International Betting: Wales experts talking Tosh

Internationals / Dan Fitch / 07 September 2010 / Leave a Comment

Is Giggs the man to change Welsh fortunes?

"If Giggs' playing career for Wales was anything to go by, Wales could find their manager only turning up for qualifying games and being unavailable for friendlies."

The Welsh are calling for John Toshack's head and it looks like he's going to walk, but Dan 'The Betting Man' Fitch doesn't think that a new manager will necessarily be able to improve results.

Montenegro was once part of the popular combo that was Yugoslavia, until they formed a breakaway double act with Serbia in 1992, before going solo in 2006. This is a brave move when you only have an estimated 672,180 people living in your little county.

On Friday they enjoyed a 1-0 win over Wales, who have an estimated 2,999,300 living in their little country. The Welsh are taking this badly. There are few occasions when Wales face another country and enjoy a numerical advantage. When you consider that most of the Welsh squad actually earn their living in England and won't have been counted in the 2,999,300, then things look even bleaker.

As an Englishman though, I feel it is my birthright and my duty to give the people of Wales a slightly patronising massage of the shoulders. When you've got a population of less than three million, it's always going to be extremely difficult to qualify for a major international tournament, irrespective of whether you lose to an even smaller country. Wales can be backed at [11.0] to win Group G.

However, the wonderful thing about football is that no one is ever willing to accept continued failure as an option, even when the facts suggest that it really is the best that anyone could hope for. The Welsh are in the mood for a revolution and it looks like they'll get their wish.

Robbie Savage was the first to swish back his platinum blond hair and demand that Wales recruit a new manager. This of course had nothing to do with the fact that it was Toshack who closed the book on Savage's glittering international career and everything to do with wanting the best for Welsh football.

To be fair, Savage wasn't alone in calling for Toshack's head. The toothless former-Norwich City goal-getter Iwan Roberts, also thinks that Wales need fresh leadership.

Roberts has suggested that Ryan Giggs might be the man to inspire Wales, but you've got to doubt whether he'd be interested when he could continue playing for Manchester United for at least another season or two. Also, if Giggs' playing career for Wales was anything to go by, they could find their manager only turning up for qualifying games and being unavailable for friendlies.

Whilst it might seem unusual for an international side to recruit a manager who is still playing, Wales do have past form, having appointed Mark Hughes when he was still turning out for Southampton. Hughes' era is looked back upon as the glory days of modern Welsh football, but while his team earned some memorable results, it should be remembered that he also failed to qualify for a tournament.

Neither was Hughes able to achieve this feat as a player, despite having colleagues of the quality of Neville Southall, Kevin Ratcliffe, Gary Speed, Ian Rush, Dean Saunders and a certain Ryan Giggs. That mid-eighties/early nineties vintage was the best group of players that Wales had, since qualifying for their one World Cup back in 1958.

After six years in charge it probably is time for fresh blood, but whether anyone else could do much better than Toshack is open for debate. The likes of Giggs or Chris Coleman could bring some youthful enthusiasm to the role, but results won't change overnight.

The one thing that Toshack can't be criticised for is the fact that he's given a lot of experience to some very young players. Aaron Ramsey is 19 and has 11 caps, Gareth Bale is 21 and has 25, while Joe Ledley is 23 and has played 34 times. In five or six years, perhaps these players will do what their predecessors could not.