Slow... ARAF! A Wales tale

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Wales unveil new manager
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Welsh footballing legend Ian Rush has today been confirmed as the new manager of the Welsh national team by the Wales FA, on a 2 year contract.


Rush released a statement saying
'I am extremely honoured and proud to have been given this opportunity to manage my beloved country, I know qualification for the world cup will be difficult but that is what we must aim for, alongside developing welsh talent for the future. I am very excited to get stuck into the role and am already planning for my 1st fixture.'

That first fixture will be a friendly against Cyprus in august ahead of the world cup qualifiers. Wales are in what is believed to be an exceptionally tough group, featuring: Croatia; Scotland; Belgium; Wales; Macedonia and Serbia.

Rush will be looking to improve Wales' 38th place world ranking, however many critics argue they are already in a false place on the rankings ladder. They are 15 places above group rivals Belgium, who boast world superstars Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and many more.

A player key to Wales hopes is Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who had this to say on the appointment,

'Rushie is obviously a Welsh legend and that should inspire and motivate all of us. I'm sure that his playing skills can translate into management and he can help build a better Welsh national team.'

All eyes on Rush now, as he begins a new chapter in Welsh football.

 
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Injured Bellamy doesn't make Wales squad.

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Craig Bellamy's hamstring injury has not recovered in time and he will miss Ian Rush's first game in charge.


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*Ben Davies suffered a late ankle injury and will be replaced by Ben Turner.​
 
Friendly ends in bore draw
Wales 0-0 Cyprus
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Wales dominated but couldn't find a way past the Cyprus keeper as they drew 0-0 in front of a capacity crowd at the Millennium stadium. Wales had a total of 12 shots on target in the match, the closest of which being Gareth Bale's powerful shot into the left hand corner clipping the post.

Ian Rush commented on the match 'I thought we were unlucky tonight, we created lots of chances and were solid defensively. There were definitely more positives than negatives to take and we still have Ben (Davies) and Craig (Bellamy) to come back from injury. I'm very optimistic about the qualifiers.'


 
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5 Star Wales!
Wales 5-1 Croatia (Robson Kanux2, Morrisonx2, Williams)
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Ian Rush was hailed a genius as Wales produced their best international performance in year to beat giants Croatia in their group opener.

In what was only Rush's 2nd match at the helm, Wales got off to a perfect start as Reading winger Hal Robson Kanu unleashed a fierce left footed drive into the bottom corner after 10 minutes.

It was 2-0 just minutes later as Steve Morrison raced on to a back pass, rounding the keeper' and scoring.

Morrison has another on the half hour mark with a typical poachers finish after a goalmouth scramble.

Things went from bad to worse for Croatia as they had Corluka sent off before Robson Kanu got his 2nd on the stroke of half time.

Ivan Perisic offered some hope with an early second half goal however the game was well and truly killed when Wales skipper Ashley Williams met a Gareth Bale free kick.

Ian Rush spoke to us after,

'I'm absolutely delighted! Nobody expected us to win tonight, the press all said a draw would be a good result. So to go out and win, not only win but thrash the opposition is very pleasing. I thought the whole team played superbly, and this gives me real confidence that we can get something out of a very tricky match away in Belgium on tuesday.'
 
Good job mate Wales need some success. What sort of tactic you using?
 
MrStu01 said:
Good job mate Wales need some success. What sort of tactic you using?
Click to expand...


Cheers! Playing a 4-5-1, short passing football. Ledley Ramsey Allen midfield works well as they all have different styles, and robson kanu/bale are very effective wingers!
 
Brave Wales go down dramatically

Belgium 2-1 Wales

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A spirited Wales side were undone in what proved to be Ian Rush's first defeat at the helm, albeit in dramatic circumstances.

Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku gave Belgium the lead early on, however it was quickly cancelled out by a super strike from star man Gareth Bale.

Belgium continued to dominate and went ahead after 29 minutes through centre midfielder Radja Nainggolan who finished off a lovely move involving 18 passes.

Wales never looked like coming back, they worked hard but a superior Belgium side shone through the whole match. Their poor keeping of the ball was shown by a poor 42% possession, although this could be put down to missing playmaker Joe Allen who suffered a head injury before the match.

Wales pressed hard in the last 10 minutes and thought they had snatched a point through Joe Ledley's header in the 88th minute, but the linesman had his flag up for offside.

When asked for his thoughts on the match, captain Ashley Williams replied 'I felt we played well against brilliant opposition and could of got a result with some more luck.'

Wales lie 3rd in the group and will now be looking ahead to the next 2 crucial qualifiers, Scotland away and Serbia at home.

 
Injuries disrupt Welsh preperation

3 key players out of qualifiers

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Ian Rush's world cup qualifying plans were disrupted last night as 3 crucial players were ruled out of Wales upcoming fixtures.

Cardiff revealed Craig Bellamy has still not recovered from his hamstring problem, whilst Joe Ledley and James Collins both have thigh issues.

Bellamy won't be such a miss as Wales coped well without him in the 1st two qualifiers but Collins and Ledley were a huge part in Wales' success.

In positive news, Joe Allen is back from injury after missing the Belgium game.
 
Wales triumph in home nations clash
Scotland 0-1 Wales
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Wales vice captain Aaron Ramsey scored the only goal of the game to make it 2 out of 3 wins for Wales.

'A job well done' were the words of Ian Rush as Wales kept within a point of Belgium, who beat Macedonia 2-1 away, in world cup qualifying group 1.

Aaron Ramsey scored after just 7 minutes in what was a poor game for the neutrals. Ramsey ran on to a through ball by Liverpool ace Joe Allen and converted happily into the corner.

