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 San Marino - Millennium Stadium - 28.03.07

The night didn’t have the best of starts. At the eleventh hour my mate pulled out of attending the game so I went to the match on my own. I arrived at the Millennium Stadium about an hour before kick off to soak up the atmosphere. An error of judgement really, seeing that the only people in the ground were me, the stewards and the San Marino goalkeepers warming up. No not a great attendance again tonight by Euro 2004 standards. A combination of the quality of opposition and it being a Wednesday night fixture probably explains why it wasn’t any higher. I read a message on the Wrexham F.C. fansite ‘Red Passion’ that questioned where all the fans have gone since those hazy days back in 2002-2003. As someone who was unable to get hold of a ticket for the Russia play off I could understand his frustration as last night I sat with a whole row to myself. I do understand it’s hard to get motivated to spend the sort of money needed to buy a ticket and travel from Caernarfon or Milford Haven when there’s so little to shout about. Naturally the lack of people leads to a lack of noise. The atmosphere was perhaps the flattest I’ve seen at the stadium. Hopefully the draw of seeing Koller, Cech and Rosicky will attract the masses for the next home match.

It was a strange game really. San Marino were never going to beat us so even if we’d have knocked ten past them it wouldn’t have given any indication of our position in the group. I hate to be disrespectful to another national side but bloody hell San Marino were awful. Because of the geographic location of the country, San Marino display all the mannerisms and characteristics of the Italians but none of the skill. They’re like Italy’s evil step brother. I’ve never seen a team give away so many needless free kicks. That’s not just fouls, they managed to concede one for a back pass and three for handball. Three for handball?! You wouldn’t see that on a primary school playground in this country. But let’s be fair, it’s a country with a population that couldn’t fill the Millennium Stadium…a bit like Wales then really. As a result of this lack of discipline the referee began to stand out…well he was about twenty two fucking stone! I was up in the heavens of level six of the Millennium Stadium and even at that height I was thinking “I bet he has more than an hour for his lunch break”. It was cruelly funny that the ball kept on hitting him throughout the game because the poor guy was struggling getting out the way in time!

It reflects badly on Wales that we didn’t score more than three. We really lacked a cutting edge tonight. If we’d have finished the way Slovakia did against us we’d have vastly improved our goal difference. We need to be more clinical when it comes to finishing. Against the big two of the group we may only have a couple of chances on goal. You can look back at two pivotal moments of the campaign where if Bellamy would’ve been more lethal things may have been different. His one on one with Petr Cech back in September and the only clear cut chance we had on Saturday. I’m not having a go at Bellamy it’s just an observation. At times our play bordered on arrogance, our showboating and general cuteness in front of goal was not appreciated by the Welsh fans. It’s great to see it when it’s pulled off but when it doesn’t, like every occasion last night, it’s just embarrassing. We should be showing San Marino the same respect that we show the bigger nations. The corners were really bad (All fifty two of them) For a team of short arses it’d be nice to think we’d work out some tidy set pieces but we never looked like scoring. James Collins looked our best hope at these times but he understandably looked rusty (No hair pun intended). I worry that some of these balls will be food and drink to the defences of Germany and the Czech Republic and we'll be hit on the counter attack. Free kicks weren’t too great either, though it was good to see the responsibility shared out between Giggs, Koumas and Bale.

Bale once again looked good going forward. At times he left gaps behind him but it’d be wrong to try to stifle that sort of creativity by criticizing him. As his talent grows it might be a case of him being pushed into a left midfield role, I for one wouldn’t be against that. Koumas had a great time ghosting past the San Marino players, whether he’ll be given the space to do that against the Czechs I don’t know. He picked up yet another yellow card leaving him with his record dangerously close to missing the Germany game. Easter didn’t really have a chance to get stuck in, I don’t know where it leaves his international career after being taken off at half time. Good to see David Cotterill get involved. There’s definitely something about him, if he can break into the Wigan team we will reap the benefits. I still don’t think Toshack knows who his best eleven are. I think the right back position is a problem. I feel Ricketts is struggling out of position and Duffy has all of a sudden fallen out of contention. With Delaney a long way of full fitness I’d have liked to have seen Rob Edwards brought in for the role, his omission from the squad was baffling.

In conclusion, it was a game that didn’t tell us much. Basically to qualify for Euro 2008 we need to go on the greatest run in the history of Welsh football. It would have been nice to see a few more goals. But as Toshack said in the post match interview “A win’s a win”.