Chris Popov

[hooky]

We really need to scrutinise all the centre forwards we have given Bale's retirement.

We will all feel sick if Popov joins Bulgaria and starts knocking in 5+ goals in each of their campaigns. We do not have any one obvious who is going to do that for us. He may not be a Hughes, but he can emerge as a Hartson. Even if he ends up as a lower Premier League or Championship player could be the difference in a campaign as we simply do not have obvious goalscorers in our setup right now. Hopefully Brennan (and Moore for another year or two) can contribute but we could really do with a replacement focal point.

It seems under Bodin's recent tenure at the U21 that something has started cracking in our setup - Hill playing for Ireland U21s which happened as soon as he returned from a significant injury, Campbell, James (before he came back), hopefully Harris is still committed, and now this story on Popov. It does suggest something has gone a bit awry? Has there been a significant change in personnel in the development pathway over the past 2 years which could explain this?

Wales have usually always had a Welsh born goalscorer / attacking forwards - Rush, Hughes, Saunders, Blake, Hartson, Bellamy then Giggs and of course Bale. Hope one or two emerge in the next 4 years.

[bale-droed]

Iwan Morgan could be the one. I kind of think he’s just going to emerge from nowhere like Colwill. At 16 he’s signed to the same agency as Bale fingers crossed that means something.

But hopefully popov,Crole, Dackers, L Harris can join him in the goal scoring department

[hooky]

Colwill has not emerged though unfortunately and he is certainly not a goalscorer. I know he has been impacted by growing pains / injuries, but he has not strung two consistently good games together or dominated a game from what I have seen or heard. I also have not seen a great amount of desire from him when I have watched him.

I have not seen the others but hopefully one of them can develop

Its about time North Wales contributed another Rush or Hughes isn't it (from a South Walian!)

[quetzal]

Popov can piss off if he’s thinking of leaving us. We need committed players, now more than ever. The lad at Fulham can also do one if he’s having a think.

[surge]

While it's always disappointing to see players leave, getting angry is probably going to push them away. Our system encourages them to experience others and trusts that if they're committed to us that they'll return. 

Just as long as we're doing everything right ourselves to make them know our system is a good one. 

[saturn9]

What we should be asking is why so many young talents are having second thoughts. The alarm bells rang for me with Harris pulling out for 'personal' reasons🤔🤔🤔

[hooky]

That is the point

I just sense that there may have been a little less TLC in the last couple of years.

With the U21s - for whatever reason Bodin seems to have had an issue or two. Players like Popov, James and Harris should have been moved up to that squad by now surely?

Then with Hill and Popov - both had bad injuries. Hill then played for ROI when he returned from injury and Popov seems to be prepared to commit to Bulgaria (perhaps) while he is currently injured. I would assume it makes sense for FAW people to keep tabs / show them they are still important while they undergo that process.

If Popov leaves our setup then that is a bit inexcusable as he is Welsh born and bread, his mum is Welsh and he has played through the Wales age groups presumably with friends and so if he is thinking of leaving then questions should be asked. Bulgaria is not Italy and we should be a more attractive proposition, especially given playing home games in Bulgaria would be so disruptive to his career! So no harm in having a charm offensive and letting him know what we think of him and his potential before he makes a big decision.

[dai]

Jan 10, 2023 22:03:34 GMT saturn9 said:

What we should be asking is why so many young talents are having second thoughts. The alarm bells rang for me with Harris pulling out for 'personal' reasons🤔🤔🤔

I know we've qualified for the last Euro's and WC, but we've hardly looked like an attractive footballing team for the last 2/3 years. As a young footballer, would you say our tactics, way of coaching, style of play has looked appealing? Obviously that shouldn't matter, as you're meant to want to play for your country......but it must play a factor for some young players who are making big lifestyle decisions.

