Divided We Fall

San Marino 1 Wales 2

I can’t remember winning ever being this embarrassing.

I enjoyed most of what I saw during the first half and I didn’t want to hear the referees whistle signalling half time. Okay our goals were sloppy but we looked extremely comfortable and there seemed a hunger for more. I don’t know what was said during the interval but we looked a different team second half. It’s fair to say we didn’t at any point settle and for whatever reason we slipped into the exact mentality we had shown in Cyprus. To be blunt, San Marino dominated us for most of the second half. They worked hard, pressed us at every opportunity and were deservedly rewarded for their efforts when Andy Selva scored the sort of free kick we’d expect from Gareth Bale. The embarrassment peaked after San Marino had a man sent off but they still looked the more like scoring. I’m sorry to admit that I was willing the final whistle, showing the contrast between each half of the match. When it came I noticed only Earnshaw went over to clap the Welsh supporters. The reason for this was about to become clear. Just as we thought it couldn’t get any worse the post match interviews took place and Bellamy tells the world of the ‘vicious’ criticism from the travelling Welsh fans. Minutes later John Toshack doesn’t fair much better, “I told you not to ask me about that” he warns the intrepid BBC journalist when he asks whether his recent ‘pampered players’ rant had an effect on the squad. With this the interview breaks down and Toshack exits stage left. Read into this what you like but it’s clear that something is not right.

So in a matter of days we’ve gone from third place hopefuls to sixth place candidates. Looking at the group as things stand you realise the opportunity we’ve thrown away. It seems every time we got a foothold in this group we’ve been knocked back down to earth with a bump. The results against Cyprus and San Marino made us fully aware of the continuing shortcomings of both manager and team. Although I wish the problems ended there. The fans hate Toshack, Toshack hates the players and the players hates the fans, forming a Welsh football hate triangle. Alright, I’m exaggerating a bit here but it kind of sums up the sudden and frankly worrying break down in relations coming so soon after our best away result in years against Slovakia. Bellamy’s poorly timed televised criticism of the fans has needlessly opened a conflict on another front. I appreciate his frustration, especially if there was booing during the first half, but why choose to blame the fans for the poor performance? The best possible reaction from Bellamy would have been to thank those fans for parting with their hard earned cash and apologising on behalf on the team for not turning in a better display. The travelling away fans are the one thing Wales can count on and their opinions need to be respected. I know some of these supporters were going abroad with Wales years before half our squad were born. Apparently there were people who went out to Cyprus, came back to Wales to work a shift or two then travelled out to San Marino spending towards a thousand pounds in total. I’m not going to start on a big ‘pampered players’ rant but I doubt any of our current squad could comprehend the financial sacrifices these fans make. Despite all this I doubt our fans will turn on Bellamy, his spirit and commitment to Wales is second to none. You may hear the odd jeer when his name is announced at the Millennium Stadium next month but I think it’ll be forgotten overall. Mark Hughes observed this week that the fans wouldn’t have reacted this way had Toshack held back with the ‘pampered players’ comments. I think he had a fair point, the Welsh fans rarely ever boo the team. It takes a lot to make us react in such a way, the 5-1 loss to Slovakia for example. We’ve endured a lot disappointment over the years and taken a lot without turning nasty. And let’s put it into perspective, a light hearted “We’re shit and we know we are” is not in the same league as the vitriolic abuse displayed by the English travelling fans in Andorra last year. Ask Steve McClaren and he’ll tell you what “vicious” is. Also you need bare in mind such chants were coming in between the supporters singing ‘Y Brawd Houdini’ and at one point a stirring rendition of our national anthem.

Despite all this we're still on for Frankfurt next month. Been looking up the city of the internet. I read somewhere that it's "The Manhattan of Europe". Very promising indeed!

