FT: WALES 2 - 4 BELGIUM. Match thread

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

Hes getting more David Brent with every interview.

I think he must have gone to the same media training as Anthony Joshua.

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He always was a bit 'Brent' plenty of the new coaches are in my opinion. Bellamy is honest, shows his vulnerable side when he's talking. Football fans seem to lap it up, but the cynic in me sees it as a bit calculated, a deflection from criticism and his own short comings. I actually don't mind how he sets up and plays, although i'm not particularly bothered about the National side so it's more about being entertained and seeing a side attempting to win a game of football. It's strange in respect that we have a clutch of younger more modern coaches in the game whose tactics display a puerile edge, they're not for changing at any cost. I wouls have been all for it a couple of years a go, but not know, especially when the players are limired.

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Originally Posted by Tuerto

He always was a bit 'Brent' plenty of the new coaches are in my opinion. Bellamy is honest, shows his vulnerable side when he's talking. Football fans seem to lap it up, but the cynic in me sees it as a bit calculated, a deflection from criticism and his own short comings. I actually don't mind how he sets up and plays, although i'm not particularly bothered about the National side so it's more about being entertained and seeing a side attempting to win a game of football. It's strange in respect that we have a clutch of younger more modern coaches in the game whose tactics display a puerile edge, they're not for changing at any cost. I wouls have been all for it a couple of years a go, but not know, especially when the players are limired.

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He has always spoken with his heat on his sleeve, but I defo reckon hes had some kind of media training to try and reinvent himself. The softly slower speaking, the smiles, its trying to get away from his aggressive image as a player. Even in podcatss hes done where hes talking about his life in general or days as a footballer rather than as a coach / manager disecting the game hes been doing the same and its starting to get a bit nauseating tbh. I feel he is putting a bit of a mask on and it will slip soon enough if the media piut enough pressure on him.

I thought he was an excellent pundit when he first went onto Sky, I thought I could listen to him talk about football all day, but recently hes really starting to grind my gears.

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

He has always spoken with his heat on his sleeve, but I defo reckon hes had some kind of media training to try and reinvent himself. The softly slower speaking, the smiles, its trying to get away from his aggressive image as a player. Even in podcatss hes done where hes talking about his life in general or days as a footballer rather than as a coach / manager disecting the game hes been doing the same and its starting to get a bit nauseating tbh. I feel he is putting a bit of a mask on and it will slip soon enough if the media piut enough pressure on him.

I thought he was an excellent pundit when he first went onto Sky, I thought I could listen to him talk about football all day, but recently hes really starting to grind my gears.

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I messaged on this after his 18 minute press conference following the England defeat. The press are treading on egg shells around him. There is no pressure - not one question about selection, a player, the goals conceded, the ‘shapes’ etc. it was all generic, safe nonsense. I learned nothing from it. Haven’t heard the Belgium press conference yet.

Did anyone ask why Kieffer Moore only came on with about 5-10 mins left?

I presume hes got an injury!

I'm not really sure what people expect from this Wales squad. It doesn't contain a Gareth Bale, or anyone even close to his level. The only strikers currently available are Championship level at best, and one of them has managed just one goal in 2025. The midfielders are ordinary on a good day and the defence is far from great.

Perhaps different tactics would yield slightly better results, but that's doubtful. The current squad just isn't very good. In my opinion, it's not much more complicated than that.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

I'm not really sure what people expect from this Wales squad. It doesn't contain a Gareth Bale, or anyone even close to his level. The only strikers currently available are Championship level at best, and one of them has managed just one goal in 2025. The midfielders are ordinary on a good day and the defence is far from great.

Perhaps different tactics would yield slightly better results, but that's doubtful. The current squad just isn't very good. In my opinion, it's not much more complicated than that.

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Northern Ireland, a team without anyone remiotely like a Gareth Bale gave Germany a much tougher time o9f it than Wales gave Belgium last night - what odds Wales now bein g the worst of the four home nations?

Bellamy’s Wales in crisis?

Wales have conceded fifteen goals in their last three competitive games with Belgium.

https://mauveandyellowarmy.net

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Northern Ireland, a team without anyone remotely like a Gareth Bale gave Germany a much tougher time of it than Wales gave Belgium last night - what odds Wales now being the worst of the four home nations?

