Slam heroes facing some stiff competition

Mar 30 2008 James Corrigan, Wales on Sunday

It would usually be a done deal. Wales win the Grand Slam, they win the “Team of the Year” prize.

(No, not the BBC’s overall prize. Surely the English rugby team already have that wrapped up for finishing second in the Six Nations.)

But this year, in Welsh sport’s annus mirabilis, even our own award will surely not be so simple.

There are at least two teams ready to challenge Ryan Jones’ Untouchables.

First off there is Cardiff City, who, if managing to repeat their historic deed of 1927, should be a certainty to lift the award for 2008 – or, for that matter, for any year.

It is difficult to put into context just what it would mean if the Bluebirds could take that trophy once known as the English Cup out of England for a second time.

Forgive us, Swansea fans – who should have a trophy of their own to celebrate very soon – for we are talking about the most famous club competition in the world here.

Imagine it. Boys and girls waking up in San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore to be told that “Cardiff City have won the FA Cup at Wembley”.

It doesn’t even bear thinking about. Especially if your name happens to be Leighton James.

In fact, if the miracle came to pass, it would be a travesty if Cardiff did not win the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation’s overall “Team of the Year”.

This would be one of modern sport’s great stories and would be the crowning glory of a quite remarkable 12 months for Wales. Let us see what happens next weekend and then, who knows, on that sunny afternoon in May, before we get too carried away.

But my unbiased advice is – get those stretchers ready, because we are about to get carried away.

Back in reality, the Welsh Under-21 side have also earned themselves a shot at overshadowing the exploits of the Gatland gang.

When this European Championship qualifying campaign began, Wales were given slightly less than no chance.

But now, after last week’s last-gasp 2-1 victory in Bosnia, Brian Flynn’s tyros need just three points in their two last fixtures – both against Romania – to make October’s play-offs for a trip to Sweden at the expense of footballing nations such as France.

What would make the achievement that much more remarkable is the fact that John Toshack has been repeatedly forced to raid the Under-21 stocks to shore up his depleted seniors.

It just goes to prove how glittering the future of Welsh football is and how right the Football Association of Wales were to keep patience in the current set-up.

The ultimate reward for such uncharacteristic foresight would be for the first Welsh international football side to reach the final stages of a major tournament since the World Cup in 1958.

The 50th anniversary would be an apt time to do it and guess what? Those finals were in Sweden as well.

Yes, after all those years of hurt, the Welsh football fan can finally wear a smile on his face.

And it is set only to get wider. Indeed, down Sloper Road it is threatening to wrap around the entire cranium.

Boos were just the ticket
A FELLOW columnist, whose work I much admire, admonished the Welsh fans for booing Prince William in the midst of the Grand Slam spectacular.

Said they showed all the social finesse of Millwall fans.

Well, can I just take this chance to praise all of you who decided to put derision to pursed lip.

I was feeling exactly the same way and only kept schtum out of fear of being kicked out of the Press box.

It was not Wills, in particular, we were railing against, but rather the notion that we needed a Royal in attendance to give the pending Welsh glory some sort of official credence.

This had absolutely nothing to do with those privileged billionaires of Windsor. It was all about Wales. Nobody else.

Saying that, Wills and that starched white rugby shirt of his did have it coming, just as his father has had it coming for years.

Charles has done exactly nothing for the country he is supposed to represent and has actually shown as much affection to Wales as the love child of Anne Robinson and Jeremy Clarkson would.

Now, Princess Diana, on the other hand, really DID feel proud about the nation of her surname – Will Carling can be put down as one of her occasional lapses in taste – and that is why we declined to boo her whenever she came down and took advantage of the free ticket.

Granted, Wills did not ask to be a vice Royal patron and would have been hounded to the end of all that free land which his father did nothing whatsoever to own if he had turned down the WRU.

But that’s not our fault. We didn’t ask him to gatecrash our party – those numbskulls with the big wigs did.

And if some supporters want to show their disaffection, then why the hell shouldn’t they? Unlike Wills, they’d dished out their hard-earned to be there.

So what if it meant that the Millennium Stadium suddenly resembled the Millwall Stadium. In certain respects, that would be a good thing, particularly when it comes to the funereal atmosphere of the modern sports ground.

As someone who has been to The Den on many occasions, I can report that the only people inside that stadium are people who genuinely care about what they are watching.

I can also report that Wills wouldn’t enter The Den for all the tea in China or, for that matter, all the taxpayers’ money in his Grandmother’s coffers. Even if he was invited.

Come the revolution, eh? There’ll be one more seat for a true fan after that blessed day. If nothing else.

At least Becks cares
PART of me laughed my little red socks off when David Beckham accepted the applause for his 100th England cap with all the self-glory of a player holding aloft the Jules Rimet.

And another part felt deeply envious.

What would Wales do to have players like Beckham, who declare their desire to carry on playing for their country, even though it involves crossing many time-zones and receiving much abuse in the process?

Instead, we have players who reach a certain age (just after puberty, usually) and then can’t even be bothered to cross the border and receive all the hero worship Wales can muster.

And why? Ah, because they want to extend their playing careers at their clubs, that’s why.

Put another way, they are choosing the pound sign over the Three Feathers. Nobody will admit that, of course. But that’s the truth from where I’m sitting.

In this column’s humble opinion, those defectors should look at the Under-21 side and feel ashamed. They could be in the set-up helping those boys.