The Young Dragon Awakes: An Alternate History of The League of Wales & Welsh Football

[Protest The Hero]

The Young Dragon Awakes:
An Alternate History of The League of Wales & Welsh Football​

-The league that would come to be known as the 'Welsh Superleague' origins began in October 1991 by the Football Association of Wales' (FAW) secretary general Alun Evans announced the creation of a domestic league for Wales to protect their independent status as he and others feared that the Welsh national team along with the FA's of England (The Football Association), Northern Ireland (Irish Football Association) & Scotland (Scottish Football Association) were also under threat.

-These four nations had permanent seats on the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and many believed that a large number of FIFA members were resentful & had sought the union of the four associations to make one team and one FA to represent the United Kingdom as a whole. This would be a move that proved to be futile as the FA's of each home nation reiterated their independence.

-The issue for the FAW in the creation of their first league was the group of teams that played their trade within the English league system. The strongest Welsh teams had always played in England and the English Leagues. Bangor City, Caernarfon, Cardiff City, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr, Newtown, Newport County, Rhyl, Swansea City & Wrexham.

-Barry Town would become one of the league's biggest teams when their original stance was turned on its head by then club owners the O'Halloran family who had begun the negotiations to play in the Southern League and ground-share with English team Worcester City[1]. Their U-turn was seen as a positive sign for the FAW who had suggested legal proceedings against the teams that refused to play under the FAW umbrella[2].

-Rhyl, Newtown & Caernarfon reluctantly agreed to join the league instead of playing in the lower levels of the English leagues alongside Newport whom had seen their club go into bankruptcy and reform but play across the border in Gloucester.

-With the threat of legal action against the 'Exiles', the newly reformed Newport submitted to the request of Alun Evans with the FAW assisting in repaying the debt owed to Newport Council over their unpaid debt owed to them by the now defunct Newport County.[3]

-Wrexham would be the first of the big three teams in Wales to join the new League of Wales due to their financial predicament and their relegation from the old Third Division[4]

-Swansea City and Cardiff City experienced highs and lows throughout the years with promotion and relations being part of their make up but a lack of consistency was ever present. Then owner of Swansea City, Doug Sharpe, who had helped save the club from winding up in 1985 now saw a chance to take the club into a new future by abandoning the English Third Division to join the new LoW[5].

-Cardiff seeing the winds of changed jumped on-board as they had achieved mid table positions in the old Division Four in the two years presuppose to their departure.

-The remaining Welsh teams in England announced their intention to drop out and join the LoW fulfilling Alun Evans' dream of bringing the teams into the fold.[6] Because of poor transport links between north and south Wales teams had always found it easier to play their football in regional English leagues but now they would be making the long and arduous journeys to play one another in the new league.

-The league would begin play the Autumn of 1992 giving teams between a year of a few months depending on their submission to the FAW. The twenty teams announced for the league were as follows;
Abergavenny Thursdays, Aberystwyth Town, Bangor City, Barry Town, Briton Ferry, Caernarfon Town, Caersws, Cardiff City, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Flint Town, Haverfordwest County, Llanelli AFC, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport AFC, Newtown, Porthmadog, Rhyl, Swansea City, Wrexham.

-With the announcement of the first twenty teams the FAW began to overhaul the leagues below with relegation to either the Cymru Alliance North[7] and the Cymru Alliance South[8]. The uniform name changes would give the FAW a sense of a 'true' league system and no longer the sense of a patchwork effort.

-The first season within Wales saw a season opener between Afan Lido & Cardiff City in front of three thousand fans at the home of cross town rivals Port Talbot Town with Cardiff coming out winners 7-1. Elsewhere Swansea City would open up to Wrexham at the Vetch Field with a 3-3 draw in front of six thousand fans. The attendances for this league were mixed with highs as much as the Swansea-Wrexham game and lows as five hundred for Conwy-Llanelli with away fans barely making the effort to travel north.

