' JOHNNY OWEN ON WALES, BALE & RAMSEY IS BANG ON '

A great FB post by the very talented Merthyr boy and lifelong Bluebird Johnny Owen about Wales, Bale & Ramsey. It's exactly how I feel as we've done so well in recent years and punched well above our weight for a small nation. Like City, I'll support my club and country through thick and thin and will always be there, unlike the gloryhunters who jump on board when times are good and disappear when bad. Their choice I know but not the type of fan I like or want.





Johnny Owen......



"I have to be honest and say I’ve been saddened (but not surprised) at some of the vitriol I’ve seen on here to some of the Welsh players and Bale and Ramsey in particular.

I get the more successful you are the more support grows and what was once the hardcore now becomes a larger fanbase and some probably expect success like 2016.

I’d say to you now to forget it. Go off and support Real Madrid if you want that because you aren’t going to get it with Wales.

Yes we could lose heavily to England. Yes, we were well beaten by Iran in the end but let’s not forget a few things.

Firstly we are the smallest country there. That’s a fact. We haven’t got the population size to compete with someone like Brazil. That’s just how it is. Again, if you want that kind of success go and pretend to be German.

Secondly Bale and Ramsey are two of the greatest players we’ve ever had. Possibly the best. They have scored in games to get us to major tournaments when other greats (Rush, Giggs) didn’t and couldn’t.
Magical nights against Hungary and the Ukraine. The kind of countries we just couldn’t get past in times past.

I’ve seen some mad threads. One where someone was saying we have too many English born players! Haha…As if only picking pure borns (not that there’s any such thing of course) would mean we’d compete better.

It was ONE fuckin game. In the last we dug in and got the point against the biggest country at the tournament who then drew against England too. Give your head a wobble for fucks sake.

I’ll end by saying this. Perhaps we need this. A few years of us being Wales again. The people who always went will still go. Some would probably prefer it. Even I don’t want people along who have turned so quickly. Let them go watch rugby or whatever it is they did before.

Wales (or Cymru) will carry on. Another batch of players will come through. Maybe it will take a few years but that’s being Welsh. We simply haven’t got the population. BUT we are small and sometimes that’s beautiful. You’ll lose more than you win but never will the so called big countries ever get to feel what we did when we fell a giant. When you beat a Russia in a major tournament .. I tell ya… it’s as close to touching heaven on earth as is possible. Bringing one of the bullies down. They’ll never experience that like us. THAT’S being Wales. Don’t expect anything else…it’s enough for most of us."

Very good write up bale and Rambo problems are fitness and pages tactics.... very bad combination especially playing in a world cup where theres little room for error .... we'll be back!

Very good write up bale and Rambo problems are fitness and pages tactics.... very bad combination especially playing in a world cup where theres little room for error .... we'll be back!

Johnny always writes well on whatever he's covering. I never thought I'd see City play in 2 cup finals and reach the premier league let alone little old Wales qualifying for a WC. I get all the frustrations, I really do and we may see an upset on Tuesday or indeed get tonked, there's been quite a few shocks so far so who knows. Us older heads have seen all the lean times so I try to appreciate the highs when they come around. That said, I still want to see City have ambition and reach the potential that we deserve with a catchment area of 1.5m and a capital city club.

Very good write up bale and Rambo problems are fitness and pages tactics.... very bad combination especially playing in a world cup where theres little room for error .... we'll be back!

Johnny always writes well on whatever he's covering. I never thought I'd see City play in 2 cup finals and reach the premier league let alone little old Wales qualifying for a WC. I get all the frustrations, I really do and we may see an upset on Tuesday or indeed get tonked, there's been quite a few shocks so far so who knows. Us older heads have seen all the lean times so I try to appreciate the highs when they come around. That said, I still want to see City have ambition and reach the potential that we deserve with a catchment area of 1.5m and a capital city club.

I've said many times no matter how bad city or Wales have been (quite a lot) I always go into a season or qualifying games with optimism if you dont have that theres no point in watching your team play... only thing I haven't been to is a world cup/euros and already formulated a plan for going to next ones Wales or no Wales ..

That's (another) superb write-up by the well considered Johnny Owen littered with reality and some home truths...

I think we all get a little carried away in the moment, win, lose or draw, and it is easy to criticise from a position of ignorance of fact and reality; all from the comfort of an armchair

Roathie made an art of it for years...!

