Do Wales need to get rid of Toshack?

Wales started their Euro 2012 qualification campaign with a 1-0 defeat in Montenegro.

Their opponents had only ever recorded two victories in their fledgling international career according to former-Wales international Robbie Savage.

Savage was exaggerating a bit they have actually won nine games in competitive games, well ten after beating Wales. However Wales have made yet another disappointing start to a qualifying campaign.

Savage

Savage certainly lives up to his name sometimes and isn’t one to scared of voicing his opinion. Appearing on football magazine show Football Focus he launched a scathing attack on Wales boss John Toshack.

He said: “I think we need a fresh start, fresh impetus. We need to get the crowds back and I think Toshack has to go. He has made enough excuses; he has been in the job six years.

“Judge him on his qualifying campaigns – they haven’t qualified yet and they have got off to a terrible start again. Toshack has to go.”

The Derby midfielder may be very opinionated and steps over the line on occasions, oh and also has an axe to grind with Toshack but I do believe he has a valid point on this situation. As Savage says Toshack has had six years in charge and it seems the Welsh side haven’t made any progress in that time.

Toshack

The former-Liverpool star has managed all over the world but has never achieved any great success with anybody he has managed. He even had a previous spell in charge of Wales which lasted just 41 days before doing a tour of Europe involving stops at Real Madrid, Deportivo and Besiktas.

I believe he has been living off his reputation as a player and he has never struck me as a manager I would like to have in charge of my club. He seems like a managerial dinosaur.

Players

Wales is a relatively small country which restricts the amount of players available for selection. They do have some top quality players in captain Craig Bellamy and Tottenham star Gareth Bale. The rest of their squad are also decent.

I wouldn’t say their squad were a complete dead loss and teams with worse players have qualified for major competitions in the past.

Youngsters

Wales actually have some very bright youngsters coming through. Unfortunately two of those promising youngsters are currently out injured. Striker Sam Vokes and Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey are on the sidelines but Ramsey is apparently nearing a comeback.

The Welsh under-21’s are also on the brink of getting into the European Championship play-offs. All they have to do is avoid a heavy defeat against Italy in their group decider on Tuesday. Their manager Brian Flynn has done a superb job with the junior side and many Welsh fans have said they would like to see the 54 year-old given a chance.

Qualification

I don’t see Wales qualifying for a major tournament with Toshack in charge. He doesn’t seem to be able to get the best out of the players he has. He isn’t completely to blame as Wales haven’t qualified for a major competition since 1958.

History

Wales have had some top players in the past and not qualified for major championships. During the eighties Wales had players playing for the top clubs in England. At one point Wales had Everton pair Neville Southall and Kevin Ratcliffe and Liverpool legend Ian Rush in their team.

Even with players of their quality the Welsh failed to qualify for major championships. They have come close to qualifying for major championships but have failed at the last hurdle on numerous occasions. This time round I don’t even see them going even close.

Can Wales qualify for Euro 2012?