-The FAW noticed this trend of fair-weather fans part of their goal was to make the league attractive to not only players but to fans. They needed fans to commit to the new league even in matches without the big teams but few were genuinely willing to trek to North Wales. Many felt that playing in a league filled with twenty teams was not viable and sought a reduction to sixteen to streamline the league and make it more accessible with fewer league games and fewer visits north and south being preferred. The reduction would begin the following season as teams unanimously favoured the immediate reduction by a number of 18-2 votes.

-The inaugural season saw Swansea City win the League of Wales title over arch rivals Cardiff with four points margin. The top three slots being filled by the trio known as 'The Big Three' was not a surprise to many as it had been expected but the relative success of teams like Barry, Conwy & Porthmadog was a positive sign for the future of the league.. The average attendance across the league was 5000 with the bigger teams making up for the lack of attendances elsewhere. By winning the LoW, Swansea qualified for the following seasons UEFA Champions League preliminary round.

-The league was by the lowered standards set by the FAW a success but in comparison to the newly established English Premier League was nowhere near the success of the new flagship league that had captured the imaginations of fans. Cardiff chairman Rick Wright declared that despite their failure to win the league that pulling out of England had turned out to be the best decision in retrospect[9].

-The top goalscorers for the first season of the League of Wales were as follows;
Karl Conolly/Wrexham – 33 goals
Terry Connor/Swansea - 26 goals
Nathan Blake/Cardiff 22 goals

Swansea City
P38/W26/D5/L3/GF69/GA22/GD+47/PTS87

Cardiff City
P38/W26/D9/L7/GF79/GA36/GD+43/PTS83

Wrexham
P38/W25/D3/L10/GF85/GA48/GD+37/PTS78

Barry Town
P38/W19/D9/L10/GF76/GA61/GD+15/PTS66

Bangor City
P38/W19/D7/L12/GF77/GA58/GD+19/PTS64

Newport AFC
P38/W17/D8/L13/GF65/GA48/GD+17/PTS59

Conwy United
P38/W16/D9/L13/GF51/GA51/GD0/PTS57

Merthyr Tydfil
P38/W17/D4/L17/GF66/GA67/GD-1/PTS55

Porthmadog
P38/W14/D11/L13/GF61/GA49/GD+12/PTS53

Aberystwyth
P38/W16/D5/L17/GF66/GA65/GD+1/PTS53

Colwyn Bay
P38/W14/D10/L14/GF63/GA60/GD+3/PTS52

Afan Lido
P38/W14/D10/L14/GF64/GA65/GD-1/PTS52

Rhyl
P38/W16/D3/L19/GF63/GA69/GD-6/PTS51

Llanelli
P38/W11/D8/L19/GF48/GA64/GD-16/PTS41

Caersws
P38/W9/D13/L16/GF52/GA59/GD-7/PTS40

Caernarfon
P38/W11/D6/L21/GF47/GA67/GD-20/PTS39

Briton Ferry (Relegated to Cymru Alliance South)
P38/W10/D9/L19/GF61/GA87/GD-26/PTS36

Flint Town (Relegated to Cymru Alliance North)
P38/W9/D9/L20/GF55/GA87/GD-32/PTS33

Haverfordwest County (Relegated to Cymru Alliance South)
P38/W7/D9/L22/GF48/GA93/GD-45/PTS30

Abergavenny Thursdays (Relegated to Cymru Alliance North)
P38/W7/D7/L24/GF36/GA76/GD-40/PTS28
​

