JURGEN Klopp’s reasoning for leaving Andy Robertson out of the Liverpool side which faced Everton at Goodison Park at the start of this month made perfect sense.
“Robbo plays all the time,” said the German after the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. “When we can make an unforced change we should do it.”
The Scotland left back has been involved in a total of 231 high intensity games at home and abroad for both club and country in the past four seasons – an average of 58 matches each term – so resting him after a run of six consecutive starts was sensible management.
Klopp may well have benched Robertson – who came on in the second-half of the 0-0 draw with Everton and then suffered a knee injury in the 4-1 defeat to Napoli over in Italy the following week – because he was eager for him to be fresh for the greater challenges which lay ahead.
The Anfield club come up against on-form Brighton, leaders Arsenal and defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League as well as Rangers in the Champions League after the international break.
Yet, it will be interesting to see if the defender can reclaim his place in the Liverpool starting line-up from Greek internationalist Kostas Tsimikas when he regains full fitness.
The 28-year-old has not performed to his usual high standard in the opening weeks of the 2022/23 campaign and his understudy has impressed onlookers greatly in the run-outs which he has been handed.
Tsimikas was certainly one of Liverpool’s stand-out performers in the Group A triumph over Ajax last week. Many Reds fans would like to see him retained.
Robertson is a world-class footballer who has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup since being signed from Hull City for £10m five years ago. In form, he is an automatic selection. But he would appear to have something of a fight on his hands to get his berth back.
Could the same be true when he returns to the Scotland fray?
If he is not featuring on a weekly basis at club level then manager Steve Clarke will have a decision to make. Could he really drop his captain? It would be a huge and contentious call to omit such an experienced and accomplished professional.
But he certainly had no qualms about listing Billy Gilmour, who had only a few minutes of competitive football under his belt, among his replacements this week. And the young midfielder has been outstanding for his country since making his competitive debut against England at Wembley last summer.
Even if his skipper is featuring for Liverpool – and do not bet against him getting his mojo back quickly given his many qualities and strength of character - then Clarke will have another dilemma.
Can he use the 4-2-3-1 formation which he trialled with such impressive results in the emphatic Nations League victory over Ukraine at Hampden on Wednesday night and get Robertson and Kieran Tierney in the side?
He settled on a 3-4-2-1 set-up – which deploys Tierney at left centre half and Robertson outside him at left wing back - fairly early on in his tenure and it has worked well for him. He got Scotland to the Euro 2020 finals and the Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final.
The dire display in that match against Ukraine back in June and the woeful showing which followed it against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin later that month prompted a rethink. The change was a spectacular success.
The players appeared comfortable in the new system, the defence was solid and going forward the wider areas of the park were exploited to far greater effect. More scoring opportunities were created. The Tartan Army was delighted.
Does Clarke revert to his three man rearguard just to accommodate both Robertson and Tierney given how well the 4-2-3-1 functioned? It would be something of a retrograde step. So what is the solution?
He is, with Liam Cooper, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna, Scott McTominay and Ryan Porteous all at his disposal, not exactly short of decent centre backs to choose from. Hendry and McKenna were both excellent in midweek.
But could Tierney play in a back four with Robertson at left back? It would be well worth considering.
Switching the former to right back, as his predecessor Gordon Strachan did, is a non-starter with Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey, two exceptional full-backs who are going to give their coach just as big a headache as their celebrated compatriots in the years to come, now on the scene.
Stephen O’Donnell, the Motherwell man who has been such a fine servant for his country and who played at Euro 2020, will be doing very well to add to his haul of 26 caps.
Who would Steve Clarke favour if he had to choose between Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson? He may well be forced to opt for one or the other before Euro 2024 qualifying gets underway if Scotland are to put their Qatar 2022 disappointment behind them and reach that tournament.