Also, a few years ago, young players had the potential to play alongside Bale, Ramsey, Allen.....stars of the footballing world (stand out players in Euro 2016). However they are ageing, and now Bale has retired, do we as a team have that attractive star quality? Then again, should that matter? You should want to play for your country etc..............

Maybe Bulgaria are on the up?

We are possibly overthinking this though.  

[insertname]

Imo if someone picks their country on the basis of the type of football they are perceived to play then they aren’t a great loss. Does anyone think Bale researched the type of football Tosh played before committing to Wales? Of course not, he was Welsh, come what may. There should be more emphasis on people who are busting a gut to play for Wales and less focus on players who are barely out of nappies and yet already acting like mercenaries touting themselves around on the international stage for the best deal for their careers.

That’s what is supposed to set international football apart, it’s supposed to have some purity in that it’s not motivated by what the player can personally gain but rather how they can serve the country they identify with. It shows a severe lack of pride imo to be concerned with encouraging people who obviously don’t feel Welsh enough that they should feel more Welsh and in the process do us a favour. It makes international football far too much like club football for my liking.

So if this lad is suddenly Bulgarian then great, I’ll drive him there myself if it’s a decision that’s come from the heart.

I’d much rather a team of proud Welsh lads that lose more often than not over a successful team made up of players who really wanted to play for other countries.

[jimexotic]

It does seem rather odd to be looking at Bulgaria when you think how Welsh he is.

[CrackityJones]

Am I missing something here? There is one line in that article that says the Bulgarian FA are looking at someone in Wales U21s and hoping to make arrangements, and that’s it. They are looking. Not the other way around.

[hooky]

Jan 10, 2023 22:38:44 GMT jimexotic said:

It does seem rather odd to be looking at Bulgaria when you think how Welsh he is.

Exactly - this would be worse than the Kevin Sheedy situation! Someone in the FAW should be asking why this could happen and they should have a discussion with the lad and his family if justified surely?

These are still kids for goodness sake - upsetting them (for whatever reason) can solicit a reaction and they may not think things through - us adults may view this as absurd but some teenagers may not be that mature and may be very reactive. Most teenagers will respond to respect and to indications they are valued. It is not enough to say we are Wales - like it or just get lost - its a privilege! Why are Wales more special than anyone else - nationality can be a very complex issue and each country will have their own proud achievements and culture. On maturity  I not only had no idea what I wanted to do at that age but did not even know in my 20s (albeit I was particularly immature). I radically swapped careers when I was 27! I had no focus in my teens (I studied molecular biology at university as genetics seemed cool!), but I got breaks through opportunities and circumstances which presented themselves, in respect to which I recognise I have been very lucky. Importantly I had a couple of facilitators in my life who made a key difference for me and my life. I am speculating but maybe he saw how rubbish our U21s were and wondered why as a promising 17-18 year old out and out striker he had no interest from Bodin? Contrast that with Bulgaria who may be saying they see him breaking into their first team very soon? I think Bodin has been a negative for our young players development and would at least check why he may be frustrated to see if he has any justification in feeling aggrieved. If he loves Bulgaria then fine!

No doubt Bulgaria can seem to offer him the world and a lot of false hope but we should be able to at least show him and his family that we rate him, highlight the pathway we see for him if he progresses and also highlight the difficulties with playing for a country in Eastern Europe and how disruptive it could be for his football development in England. We should in particular encourage him not to make a radical decision when he is just 18 on the back of a desperate Bulgarian association which clearly must have developed a poor development system for their young talent when one considers how their footballing fortunes have collapsed over the past 20 years.  We should also emphasise we have no Bale, Moore is over 30 and we have no one like him (a genuine 9 I understand?) in the pipeline and so if he develops then there is no reason he can't be in the Welsh team or squad in 2 years or so time!

[hooky]

Jan 10, 2023 23:03:06 GMT CrackityJones said:

Am I missing something here? There is one line in that article that says the Bulgarian FA are looking at someone in Wales U21s and hoping to make arrangements, and that’s it. They are looking. Not the other way around.