[1] In OTL Barry Town would be 'exiled' by the FAW for not joining the League of Wales (LoW), here their original decision to then join the LoW a season later is pulled forward by a season so they are the biggest team in the league up until the arrival of the other two members of the 'Lesser Three' that consisted of Barry, Merthyr, Newport County & 'Big Three' of Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham.
[2] The FAW in OTL took the teams who continued to refuse to lay within the new league to the High Court to force their removal from the leagues of which they had been members for the best part of their existences. Here many teams relent and reluctantly resign from their respective leagues to join the FAW's league.
[3] Newport A.F.C. replaced Newport County in the English system and despite wanting to play in their old ground of Somerton road were denied due to being considered a continuation of County by Newport Council and in conjunction with their reluctance to join the LoW they opted to play in Gloucester. Here the FAW assists the reformed team in 'coming home' in return for their joining the LoW.
[4] In OTL Wrexham were due to be relegated but were saved by a Conference team voluntarily resigning from the league thus saving them. Here the team is relegated and resigns upon their relegation to join the LoW to safeguard their future but not after a giant killing win over Arsenal in the FA Cup as per OTL.
[5] Swansea in OTL alongside other teams launched a successful appeal to the High Curt allowing them to stay in the English league but here club owner and chairman Doug Sharpe is swayed by the FAW and the promise of regular football on the continent if successful as the league and/or cup winners representing Wales.
[6] No team remained in England. No High Court drama and a successful FAW gets its wishes purely because of financial issues crippling several teams making it easier to lure them under their umbrella.
[7] OTL the northern league is called the Cymru Alliance, here it retains the name albeit with the suffix North.
[8] OTL Welsh Football League Division One.
[9] In OTL Cardiff won the old Third Division with Wrexham finishing second behind them.



​

 

[MatthewFirth]

This sounds like a good start, I'm very interested to see how things continues.

 

[Protest The Hero]

This sounds like a good start, I'm very interested to see how things continues.

Cheers Well it'll be interesting for the national team as well as the League of Wales going into the 1993/1994 season and beyond. Working on it loads when I have free time. I have the league placing all the way up 1999/2000

 

[Protest The Hero]

The Young Dragon Awakes:
An Alternate History of The League of Wales & Welsh Football​

-The National Team of Wales qualification campaign for USA 1994 World Cup was on course with Wales retaining their slender lead over both Representation of Czechs and Slovaks (RCS)[1] in both April and September of 1993 giving Wales a spot in only their second ever World Cup finals and a spot on the grandest stage of them all for Association Football. The victories would ensure Wales finished first atop their group with Romania finishing second and just pipping Belgium whom ended up third in the group. A successful 1992/1993 for the FAW was attained and celebrated.

-The 1993 summer saw much activity in the LoW with teams seeing players leave to go back to England and others seeing more come into the league and improve their teams. The end of the 92/93 season saw anguish for others as six teams would drop down into the northern/southern leagues beneath the LoW to make way for the winners of each respective regional division.

-Abergavenny Thursdays, Briton Ferry, Caernarfon, Caersws, Flint Town & Haverfordwest County would end up joining the regional leagues below the top flight to be replaced by Llansantffraid of the Cymru Alliance North & Maesteg Park of the Cymru Alliance South. Swansea began their recruitment drive after seeing Des Lyttle, John Cornforth and Keith Walker leave for a combined £2 million joining separate teams.

-The windfall brought on by losing key players allowed Swansea to buy replacements and pay off existing debts, something club owner Doug Sharpe was adamant in doing to keep the Swans going financially. In place of Lyttle, Cornforth and Walker the Swans brought in Joe Parkinson from Bournemouth for £275,000, Marcus Gayle of Brentford for £275,000, Tom Cowan of Sheffield United coming in on a season long loan and resigned local boy Chris Coleman from Crystal Palace for £500,000 and waiving any add ons for the player due to his homesickness and inability to adapt to life in London[2]. Cardiff would also make a splash by signing several players but retaining the core of their team.

-The 1993/1994 season would kick off in shocking style with a lacklustre Swansea suffering at the hands of a ruthless Bangor City 4-0. The result had many wondering what had the Swans done in pre-season other than not train. Their arch rivals Cardiff would also suffer defeat but not as harsh as their south Wales foes by only going down 1-0 to Wrexham at the Racecourse.

-The reduced league schedule allowed teams to freshen up between games and the chance to introduce a winter break, something many teams in Europe had brought in but was not in use in the leagues across the United Kingdom.

