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SO ONCE AGAIN IT COMES down to the wire for Wales. They have tripped at the last hurdle on frequent occasions and the expectancy and fears of 45 years will be twisted into two matches against Russia, the first on Saturday, to determine whether Wales will stumble or are bound for the European Championship for their first appearance in the finals of a major tournament since 1958. “We’ve an unbelievable chance to put the record straight,” Robert Earnshaw, the Cardiff City forward, said. “We can definitely beat them.”
Earnshaw is softly spoken. His intrinsic shyness as he sits in Ninian Park is contrary to his flamboyant hairstyles and apparent gregariousness on the pitch, where he celebrates his goals with a somersault or by mimicking digging for gold. Yet his quiet nature disappears when he acts as the DJ in the dressing-room before games, playing hip-hop and R & B for his team-mates.
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Dan's the man
IT is perhaps a sign of the strides Cardiff City youngster Danny Gabbidon has made that on the day of Wales' Euro 2004 qualifying crunch in Italy, one Welsh player's name was on the lips of pundits and fans. No, not John Hartson, Craig Bellamy or even Ryan Giggs.
The question everyone was asking was, "Is Gabbidon fit?"
He could be the difference, top BBC pundits were arguing, between Wales losing in Milan - or coming home with a point. As it was, Gabbidon failed to shake off a calf injury ... and Wales lost 4-0. If only, said the pundits and fans afterwards.
The truth, of course, is that we will never know.
But whatever, it's a radical change, according to Gabbidon, from the time he first teamed up with Mark Hughes' squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic last year.
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