All aboard the Liberty Express!
Another month, another curate's egg of a Wales friendly.
Hot on the heels of the decidedly difficult to decipher just where we stood at the end of them friendlies, against The Basque Country and Trinidad & Tobago, Toshack's first game post-summer against the erratic Bulgarians at a less-than-heaving Liberty Stadium provided cause for justifiable optimism and just the smallest dose of concern.
The first thing to note is that Tosh's get-togethers are now less to do with headline-hitting player fallouts and more to do with squad togetherness.
For once the Welsh gaffer had the luxury of a virtually full-strength squad to choose from, save the missing-in-action Jason Koumas, who you nowadays half expect to see popping up on Trisha, or on Love Island, such is the state of his troubled mind.
Apart from the West Brom man’s persistent messing about of the Wales set -up, there does seem a genuine strength of union in the camp. Tales of the players indulging in corridor cricket - whatever that may be, and I’m assured it’s not some new sexual peccadillo a la roasting - is testament to the Toshack effect.
To that end hopefully someone can pop a cork in Robbie Savage’s sizeable gob as we embark on what looks on paper to be a tough campaign against the Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, Irish, Cypriots and, er, San Marinas?
So what did we learn from this fast-paced, competitive friendly. If anything it’s that with a full-strength team we have enough going forward to trouble any team. Toshack’s onus on pass and move football saw the skills of Bellamy, Giggs, Davies and Earnshaw pose a constant threat to the Bulgarian defence as the fab four teased and probed with pace all across the park.
Add to the awesome foursome the unlikely figure of Carl Robinson who bombed into the opposition penalty area just as he did when scoring a rare goal against Northern Ireland last year,
It was just a shame that the many chances created didn’t result in a goal. However I’m sure if Wales continue to create as they against Bulgaria those chances will find the back of the net.
If there was any note of caution to sound it was at the back, and in central defence in particular where West Ham pairing Danny Gabbidon and James Collins looked on occasions as if they didn’t remember each other’s names let alone how to anchor defensive duties.
Still with Gabbidon only having played half a game after a summer hernia operation and Collins atoning for a few glaring errors with some timely blocks, these are areas that I’m sure Toshack will hammer into shape in time for the visit to Teplice and the sizeable footballing figure of the Czech Republic looming large.
Until then, let'