Scotland would now be sitting atop Group Nine, pole position going into the game against the Dutch in March.
That miss was probably the straw that broke the camels back for Boyd. Unable to hold down a regular place for Scotland, unable to hold down a regular place at Ibrox, something simply had to give. His frustration at seeing two more players jump the queue ahead of him turned to petulance, and as the red mist descended, he announced his retirement from the squad – or at least,his retirement while George Burley is national manager.
Many mistakes where made and the debates rage on. Would putting Kris on instead of Chris have made any difference? The answer is we’ll never know and as such is a moot point. Boyd may well have missed that cross, or he might have made better contact with the ball but directed it tamely at the keeper, or over the bar. Every player will have at least one complete howler during a season, as a good article on the BBC website showed. Should Burley have played with a lone striker, a 4-5-1 at home in a must-win game against a tall physical Norwegian central defence? No, not really. Was Kris Boyd right to turn his back on his country? No, not really.
But should Kris Boyd ever return in a Scotland jersey, with or without George Burley handing out the half-time oranges? Well, in all honesty, yes.
We appreciate that this is not a widely held opinion amongst the newspapers, bloggers and fans, but there’s no escaping the fact that he is one of the best strikers in Scotland right now, and given the pressure that the national side is under to even have a chance of qualifying for South Africa, we need the likes of Boyd to help us get to the promised land.
With only Gary O’Connor, Kenny Miller and James McFadden regularly scoring goals for Scotland in the last few games (a list which incidentally also includes Lee McCulloch, another petulant retiree), Kris Boyd is not only a welcome addition to this line-up, but also an essential one.
So what now?
Well, Boyd should apologise to Burley (and the nation) for being an awkward, petulant child. A dose of humility might do him good. No individual, be it Burley or Boyd is more important than the team, and no individual has the right to issue ultimatums to his manager. Rather, a successful team is built on a sum of the parts, with each player contributing to their abilities, whether it’s on the training pitch or in the heat of an international qualifier.
We don’t doubt for a minute that Boyd wants to play for Scotland, but the issues he has are between himself and George Burley and not between himself and the team, or the nation. This is not in insurmountable problem, but one which requires putting aside petty squables and a dose of humility – from both parties – for the sake of the national good.
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I’ll only say this once more.
Kris Boyd should not be allowed to wear the dark blue again. He made his bed, he has to lie in it.
Basically what Garry said.
He has made his choice now. It should be an honour to be selected to represent your country. Whether the manager chooses another player ahead of you or not should not matter.
The next manager in should turn him away if he makes himself available.
There’s many that agree with you, but we’re not exactly over-run with experienced, on form strikers. This is Scotland after all, not Brazil or Spain.
Iwelumo should bounce back from that miss, but I’d want more attacking options than just McFadden and Miller. 4-5-1 does not work for Scotland, they need 2 up front to get goals and right now I cant see anyone else getting those goals for us. Boyd is a trumpet for running off, but Burley is a fool for playing a defensive formation at home, having Craig Gordon punting it up the park, bypassing the midfield completely, to a midget that has no chance of beating 6ft+ defenders. A bit of humility lads, and the world will be a better place.
4-5-1 was never going work against one of the tallest back lines in Europe. Especially with a glorified hobbit on the park in the “1″ spot.
If Iwulemo gets a few more runs out there (Argentina looks good, though they arent sending their first 11, so we may win) he should be able to gel and those big-game jitters will leave and he’ll bag a hatful before you know it.
RE Iwelumo, I think Garry is right. The guy knows where the goal is and has never been one to shy away from a bit of hard work (from what I have seen).
A bit of time with the squad and I’m sure he could turn out to be a good goal scorer for us.