They mentioned getting passports arranged?

Maybe its taken out of context but I suggest the FAW should be proactive and discuss things with the lad now.

[CrackityJones]

‘We hope to be able to arrange passports’. They hope to, that’s it

[zingo]

Think everyones jumping the gun with popov, and luke harris, popov could be commited to playing for wales for all we know, i know L Harris is,he just wanted to spend time with is Family and mates in jersey and also go to portugal with Fulam ! and not be a spare part in Quatar,
Think its nautral to think the worse of these lads when you dont know the truth

[hooky]

Thanks Zingo - that's all logical and its great to hear that about Luke Harris. I always get concerned at these things! We are such a passionate nation aren't we!

I don't think the worst of the players but remember the terrible management errors of the 70s/80s/90s - like over Sheedy, decisions over where we played key qualification games, the Gould era, etc! I know we are much more professional now but that is still stuck in the memory bank and Bodin's era as U21 boss got me a bit concerned as our development pathway has been so key to our success (no doubt I am probably totally wrong about him!)

I am almost half way through a 3 month gardening leave stretch and so have too much time on my hands so apologies for over obsessing about such things! I will try to do better!

[dai]

Jan 10, 2023 23:25:02 GMT zingo said:

Think everyones jumping the gun with popov, and luke harris, popov could be commited to playing for wales for all we know, i know L Harris is,he just wanted to spend time with is Family and mates in jersey and also go to portugal with Fulam ! and not be a spare part in Quatar,
Think its nautral to think the worse of these lads when you dont know the truth

Why not publish that then? 'Personal Reasons' just gives the opportunity for people to ruminate and suspect.

[bale-droed]

Jan 10, 2023 22:03:34 GMT saturn9 said:

What we should be asking is why so many young talents are having second thoughts. The alarm bells rang for me with Harris pulling out for 'personal' reasons🤔🤔🤔

Don’t forget Chen Campbell, jordan James went back and forth and there’s a few eligible players like Phillips at Blackburn who don’t even want to think about joining. Something is up. I’ve already text my mates a message saying I reckonJanuary and February will Be the worst months in welsh football history . More retirements but more importantly switches.

God I hope we keep harris

[iot]

Jan 10, 2023 23:09:20 GMT hooky said:

Jan 10, 2023 22:38:44 GMT jimexotic said:

It does seem rather odd to be looking at Bulgaria when you think how Welsh he is.

Exactly - this would be worse than the Kevin Sheedy situation! Someone in the FAW should be asking why this could happen and they should have a discussion with the lad and his family if justified surely?

These are still kids for goodness sake - upsetting them (for whatever reason) can solicit a reaction and they may not think things through - us adults may view this as absurd but some teenagers may not be that mature and may be very reactive. Most teenagers will respond to respect and to indications they are valued. It is not enough to say we are Wales - like it or just get lost - its a privilege! Why are Wales more special than anyone else - nationality can be a very complex issue and each country will have their own proud achievements and culture. On maturity  I not only had no idea what I wanted to do at that age but did not even know in my 20s (albeit I was particularly immature). I radically swapped careers when I was 27! I had no focus in my teens (I studied molecular biology at university as genetics seemed cool!), but I got breaks through opportunities and circumstances which presented themselves, in respect to which I recognise I have been very lucky. Importantly I had a couple of facilitators in my life who made a key difference for me and my life. I am speculating but maybe he saw how rubbish our U21s were and wondered why as a promising 17-18 year old out and out striker he had no interest from Bodin? Contrast that with Bulgaria who may be saying they see him breaking into their first team very soon? I think Bodin has been a negative for our young players development and would at least check why he may be frustrated to see if he has any justification in feeling aggrieved. If he loves Bulgaria then fine!