-Swansea would reach the first round of the Champions League proper but would fall to Galatasaray of Turkey 3-0 away and 1-0 at home. Their elimination coincided with a return to form in the League of Wales. By the Winter break Cardiff sat on top of the league with a five point margin over Swansea and Wrexham, with new signing , Welsh international Malcolm Allen forming an effective tandem with hometown boy Nathan Blake. The form of Cardiff would drop off once the winter break ended wining only 5 of their 12 remaining games effectively handing the title to the Swans two games before the season ended.

-Top goalscorer in the League of Wales that year was a former Non League English defender turned striker signed from Baldock Town by Bangor for £30000. Kevin Phillips went on to score thirty goals that season with Malcolm Allen and Nathan Blake each scoring twenty goals each.

Swansea's form in Europe and the expansion of the European competitions granted Cardiff their return to Europe in the UEFA Cup. The success of the national team coupled with the return of two teams from Wales to the European fold heralded a new dawn for the young league.

-Newport AFC & Barry Town would during the post season change their team name with Newport reverting to their old nomenclature of Newport County and Barry Town becoming simply Barri in attempt to market their 'Welshness' and drop the town to avoid the 'common' stigma.[3]

-A new sponsor was announced at the close of the season to draw extra money into the league to prevent any financial instability. Negotiating with Bass Breweries following their bid to sponsor the English Premier League was a coup for the FAW who were more than happy to take less than they had offered their English counterparts who were offered £13 million a year deal. The LoW took the option for a four year deal worth £8 million per season. The league would be known as the Bass Breweries Premier League[4]


1993/1994 Final League Table

Swansea City 1994–95 UEFA Champions League Preliminary round
P30/W20/D7/L3/GF69/GA27/GD+42/PTS67

Cardiff City 1994–95 UEFA Cup Preliminary round
P30/W19/D6/L5/GF69/GA29/GD+20/PTS63

Wrexham
P30/W15/D10/L5/GF63/GA40/GD+23/PTS55

Bangor City
P30/W15/D9/L6/GF66/GA43/GD+23/PTS54

Merthyr Tydfil
P30/W14/D9/L7/GF53/GA38/GD+15/PTS51

Newport AFC
P30/W15/D5/L10/GF54/GA33/GD+17/PTS50

Rhyl
P30/W13/D5/L12/GF48/GA53/GD-5/PTS544

Colwyn Bay
P30/W12/D5/L13/GF44/GA42/GD+2/PTS41

Llanelli
P30/W11/D6/L13/GF31/GA30/GD+1/PTS39

Aberystwyth Town
P30/W8/D12/L10/GF46/GA51/GD-5/PTS36

Afan Lido
P30/W10/D4/L16/GF30/GA49/GD-19/PTS34

Porthmadog
P30/W8/D10/L12/GF33/GA40/GD-7/PTS34

Conwy Town
P30/W7/D9/L14/GF28/GA49/GD-21/PTS30

Barry Town
P30/W5/D11/L14/GF28/GA53/GD-25/PTS26

Llansantffraid (Relegated to Cymru Alliance North)
P30/W6/D5/L19/GF31/GA61/GD-30/PTS23

Maesteg Park(Relegated to Cymru Alliance South)
P30/W3/D5/L22/GF30/GA65/GD-35/PTS14
[/CENTER]





[1] Wales ended up in both games letting the Czech/Slovak team equalise and draw the game thus costing Wales 4 more points and their spot in OTL 1994 world Cup.
[2] OTL Chris 'Cookie' Coleman stayed with Palace for a few years before moving to Blackburn and then Fulham. Clearly no homesickness there but what better way than bringing the local by back home.
[3]Going off real life with Hull City's owner threatening to sell the club after his proposal to change the team name to Hull Tigers and drop the City part as he feels it is too 'common'. Here Barry do it just twenty years earlier.
[4]Bass' bid to sponsor the English premier was vetoed by eight clubs. This then allowed the Premier League to negotiate their next sponsor and increase their wealth exponentially.


