Even Steve Clarke cannot help himself any more. Scotland’s manager spent months warning a football nation to temper excitement around Ben Doak. Friday evening’s starring role for the 19-year-old as Scotland defeated Croatia, where in one outrageous first-half moment he bamboozled the £77m Josko Gvardiol, led Clarke to drop his guard. “Ben is a young player that we need to protect and look after,” he said. “But I realise he is good for now and hopefully for a long time in the future.” In other words: I will continue to pick him.
Clarke had been correct to douse the noise around Doak, a player who had turned heads long before he departed Celtic for Liverpool in 2022. Scottish inability to produce anything like an acceptable number of elite, game-ready young footballers means the public latch on to any potential star. Far more fall by the wayside than justify the hype. For every Billy Gilmour, there are umpteen Oliver Burkes. Holding out for heroes has meant outlandish exaggeration.
