Bad hair day
Wales 1-5 Slovakia
The writing was on the wall, well the side of someone's head, even before this Euro 2008 qualifier kicked off.
You know it isn't your day when your goalkeeper's hair-raising crop comes close to predicting the final scoreline.
Veteran keeper Paul Jones let himself on the mercy of his barber to produce a cut that consisted of a dragon shaved into the back of his head and the number 50, carved especially to celebrate his achieving a 50 cap landmark.
His dodgy barnet raised eyebrows even before he put in the sort of performance that words 'horror' and 'show' were made for.
That 5-1 scoreline was horrible enough, but the manner in which John Toshack's team spectacularly leaked five of the worst goals they are ever likely to give away, amazed even those Tosh supporters who have steadfastly supported him so far.
However, should we really be too surprised at the drubbing Wales received at the Millennium Stadium yesterday.
Look at the facts: Toshack took over a side which had gone 10 competitive games without a win and then lost 11 players through retirement, and since last month's game in the Czech Republic Wales lost five players through injury.
This is not in anyway to disguise the awfulness of the performance, but these are the inescapable facts that we as a nation to do not possess enough strength in depth to cope with such a serious amount of absentees.
Taking Mark Delaney, James Collins and Sam Ricketts from a defence that stood up so well to the Czech Republic, Carl Fletcher from our midfield and most telling of all, Ryan Giggs from our attack and you have a recipe for disaster.
Blooding so many youngsters was always likely to result in tears at some point, but the fact that the positive showings against the Czechs and the Brazil led to cautious optimism against Slovakia, made the scoreline even harder to stomach.
However, a decimated defence and a string of individual errors that you just cannot legislate for added to Slovakia's incredible strike rate of six shots on goal, five goals scored, equalled Wales recording their worst home result in 98 years.
Richard Duffy, Rob Edwards and, in particular, a woefully inept performance from Paul Jones were the catalysts for Wales leaking five in front of a disbelieving crowd of just 28,000 supporters, a worryingly small attendance given that not so long ago Wales were the best supported national team in Europe.
Like it or not, this is where we are. All those small-minded, knee jerk reactionaries baying for the return of Savage and Speed, have to understand that would be a massive retrograde step. We are building for the future, as Toshack has been at pains to point out - there's no turning back.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and it may be considerably longer before we see a Wales team that can qualify for a major tournament.
However loud his critics may crow and clamour for his dismissal - and today the media is full of knees jerking so violently their exponents are in danger of knocking themselves out - Toshack is in this for the long run. His wholehearted belief and investment in youth is already paying dividends and despite Saturday's drubbing there is still genuine cause for optimism.
Let's hope the Slovakia game was a one-off abberation, as the Cyprus game will be a genuine test of spirit, camaraderie and Toshack's management. How his young charges lift themselves on Wednesday evening against a Cyrpriot team brim full of confidence after disposing of the Republic of Ireland 5-2 may tell us more about his team's character and ability than Saturday's freakshow could ever do.
Ever the optimist, I'll go for a 2-1 Wales victory.