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Swings and roundabouts. They lost. They're third in their group. So did Wales. And so are Wales.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

I'm not really sure what people expect from this Wales squad. It doesn't contain a Gareth Bale, or anyone even close to his level. The only strikers currently available are Championship level at best, and one of them has managed just one goal in 2025. The midfielders are ordinary on a good day and the defence is far from great.

Perhaps different tactics would yield slightly better results, but that's doubtful. The current squad just isn't very good. In my opinion, it's not much more complicated than that.

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Keepers bang average too, Trott would have probably saved the last one at least with his foot.

They gave it a go, but it is a weak squad. Wilson is decent, but we need another ten at that level.

As soon as Keiffer came on we scored.Harris just runs around.Belgium's one fraility was high balls into the box.I really don' know what Bellemy's game plan was.

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

He has always spoken with his heat on his sleeve, but I defo reckon hes had some kind of media training to try and reinvent himself. The softly slower speaking, the smiles, its trying to get away from his aggressive image as a player. Even in podcatss hes done where hes talking about his life in general or days as a footballer rather than as a coach / manager disecting the game hes been doing the same and its starting to get a bit nauseating tbh. I feel he is putting a bit of a mask on and it will slip soon enough if the media piut enough pressure on him.

I thought he was an excellent pundit when he first went onto Sky, I thought I could listen to him talk about football all day, but recently hes really starting to grind my gears.

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Agree with most of that. Bellamy is still a very capable pundit, and considering the squad he has to work with, he’s doing a reasonable job, although as many have said, I don't think Mark Harris should start either.

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Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman

Swings and roundabouts. They lost. They're third in their group. So did Wales. And so are Wales.

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Wales are combining amateurish off field decisions that are not making it any easier to achieve their playing targets with very a naive defensive approach when they take on sides ranked higher than them.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Wales are combining amateurish off field decisions that are not making it any easier to achieve their playing targets with very a naive defensive approach when they take on sides ranked higher than them.

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You can disagree with the tactics but calling Bellamy "amateurish" is absurd. Even those who criticise his personality say how professional he was / is and praise him for the standards he sets and demands, both as a player and a coach.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Wales are combining amateurish off field decisions that are not making it any easier to achieve their playing targets with very a naive defensive approach when they take on sides ranked higher than them.

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To a degree, I can understand what you've said about the England friendly, but why was Canada a problem?

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

Wales are combining amateurish off field decisions that are not making it any easier to achieve their playing targets with very a naive defensive approach when they take on sides ranked higher than them.

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Yep this is my view. We are not going to outscore the better sides when we leave ourselves so wide open.
I do think that first pen was a huge momentum swing though as we started so well and Belgium hadn't had a look in

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

You can disagree with the tactics but calling Bellamy "amateurish" is absurd. Even those who criticise his personality say how professional he was / is and praise him for the standards he sets and demands, both as a player and a coach.

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I didn’t call Bellamy amateurish, he had nothing to do with the decision which saw us unable to field the under 21 team we wanted to for a game which decided whether we could proceed further in the under 21 Euros. Also, although I may be wrong here, i don’t see him having a leading role in selecting Canada and England as friendly opponents when we’re going to be in the toughest group for the next Europa League - I think it’s naive in the extreme to select friendly opposition that was likely to make our route through the Play Offs tougher than it needed to have been.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

I didn’t call Bellamy amateurish, he had nothing to do with the decision which saw us unable to field the under 21 team we wanted to for a game which decided whether we could proceed further in the under 21 Euros. Also, although I may be wrong here, i don’t see him having a leading role in selecting Canada and England as friendly opponents when we’re going to be in the toughest group for the next Europa League - I think it’s naive in the extreme to select friendly opposition that was likely to make our route through the Play Offs tougher than it needed to have been.

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So now youre calling Bellamy a liar? He said he wanted the England game and also the thinking behind the England friendly was we didnt need to travel far and back before the more important game on Monday.

As for the under 21s, if Bellamy decides its more important for them to be with the seniors then thats his call as the national manager.

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

So now youre calling Bellamy a liar? He said he wanted the England game and also the thinking behind the England friendly was we didnt need to travel far and back before the more important game on Monday.

As for the under 21s, if Bellamy decides its more important for them to be with the seniors then thats his call as the national manager.

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You’ve totally got the wrong end of the stick about the under 21s, they were unable to pick their best team because of an administrative error. Bellamy’s hardly going to say he didn’t want the England game is he? All I’m saying is that my guess is that it was a decision which had more to do with the money men than him.