No doubt Bulgaria can seem to offer him the world and a lot of false hope but we should be able to at least show him and his family that we rate him, highlight the pathway we see for him if he progresses and also highlight the difficulties with playing for a country in Eastern Europe and how disruptive it could be for his football development in England. We should in particular encourage him not to make a radical decision when he is just 18 on the back of a desperate Bulgarian association which clearly must have developed a poor development system for their young talent when one considers how their footballing fortunes have collapsed over the past 20 years.  We should also emphasise we have no Bale, Moore is over 30 and we have no one like him (a genuine 9 I understand?) in the pipeline and so if he develops then there is no reason he can't be in the Welsh team or squad in 2 years or so time!

This is just ridiculous. We have no idea about how he feels re his nationality, his relationship with his parents, how close he's been to his father in particular and Bulgarian heritage. If the tables were turned, I think we'd call out this type of attitude as very snobbish - 'how dare he consider Bulgaria over Wales, we're such a better footballing country and have so much more to offer'. It's very reminiscent of some of the attitudes across the border when some of the high profile dual qualified youngsters chose us over them.

To then spin all of this back to Bodin is a ridiculous reach, particularly when you consider Bodin actually capped him a few times at u21 level! It's just a clear case of trying to fit everything into your preconceived ideas about Bodin, even when not supported by the facts.

This whole nonsense about 'I wonder if it's because our style of play over the last 2/3 years' is equally ridiculous. It's just people who have been moaning about particular things trying to fit everything into that agenda

[hooky]

My mum's parents were Polish but I would never ever have played for Poland. I still kept half an eye on their results and wanted them to do well / win in tournaments, especially when I was younger.

My son was born and lives in Oxford. He would only play for England despite how obsessed I am about Wales (he noted to his mate on the phone how I even watch the Wales women football and rugby teams when I asked him what the Wrexham result was last night.

My point is that if you are born and bred somewhere then you should have a strong bond with that country. Of course if you have no chance or it is difficult to play for your home country then you may consider other countries, where you feel some connection to them. Lets to kid ourselves about our English born and bred players - in most cases they were a face within a crowd in respect to England and in many cases probably so a few players ahead of them. Ash Philips is seen as a defender with massive potential presumably identified by England as important. If this were not the case I bet he'd be in our setup.

So I am not snobbish and respect the complexity of identity, but am just noting that it is surprising if true given he is born, bred and developed in Wales and given Wales have been better than Bulgaria over this past decade and appear on paper a better bet.

On our U21s - apologies but I never knew Popov had played a few games for them - is that definitely the case? As I said I may be wrong but while Bodin was there it seemed things did not seem as fluid as they had been

[CrackityJones]

Jan 11, 2023 1:22:11 GMT bale-droed said:

Jan 10, 2023 22:03:34 GMT saturn9 said:

I’ve already text my mates a message saying I reckonJanuary and February will Be the worst months in welsh football history . More retirements but more importantly switches. God I hope we keep harris

There are some cracking over reactions in this thread but we have a winner. You must have a very short memory if you think that

[bale-droed]

Jan 11, 2023 9:53:13 GMT CrackityJones said:

Jan 11, 2023 1:22:11 GMT bale-droed said:

I’ve already text my mates a message saying I reckonJanuary and February will Be the worst months in welsh football history . More retirements but more importantly switches. God I hope we keep harris

There are some cracking over reactions in this thread but we have a winner. You must have a very short memory if you think that

I stand by my comments. What I mean is if Bale goes then Ramsey and we lost 4 of our most promising under 21 players three of whom have given an indication they are thinking of other options that truly would be devastating. We would lose our ability to continue to qualify for tournaments after Germany 2024. That’s a big deal. Think 2 steps ahead.

[dai]

Preaching to the wrong choir, Welsh football is always rosy in the world of Crackity and iot.

[CrackityJones]

Not always rosy, I have a longer memory than some 

[iot]

Jan 11, 2023 8:23:59 GMT hooky said:

My mum's parents were Polish but I would never ever have played for Poland. I still kept half an eye on their results and wanted them to do well / win in tournaments, especially when I was younger.