Gareth Bale, Rambo, Joe Allen, Wayne Hennessy and many others in this and previous squads have taken 'little' Wales to a level we can only have dreamed of since 1958, where the last truly 'great' (an oft over used word) Wales team reached the Quarter Finals of the World Cup where they were only defeated by a single goal from a certain Brazilian called simply 'Pele'

All of these players will, if they are not already, become icons of the game in Wales and deservedly so

Certainly Bale and likely Rambo will be compared to our 'best ever' players and, for me, Bale will top them all

Gareth Bale is for me, the Welsh Football GOAT...

That these players are nearing the end of their careers is a simple fact of life. Nothing or no one lasts forever; so let's take a moment to remember reflect on the joy these players, this squad and those before them have brought to the real Wales football supporters (not the multi-faceted bandwagon jumpers) over the last few years

The fact Wales are at the World Cup and reached the semi-Final of the Euros was largely down to them. History will remember them as giants of the Welsh game; and those watching this historic moment should too...!

Great write-up.

We almost need an amnesty and bin all posts, tweets, or thoughts during and an hour after the game.

Its the emotion of it all, and it's the hope that kills you.

I started months ago saying we'd be lucky to get a point out of that group, pretty much said the same thing up to our (City) last home game, then it started !!!
I watched all of the together stronger, then the three profile pieces, then the squad announcement (as if there were going to be any surprises), Bale sounded confident, Page talked well, then in our mini-season end piss up there was talk of Kieffer, James and Brennan Johnson may be a bit too physical for some of those teams, we could do this.........

Its the hope that kills you and unless you have 20 years of supporting City, the Jacks, Nuport, Merthyr or Wrexham then you are a novice at shattered dreams and how to react. Nothing compares to Blackpool...

Be interesting how the Cymru thing goes now

Maybe Page is picking Ramsey and Bale based on reputation and name - rather than fitness ? - I think most managers would do the same. But if it isnt working - it isnt working.

Maybe Page is picking Ramsey and Bale based on reputation and name - rather than fitness ? - I think most managers would do the same. But if it isnt working - it isnt working.

Hasnt really worked for awhile but scraped through some games ......now got a dilemma play them or go for youth exuberance? Can use bale as sub no problem but Rambo no as he is not an impact kind of player.... page needs a radical rethink of his strategy going into next qualifiers. If we are to progress as we certainly wont if he persists in his cautious approach to every game.

Been clear for some time that Bale and Ramsey are done. John Owen has reacted the same way as their critics, only for them.
Think we all want to see them as they were, Bale, Rambo.. Messi ten years ago etc. What a wonderful period of football.
Bale spent too long in the wilderness at Madrid..

Ok, just asking the question. Is this kind of mentality we have in wales a bit of a problem. We seem to enjoy getting beat more that we enjoy winning. We’ve been a good side for a while now and qualified for 3 major tournaments, yet we love to talk about the bad days more than we do the good. Do Denmark and Sweden etc act like that?

So Welsh fans can’t question Pages tactics? Hmmmm ….. if I want to Moan about our selections and tactics then I will. I’ve followed Wales away since Gigs debut in Nuremberg. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen Mr Owen at Wales away games.

My concern is how we played in the 2 games, are passing was dreadful. Are we saying that Iran has better players than Wales and Iran players ply their trade in higher leagues than the Welsh players.Must admit I did not know any Iran players and I thought if we played well we should beat them without too much trouble. How wrong I was.

So Welsh fans can’t question Pages tactics? Hmmmm ….. if I want to Moan about our selections and tactics then I will. I’ve followed Wales away since Gigs debut in Nuremberg. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen Mr Owen at Wales away games.

Spot on, we all moan about losing and tactics and we all rejoice when we win, its all part of the football day, weekend, away trip. Way too many on the "I'm the only fecker who has ever been to see Wales away" train and the rest have no right to be here.

Bale, Ramsey, Allen have all been fantastic and have got us to this place we are now but even they would say, "I was terrible in that match"

Every Wales fan has the right to moan and rejoice and long may it continue, its part of the match day experience and I don't need some bloke who as mentioned turns up for the big games telling me what I already know.

On a positive note, City will be unbeaten for 4 weeks come December 10th

Very good write up bale and Rambo problems are fitness and pages tactics.... very bad combination especially playing in a world cup where theres little room for error .... we'll be back!