---
title: "The Familiarity Doctrine"
status: draft
section: disaster-index
date: 2026-05-19
tags: [squad-selection, structural, administrative]
source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/19/scotland-world-cup-squad-ross-stewart-steve-clarke-craig-gordon
---

Disaster Index: 4.9
Entry: The Familiarity Doctrine
Cause: Scotland's World Cup squad selected on a declared principle of familiarity, with Steve Clarke naming Craig Gordon, 43, while omitting Miller and McBurnie.
Category: Structural
Evidence: Ross Stewart returns after a four-year international absence on the basis of recent club form. Craig Gordon, 43, makes the cut. Two strikers with recent Scotland experience do not. The selection methodology is consistent with previous tournaments. So is the squad shape it produces.
Historical precedent: Clarke's selection philosophy has been applied at each major tournament since 2021. The outcomes are in the archive.
Affected parties: Stewart, whose recall requires him to carry four years of accumulated expectation into a World Cup squad. Gordon, whose selection at 43 is either the correct decision or the kind of decision that becomes an entry in a different register. The striker position, which is doing a great deal of work on limited personnel.
Immediate outlook: The squad is named. The familiarity is intact. Whether familiarity is load-bearing remains to be established in June.
Filed: 2026-05-19 / Pre-tournament, squad announcement