Tag Archives: Wales

Wales can claim Serbia scalp

Posted on by
Reply

Two out-of-form nations meet for the first time in their history on Tuesday as Wales travel to face Serbia, and Chris Coleman’s men are more than capable of upsetting odds of 7/1 and coming away with a valuable win.

Serbia’s last win on home turf came in unconvincing fashion against the Faroe Islands in September of last year, and earlier in 2011 they had to come from behind to beat Northern Ireland.

An impressive home draw with Italy followed but they drew a blank against the Republic of Ireland in August, and head into their game against Wales having failed to find the back of the net against Scotland in another goalless draw.

Wales’ last game on the road came just under 12 months ago when they took all three points with a composed 1-0 victory over Bulgaria in Sofia.

At 7/1 to repeat the feat in Eastern Europe, Wales represent great value for money, with Serbia priced as the 4/9 favourites to reinvigorate their own qualifying campaign with victory.

The draw, priced at 10/3, also offers decent value.

Elsewhere, England will be aiming to build on an accomplished 5-0 victory away to Moldova when they welcome Ukraine to Wembley Stadium.

Roy Hodgson’s men are the 2/5 favourites to earn the win and add further momentum to their World Cup qualifying campaign, while Ukraine, who held Czech Republic to a 0-0 draw when the two sides met for a friendly last month, aren’t fancied at 7/1.

The draw is available at 4/1, but the best value here appears to be in the correct score market.

England have shown in recent home internationals that they are capable of scoring goals, but also often leak the odd one or two. With that in mind, 7/1 on a 2-1 England win and 8/1 on a 3-1 England win are both interesting selections, as is the more optimistic 4-1 home triumph, priced at a mouthwatering 14/1.

Another of the home nations in action tomorrow is Scotland, who will be looking to put a disappointing home draw behind them when they welcome Macedonia to Hampden Park.

There was frustration following the Serbia stalemate that young striker Jordan Rhodes wasn’t given more minutes on the field, and those supporters may see more of the Blackburn hitman on Tuesday as Scotland seek to breathe life into their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Rhodes is priced at 4/1 to score his side’s first goal.

The Scots triumphed when these two sides met ahead of the 2010 World Cup, and a second 2-0 victory in as many meetings would be a welcome boost to manager Craig Levein and his hopes of leading the team to a first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup.

Levein’s men are priced 4/6 to win the match, with Macedonia available at 7/2 and the draw 12/5.

Expect Scotland to find the back of the net in this one, but the team still lacks the confidence to rack up goals, which makes the selection of a 1-0 home win at 5/1 a very appealing prospect indeed.

Finally, there could be a shock on the cards when Belgium play host to Croatia.

Vincent Kompany and his team-mates are the 10/11 favourites to win this match and build momentum following their recent 2-0 triumph over Wales, while Croatia are priced at 3/1 to make it two wins in a week following a narrow success against Macedonia.

Belgium are in better form than their opponents, but there is enough strength in the Croatian side to take this game to their opponents, so don’t be surprised to see Igor Stimac’s men upset the odds.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Republic of Ireland v Wales

Posted on by
Reply

Bet on footballGary Speed will take charge of his first full international as Wales manager on Tuesday night when his side travels to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to face Ireland (Republic of Ireland v Wales to end as a draw – 13/5).

This is the opening fixture of the inaugural Carling Nations Cup which sees Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland battle it out for supremacy amongst the home nations.

Speed will be without ten of his players for the opening fixture as he looks to turn things around for his nation ahead of further Euro 2012 qualifiers. Wales are currently ranked 116th in the FIFA world rankings and have long suffered on the international stage.

Three of Speed’s key men who will be missing for the game are Cardiff’s Craig Bellamy, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey and Tottenham’s Gareth Bale.

However, former captain Bellamy will be travelling to Dublin to be around the camp to add support to the team. Bellamy and Speed were team-mates at Newcastle and the current Wales manager does not want to push Bellamy into playing.

Speed said: “I am sure everyone is aware of Craig’s situation and it would be wrong of me to ask him to play on Tuesday after playing on Sunday. The last thing we want is players going back to their clubs injured.”