My son was born and lives in Oxford. He would only play for England despite how obsessed I am about Wales (he noted to his mate on the phone how I even watch the Wales women football and rugby teams when I asked him what the Wrexham result was last night.

My point is that if you are born and bred somewhere then you should have a strong bond with that country. Of course if you have no chance or it is difficult to play for your home country then you may consider other countries, where you feel some connection to them. Lets to kid ourselves about our English born and bred players - in most cases they were a face within a crowd in respect to England and in many cases probably so a few players ahead of them. Ash Philips is seen as a defender with massive potential presumably identified by England as important. If this were not the case I bet he'd be in our setup.

So I am not snobbish and respect the complexity of identity, but am just noting that it is surprising if true given he is born, bred and developed in Wales and given Wales have been better than Bulgaria over this past decade and appear on paper a better bet.

On our U21s - apologies but I never knew Popov had played a few games for them - is that definitely the case? As I said I may be wrong but while Bodin was there it seemed things did not seem as fluid as they had been

That may be true in your case, but it won't be true in every case. You're not 'respecting the complexity of identity' because you're making black and white statements and suggesting everyone will feel the same way. Take someone like Kevin Kilbane as an example. Born in Preston with a strong northern accent, but he's an IRA-supporting Irishman through and through and would never have considered playing for England. 

I'm under no illusions that some of our dual qualified players have settled playing for us knowing that they didn't stand a chance with England. Others, however, have selected us over England even when they were some of the highest-potential players in their age groups across the UK. Thinking of the likes of Woodburn - yes, he would never have been capped by England anyway as things have turned out, but at the time he was Liverpool's biggest prospect and one of the most exciting young players in the UK with England trying to win him over. He chose us. It's just not black and white

[CrackityJones]

Jan 11, 2023 10:09:54 GMT bale-droed said:

Jan 11, 2023 9:53:13 GMT CrackityJones said:

There are some cracking over reactions in this thread but we have a winner. You must have a very short memory if you think that

Would you likee to edit or delete my comment? I know you like to do that with posts on here. Usually the ones that don’t agree with you.

I stand by my comments. What I mean is if Bale goes then Ramsey and we lost 4 of our most promising under 21 players three of whom have given an indication they are thinking of other options that truly would be devastating. We would lose our ability to continue to qualify for tournaments after Germany 2024. That’s a big deal. Think 2 steps ahead.

Why would I want to delete that gem?

For the record. I sometimes edit posts to remove unnecessary quotes, its called moderating. Bit OTT maybe but at least it keeps the forum clean and flowing. Never because of disagreements, thats all part of the fun of the forum

[iot]

Jan 11, 2023 10:25:21 GMT dai said:

Jan 11, 2023 10:09:54 GMT bale-droed said:

Would you likee to edit or delete my comment? I know you like to do that with posts on here. Usually the ones that don’t agree with you.

I stand by my comments. What I mean is if Bale goes then Ramsey and we lost 4 of our most promising under 21 players three of whom have given an indication they are thinking of other options that truly would be devastating. We would lose our ability to continue to qualify for tournaments after Germany 2024. That’s a big deal. Think 2 steps ahead.

Preaching to the wrong choir, Welsh football is always rosy in the world of Crackity and iot.

Hilarious that you should think that when I'm considered by far the biggest pessimist among my mates. 

It's not always about optimism / pessimism anyway. It's just the unfounded, hysterical reactions that I sometimes struggle with. 

[dai]

Jan 11, 2023 10:38:20 GMT iot said:

Jan 11, 2023 10:25:21 GMT dai said:

Preaching to the wrong choir, Welsh football is always rosy in the world of Crackity and iot.

Hilarious that you should think that when I'm considered by far the biggest pessimist among my mates. 

