Most people I've
spoken seem to be wetting their knickers at the prospect of Bobby
Gould taking the helm at Ninian Park. Not me. I've been a big
fan of Bobby ever since I was lucky enough to sit next to him
on the flight from Istanbul to Cardiff following Wales' 6-4 defeat
in
Turkey back in 1997.
Bobby could have sneaked quietly away from Turkey, but chose instead to face the flak and field criticism from Welsh supporters sharing the return flight.He faced an ugly mob at the airport with dignity and only a raincoat over his face for protection. Morons were hell bent on preventing Gould from boarding the plane and chanting for his resignation. He was a model of diplomacy - he had to be, if he didn't want the post-match autopsy to be carried out on him.Eventually, after a scuffle and special pleading on my part, the players and journalists relented and allowed Bobby on the plane, his hair brusquely ruffled in the fracas. Does a Welsh team manager really deserve such treatment?
During the flight
Gould was constantly baited by fickle supporters. He was aggressively
defensive - something you could never say about his Wales team
- about his preparation, team selection and match tactics. I agreed
with him. Wales' had eleven men on the pitch, one of which was
a goalkeeper. So you can't accuse Gould of not getting the basics
right. What happened when the players got on the pitch was out
of his control, even if he was getting paid for it.During the
flight some supporters, obviously drunk, called into question
Gould's commitment to Wales and Welsh football. "You're not
even Welsh!' shouted a particularly ignorant Swansea supporter.
Eventually Gould was unfairly goaded into admitting that the only
time he'd had a lump in his throat during the Welsh National anthem
was when he accidentally swallowed an Everton mint before the
Turkey game. But Gould countered brilliantly. "I wasn't born
in Wales," he said, "but if you cut me my blood is red."
This comment drew gasps and a few serious offers to test the theory.
Cardiff fans must back a man prepared to make a statement like
that.
It was a pleasure sitting next to Bobby and I took the opportunity to apologise on behalf of the entire Welsh nation over the Nathan Blake incident. Gould assured me that he would never say or do anything knowingly racist as we settled back in our seats for the in-flight movie; a double-bill chosen by Bobby of Al Jolson in `The Jazz Singer' and `Mandingo'.
It was typical
of the man that by the time the plane touched down in Cardiff,
Gould had won over many of the detractors and made many new friends
by promising to resign, the lynch-pin of his master-plan to improve
Welsh football overnight. But FAW committee members refused point
blank to accept his resignation. And quite right too! These
people are obviously not the un-dead zombies many supporters claim
them to be.
It saddens me to hear comments bandied about like "Bobby
Gould's reputation in Wales is lower than rat's piss." That's
unfair. In years to come Bobby's place in the history of world
- yes world - football will come to be reassessed. Afterall, nobody
did more than him to close the gap between the traditional football
super powers (like Wales) and the emerging nations.