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Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

You’ve totally got the wrong end of the stick about the under 21s, they were unable to pick their best team because of an administrative error. Bellamy’s hardly going to say he didn’t want the England game is he? All I’m saying is that my guess is that it was a decision which had more to do with the money men than him.

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Fair enough on the under 21s, ive misunderstood, but the whole purpose of age group football is to develop players for the senior squad. Is it really that important we didnt get further? Hes already picked the best crop of under 21s and promoted them to the senior squad. Neco Williams, for example, never got capped at under 21 level. For a nation with a pool of players as small as ours the best youngsters have to get promoted to the seniors earlier than the bigger countries and usually skip the 21s.

Im still not buying into the England friendly being about money though. its not like it was at home and we cashed in at the Principality Stadium. I think the reasoning that it saved travellling further afield before such an important game a fair and valid one.

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Originally Posted by J R Hartley

Fair enough on the under 21s, ive misunderstood, but the whole purpose of age group football is to develop players for the senior squad. Is it really that important we didnt get further? Hes already picked the best crop of under 21s and promoted them to the senior squad. Neco Williams, for example, never got capped at under 21 level. For a nation with a pool of players as small as ours the best youngsters have to get promoted to the seniors earlier than the bigger countries and usually skip the 21s.

Im still not buying into the England friendly being about money though. its not like it was at home and we cashed in at the Principality Stadium. I think the reasoning that it saved travelling further afield before such an important game a fair and valid one.

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You could also say we started well compared to the England and previous Belgium game, so that could have vindicated the choice of opponents, but it wasn't sustainable and we soon reverted to type. I think he has to look at the system he is using and take into account the overall ability ability of the squad.

Another thing I noticed, Belgium were aware that Ben Davies hadn't played a club game all season, so they shifted Doku over to the right-hand side, who then proceeded to take the piss out of us all night. Why didn't we play somebody there who had the legs to stick to him like glue? If ever there was a case for staying close to an individual opponent that was it.

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Originally Posted by dandywarhol

As soon as Keiffer came on we scored.Harris just runs around.Belgium's one fraility was high balls into the box.I really don' know what Bellemy's game plan was.

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I think his game plan was obvious from the outset, Harris, Thomas & Brooks playing on the shoulder with James & Wilson breaking through the middle. The problem was we were not capable of putting the ball into the space behind Belgium.

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

You could also say we started well compared to the England and previous Belgium game, so that could have vindicated the choice of opponents, but it wasn't sustainable and we soon reverted to type. I think he has to look at the system he is using and take into account the overall ability ability of the squad.

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The start really surprised me and Belgium by the looks of it, but it's a shame t was so short-lived, that penalty killed us.

Blah blah blah whatever we lost no surprise to me at all. No point arguing over who killed who.

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

Another thing I noticed, Belgium were aware that Ben Davies hadn't played a club game all season, so they shifted Doku over to the right-hand side, who then proceeded to take the piss out of us all night. Why didn't we play somebody there who had the legs to stick to him like glue? If ever there was a case for staying close to an individual opponent that was it.

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Doku would have taken the piss out of a defender who stuck like glue to him, wouldn’t have made an iota of difference. He’s way too cute, skilful & fast than anyone we have to offer. Nothing to be be ashamed or angry about, he’s just much better than anyone we have at the moment.

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Originally Posted by splott parker

Doku would have taken the piss out of a defender who stuck like glue to him, wouldn’t have made an iota of difference. He’s way too cute, skilful & fast than anyone we have to offer. Nothing to be be ashamed or angry about, he’s just much better than anyone we have at the moment.

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He is class a joy to see,if he's not playing us :hehe:

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Originally Posted by splott parker

Doku would have taken the piss out of a defender who stuck like glue to him, wouldn’t have made an iota of difference. He’s way too cute, skilful & fast than anyone we have to offer. Nothing to be be ashamed or angry about, he’s just much better than anyone we have at the moment.

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Doku was playing his own little game within a game which was actually incredible to watch, and it was ridiculous how easily we allowed him to get away with it.

I blame the Red Wall halfwits who chanted "You're just a shit Sorba Thomas..." at De Bruyne for the loss personally.

Sorta did display some De Bruyne esque defending for their second goal mind.

Brooks will tear you apart was quite funny when he was subbed as well.

