The night Ramsey and Allen fried the French

WALES had suffered their worst of times. It took a French revelation to know that the best of times would soon arrive.

As Chris Coleman’s side prepare to play in Paris – returning to the country of this nation’s greatest football moments – there is still that sense of having everything before us with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen continuing to give reason to believe, ten years on from a key milestone.

Next week marks a full decade since what was stirring in Welsh football became clear as two teenage talents helped engineer one of the greatest results by a Wales age-grade side. France’s Under-21s – including current stars Dimitri Payet, Blaise Matuidi – had been nigh-on outplayed, signposting the future ahead for the national side.

And yet, the spring of hope that shone through on a despairing winter night at Ninian Park almost never happened.

“They didn’t want to play the game,” says Brian Flynn, the man who John Toshack had appointed to oversee all of Wales’ intermediate sides as part of the plan to find, foster and fast-track young quality.

“It was about half hour before kickoff and I had a knock on my door from the Uefa delegate. One of the floodlights had failed and France wanted to call the game off. It was a miserable night, lashing down with rain, with a decent crowd who had started to get excited about the side, but the French official wanted to postpone it and play the following day.”

It’s doubtful the future would have been any different, that 16-year-old Ramsey and Allen, just nine months older, would have still developed into the players they are today.

“The scoreline flattered France,” recalls Flynn of the 4-2 win for Wales in a game that eventually went ahead when a floor manager from live broadcasters Sky measured the lighting in all four corners of the ground.

There was a 16-minute delay, the young hopefuls – ten of whom would win senior caps – left to wait in the old Ninian tunnel as they eyed up a visiting side containing players already established at the top; Younes Kaboul had not long joined Tottenham for £7m. Charles N’Zogbia had made more than a hundred appearances for Premier League Newcastle. Arsenal were trying to sign Yoann Gourcuff from Milan who featured in a French attacking line with Loic Remy.

In contrast, Allen had made one Football League start with third tier Swansea. Ramsey had played just nine minutes of senior football.

“They weren’t big news but we knew something special was happening – that night only proved it and made others wake up to it a little,” recalls Flynn, whose prominent role on the Welsh football scene from player to manager has been chronicled in a new book called Little Wonder, released at the end of the month.

“We had played in Wrexham on the Friday night against Bosnia and won 4-0 and were outstanding. I was due to drive back to Cardiff after the game ahead of the game on the Tuesday and Mark Evans of the FAW approached me and asked if I minded taking the France manager with me; he come to watch us and had been given a driver for the journey up but they had been struggling to get him back.

“It was a bit awkward – I didn’t speak any French and he couldn’t speak English. It was silence until we got to Oswestry and then he said only one thing to me over and again – the name Ramsey.”

He and Allen were so impressive on the night in question, the technical ability matching those of a European powerhouse at a level where Wales had been an embarrassment in the past.

All of a sudden, supporters and eager followers were watching players good enough to hold their own and then some. Vive le revolution.

The Aaron-Allen axis was not in isolation. Jack Collison had made his debut against Bosnia a few days earlier, scoring a wonderful goal in the process and leaving Flynn purring about his qualities, even in training.

The West Ham product had a similar impact on senior captain Craig Bellamy, who was recommending his then 19-year-old club mate to anyone who would listen.

Bellamy, injured and unavailable for Toshack’s team as they took on Germany in the senior campaign’s final, dead-rubber qualifier against Germany in Frankfurt, had himself made the trip to Ninian Park.

“He was great that night,” says Flynn of Bellamy. “He came into the dressing room before the game and had some great words for the youngsters, really motivating.”

Bellamy had the same hopes of others.

He had played alongside the first draft of teenagers being pushed up; Gareth Bale had been the first of 14 of Under-21 eligibility players to win senior call-ups on Flynn’s watch.

The side playing France were effectively Under-19 with the likes of Joe Ledley, Chris Gunter, Wayne Hennessey having already moved on to a Toshack team that drew with Germany with seven Under-21s featuring. Within six months, Sam Vokes, Collison and Ched Evans would join them.

Evans had been another reason for hope that night. Toshack had already been bemoaning the absence of the traditional striker Wales have produced, but he dominated France’s defenders, opening the scoring from close range before France responded after the break through a Gourcuff penalty and out-of-the-box effort from Payet.

When Darcy Blake’s surging run won Wales a penalty of their own, Evans made no mistake before Mark Bradley completed the comeback having replaced Ramsey on the hour mark, the playmaker still being nursed through his development at the time. When Simon Church - questionably won a second spot-kick, Evans took his hat-trick and the headlines.

It should be no surprise the first person to speak to Flynn after the game was Toshack, speaking from a hotel room in Frankfurt.

“He would just tell me to let him know when they were ready.

“Before he named his squad’s he would ask me ‘Who’s next?’”

Meanwhile, it seems like perfect symmetry that Wales Under-21s are in action again tonight, this time facing Bosnia in Bangor, kick-off 6pm.