The rest of the game was a dull affair with Jordan Rhodes coming the closest for Scotland, his right foot drive forced Boaz Myhill into a fine save at his near post.

The win leaves Wales on 6 points and a win against Serbia on tuesday would give them their best ever start to a qualifying campaign.
 
Bale out of Serbia game

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Wales winger, and star player, Gareth Bale has been ruled out of the Serbia game with a hamstring injury suffered in training.

Ian Rush played down reports that Wales are nothing without their star winger but it is yet to be seen just how they will cope without their left footed magician.
 
Gareth who?
Wales 3-0 Serbia
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Wales showed their new found strength in depth as they rolled over a strong Serbia side without 6 key players in the squad.

Gareth Bale, Craig Bellamy, James Collins, Jack Collison, Joe Ledley and Joe Allen were all either injured or suspended on this rainy Welsh night.

All the goals were scored in the first half, a header by captain Ashley Williams followed up by striker from Steve Morison and, Bale's replacement, David Cotteril.

A Serbia side which included premiership regulars Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Vidic were left astounded.

Vidic said 'All credit must go to Wales as they did a very good performance without Gareth (Bale).'

Wales are now on 9 points with 6 games to go, a point off table toppers Belgium. Their next game is a high profile friendly against Portugal in November before 2 more qualifiers in march against Croatia (away) and Macedonia (away).





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Wales draw the 2nd half with Portugal!

Portugal 3-0 Wales
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An inexperienced Welsh side was outclassed by Portugal on a humid night in Lisbon.

There were 5 debuts handed out to players in a 1st half that saw Almedia, Ronaldo and Danny grab the goals.

Ian Rush rang the changes at half time bringing on no fewer than 9 players, and it saw a turnaround in the defensive performance at least.

Nobody expected Wales to get anything from this match and they will now get back to preparing for the next games in their world cup qualifying campaign, which they have made a surprisingly strong start to.
 
Giggs return no-go says Rush
'I have enquired about availability'
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Ian Rush today confirmed that he has asked Welsh legend about his availability for upcoming fixtures.

Speaking to journalists at a charity dinner he said that the midfielder, who retired in 2007 after 64 appearances and 12 goals, has no interest in returning to the international fold and wanted to concentrate on his club football.

This will come as a disappointment to the Wales fans who were hoping Giggs would return, especially with the side performing so well under Rush.

The only other news Rush had is that there had been a friendly scheduled with Japan in February, and he had voted for Lionel Messi as his world player of the year.
 
Wales 2-2 Japan

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An experimental Wales side, without injured Gareth Bale, came away quietly pleased against a solid Japan side at the Millennium stadium.

Steve Morison and Joe Ledley got the goals sandwiched between two Shinji Kagawa strikes to earn the draw.

Morison, who took his tally to 4 from 6 during Emmerson's reign, said 'We found out alot about eachother tonight as we continued to jell and play as a team. I'm obviously pleased to score but it's just a small game compared to the big games we have next month. And obviously we'll be pleased to have Craig (Bellamy) and Gareth (Bale) back.'
 
All hail king Kanu
Hal Robson Kanu brace inspires Wales to victory.
Croatia 2-4 Wales
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2 goals from winger Hal Robson Kanu kept Wales' superb qualifying run for the world cup going as they overcame a strong Croatian side 4-2 away in Zagreb.

A dull first half saw a 0-0 half time scoreline with Eduardo being the only player on the pitch to come close to scoring, however with Belgium 2-0 up away in Serbia (they went on to win 4-2) Wales knew they needed a win to keep within touching distance of their strong group rivals.

Craig Bellamy, playing as the lone striker on his return from injury, opened the scoring with a poachers effort after 52 minutes.

Robson Kanu got his first just minutes later as he tapped in a Gareth Bale cross at the back post.

He was at it again on 65 minutes when he drove past 2 players before smashing a low curling shot into the net, sending the Wales fans into disbelief.

Joe Ledley scored after a corner was headed out on the edge to make it a superb night for Wales.

Croatia fought back late on with goals from strikers Eduardo and Jelavic, but it wasn't enough to stop Wales marching to another win. They stay 1 point off Belgium, and will fancy their chances of going to Brazil 2014 if they can keep playing like this.
 
Rush rejects Bolton
View attachment 463913​
Wales manager Ian Rush today confirmed, in his pre match press conference before the Macedonia game, that he has indeed rejected a job offer to become the new Bolton manager.

Bolton, who finished the Npower Championship season in 17th place, have been without a manager for a number of weeks and the search will now continue with Roberto Di Matteo the new favourite for the job.

The other note able thing that Rush said in his press conference is that Wayne Hennessey, who returned to the squad earlier this week after a very lengthy injury, is looking fit and may well start on Friday.
 
Professional Wales see off Macedonia
Macedonia 0-2 Wales
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Goals from Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey kept up Wales' impressive run as they beat Macedonia 2-0 away.

In a game seen as a must win for Wales as they continue to chase Belgium, Gareth Bale got them off to the perfect start with a superb solo run before a trademark left foot strike into the top corner.

Wales continued to pressurize the opposition but it took until the 70th minute for vice captain Aaron Ramsey to add a second after Hal Robson Kanu slipped him in behind the defence and he slotted past the keeper.

The game ended without too much happening after that and Wales will be pleased to have kept the 1 point behind Belgium, who won 4-3 at home to Croatia.


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The group table with 4 games left.
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Remaining fixtures:

Wales- Belgium (h), Scotland (h), serbia (a), Macedonia (h)
Belgium- Wales (a), Macedonia (h), Scotland (a), Croatia (a)
 
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