​

 

[MatthewFirth]

Very good update. Like the fact that Wales qualified for the World Cup, as well as the league getting a UEFA Cup place too.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Protest The Hero]

Very good update. Like the fact that Wales qualified for the World Cup, as well as the league getting a UEFA Cup place too.

Keep up the good work.

In OTL the League of Wales ended up acquiring a place in the preliminaries of the UEFA Cup so I continued that course but will improve on it over time.

If it weren't for some misfortunes Wales would have on a few more games giving them that chance to head to USA '94. Next post will be our adventures in the tournament and a few more changes to our footballing world.

Thank you I will keep trying to post something enjoyable.

-Protest The Hero

 

[Protest The Hero]

The Young Dragon Awakes:
An Alternate History of The League of Wales & Welsh Football​

THE FIFA WORLD CUP 1994/USA '94​

Wales' World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Neville Southall & Danny Coyne
Defenders: Chris Coleman, Mark Bowen, Paul Bodin, Andy Melville, Alan Neilson, Vinnie Jones, Kit Symons, Ian Payne & Adrian Williams
Midfielders: Ryan Giggs, Mark Pembridge, Mark Hughes, Gary Speed, Barry Horne, David Phillips & Carl Robinson
Forwards: Nathan Blake, Ian Rush, Dean Saunders & John Hartson

-The Welsh announced their return to the World Cup after being drawn against perennial European giants The Netherlands, African qualifiers Morocco and debutants Saudi Arabia.[1]

-The first game of Group F saw Wales run out 1-0 winners over Morocco in front of 61,219 fans in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida with a goal from Nathan Blake securing the win over the Moroccans who saw Nourredine Naybet red carded in the 23rd minute for a bad tackle on young Welsh superstar in the making Ryan Giggs.[2]

-The other game in the group turned heads as the Netherlands failed to overturn a 1-0 going into the second half of their game against the debuting Saudi's and being unable to overturn it.[3] The loss led to many in the Netherlands calling for manager Dick Advocaat's sacking.

-The second game for Wales saw them overcome a barrage from a Dutch side determined to make amends for their poor performance in the previous game but much like that game they were on the losing end when veteran Ian Rush scored a beautiful goal that would go onto be considered one of the best of the tournament. Dutch ill discipline though further added to the growing number of voices calling for Advocaat's head and now with their elimination from the World Cup it was inevitable[4]

-The other game in group F saw the continuing good luck of the Saudi Arabians as they beat Morocco 2-1 to keep their position atop the group.

-With no other home nations playing in the tournament media attention turned to the Welsh with many Americans and others worldwide asking 'Who are the Welsh?'. The FAW seizing their chance to capitalize on this newfound interest managed to secure a few deals in sponsorship with generated income now coming from not only their newly agreed deal with Bass Breweries but had managed to secure with both BBC and Sky Sports a deal to show Welsh fixtures for four years giving it more exposure post world cup.

-The last games of the 'group of death' saw the Dutch draw with the Moroccans, sealing the fate of Dick Advocaat and also the end of the Dutch's American dream. In the final game of group F the unbeaten Welsh and Saudi's clashed in front of 53,959 people in the RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. The game ended with a Welsh victory with goals coming from defenders Chris Coleman and Andy Melville securing their progression into the next round.


Group F Standings

Wales
Pld3 W3 D0 L0 GF4 GA1 GD3 Pts9

Saudi Arabia
Pld3 W2 D0 L1 GF5 GA2 GD3 Pts6

Morocco
Pld3 W0 D1 L2 GF2 GA1 GD1 Pts1

Netherlands
Pld3 W0 D1 L2 GF1 GA3 GD-2 Pts1


Knockout Round

Romania 3-2 Argentina
Saudi Arabia 1-3 Sweden
Brazil 0-1 United States
Wales 1-0 Republic of Ireland
Bulgaria 1-1 Mexico (Bulgaria win on penalties)
Germany 3-2 Russia
Nigeria 1-0 Italy
Spain 3-0 Switzerland