Wales will look to striker Robbie Earnshaw to provide them with firepower up front and he believes that their current FIFA ranking does not do them justice. The Nottingham Forest hitman is also looking forward to life under Speed.

He said: “There is a freshness about the place with Gary taking over, everybody wants to do well for themselves and the new manager.”

Earnshaw, who has scored 14 goals for Wales, will hope to add to that tally in Dublin (Earnshaw to score anytime – 9/4).

However, it is not just Wales who are resting key players due to injuries and club schedules. The Irish side will also be without certain key figures which will make this a tough game to call. Captain Robbie Keane has withdrawn from the squad, along with Leon Best, Liam Lawrence and James McCarthy.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni will be downcast at the prospect of not having the charismatic Keane leading his troops. Keane has recently found form again since making the switch from Spurs to West Ham and would have given Ireland a real boost going into this fixture.

Trapattoni will have the services of Wolves forward Kevin Doyle (Doyle to score a hat-trick – 33/1 joint favourite) at his disposal and he comes into this fixture full of confidence after scoring the winner against Manchester United at the weekend.

The Italian has also promised to give Seamus Coleman and Ciaran Clark their Republic of Ireland debuts. Both youngsters will no doubt be relishing their first international caps after excelling in the Premier League this season.

Neither side comes into the game with a good record. Ireland are without a win in their last three games whilst Wales head to Dublin on the back of three straight defeats.

Both sides will be keen to get a victory and gain some momentum ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifying games in March.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Flynn favourite for Wales job

Posted on by
Reply

Potential Wales boss Brian FlynnFormer Wrexham and Swansea manager Brian Flynn is in line to be named as caretaker manager of Wales (Wales 20/1 to qualify for Euro 2012).

Flynn is already an employee of the Football Association of Wales and has impressed while in charge of the Wales youth sides.

John Toshack stepped down as boss on Thursday, saying he would have been happy to stay on for the two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month but that the parting had been amicable.

Now Flynn could be handed the job, at least for those two games, as speculation grows that the 54-year-old will be asked by the FAW to take charge.

Flynn’s Under-21s team reached the UEFA Championship play-offs two years ago and narrowly failed to do so again this week.

If he takes charge of the Euro 2012 games next month, he would be in the prime position to keep the Wales job providing results are acceptable (Wales 33/1 to win Euro 2012 qualifying Group G).

But if the FAW are looking for a different long-term candidate, they then have a five-month gap ahead of the next competitive fixture against England.

Flynn was non-committal about the situation when interviewed on Yorkshire Radio on Friday night, saying simply: “Decisions are made and carefully considered and we will see on Monday when the situation is clarified.”

Flynn, who won 66 caps as a player, boasts considerable management experience having had 12 years in charge at Wrexham and another two at Swansea before taking up his current role in 2004.

Since working with Wales youngsters he has helped bring through players such as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Collison, Joe Ledley and Wayne Hennessey.

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis, who has ruled himself out of the running to take charge of his country, believes Flynn is an ideal candidate.

The Stoke boss told BBC Radio Five Live: “I’d give it to Brian Flynn.

“I think Brian has brought a lot of the young players through that John has used.

“As an interim manager, to give the selectors a bit of time to choose someone, then I would let Brian get on with it.”

Former Fulham and Coventry boss Chris Coleman is the other front-runner having indicated he would be interested.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Toshack in Wales fond farewell

Posted on by
Reply

John Toshack hopes that his decision to step down as Wales manager might help the side qualify for the Euro 2012 finals (Wales 20/1 To Qualify).

Rumours began to spread that the 61-year-old was set to quit after the Welsh lost their opening Euro 2012 Group G match to Montenegro and now the former Liverpool striker has confirmed that his six-year tenure has come to an end.

Toshack has enjoyed relatively little success while in charge of Wales and failed to guide his side to any major tournament finals during his spell in charge.

He also had a very public spat with Robbie Savage, which resulted in the much-travelled midfield hard man calling time on his international career at the age of just 30, as he refused to conform to Toshack’s methods.

