WALES WALES

Backstabbers

By Mike Hughes

THE NATIONAL SET-UP

I wasn't going to dwell on this but two items caught my eye this month which relate to last issue's rant about getting behind Mark Hughes without actually stabbing him in the back. First of all there was an item by the esteemed Gareth M.Davies in the Port Vale programme berating the inadequacies of Mark Hughes with regard to substitutions; Wales being difficult to defeat but don't know how to win; the fact he is still playing etc. The second, in stark contrast, was an interview in the Observer with Craig Bellamy wherein he met all challenges as to why he would want to play for Wales with the rather unbeatable argument that he is actually Welsh and that things were actually going very well. How disappointing to read the former and refreshing to read the latter. The former assumes that the Welsh FA actually want a full-time boss and assumes that substitutions are an art form rather than a calculated risk that, like all risks, often don't come off. The latter recognises the lack of anything beneath the surface of Welsh football as being the fundamental problem with the Welsh national team. Time to blow my own trumpet - exactly what I was arguing last month. Once again. Look at the causes not the symptoms and leave Mark Hughes alone. 

GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME

If anybody out there still (or ever did) read this column on a regular basis, then you'll already know that I'm not really concerned about the result against Belarus; however, I shall be watching the match with great interest from the point of view of looking very carefully at the state of the pitch. Enough words have been wasted elsewhere on this topic but my view has always been that when you look at the cup finals held there you have to admit that the pitch has contributed to the entertainment albeit in an unintended manner. My real concern is that in some way the pitch has actually lowered the profile of Welsh football! Think of some of the club managers who are asked to release players for internationals at vital parts of the season - Ferguson, Robson, O'Neill, Souness. All men who have, at best, a tense relationship with international managers and yet, when asked to release players for Wales, not a bleat! Even Ferguson doesn't seem to care less any more about trying to stop Giggs travelling anywhere outside Manchester. My guess is that it's the fact that the pitch at the M Stad is now recognised as being so bad that not even Hartson, Giggs or Bellamy can find a way of getting injured on it!

THE MIGHTY FLYNN

Rumours abound of Shoulder being pushed sideways (dislocated?) by Flynn (a difficult image to conjure up admittedly) taking charge of the Under- 21 team. At the present time I would guess that the rumours are untrue and that Hughes will have little truck with them if only because the issue with the Under-21s, as stated previously, is to get them playing regularly at a level that will slowly improve them as players and a team. Results aren't likely to be important for another five years (if ever) so it's hard to see why Flynn would be brought in. During his earlier tenure in the role, results weren't noticeably different to anyone else (Shoulder included) although it was interesting to actually see the style of football being played that he aspired to at Wrexham. 

IT'S OVER

With the end of the current campaign finally arriving, next time out I intend to look at some of the things you may have missed along the way with one eye on the future.