-With the poor showing of both Morocco and the Netherlands it was the Russians who benefited by taking the third best placed spot based on results and taking on the strong German side in the first round but losing 3-2 to a strong Jurgen Klinsmann volley and two Rudi Voller goals. Elsewhere Brazil would go out to hosts USA 1-0[5] Nigeria winning 1-0 over the reigning champions Italy whose talismanic striker Roberto Baggio suffered a concussion[6]

-Wales would win the 'Battle of the Celts' in Orlando with Dean Saunders hitting a precision lob over Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner. The mood was considered amongst the best that the tournament had seen with both Welsh and Irish fans soaking in the sun and revelling in the atmosphere. The game was almost spoiled when Irish 'hardman' and Welsh 'hardman' Roy Keane & Vinnie Jones clashed in the dying moments of the game causing the ref to send off Roy Keane for his behaviour with Jones being cautioned. This bad blood would continue at club and personal level for many years.

Quarter Finals

Romania 2-2 Sweden (Sweden win on penalties)
Wales 2-1 United States
Bulgaria 2-1 Germany
Nigeria 0-2 Spain

-The Quarter finals saw the Welsh knock out hosts USA to a crescendo of boos in Dallas with a scoreline of 2 goals to the USA's 1. Young striker John Hartson who was part of Terry Yorath's 'youth initiative' commented on the atmosphere by saying “I have never experienced an atmosphere that intense. If football and I mean real football doesn't take on here after this I will be shocked. They have the passion”

-Sweden, Bulgaria and Spain would advance to the semi finals also making it a European final four with wins over Romania, Germany and Nigeria respectively. The continuing success of the Welsh squad had a positive effect on the club game as clubs in Wales began to receive offers from football agents and sponsors. Despite the riches on offer in England it was clear that many were envious of the Welsh team and their success in the US with England international Paul Ince saying “It's great to see a bunch of guys I know doing so well but as an Englishmen I want that to be us next time around. Not the Welsh”

Semi Finals

Wales 0-2 Sweden
Bulgaria 2-3 Spain

-The run of good luck was bound to end and unfortunately it was one game from the world cup final itself losing to Sweden 2-0 with Tomas Brolin scoring two goals and ending the upstart challenge from the Welsh. The second semi final witnessed an epic with Bulgaria losing to a determined Spain 3 goals to 2 setting up a Swedish-Spanish final and a Bulgarian-Welsh third place play-off.

Third Place Playoff

Wales 3-1 Bulgaria

-The third place play-off between the Bulgarians and the Welsh was played in front of 91,500 fans in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena witnessed Nathan Blake, Ryan Giggs and Ian Rush overcome a solid and strong Bulgarian team that took the lead early on through Hristo Stoichkov before being undone by the resurgent counter attacking play of Wales and being named the winners of the third place play-off. A feat that no one had even anticipated or even dared to dream. The groundwork for future achievements would be built from the success in the USA with even the BBC filming a special on their adventures giving their young players and veterans a chance to shine and added interest in their services.


Final

Sweden 2-2 Spain (Spain win on penalties)

-The world cup final was also played in Pasadena the day after the great game of football played and this one was no different with Sweden and Spain taking the game to penalties where Spain would win 7-6. The intensity of the game and the the latter rounds was a huge factor in the popularity of the MLS taking off in 1996. But for Wales and Europe it meant the balance of power was firmly in their favour.

-Upon returning to Wales the national team was met by a crowd of thousands and then later paraded through the streets and then taken to the Cardiff Arms Park and cheered player by player with Cardiff City players and local boys being given the loudest cheers.

-After the game the BBC interviewed several fans and one of them was a young boy from North Wales who was on the books of Liverpool FC, the young man told the BBC reporter that if it weren't for a lack of beds he would have needed up being born in England[7] instead of Hawarden and despite his parents being English he was proud to be Welsh and couldn't wait to play in the red of Wales.




