WALES WALES

Some optimistic signs

By Mike Hughes

Hmm!!! You know you're on a minority subject when the spell-checker suggests no alternative for the word 'Wales'!!! Oh, and apologies in advance for all the poor musical references and poor puns (it's my compensation for the effort I've put into being positive). Now, it has been suggested that perhaps part one of this (hopefully) ongoing contribution should have been re-titled 'Wales Wails!'. So, forgive me if this time I err too much on the positive but it seems to me that out of the gloom little chinks of light keep appearing and I'm damned if I'm going to lose sight of them just yet. I must confess that I remain doubtful that a player with no managerial experience will ultimately be able to make a success of international football management but putting that aside let's just total up some positives:

"Es ARE GOOD" - ERIC AND EDDIE
The appointment of Eric Harrison and 'our Eddie'. The appointment of the former has been warmly applauded and it has always amazed me that the latter hasn't been invited before. Apart from recognising the experience these two bring I am reassured that here's a man who has shied away from the obvious and brought together a genuinely thoughtful and intriguing combination. Round 1 to Mark Hughes.

"BELARUS, BELARUS, WILL YOU DO THE FANDANGO?"
Or as the Cranberries once said "Everybody else is doing it so why can't we?" Winning in Belarus, that is. Winning just lifts everybody doesn't it? A new era never really feels quite right if it starts with lots of talk and a loss. No talk and a win will do just fine. The style of the win was irrelevant (Come on!!! If you've followed Welsh football that must be the very least you appreciate.) but it was a win. Even Giggs played. Now, about those friendly games Ryan. In truth, many old failings were there. In reality, how could we expect them to not be so soon after the appointment? In amazement, I thought I detected a bit of team spirit and a bit of occasional tactical nous like not giving the ball to the opposition for period of longer than thirty seconds. Are you watching Darren Ferguson?

DANISH - THE 'MARK' OF QUALITY
Denmark beating Italy. Yeah, I know this sounds bizarre but if the Danes had lost then the Switzerland game would have put too much pressure on too soon. The game still offers an (albeit remote) chance to the Swiss but the pressure is off the Welsh and it will make it that much harder for the Welsh FA to refuse to extend Mark Hughes' contract even if we lose. Could you not just predict what would happen if we'd still got a chance of qualifying and then lost? I've been there and it's not nice. Of course, whilst watching the score amass on Teletext I did rather curse the Italians because, after all, who doesn't want to grab the chance to qualify if it falls on a plate. I felt sorry for the Welsh players but then many of them hadn't earned the right to be at an international tournament and, for all the bleatings of certain players about how it meant so much to them, they could do worse than look at some videos of their own performances over the qualifying games and then try arguing that bad luck conspired against them once again!!!

JOHNSONS' BABY POW(D)ER
David Johnson. Well goodness me. Young, gifted, black and Welsh (apparently!). Mark sets out to become Jack Charlton! Do we not like this? I suspect we do. Now, I know these two blokes - D.Brammer and B.Hughes - oh, if only!!! On a slightly more serious note I think this has to be a good thing. We are currently in an era where a limited number of top quality players will be playing every week. Squad rotation and foreign imports have seen to that along with the short-sightedness of many clubs and managers. What are the chances of a Welsh born and bred player making it at Premiership level? Hartson and Saunders? Giggs and…well. And who? If we want to succeed to even a small degree then we have to accept that many quality players exist in the lower divisions and equally persuade those players that queuing up behind Owen, Fowler, Shearer et al could well be fruitless. So, hats off once again for not just recognising this but doing something about it. Vinny Jones could have been the start of this particular bandwagon but turned out to be simply a reflection of the Booby Ghoul inability to look beyond that which he already knew. Let's hope that Johnson heralds a new dawn in more ways than one.

EMENTHAL MY DEAR WATSON!
I cannot be the only one who cannot wait for the return of international football to the Racecourse and maybe, just maybe, the fresh, dignified and thoughtful approach of our new manager might throw me a few more positives to write about next time around. Here's hoping!!!

[This article was written before the Swiss game. Mike will review the post-Switzerland situation in RP13]