Things are not so Fab for Tosh

Feb 5 2008 South Wales Echo

JOHN Toshack was in mischievous mood at the Wales training camp ahead of tomorrow’s friendly with Norway.

After gingerly making his entrance on crutches – it seems even Welsh management aren’t immune to the squad’s latest injury crisis – Toshack was keen to point out to an English journalist the similarities between himself and a certain Mr Fabio Capello.

“I know him, and we have a few things in common,” he said. “We’ve both scored goals against England at Wembley, a long, long time ago.

“Mine was in a 1-1 draw in a World Cup qualifier in 1973, and Capello’s was a couple of months later in a 1-0 win.

“We’ve both managed Real Madrid twice, and both had 10-year gaps between the first time and the second time, myself 1989-99, Capello 1995-2005.

“And we both won La Liga – and both had the sack for doing it.”

How Toshack must wish the list of similarities extended to having dozens of top quality, experienced players at his disposal.

Or at least, players who were regularly on the team-sheet for their club, rather than on the subs’ bench or the treatment table.

For while Capello’s most vexing task has been how to trim his squad to 23 - and whether to include a former captain desperate for his 100th cap – his Welsh counterpart would just be grateful to have that number of players at his disposal.

With West Ham duo Craig Bellamy and Danny Gabbidon opting to continue their rehabilitation from injuries at Upton Park, and Gareth Bale and James Collins now ruled out for the season, Toshack is faced with a familiar scenario ahead of tomorrow’s friendly date with Norway in Wrexham.

“Bellamy, Bale, Gabbidon, Collins – that’s four names which, no disrespect to other players, would be among the first names you’d pencil in.

“I’ll be honest, the situation at centre-back does concern me.

“That’s two centre-backs, a most promising youngster and the captain, so obviously it’s disappointing to be without them.

“But maybe with our youngsters coming through we’re in a better position to overcome missing those players than we were a couple of years ago. “We’ve just got to hope that our injured players get back playing on a regular basis.”

A sentiment which also applies to the majority of the current squad.

Acting captain Simon Davies at Fulham and Wigan Athletic’s Jason Koumas are the only two Premier Division players to have figured in more than half of their side’s games – in Davies’ case, every one of them.

Robert Earnshaw and David Cotterill can count their top-flight appearances this season on one hand, while the rest of the squad who can be termed regulars ply their trade in the lower divisions.

With such a dearth of riches, particularly up front, Toshack has handed a recall to Craig Davies.

The 22-year-old Oldham Athletic striker has been out in the international wilderness since receiving a five-match ban for butting and spitting while on under-21 duty against Israel in August 2006.

Now, three-and-a-half years after making his debut, he has the chance to win his fifth full cap.

“Craig is the leading Welsh marksman in all the leagues at the moment,” said Toshack.

“And he’s played in all bar one of Oldham’s matches.

“He did very well in a couple of under-21 games and we got him involved with us.

“But he’s since had one or two problems, including this international ban which has lasted 18 months because it only covered competitive games.

“Apart from Craig, none of the other strikers are getting much match practice.

“We’d like them to be playing more often, but we can’t do too much about it.

“I still don’t remember the last time Robert Earnshaw played 90 minutes.”

Toshack’s frustration at watching the majority of his squad struggling to hold down a first-team place is offset by the glut of young talent emerging through the under-21s.

But ironically, the success of Brian Flynn’s side has delayed Toshack’s plans to bring even more youngsters into the senior squad.

The under-21s stand on the brink of qualifying for the European Championships for the first time in their history, and with crucial games in Malta today and Bosnia coming up, Toshack is loathe to cherry-pick their best players just so they can warm the senior bench.

“If it wasn’t for the importance of the Bosnia and Malta games, we might well have moved a couple of players up,” said the 58-year-old.

“I’d like to regard this as one team, not as the under-21s and us.

“We’ve tried to go along those lines and look for continuity – when lads come through, they’ll come through together, they’ll know each other.

“We’ve eight lads in this squad who could play in the under-21s.

“By beating France, Brian’s side have opened up the door to qualifying for Sweden in 2009, and for the Malta game, Brian will go with the same ones he’s had recently.

“But for the Bosnia game we may move three or four of them back down from the senior squad to the under-21s because we really want to qualify for these Championships.”

Before limping off into the sunset, Toshack revealed the story behind the crutches, though those hoping for tales of over-zealous tackling on the training ground were disappointed.

“I’ve had a plate put in my right ankle,” he said. “It’s an old war wound from my playing days.”

Wales squad: Wayne Hennessey (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Lewis Price (Derby County), Neal Eardley (Oldham Athletic), Chris Gunter (Tottenham Hotspur), Craig Morgan (Peterborough United), Steve Evans (Wrexham), Lewin Nyatanga (Derby County), Sam Ricketts (Hull City), Joe Ledley (Cardiff City), Simon Davies (Fulham), Arron Davies (Nott'm Forest), Carl Fletcher (Crystal Palace), Carl Robinson (Toronto FC), Andrew Crofts (Gillingham), David Edwards (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Jason Koumas (Wigan Athletic), Freddy Eastwood (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Craig Davies (Oldham Athletic), Jermaine Easter (Wycombe Wanderers, loan Plymouth Argyle), Robert Earnshaw (Derby County), David Cotterill (Wigan Athletic).

simon.kendal-williams@mediawales.co.uk