[1] Wales effectively taking Belgium’s place in their group in the WC94.
[2] Naybet received a yellow card in OTL's match between Morocco and Belgium.
[3] Despite going into the second half losing the Dutch managed to end up winning in OTL 2-1.
[4] The Dutch would go out losing 3-2 to eventual winners Brazil in the quarter finals but here their poor showing and misfiring sees them eliminated earlier.
[5] The Brazilians basically lose the game they win.
[6] Roberto Baggio would overturn the deficit against he Nigerians but here let us say his ponytail comes undone and distracts him causing him to be trip over the football and knocks himself unconscious.
[7] Guess who...


​

 

[mudhead]

Goalkeepers: Neville Southall & Danny Coyne
Defenders: Chris Coleman, Mark Bowen, Paul Bodin, Andy Melville, Alan Neilson, Vinnie Jones, Kit Symons, Ian Payne & Adrian Williams
Midfielders: Ryan Giggs, Mark Pembridge, Mark Hughes, Gary Speed, Barry Horne, David Phillips & Carl Robinson
Forwards: Nathan Blake, Ian Rush, Dean Saunders & John Hartson

No Vinnie Jones? I think Mark Hughes was a centre forward up till his move to Southampton, where David Jones moved him back into midfield.

Seeing Gary Speed's name there makes me sad.

 

[Unknown]

David Beckham? EDIT: It's Michael Owen.

Seriously, I hope you take this to today.

 

[Protest The Hero]

No Vinnie Jones? I think Mark Hughes was a centre forward up till his move to Southampton, where David Jones moved him back into midfield.

Seeing Gary Speed's name there makes me sad.

Yeah Vinnie is there. Under defenders, in one part of the alt WC94 he and Roy Keane get into an altercation. I had always thought Hughes was a midfielder, attacking at least so I guess he would fit into both positions.

I know Gary was making great strides as Wales manage. An even greater loss to his family though. Terrible shame, will be making sure this TL has a tribute to him in some shape or form

David Beckham? EDIT: It's Michael Owen.

Seriously, I hope you take this to today.

Correct I will be aiming to take this to today and beyond hopefully.

 

[HawkAussie]

That is a good start, hope you can keep it up

 

[Protest The Hero]

That is a good start, hope you can keep it up

Thank you I am following your timeline with every post. Enjoying it, you have a larger world to play with as such so I am intrigued

 

[mudhead]

Yeah Vinnie is there. Under defenders, in one part of the alt WC94 he and Roy Keane get into an altercation

.
Oops, didn't notice - perhaps I was hoping he wasn't.

I actually think he was a better player than he was given credit for - decent passer, good dead ball delivery, quite astute positionally and tactically. The problem was that at Bassett's Wimbledon he had a certain role to play, that of a pantomine villain - you half expected him to tale the field wearing a cloak, top hat, and monocle, twirling his moustache.

He wrote a decent autobiography with some good stuff on the brand of "football" they had to play.

 

[Protest The Hero]

.
Oops, didn't notice - perhaps I was hoping he wasn't.

I actually think he was a better player than he was given credit for - decent passer, good dead ball delivery, quite astute positionally and tactically. The problem was that at Bassett's Wimbledon he had a certain role to play, that of a pantomine villain - you half expected him to tale the field wearing a cloak, top hat, and monocle, twirling his moustache.

He wrote a decent autobiography with some good stuff on the brand of "football" they had to play.

Underrated definitely, just the persona of the man over-shone the abilities of the player which was a crying shame. Beloved at Wimbledon and Leeds but not a huge success anywhere else. If someone could channel the hard-man side of Jones into something great then we could have seen something different but we may not have had Vinnie Jones; the Actor... ... ...

 

[MatthewFirth]

Oh I do miss this!

 

[CultBoy]

Shame its a kind of necro, but this was a pretty good idea.

 

[Protest The Hero]

Thanks guys for the kind words. Shame I didn't continue, just life getting in the way. If I had time I would gladly continue as I still think about this to this day. Even editing FM15 and making a Welsh league database on there.

I am tempted to revive this. Necro or not.