Poleaxed By Pornstars
Wales 1 Poland 2
What a miss eh?
Just when Giggs needed to turn on a sparkling display to placate
cynics and Ferguson haters alike, he fluffs the easiest chance
of the campaign so far.
From three yards he blasted wide. And the road to Japan stopped
abruptly there and then. The turning point of the entire campaign
though it's fair to say the end was not far off anyway given the
chronic second-half display.
Can't see Nathan Blake passing to him in a similar situation.
I think we'd have won the game
if Giggs had scored as Poland's ropey defence had only just started
to settle and a second goal slightly against the run of play would
have unnerved them.
But that's enough ifs. There's no complaints about the final score
after Poland hit back so effectively with Olisadebe in full flight
a sight for sore eyes. And my eyes were pretty sore by the end.
And what a fantastic atmosphere
their fans created. Unquestionably the best visiting support to
visit Cardiff since the Sweaty Socks turned up in the mid 80's.
Even if most of them lived in Stoke and Surbiton, it was marvellous.
You've just got to admire fans whose favourite chant appears to
be 'Porn star'.
Looks like they're off to Asia next year where they will surely collect their first major international football award - that for best divers.
What about the lad who got pushed over by Giggsy? That was surreal. Probably the only person who's ever been knocked over by our boy. Pathetic.
As was their manager's whinge about our divers. Didn't see any at all.
But he put his finger on what's been wrong with our side. We lack self-belief. You know the stats - ahead in four games, all of which were winnable.
Andy Legg said the same thing
after the Armenia game and he, as someone who played three leagues
lower than the stars, was able to see it too.
Best player:
You always know it's been
a bad day when your keeper scoops the award. Well done Jonesy.
Worst player:
Maybe Savage should have
gone on holiday after all.
Highlight:
Giggs's first-half run, if it had resulted in a goal, would have
been the best goal I'd ever have seen. Another Welsh 'if only'
to rue.
Lowlight:
Six games into the qualifying
series and we haven't had a pop at the FAW.
But they owe us an apology for not setting up a singing section.
The idea was first mooted two months ago and someone should have
bulldozed it through instead of being fobbed off by the Millennium
Stadium. However feasible the FAW's excuses are, they do not wash.
This was urgent and should have been accorded greater priority
than John Hartson's Ukrainian visa.
We were the second best supported side in Europe on Saturday -
only Russia drew more spectators and the FAW is enjoying an unprecedented
success off the field. The hard core deserve a lot better and
at least one official should be given a sabbatical from in-fighting
(see below) and told to sort this out for the next two home games,
meaningless though both these matches will be.
Fan of the day: Barry John. The Welsh legend with a penchant
for footie and, er, a well-known penchant for a drink, was at
the City Arms after the match - and even bought half the Bobbing
Along crew a drink (not me though) and kissed my girlfriend.
He might have sipped a little too often but he's still got those
twinkly azure eyes.
My pal Vince reckons Barry's first words off the plane to a radio
interviewer after the 1971 Lions tour were: "How did Cardiff
City get on."
So how can he not be fan of the day?
Celebrity bust-up: Interesting pieces in the Western Mail
and the Wales on Sunday suggest the FAW is riddled with empire-building,
in-fighting and petty politics. Just like the bad old days of
the WRU when the bad boys all went off to befriend fascists in
South Africa.
It's all a bit bureaucratic to go into too much detail but we
suggest one bean counter be given three months to set up a singing
section. There are fans who were at the Poland game who will not
be going to the next two matches (one of them from this site).
We'll be lucky to get 20,000 at the games.
adecolley@hotmail.com