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Originally Posted by Hilts

Brooks will tear you apart was quite funny when he was subbed as well.

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I enjoy the atmosphere in the Cymru matches but they don't go off script with the songbook and sometimes the songs/support don't have anything to do with what's going on in the game.

There's also a higher number of absolute wallopers at the games. I'm all for 'Together Stronger' unless I got the village fuuckwit from Llanphuckdilldo sat by me resplendent in his bucket hat and 1980s Adidas DH Gate special sat by me.

My own fault for buying campaign tickets.

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Originally Posted by Jordi Culé

I enjoy the atmosphere in the Cymru matches but they don't go off script with the songbook and sometimes the songs/support don't have anything to do with what's going on in the game.

There's also a higher number of absolute wallopers at the games. I'm all for 'Together Stronger' unless I got the village fuuckwit from Llanphuckdilldo sat by me resplendent in his bucket hat and 1980s Adidas DH Gate special sat by me.

My own fault for buying campaign tickets.

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Don't forget, they probably think you're a tw@t too :biggrin:

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

Don't forget, they probably think you're a tw@t too :biggrin:

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seems unwise to start that line of conversation tbh

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Originally Posted by Rjk

seems unwise to start that line of conversation tbh

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There's always three fingers pointing back at you, as my old grandad used to say.

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Originally Posted by splott parker

Doku would have taken the piss out of a defender who stuck like glue to him, wouldn’t have made an iota of difference. He’s way too cute, skilful & fast than anyone we have to offer. Nothing to be be ashamed or angry about, he’s just much better than anyone we have at the moment.

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Doku ripped us apart in both games but he’s not superhuman, he couldn’t break the North Macedonian defence the previous Thursday. We did seem to give him a huge helping hand hand by giving him plenty of space to run at Davies

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Originally Posted by Jordi Culé

I enjoy the atmosphere in the Cymru matches but they don't go off script with the songbook and sometimes the songs/support don't have anything to do with what's going on in the game.

There's also a higher number of absolute wallopers at the games. I'm all for 'Together Stronger' unless I got the village fuuckwit from Llanphuckdilldo sat by me resplendent in his bucket hat and 1980s Adidas DH Gate special sat by me.

My own fault for buying campaign tickets.

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Feel lucky that his mammy hadn't bought him one of those vuvuzelas for the game :hehe:

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Originally Posted by splott parker

Doku would have taken the piss out of a defender who stuck like glue to him, wouldn’t have made an iota of difference. He’s way too cute, skilful & fast than anyone we have to offer. Nothing to be be ashamed or angry about, he’s just much better than anyone we have at the moment.

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If a defender were to stick like glue to him, it would be because the defender can match him for pace; it would also be because the defender can read Doku's moves. Now, I know we don't possess such a defender, but if we did, he would hardly be having the piss taken out of him.

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Originally Posted by Jordi Culé

I enjoy the atmosphere in the Cymru matches but they don't go off script with the songbook and sometimes the songs/support don't have anything to do with what's going on in the game.

There's also a higher number of absolute wallopers at the games. I'm all for 'Together Stronger' unless I got the village fuuckwit from Llanphuckdilldo sat by me resplendent in his bucket hat and 1980s Adidas DH Gate special sat by me.

My own fault for buying campaign tickets.

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You’re getting worse with age mate. You’ve been bothering with Soroko for too long. You make Victor Meldrew look like Louis Spence. :hehe:

I do agree with the bucket hat whoppers though :hehe:

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Originally Posted by Jordi Culé

I enjoy the atmosphere in the Cymru matches but they don't go off script with the songbook and sometimes the songs/support don't have anything to do with what's going on in the game.

There's also a higher number of absolute wallopers at the games. I'm all for 'Together Stronger' unless I got the village fuuckwit from Llanphuckdilldo sat by me resplendent in his bucket hat and 1980s Adidas DH Gate special sat by me.

My own fault for buying campaign tickets.

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Did they sing any songs in Welsh apart from the national anthem? Asking for a friend.

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Originally Posted by Rock_Flock_of_Five

If a defender were to stick like glue to him, it would be because the defender can match him for pace; it would also be because the defender can read Doku's moves. Now, I know we don't possess such a defender, but if we did, he would hardly be having the piss taken out of him.

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Crucial sentence, ‘ We don’t possess such a defender’

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

Don't forget, they probably think you're a tw@t too :biggrin:

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I am too, a miserable one at that!