Welcome to part one of How to Qualify for a Major Tournament Without Gareth Bale

Welcome to How to Qualify for a Major Tournament Without Gareth Bale.

No, it’s not The Twilight Zone, although the first part has faltered dramatically emotionally since the start of this drug-fueled ratings campaign journey. With the promise of a new dawn, the Croatian robbery in broad daylight, the timely excavation of a 19-year-old Armenian phenomenon, the crisis spiral of impending doom mid-campaign, the Rhonda-shaped guillotine, drama, drama , drama, Roy Keane (!), JJ and the graying Luka Modric, lots of sharp silences and forgetting how to pass/dribble/shoot in Yerevan.

And here is Wales. A draw against Turkey that probably should have been a win, the playoff run still fuels a napalm level of hope among a large fan base for an imminent third European appearance in eight years.

This is an unpleasant but no less cruel compendium of nine months, which doesn’t even mention Bale’s retirement in January, a moment similar to the loss of a kidney: technically not fatal, but the fragility of the physical and metaphysical state was still very vulnerable.

There would always be a time when Wales would have to accept life without their extraordinary star among them. Not only acknowledge the absence and the possible consequences, but sit in them as if your pants were wet and cold.

Which brings us to Wales: a team that may feel good, but not great. Detachment on the threshold, missing pieces for the puzzle and glue to join these pieces together. The team plays with the personality of being a consistent playmaker, but deep down they know that parts of the role still seem strange.

It was a three-issue campaign.

1: Was it a good campaign? Wales scored 12 points, suffered one of the worst home defeats in a millennium, continued a new masochism and ruined their own fortunes. They also reached the play-offs, unleashed unbridled joy in a 32-year-old midfield and took four points from six semi-finalists at last year’s World Cup – a staggeringly ridiculous feat compared to an entire month. June

Purely objectively speaking, the level of instability of the campaign makes it impossible to use a general definition of good.

2: Are general definitions of things rubbish and we need perspective? Of course, mentioning that this is Wales’ first qualifying campaign without Adonis being beaten by a man is an obligatory caveat to any reflection on the campaign. Like Aaron Ramsey’s unexpected injury. In fact, both of these things could be tattooed on the campaign’s face.

Wales is in transition. Countless players on the team are playing ridiculously bad minutes (Kieffer Moore has played 18 this season for Bournemouth, about the time it takes to cook macaroni and cheese in a box on the stove). And despite recent unprecedented success, qualifying for regular major tournaments is very, very difficult.

Which brings us to…

3: Can you still feel like a police officer? Can you get frustrated? Then. None of them are mutually exclusive. No one disputes that Wales would probably have been better off with an astute tactician at the helm, or that Albert Stuijnenberg’s loss of support staff was unremarkable, or that the post-Bale era revealed extraordinary gaps in immediate development and strategy ( i.e. relying on aging Bale and Ramsey’s bodies two years ago and not proactively looking for real-time alternatives may not have been the best way to plan for succession).

It seemed fitting that Wales would play the final match of this year’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against Turkey. The last time Wales faced Turkey, Ramsey and Bale combined for one of the most emphatic victories in the tournament since 2016. In fact, the victory was Wales’ only victory of the 2016 campaign.

The fact that Wales hadn’t won a qualifying game since 2005 without either of them on the field until last month is an absurd fact that says a lot about the quality they advertise, the shots they distort, the shots they miss.

However, Wales looked capable of turning the margin around on Tuesday. Wales should have beaten the group leaders, whose bags are packed for Germany, and had plenty of opportunities to do so. Last month, Wales won a World Cup or European qualifier without the help of Bale or Ramsey for the first time since 2005. Twice luck was on their side despite losing at home to a qualified team ranked in 97th in the world rankings and in danger of suffering a house fire during the summer.

So, from a broader perspective, this current harvest will undergo an unlikely development at a time when Wales is destined for devolution. The way this evolution unfolds is fundamental. In general, it is necessary to improve the attack and consistency.

But on Tuesday, as against Croatia, the signs were there. The qualification was palpable in a game that exuded challenge and comfort, the team happy to play for themselves and, more importantly, for their coach.

Should Wales be satisfied with this current state of change? This issue is probably a dead end and significant changes are unlikely before March. Davies described Wales as a “band of brothers” before Saturday’s draw against Armenia. Anyone cynical enough to roll their eyes at the obvious foolishness of the sentiment ignores the unshakable faith that abounds in the flock any more than there is reason to rebel.

These sentiments had the same energy as Page’s trustworthy pregame comments early in his tenure, when he emphasized intangibles like camaraderie, loyalty and humility that seemed as vulgar as a dirty tin hat deeply lubricated with oil. accent.

Without Bale or Ramsey, these will be the lifeboats that Wales will have to cling to to reach the play-offs and will try to be greater than the sum of their parts.