The future is bright for Toshack's kids

Jan 7 2008 by Paul Abbandonato, Western Mail

IN three days’ time, Wales boss John Toshack travels to Frankfurt to thrash out a fixture schedule for his team which could make or break our World Cup 2010 qualifying hopes.

Despite under-strength Wales achieving a magnificent draw in Germany in their last game, and having lost just twice in their last 10 matches, Toshack travels with plenty to worry about at the moment.

Of his likely starting XI to kick off the World Cup qualifiers in September, only three players are currently first choice for their club sides.

Wayne Hennessey is Wolves goalkeeper, fellow youngster Ledley continues to shine for Cardiff City, while Simon Davies is in Fulham’s team.

Of the rest, Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy begin 2008 with injuries which will take time to heal; Danny Gabbidon, James Collins, Lewin Nyatanga, Jason Koumas and Freddy Eastwood have been ostracised by their clubs; Chris Gunter is unlikely to make Tottenham’s team just yet.

Better to get this bad luck out of the way at the moment, Toshack could argue, than when the World Cup starts in nine months when he needs his players fit, firing and playing regularly for their club sides again.

By that stage, I’m sure most of them will be doing just that. They are too good to be kept out for too much a period of time.

By the time the competitive matches come around, expect them to be joined by two more young Welsh jewels in the shape of Cardiff City’s Aaron Ramsey and West Ham’s Jack Collison.

That teenage duo, next to fellow young guns Hennessey, Bale, Gunter, Ledley, Collins and Nyatanga, will form the backbone of the Wales team for the next 10 years or so.

Ramsey and Collison were each majestic in helping Brian Flynn’s U21 side thump the cream of young France 4-2 a couple of months ago.

They have already begun 2008 with significant appearances at club level. Ramsey made his first start for the Bluebirds in Saturday’s FA Cup win over Chasetown, celebrating his full debut by scoring, while Collison played his first senior game for West Ham in the New Year’s Day Premiership clash with Arsenal.

It is only a matter of time before the two youngsters are fast-tracked into Toshack’s senior Wales set-up and that moment could come as soon as next month’s friendly game with Norway.

Even if Ramsey and Collison remain with the U21s, there are further senior friendlies against Luxembourg, Iceland, Holland, Georgia and Denmark coming up to give them a taste of top level football next to Bellamy, Davies, Koumas and co.

Twenty months is an enormous time in football. But come September 2009, Toshack’s team will still only be halfway through their World Cup qualifying campaign, with everything still to play for.

By that stage, Ramsey and Collison should have emerged properly to further bolster his squad.

At the moment, if Toshack looks to use substitutes to change the course of a match, he has to rely upon the likes of Rob Earnshaw and Jermain Easter.

It just didn’t happen for either man in 2007 and there has to be a dramatic turnaround for that to change in 2008.

By September 2009, however, the Wales boss may be in a position where he can pick genuine game breakers like Ramsey and Collison.

They could come on as substitutes with their youth, energy and ability and genuinely affect what is happening out there on the pitch.

The prospect of those two teaming up together in the senior red of Wales is an enthralling one, even if it is for the future.

According to shrewd pundits, Ramsey is the best Welsh talent to emerge since Ryan Giggs and is widely tipped to become the most expensive footballer transferred by Cardiff, Swansea or Wrexham. Analogies have already been made between Ramsey and Steven Gerrard by no less a judge than Flynn.

Arsenal and Liverpool have already slapped in £1m plus bids. Like Gunter and Ledley, it is merely a matter of time before Ramsey moves into the Premiership.

And although Bluebirds boss Dave Jones will have to nurture him carefully, there will come as time – if it hasn’t already arrived – when he deems Ramsey is simply too good to be left out of his team.

Jones has already been stung once by Toshack, who picked Gunter for Wales when the youngster wasn’t even being chosen by his club boss.

Gunter played so well for his country, Jones had no option but to do a U-turn and pick him for Cardiff.

The Bluebirds boss won’t want to be put in that somewhat embarrassing position again.

While Ramsey oozes class and looks majestic on the pitch, passing with two feet, dribbling past opponents and scoring goals, Collison is his ideal central midfield foil in the Welsh U21 set-up.

Rangy, confident, able to put his foot in, Collison has already been made skipper of West Ham’s reserve team by Alan Curbishley.

Up in London, at 19 years of age, that is some accomplishment.

Skipper Bellamy has raved about Collison to Toshack in private, hence Wales’ swoop for a player who is dubbed “English” on West Ham’s official website, but who has dual qualification.

Collison is two years younger than Ramsey, but he could in time prove to be the athletic, tall, midfield holding player with presence which Toshack has been crying out for.

Just as people here in Wales rave about Ramsey, so does Curbishley speak highly about young Collison.

He says his reserve team skipper acquitted himself well in front of 60,000 people against the superstars of Arsenal.

It is only a matter of time, believes Curbishley, before Collison replaces departed skipper Nigel Reo-Coker as a key figure in the West Ham midfield.

Toshack, hit by more than a dozen retirements from ageing players, has done painstaking work during his first three years in charge to remould a Wales squad with strength in depth.

He is not there yet, but there will be something of a settled look to the Welsh side in 2008 ... with the likes of Ramsey and Collison also coming in to push for places.

You probably have to go back to the days when Terry Yorath prowled around in the red shirt to find the last central midfielder who could control games for Wales.

Since Yorath, the likes of Peter Nicholas, Barry Horne, Vinnie Jones and Gary Speed have tried, but none dominated matches in the way Yorath did.

Suddenly, if Ramsey and Collison fulfil their potential, Wales could be on the verge of finding two midfield dynamos in one go.

Toshack does have immediate short term problems with Wales. However the future, as he has always maintained, does look bright.

And red.