Austria v Wales: John Toshack mentioned Mao Zedong yesterday. It was not in terms of a great leap forward he expects Wales to make tonight against hosts who defeated them 2-0 in Cardiff four days ago.
No, Toshack was back on the subject which has dominated Welsh football since Mark Hughes accepted the job at Blackburn Rovers last September - retirement. "Chairman Mao retired aged 70 and the man who succeeded him was 74," Toshack joked.
A point about longevity was being made by the new Wales manager to those who believe the remaining thirtysomething players in the squad should make way after failing to qualify for Euro 2004 and possessing little more than an arithmetical chance of reaching the 2006 World Cup. That would then allow Toshack to develop younger players to form a team to qualify for the 2008 European Championships.
Toshack also used Ivica Vastic as an example. Vastic was the Austria substitute who scored the 82nd-minute opener last Saturday. He will soon be 36 and is three weeks younger than Gary Speed. Vastic is also almost two years older than Mark Pembridge, who, like Speed, has retired, and nearly five years older than Robbie Savage.
Savage's name was heard again yesterday. The comment at the weekend from Roy Evans, Toshack's assistant, that he hopes the situation "sorts itself out" offered a glimmer of hope a reconciliation can be reached between the pair and, when asked if there might yet be a U-turn, Toshack said he did not want to discuss the subject.
Toshack could have killed any thought of a compromise. Instead there is a thought now Savage may be asked to join in the Wales get-together in June. The end-of-season gathering is being organised for San Sebastian.
John Hartson has a swollen ankle and that may facilitate a return to a 4-4-2 system with Craig Bellamy and Robert Earnshaw up front.
WALES (probable, 4-4-2): Coyne (Burnley); Delaney (Aston Villa), Gabbidon (Cardiff), Page (Coventry), Ricketts (Swansea); Davies (Tottenham), Fletcher (West Ham), Robinson (Sunderland), Giggs (Manchester Utd); Bellamy (Celtic), Earnshaw (West Brom).
