Amid the platitudes (and there’ll be plenty to follow further below) perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to 19-year-old Alex Scott is that such was his influence on a game of football, it caused the opposition manager to change his team’s shape after just 34 minutes.
Against Sheffield United on Tuesday night, Scott delivered plentiful moments of magic to add to his burgeoning scrapbook, albeit with the annoyance that for all his excellence, Bristol City had nothing to show for it once referee Stephen Martin had called time on the contest.
Speaking in the press conference room at Ashton Gate, Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom conceded he had gotten his system wrong, thinking he could get away with starting just two central midfielders in John Fleck and Oliver Norwood, but neither of those Championship mainstays could lay a glove on Scott in that first half at Ashton Gate.
As a result, he needed to bring in reinforcements to that area of the pitch; off went Reda Khadra and on came James McAtee, another supremely-skilled teenage midfielder, on loan from Manchester City. And it’s not a particularly speculative effort to consider those two could be gracing the top flight, and possibly greater stages, in the not too distant future.
City’s teenager glided into space, turned at will and broke through tackles effortlessly; always willing to receive a pass and constantly looking to progress the ball forward. As the cliche goes, “good players find space, better players make space.”
With his head on an eternal swivel, Scott’s scanning is at a level we all know is destined for the Premier League; always aware of what’s in front behind him and what the next best move should be. As Brian Tinnion tweeted during the half-time break, “enjoy Alex Scott”. Joy is very much the key part of that sentiment.
The teenager had two standout moments, either side of half-time. First, having brought the ball down with his chest, manoeuvring from a central position down the right channel of the Blades penalty area, past a series of what appeared half-hearted challenges but were also a result of his quick feet before slamming the ball into the side-netting.
Could and should he have pulled it back to Andi Weimann, who after the ball rippled the wrong side of the net, stuck both hands out in bewilderment and to instruct his teammate at the good position he had occupied? Possibly, but at the same time, after such a penetrative run into a dangerous area, and with the shot on, he had every right to take it.
The same was true of his effort after the break as this time he cut in from right into a central position, riding challenges as he went before letting fly with his left foot and striking the stanchion with Wes Foderingham completely beaten.
Maybe celebrating near-misses is a futile exercise but often when the game fell into static lulls, and as Nigel Pearson admitted essentially neither side wanted the ball, Scott was often there to drag it out of its torpor. The unidentified scout sat behind Bristol Live in the Lansdown Stand had quickly filled up his notepad, if it was Scott he was there to see.
He commanded attention for much of the game and the significance of him showcasing his talents on Sky Sports was not lost on City fans. However, that is both of note but also wholly pointless in the sense of where he’s at in terms of interest levels.
Any Premier League club with a functioning recruitment department will have already compiled a pretty substantial file on Scott and a Tuesday night appearance on Sky Sports Main Event shouldn’t be the catalyst to think, "you know what, this boy seems pretty good, maybe we should take a look at him."
However, at the same time, the fact Scott can perform with that little extra layer of pressure shouldn’t be underestimated. Yes, they’re professional footballers but having the cameras on you can do funny things in terms of decision-making. For Scott, he may as well have been skimming his way around Guernsey FC’s Footes Lane Stadium such was the ease at which he played the occasion.
Before we get too carried away, however, it should be emphasised that Scott’s influence did wane. Symbolically so, after he had been kicked by McAtee on 62 minutes. He stayed down for a reasonable amount of time before rising to his feet and shaking off the knock.
But from that moment he wasn’t as available in possession as he had been, nor as explosive off the mark when the ball was at his feet. And the ease at which he had previously shielded free-kicks to draw fouls and win free-kicks started to disappear, to the point he surrendered possession on at least occasions in dangerous areas. By contrast, McAtee then grew in stature and impact.
There was also a telling tactical switch that impacted his penetration through midfield, as Andi Weimann moved out to right wing-back to accommodate Antoine Semenyo’s arrival. The Ghanaian is not a natural No10 like his Austrian teammate, at least not yet, and City seemed to go that bit more direct with him on the field, rather than look to Scott to drive forward from deep or pick passes through the lines; 53 of his touches and 35 of his passes were in that first hour’s play, 17 and 10 followed in the remaining 30 minutes plus injury time.
Twelve months ago, Scott was emerging for eight minutes off the bench during a wretched performance at Birmingham City having been an unused substitute in the previous game at home to Barnsley. This term, only three outfielders have played more minutes than his 1,465 minutes - Zak Vyner (1,678), Jay Dasilva (1,647) and Weimann (1,469).
Only Vyner and Dasilva, with 19 each, eclipse Scott’s 18 starts and that was due to a one-game suspension. When he’s fit, he starts, and whereas he was on a leash to an extent last term, moved around the field from attacking midfield to right wing-back, it’s now abundantly clear where best he operates.
The idea of Scott as a 10 is easy to understand, given the way he can open up defences and the way he carries the ball with a trademark playmaker’s air. But nearly all his best performances for the Robins have been as that advanced No8, as first or second receiver from the defence and finding positions where he can receive the ball as much as possible, before breaking through opposition midfields either with a dribble or a pass.
When stationed higher up, behind the strikers, it can stifle him for space and, granted, he has to work that little bit harder to get himself into shooting positions but it’s a necessary trade-off to ensure City’s best ball player, to put it simply, gets on the ball.
No player has been fouled more times than Scott this season (42) and that ability to win set-plays in vulnerable positions for the opposition and/or alleviate pressure is a hugely underrated aspect of what he brings to the pitch.
Pearson has been tactical with Scott beyond how he uses him on the field as well. Last season any questions around the teenager’s talent were often meant with typically short and succinct responses, not allowing any hype or exaggeration to slip into his language and then be amplified into something more grandiose than what was intended. And the same has been true in this campaign, albeit with an understanding that the secret is very much out of the box and, given his temperament, Scott can clearly handle the attention.
Sheffield United brought a sizeable press pack down with them from Yorkshire, each one muttering enthusiastically about how good Scott had been. And when Pearson had to field a question on the midfielder’s performance in his press conference, he stayed true to form.
“Yeah, (there are) still areas he can improve at,” Pearson said. “He can’t get a free-kick every time he falls over and his delivery from set plays needs to be better but another really good performance from him.”
Not that we’d say it in this manner necessarily but so specific are those areas of improvement that it prompts the reply, is that it? Inadvertently, perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay 19-year-old Alex Scott.
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