The Gareth Wales Baleathon is back, back, back!

[Ray de Galles]

It's never been a question of if the FAW, players or supporters want him to continue - it's always been about if Coleman wants to carry on.

I don't think he will, navigating this ridiculous Nations League thing looks an arseache and even qualifying for Euro 2020 won't eclipse last year's achievements. Maybe having another shot at a World Cup might tempt him to sign a four year contract but it's a long commitment.

[Ray de Galles]

Definitely. The players idolise him - he (as well as Osian Roberts) have been massively influential in bringing the younger duals through to our side of Offa's Dyke. He hasn't done much wrong in either of these two campaigns, so why change?

He is also hugely respected all over Wales - the roadshows he and IG have been doing are incredible PR exercisies and have gone a long way to helping the whole TogetherStronger stuff which has brought the country together as one big fanbase.

It's a yes from me.

Is "IG" Ian Gwyn Hughes?

[Bored Of Education]

So in summary the collective OTF wisdom among the Wales watchers is that

A) Wales needs a new striker. Or at least pick the one who wins headers if the opposition is a team of battle giants

The team pretty much picks itself when all are fit apart from the rotating strikers and I think that has worked well. We don't play many teams like Ireland thankfully.

B) It doesn't have to all be about Bale. Wales missed Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey more on occasions.

Definitely. I think that you can split football watchers into two groups. Those that think that Wales need Bale more than anything else and those that think that Wales need Ramsey and Allen just as much if not more than Bale.

C) If Wales are going to play out from the back they need to fucking CONCENTRATE!

I would like to see some stats on how many goals we have conceded through playing it out from the back. On Monday's evidence and plenty of other matches', i would say that Wales need to fucking concentrate full stop. I also think that we need to play out on the floor but quicker.

D) Wales need to learn to kill off games by scoring more goals, but also not tiring themselves out and letting in equalisers.

Yes, home to Serbia and Georgia and, to a lesser extent, Serbia away were the killer dropped points from this campaign. I would say that the latter part of the campaign got better in that respect until Monday when it came down to, let's say, a mixture of elements.

E) There is a tendency toward magical thinking. The red wall will sing the anthem and the boy wonder sub will score a fairy tale goal. Every. Single. Time.

That's a very recent narrative. Like the cult of HRK, I expect it will carry on but no-one in their right minds thinks it.

F) However good Wales are they never seem to get the luck they need to achieve their full potential. (2016 is the exception here.)

Ah, well I thought I was the Jonah here as I missed the Austria home win and went away to Dublin meaning that I hadn't seen a win in qualifiers but forgot I had seen the Moldova home opener.

As far as Coleman is concerned, I thought he had said he was leaving after this campaign. As I mentioned on the other thread, Osian Roberts is key here. However, if Coleman is going to carry on and the players think as much of him as has been mentioned, I am inclined to be glad if he stays. As has also been mentioned, who else would we get? We've gone through all the other older ex-Wales players (please not Pulis) and no-one from the previous generation of Welsh players is pulling up any trees in management or coaching. A wild card might be a Thierry Henry or Patrick Viera who have done their coaching through the FAW along with Roberts but there is no saying how this would go. The surest route to success is to stick with Coleman/Roberts, certainly while we have this current generation that are the spine of our team. The last gasp there is, I expect, 2020 at the very latest. We can then bin off Qatar as a bad idea for players and supporters while we consolidate the squad and coaching set-up and try and be competitive for Germany or Turkey in 2024 and, hopefully, benefit from the expanded World Cup in 2026. I will only be 59 then.

[Ray de Galles]

Yes, home to Serbia and Georgia and, to a lesser extent, Serbia away were the killer dropped points from this campaign.

Eh? The draw away in Serbia was a fantastic result, achieved against the run of play and largely due to Serbia's terrible finishing. Far more damaging was giving up the lead twice in Vienna.

The home draw with Serbia was certainly a missed opportunity but in both that and the home game against Georgia the opponents caused us great problems and I recall being relieved we hadn't lost the latter.

Ultimately, it's both of the results against Ireland that mean we aren't in a play-off because we got dragged in to their game. That's going to be the main headline from this campaign.