Toshack spent just 41 days in charge of Wales back in 1994 before quitting the job, but his first unsuccessful spell did not put him off having another crack at the seemingly impossible task of guiding a country with such a small pool of players to the heights of a major championship.

The former Real Madrid boss hopes that by leaving at an early stage of the current qualifying campaign, it will give his successor the chance to have a real go at reaching Poland and Ukraine in two years time.

“Wales are still very much in this group, and now the decision has been made hopefully they’ll be able to get some positive results in the next two games,” he said. “If the results do go against us, I think I would have preferred that to happen with me still in charge.”

The Cardiff-born tactician revealed that he has planned to look at the situation after Wales’ first three qualifiers and made it clear that he was initially prepared to carry on for two more games after the opening group defeat (Wales 33/1 to win Group G).

But, after consultation with the FAW, it was felt that the time was right for a change at the top.

“I thought after three matches of this group we would review everything,” he said. “Even after the disappointment of the game in Montenegro that was still the way I felt.

“But we have come to the agreement that this might be better for everyone concerned.”

Wales are already six points behind England and Montenegro in Group G, having played one game less, and face qualifying matches with Switzerland and Bulgaria next month.

The search for Toshack’s successor is now underway and Stoke Boss Tony Pulis has already ruled himself out, saying that it is “too early” for him to consider at present, while Dean Saunders, Chris Coleman and Ian Rush have all been mentioned as possible candidates.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Duo after Wales role

Posted on by
Reply

Ryan GiggsRyan Giggs and John Hartson have both admitted they would like to manage Wales (20/1 to qualify for Euro 2012) with John Toshack set to step down on Thursday.

The position as head coach of the national side looks likely to be up for grabs very shortly with the Welsh football association calling a press conference for later in the week – when it is expected that Toshack will resign.

The decision comes after a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign and a poor start on the road to Euro 2012, losing 1-0 to minnows Montenegro on Friday.

The defeat to the Balkan nation appears to have been the final nail in Toshack’s coffin and the former Real Madrid coach reportedly feels he has taken the young squad as far as he can.

The 61-year-old took over in 2004 after Wales had narrowly missed out on qualifying for Euro 2004, losing out to Russia in a play-off.

However, since then Welsh football has gone downhill and Toshack has been forced to try and blood a new generation of players with the likes of Robbie Savage, Giggs, Jason Koumas and Simon Davies all retiring from the international set-up.

While Wales have a good collection of youngsters, the likes of Gareth Bale, Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey, Chris Gunter and Jack Collison have so far failed to cut it on the international stage.

Toshack reportedly spent Monday in talks with the FAW in Cardiff to discuss his future and it seems inevitable he will step down before next month’s double header against Bulgaria and Switzerland (10/3 to beat England).

Despite Toshack’s resignation having not been confirmed, there is already a long list of candidates to take the post.

The likes of under-21 coach Brian Flynn, Mark Bowen and Kenny Jackett have all been linked with the job.

However, the favourite for the job already is Manchester United (11/5 Premier League outright) winger Giggs, despite the 36-year-old still being involved with first team action at Old Trafford.

With Giggs’ playing career drawing to a close it has been suggested he could be talked into an early retirement in order to take over the post.

While the United legend concedes it would be a dream come true to manage the national side he admits it might be tough to take up the post at this time.

“If you go into management, the big job is to be in charge of your country. And I’m no different in terms of thinking like that,” Giggs, who has already taken Uefa coaching badges, said in the Daily Telegraph.

“At the moment it is difficult, because I still have commitments as a player.”

Another name being thrown into the hat is that of former Arsenal, West Ham and Wimbledon striker Hartson, who says he would love to take over from Toshack.

“I don’t know how seriously the FAW [Football Association of Wales] would consider me,” Hartson told BBC 5 Live.

“But if they were to offer me the job it is something I’d… take seriously.”

“I’ve got all my [coaching] badges, I’ve worked with the best, I feel as if I’ve learnt a lot about the game and still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.”

Whether it Giggs, Hartson or someone the FAW are set to name a new manager before the team face Bulgaria and Switzerland next month.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.