DT1892 wrote: March 27th, 2024, 11:09 pm

CathedralCounty wrote: March 27th, 2024, 4:05 pm

DT1892 wrote: March 27th, 2024, 3:53 pm Time for Page to go. Osian in for me.

Rob Page is building something - we're a small football nation with a small player pool (many of whom are exiled/diaspora) with a poor domestic league and a not too brilliant co efficient, yes we failed to grasp the nettle last night but it happens - far better teams fail to qualify for tournaments (Germany & Holland in recent years for example).

I don't feel Page should go but it he did feel Osian Roberts would be a very regressive appointment - could think of any number of better suited/younger/inspiring managers to go for and I don't even feel we need a Welsh manager although it helps.

Genuinely what is he building? Giggs got us to the Euros in 2020, where Page got us out of the group before being tactically outclassed by Denmark. In fairness, he got us to Qatar, but the less said about the performance out there the better, and now we've missed out on Euro 2024. We've won 5 games in the last 20 and missing out has potentially cost the FAW around £7 million. There are 24 spots up for grabs for the Euros, if we aren't in the top 24 nations then we're really struggling. There's only 16 for the World Cup! We should show some actual ambition and expect to qualify for each European Championship.

I'm not buying the 'small' nation excuse. So is Croatia and they've only missed 2 tournaments since their first campaign in 1996. We've got a team packed full of players playing in the Premier League & the Championship. I'd argue that most of the clubs in the Championship are better than most of the top-tier leagues around Europe. Most of them have been developed at some of the richest clubs, in the best domestic league system in the world, with some of the best coaches and facilities. They should be good enough to take more than 1 point from Armenia - as ultimately, that's what has cost us. In my opinion, he should've gone after the 4-2 defeat.

I'd agree we have not been good enough in this Campaign. On the wider issues of being a ‘small nation’ and developing players - facilities are a major issue - in France every village has a sports ground/basketball court and changing rooms, weather is an issue as Wales is a wet country that means pitches, even the artificial ones can become unsafe/unplayable and people are less willing to play/train unlike Iceland we don’t have loads of full size indoor pitches.

Transport/community networks and yes poverty - no good having the clubs/coaching/facilities in place if it’s only the nice middle-class kids who can get out on a Sunday because parents are at work and can’t take little Ethan/Ellie to training or games (or poor/expensive public transport means the slightly older kids can't get themselves there on their own) or afford a set of kit or boots. As well as financial priorities – a poorer country can't just spaff millions on sports facilities (although joined up thinking should arguably put an onus on keeping people fit?).

Sports in school is also patchy whereas in my [limited] understanding is it much more of a priority in eastern European nations for example (maybe an overhang from Soviet era?).

Dare I say rugby, even though we are a ‘football nation’, is still a big draw so a lot of youngsters will be at a crossroads and pick rugby over football (perhaps vice versa but we do have that added competition from rugby in a way most European nations simply don’t).

Also, luck – yes having that crop of amazingly talented/driven individuals like Bale (Like Modric for Croatia), etc short of genetic engineering its down to luck on that front (and of course nurturing the talent we do have).

Lots of factors no one thing and not an existential issue just need that 1% tweaks here and there and I feel we can be that Croatia like team.

Tend to agree about Moore. He did put one offside effort in the net but he had three other headed attempts that my old granny could have saved and none with his feet IIRC.
Also think that the team manager should be replaced. The failure at the World Cup embarrassed Wales and now this. It was easy to qualify under the modern rules and we failed.