Five things we learned from Scotland's 1-1 draw at home to Macedonia

Gary Caldwell and Craig Levein trudge off the Hampden pitch after a night of disappointment.© SNS Group

The booing around Hampden, let alone the lowest crowd for a home competitive match in 11 years, told its own story on Tuesday night.

We learned some harsh things about the current group of players and the men charged with steering them towards qualifying for a World Cup.

Here are five points to chew over after a bitterly disappointing 90 minutes against Macedonia.

1. No matter what formation was played, the players did not seem to know what their roles were

After all the debate over 4-1-4-1, 4-2-3-1 and 4-5-1 (not to mention the regular clamour for a 4-4-2) the attacking players deployed by Craig Levein simply did not seem to know how to interact with each other.

Link-up between Jamie Mackie and Paul Dixon down the left was non-existent, while the Scots did not release James Forrest down the right until past the half hour mark of the game.

Shaun Maloney was meant to be deployed behind Kenny Miller but his drifting more often than not led him down a blind alley. When James Morrison picked up the ball on the right corner of the box, he weaved 40 yards out on the left before finding a pass. No-one offered a short ball to relieve the pressure on him.

Gary Caldwell again looked competent in the deep midfield role, yet somehow ended up played an advanced free role as Scotland chased the victory in the second half. His touch and awareness in tight, forward positions is negligible, so how was that allowed to happen?

Scotland’s goal came from the willingness of Mackie to abandon his duties out wide and stand on the shoulder of defence. If the QPR man had not taken matters into his own hands, Scotland could have been staring at defeat.

2. There were no natural leaders wearing blue on the park

Miller was handed the armband for the game, but with his own struggles for form and fitting in to the Levein system, it seemed a strange move predicated almost entirely on the fact he has the most caps.

Caldwell had assumed captaincy on Saturday but similarly struggled to lift the players through affirmative action. Darren Fletcher would undoubtedly make a difference, but this squad lacks leadership throughout.

Nobody appeared willing to step up and lead by example, be that a James McFadden to run and try something different to lift the crowd, or a defender like Colin Hendry who could inspire from the back with tough play.

Barry Ferguson, for all his critics in the Scotland team, could see when a side was starting to withdraw into themselves, and constantly make himself available to take the ball and build confidence again.

Too many senior players in the Scotland side against Macedonia were hiding and afraid to take the ball.

3. Without Allan McGregor, Craig Levein would be facing the sack

The Besiktas goalkeeper was in outstanding form, despite only partially recovering from a serious groin injury. His saves from Agim Ibraini and Mirko Ivanovski were all that stood between Scotland and humiliation.

McGregor’s recovery and consistent excellence between the sticks speak volumes for his commitment to the national team.

It would not be unjust to place a loss to Macedonia so early in the qualifying campaign alongside disasters like the 3-0 defeat to Wales which cost George Burley the job in 2009, or the 1-1 draw with Moldova in 2004 that eventually put paid to Berti Vogts.

4. The manager fails to inspire confidence in the team or the fans despite showing a sunny outlook

The message from Levein is consistent: “I was fairly content,” he said of the Serbia performance. “Nothing has changed and, in fact, I’m more confident now than I was before the match,” he added.

Last night was a similar message: “It isn’t as bad as people might make out. I am very positive about where we are going.”

Levein is constantly looking to the future but fans want to see progress in the present. His tactics are perceived as negative so he has to address that rather than promising jam tomorrow.

The ill-feeling generated by these statements seeped into the stands at Hampden on Tuesday night, where Levein was booed whenever he appeared on the big screens. The atmosphere was edgy, and become negative when static defending allowed Macedonia to score.

A player can have all the talent in the world but if he is on edge he is not going to be at his sharpest, particularly around the box. The Scotland fans, fuelled by a need to display their feelings to the manager, ended up exacerbating the players’ nervousness. Two games on the road could help the squad re-group and reunite with the Tartan Army on better terms come February.

5. It is not just Scotland who are struggling to assert themselves on Group A

No team in the qualifying group has picked up maximum points, with most of the games very tight. The new European darlings, Belgium, were held to a home draw against Croatia, who only just managed to overcome Macedonia in the first game.

Scotland’s home draw with Serbia drew disappointment from fans, but the Serbs then put six past Wales, who are the only team who can legitimately say they look out of the race already.

Craig Levein is absolutely correct that being two points behind the chase is no disaster. The results elsewhere have been favourable and the group looks like producing a lot of draws.

Good results for Scotland in October could turn the situation on its head, given that no team has marked itself out as a front runner. The Group A rivals have bought Levein time, and the national team a glimmer of hope.

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