[Bored Of Education]

I agree but they weren't the games with late equalisers. I could have added a "through late equalisers", I suppose, to clarify.

Yeah, sorry, the Austria away draw not the Serbia one. I had double checked before the post that we had led twice in Vienna as well. Before March, many of us were ruing the dropped home points to Georgia and Serbia and thought the campaign was pretty much over then which the away draw did little to contradict.

[Jorge Porbillas]

Is "IG" Ian Gwyn Hughes?

Yes.

I would like to see some stats on how many goals we have conceded through playing it out from the back.

You can bet your life Osian has those stats

[Antepli Ejderha]

Chris Coleman: Dare to Dream: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b096vcxz via @bbciplayer

Just watched this, it's not bad and worth a watch just to show how far we've come.

[Jorge Porbillas]

Chris Coleman: Dare to Dream: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b096vcxz via @bbciplayer

Just watched this, it's not bad and worth a watch just to show how far we've come.

And I'm in it too!!

[Antepli Ejderha]

And I'm in it too!!

When?

[Jorge Porbillas]

When?

The Sarajevo shots are of me and the mates I travel with!

[Patrick Thistle]

Anyone going to the friendly with Panama on 14 November?

I'm tempted but have a work trip to London the next day with a very early train. Still, I know someone who might be able to score some free tickets so if I can get in for free I might go.

[Jorge Porbillas]

Anyone going to the friendly with Panama on 14 November?

I'm tempted but have a work trip to London the next day with a very early train. Still, I know someone who might be able to score some free tickets so if I can get in for free I might go.

I'll be there

[Jorge Porbillas]

A question for the stattos amongst us. Do we count the Costa Rica match as Chris Coleman’s first match? Or do we, as I have, count the Mexico game as his first? This is important as it decides if Panama is his 49th or 50th game in charge!

[Patrick Thistle]

He picked the team for Costa Rica didn't he? I guess that means he was "in charge" even if he wasn't the manager.

[Jorge Porbillas]

It seems the FAW don't count Costa Rica as his first game.

[Patrick Thistle]

Good to see Coleman blooding the kids.

David Brooks looks a player. Kwame Ampadu's awful teen tache has to go though.

[Patrick Thistle]

Really, dropping a result against an utterly fucking shit team in the very last minute having squandered chances of every type is so very Wales and so very Coleman* that this was probably the most fitting send off we could manage for Chris



*as always, 2016 is the exception that proves the rule

[Jorge Porbillas]

Good to see Coleman blooding the kids.

David Brooks looks a player. Kwame Ampadu's awful teen tache has to go though.

Ethan

[Bored Of Education]

From a Bath City perspective, good to see Marley Watkins coming on for Wales.

[Patrick Thistle]

Ethan

Fuck, yeah. And after I had to battle with my autocorrect to write Kwame.

[Patrick Thistle]

From a Bath City perspective, good to see Marley Watkins coming on for Wales.

He had a good chance to settle the game.

(Along with every other player!)

[3 Colours Red]

Ampadu's awful teen tache has to go though.

It is November, to be fair.

[Patrick Thistle]

Well that's it then. Bye, Chris.

Although as Sean of the Shed said on the sacked managers thread, why the fuck would he want that job?

Anyway, 24 Nov Wales women play Kazakhstan women in Cardiff. Anyone interested in going with me? 7pm KO

[Bored Of Education]

Yeah, the Everton job is still available and he has gone to Sunderland?

Next manager suggestions:

The traditional suggestion - Bora Milutinovic. He's free

The wildcard suggestion that plonkers on Twitter and Facebook appear to also have gone for - Thierry Henry

The "No thank you" suggestions who will probably end up with the job - Tony Pulis, Ryan Giggs

The "anyone with him" suggestion - Osian Roberts.

In all seriousness, Roberts has seemed more and more to be running the squad, if not the team on matchdays. In saying that last bit, I remember Coleman consulting Roberts about a substitution for 5 minutes in the last season and Roberts doing most of the talking. I also have seen Roberts instructing players pitchside at length.

[diggedy derek]

Why in God’s name has he gone to Sunderland?