Reviews

When the first edition of this comprehensive book was completed five years ago, Welsh football, writes the author in his introduction, was at its lowest ebb. Manager Gary Speed had just died in the most tragic of circumstances. The national team was in danger of being swallowed by the Team GB whale, and survival was a more realistic ambition than any notion of success. Apathy ruled. Having been immersed in disappointment and tragedy, Phil Stead admits that researching this book for 18 months affected him emotionally. Forget the old adage of soccer being only a game. The one desire, one that seemed a distant dream, was to qualify for a tournament. At long last, however, the dream has been realised. This compendious volume of 400 pages spans almost a century and a half, from the first-ever international against Scotland in 1876 to the European 2016 qualifications. The game in Wales, however, was in its infancy when compared to its next door neighbour a century and more ago. In the 1890s, the game was so strong in England that they were able to field two different teams against both Wales and Ireland on the same day. Stead turns to celebrity footballers, choosing, as the first ever, Billy Meredith of both Manchester City and United. He achieved fame despite the fact that his mother banned him and his brothers from playing football because it ruined their footwear. Like all sports, soccer was virtually suspended during WW1, only to resurge soon after. In the Cardiff area alone there were 64 applications for the use of the available 12 pitches. Then, in 1927, the FA Cup was won by Cardiff City, a feat regarded as a national victory. We are led through the years of WW2 and the first World Cups 19491959, including the heartbreak of 1958. We are reminded of the barren years of 19601969, before enjoying a mini resurgence, only to miss out again in the 1986 World Cup. And so it continued: World Cups, European Cups and disappointment after disappointment as a result of either being just not good enough or through sheer rotten luck. Events on the field are then overshadowed by the sudden and still unexplained death of manager Gary Speed in 2011. Soccer, again, became just a game. But, once more we are living the dream. Phil Stead closes with the exaltation: At last it has happened. Wales Have Qualified. Shout it often! Shout it loud! Lyn Ebenezer It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council