Wales v Czech Republic - Millennium Stadium - 02.06.07

Giggs is gone. To be fair I think most Welsh fans had been expecting this decision for a while. I know I had, it's crossed my mind before every game I've been to in the past two years. He could have gone after the play off loss against Russia or joined the exodus of players after Mark Hughes last game against Poland. He didn’t, he stayed around became captain and put in some of his best displays for Wales. Notably the double header against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan where he pretty much single handedly dragged us to our first competitive wins under John Toshack. He clearly embraced his role as captain of his country, I’m sure it meant more when Gary Neville got the nod ahead of him for his club when Roy Keane left in 2005. It’s hard for me to imagine Wales without Giggs, I was eleven when he made his debut against West Germany in 1991. His commitment has been questioned over the years and his displays criticised at times. Let’s be honest, he really should have clocked up more than 64 caps in that amount of time but I think it’s crazy to suggest he somehow saved his best performances for Manchester United. I’m not sure what some people expected from the guy given the players around him and the level of opposition.

All opinions aside Saturday was a great occasion for all Welsh fans. It would have been nice to have had more than 30,000 in the Millennium Stadium for his send off. Had there been more than three days notice of his retirement I’m sure more could have made it here. I’ve read on a couple of message boards that the atmosphere in the stadium was once again dire. I have to disagree with that, ok it wasn’t amazing but it was miles better than the San Marino game. The Czech supporters were great, the “Thank you Ryan too” banner they unfurled at the start of the match was much appreciated by us Wales fans. Call me soppy but I like this mutual respect between fans. There’s a nice trend of Welsh crowd not booing the National Anthem of the opposition. You can understand some of the lads getting carried away against England and Northern Ireland but what’s the logic of jeering an anthem just to be offensive. I’ve always felt that if you boo the anthem the team will often react and play with more fire in their bellies. It’s the first step on a rocky road and before long we’ll be throwing patio chairs at foreign police officers. Anyway kudos to us for not doing it.

The game itself was great, it proved that there is such a thing as an exciting goalless draw. I’d say it was the best I’ve seen us play in ages. Beaumaris born goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was excellent on his first start for Wales. (Re: My Blog 06.03.07 for more info) Naturally his shot stopping on the day caught the eye but what I liked was the confidence he had when collecting some of the Czech crosses. The defence looked strong. Jan Koller wasn’t given a sniff. Gabbidon thankfully had blown away the cob webs the week before against New Zealand and along with James Collins and Nyatanga they looked untroubled for most of the match. Ledley was brilliant down the left, it was a benchmark performance for him and he couldn’t have timed it better with Giggs going. Simon Davies looks like he’s growing in confidence since moving to Fulham, he had a great opportunity to score in the first half but didn’t hit it immediately as was required. His head dropped for a bit but he did alright in the second half. Apart from rattling the cross bar Koumas was quiet by his standards but did everything efficiently. It looked like he was clipped by one of the Czechs early on and struggled after that. Bellamy ran and ran like he always does for us, with Giggs gone he’s now our ‘main man’ and I’m sure he’s up to it. Ricketts and Robinson did their best and arguably put in their best performances for Wales but I can’t help but feel they were the weak links. If you swapped them for Bale and ideally David Jones of Derby we would look alright.

And Giggs? Well Giggs was Giggs. Giggs took the ‘Man of the Match’ award. Giggs gave a performance that pointed out how much we’d miss him. Giggs split the Czech defence and for a brief moment looked like he was going to score his greatest goal for Wales. Oh I can’t tell you how much we willed him to put that past Petr Cech, the noise would have been immense! I’ve got to admit I found it quite emotional when he passed the armband onto Craig Bellamy. I thought it was a great touch and a very symbolic gesture. I hadn’t realised until seeing the interviews on telly that he’d cried. I think that was final proof of how much playing for Wales meant to him. On a lighter note I found it quite funny when he was being subbed because he took his time walking off the field as he was enjoying his standing ovation. Any other situation he’d have been booked for time wasting. The Czech Republic who needed all three points clearly wanted him to hurry the hell up and get off the pitch.

He described the game as a ‘benchmark performance’ for Wales. It could have been a case of the team raising their game for the occasion, them wanting to give Ryan Giggs a decent send off. Although I’d like to think we’ve turned a corner, I’d like to think it was an indication that something clicked together. Perhaps now we know we’re not going through we may find ourselves playing without pressure and pick up a few unexpected points. I as a realist understand we’re not going through to Euro 2008 but I’d just like to say Wales have still got 18 points to play for and......oh come on let me dream!!!