It's not always about optimism / pessimism anyway. It's just the unfounded, hysterical reactions that I sometimes struggle with. 

Really? You are the forums' Mr Positive. Your friends must be on another level of happy!

[dai]

Jan 11, 2023 10:36:25 GMT CrackityJones said:

Jan 11, 2023 10:09:54 GMT bale-droed said:

Would you likee to edit or delete my comment? I know you like to do that with posts on here. Usually the ones that don’t agree with you.

I stand by my comments. What I mean is if Bale goes then Ramsey and we lost 4 of our most promising under 21 players three of whom have given an indication they are thinking of other options that truly would be devastating. We would lose our ability to continue to qualify for tournaments after Germany 2024. That’s a big deal. Think 2 steps ahead.

Why would I want to delete that gem?

For the record. I sometimes edit posts to remove unnecessary quotes, its called moderating. Bit OTT some times maybe but at least it keeps the forum clean and flowing. Never because of disagreements, thats all part of the fun of the forum

All that power can go to one's head.

[hooky]

Jan 11, 2023 10:35:00 GMT iot said:

Jan 11, 2023 8:23:59 GMT hooky said:

My mum's parents were Polish but I would never ever have played for Poland. I still kept half an eye on their results and wanted them to do well / win in tournaments, especially when I was younger.

My son was born and lives in Oxford. He would only play for England despite how obsessed I am about Wales (he noted to his mate on the phone how I even watch the Wales women football and rugby teams when I asked him what the Wrexham result was last night.

My point is that if you are born and bred somewhere then you should have a strong bond with that country. Of course if you have no chance or it is difficult to play for your home country then you may consider other countries, where you feel some connection to them. Lets to kid ourselves about our English born and bred players - in most cases they were a face within a crowd in respect to England and in many cases probably so a few players ahead of them. Ash Philips is seen as a defender with massive potential presumably identified by England as important. If this were not the case I bet he'd be in our setup.

So I am not snobbish and respect the complexity of identity, but am just noting that it is surprising if true given he is born, bred and developed in Wales and given Wales have been better than Bulgaria over this past decade and appear on paper a better bet.

On our U21s - apologies but I never knew Popov had played a few games for them - is that definitely the case? As I said I may be wrong but while Bodin was there it seemed things did not seem as fluid as they had been

That may be true in your case, but it won't be true in every case. You're not 'respecting the complexity of identity' because you're making black and white statements and suggesting everyone will feel the same way. Take someone like Kevin Kilbane as an example. Born in Preston with a strong northern accent, but he's an IRA-supporting Irishman through and through and would never have considered playing for England. 

I'm under no illusions that some of our dual qualified players have settled playing for us knowing that they didn't stand a chance with England. Others, however, have selected us over England even when they were some of the highest-potential players in their age groups across the UK. Thinking of the likes of Woodburn - yes, he would never have been capped by England anyway as things have turned out, but at the time he was Liverpool's biggest prospect and one of the most exciting young players in the UK with England trying to win him over. He chose us. It's just not black and white

Sure I accept that totally but Ireland is not a great example, given the political situation, particularly through the 70s, 80s and 90s. Its interesting that the likes of Rice and Grealish more recently turned their backs on Ireland - perhaps that is linked to the peace dividend of the last 20 or so years - I assume families with Irish links had a far greater sense of grievance in the past which their offspring would have been very aware of.

Anyway - I was just making the point that for a small country like ours who has recently done well, are passionate and where there are clearly opportunities for Premiership / Championship standard players then it would be a bit surprising for a Welsh born and bred player with potential, with a Welsh mum, to suddenly decide to play for another small country when it would make his life more difficult in terms of logistics and where he would be taking a risk in terms of entering a total new setup with players he does not know. Hence, if the story is true then you would hope people in the FAW would talk to him and his family to establish why he wants to do it and to ensure it is not a reaction to anything. If he always dreamed of playing for Bulgaria then fine!