Savage: Time For Toshack To Go

There has been PLENTY of ad blood between Blackburn Rovers midfielder Robbie Savage and Welsh manager John Toshack for sometime now, and Savage is having his say about him again.

Since Rovers manager Mark Hughes left his post as manager of the Welsh National side to be replaced by John Toshack (who had already had an ill-fated short spell in charge of Wales) they seem to have gone into total decline. Maybe Hughes could see this happening and got out while the going was good? Maybe Wales just don’t have the players coming through? Maybe it is just that Toshack’s methods, and seemingly old school ways of going about things are not suited to Wales? Or maybe even a combination of all these things and more?

Whatever the problem is Savage can see now way forward under Toshack and feels that in order for things to change he will need to be relieved of his duties at the end of the European Championship Qualifying campaign, a campaign that Wales have struggled tremendously in, as they have under Toshack’s leadership if truth be known.

Savage told the Daily Mirror: “John Toshack told us to judge him after the European qualifying games. The truth is we have gone a long way backwards.

“I do hope he doesn’t start the ‘we’ll make it to South Africa’ stuff because that would be utterly ridiculous and we all know it.

“There’s more chance of me flying Concorde to the moon blindfolded than there is of you taking Wales to the South African World Cup.

“I do hope we aren’t going to get a load of stuff about how Wales will qualify for South Africa.

“It’s not going to happen and as a Wales fan I’m as dejected as the rest of the nation. Only 25,000 turned up for a qualifier against one of the world’s best teams – that tells you everything.

“Just a few years ago under Mark Hughes we beat Germany in a friendly at the Millennium Stadium in front of 75,000 – that tells you how far we’ve sunk.”

The relationship between Sav and Toshack has been a sour one since Toshack returned as Welsh manager and Sav was immediately outspoken about his re-appointment and was not selected by Toshack, so eventually retired from International footballer. However, he is quick to stress that his latest attack on Toshack is not one out of spite, merely a patriotic Welshman’s view and even if Toshack did go his International career is over.

He added: “My own career is over – there would never be any chance of me coming back whatever the circumstances so this is not about having a pop for the sake of it.”


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