WALES WALES

Cardiff and Ghoul
By Mike Hughes

I've spent the past months eulogising about the many good things that have started to happen to Welsh international football since the departure of the Ghoul and the arrival of Mark Hughes as manager. It was with a certain amusement then that I spent a recent long weekend in Cardiff and found myself in a brief debate with some friends who are also Cardiff City fans about the merits of their recent takeover (Bear with me here!)

YOU'VE GOT MY NUMBER (WHY DON'T YOU USE IT?)

I say 'amusement' because I've heard a number of Wrexham fans bemoan the fact that the said takeover should have been of our club - and that Pryce was remiss in not picking up the phone as soon as he sniffed a little bit of inward investment. I won't debate the logic of the argument because that subject is not the subject of this column; however, those Wrexham fans who really think that a rich 'sugar daddy' is the answer to all our prayers should really think again. Do they, for instance, really believe that if we'd had Mr H as a benefactor that we wouldn't also have got the Ghoul? My friends in Cardiff view the former as a good thing but the latter is viewed with a mixture of contempt and resignation to the fact that his contribution is likely to lead to another promotion followed by another struggle and, ultimately, more disruption and a change of manager.

TEENAGE KICKS

I view all this with interest because the recent announcement of the Wales senior squad to play Belarus was, in my opinion, overshadowed by the announcement of the Under-21 squad. All of you Sam (no, not that one) and Bobby fans out there might want to reflect on the fact that the only club in Wales with anything resembling a youth policy was roundly ignored by the Ghoul when he was mismanaging the national team.

JIMMY JIMMY

Not so under Mark and Jimmy. What a pleasure it is to view four familiar names on Teletext (no, not the Spice Girls!) How easy it is to believe that Thomas, Williams, Walsh and Roberts would have all received recognition under the Ghoul regime. Actually, it's not that easy at all. All you advocates of money as the solution to everything may well want to reflect that money issues may well have been an issue in Welsh international football for many years but, ultimately, the solution lies in putting structures in place rather than personalities. I have previously predicted that the Wales senior team may not qualify from their current group but will begin to rectify some of the loss of pride we have suffered in the past few years. Obviously, I shall write about the actual outcome of the first qualifier next time round but, and it is only a 'but', the more significant selections, results and performances in the longer term may be that of the Under-21 team. If the Welsh senior squad is to improve both its level of performance and its results whilst maintaining crowd interest, then it's vital that the structure underneath begins to exert pressure on those senior players who have previously relied upon a place by virtue of being a Premier League player. I think the time may be coming.

WEDNESDAY WEEK

I'll be watching the performance of the senior team with a sense of pride and renewed optimism tempered with 25 years of disappointment. I'll be watching the Under-21 team to get a sense of the future.