STADIUM SWITCH SPLITS OPINION – BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
WALES’ decision to take the game against Spain to the Principality Stadium divided opinion, it is fair to say.
Ryan Giggs, his players and the FAW were delighted with a 50,000 attendance for a Thursday night friendly, with the manager saying “The build-up to the game was magnificent, we loved it travelling to the stadium on the coach, could feel the buzz.” Shame about the football, perhaps. After Wales were battered 4-1, there was a welter of criticism from fans about the lack of atmosphere and the need for games to go back to the much smaller Cardiff City Stadium.
What were the pros and cons of the night, what is being said and, perhaps most importantly, what happens next in terms of Wales playing there again.
This is the story of an evening where what happened off the field was a bigger talking point than what happened on it..
THE SIZEABLE CROWD
The FAW were hoping for a 45,000 attendance, so to be able to declare a gate in excess of 50,000 represented a marketing coup for them, especially in comparison with other friendly crowds around Europe of late.
Italy drew just 12,000 for their friendly with the Ukraine in Genoa. France played Iceland at a 19,000 capacity ground in Guingamp, Turkey met Bosnia at a 15,000-seater venue.
Even England decided to stage their first post-World Cup friendly against Switzerland at Leicester’s King Power Stadium instead of Wembley, and a crowd of 30,256 watched a 1-0 win for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Do not underplay the significance of the Wales crowd figure.
A mixture of factors was at play here. The fact Giggs’ new-look side had thrillingly won their previous game 4-1 in the Welsh capital; the quality of the opposition; the Principality Stadium still being a major pull to the Welsh public at large.
Perhaps most significantly, there were 13,000 youngsters in attendance - many at their first Wales games.
The FAW are making a deliberate attempt to widen their fan base and drawing in the new generation is a significant part of that process.
THE UNSAVOURY CHANTS
Together Stronger is the mantra the FAW have used so successfully in recent times, even managing to end the historical Cardiff-Swansea divide that was prevalent amongst Wales fans.
They were disappointed, thus, to hear some fans behind the goal goading the so-called ‘plastics’, questioning where they were when times were harder a few years back.
The fact that Wales were 3-0 down by that point, of course, meant boredom and apathy had crept in for some and the camera phones light show was the trigger for the taunts.
Everything had come to a head because of disenchantment with some about playing at the Principality Stadium.
WHAT THE FANS SAY
Some believe Wales should never play ‘at a rugby venue’ again and insist the atmosphere is nonexistent.
Others argue there meant 20,000 more fans could watch their national team.
Others still feel a 74,000 sellout at the Principality could make it a partisan and fervent stadia for big games.
Some resent the fact that the so-called ‘plastics’ only turn up for the big games.
As always with sport, opinions are held strongly. Here are a few of them... DAVID OWENS (thinks the atmosphere was dreadful) “At times I thought I was in space. And not just because I was sat in the upper tier. The lack of any discernible atmosphere was awful.
“At the Cardiff City Stadium there is a dedicated and large stand which houses our vocal support. And the music of The Barry Horns.
“It doesn’t feel like a home. Like it or not it’s the WRU ‘s home and even when we have played and won there, it always felt like we were appearing in someone else’s backyard.
“It’s the home of Welsh rugby. The Cardiff City Stadium feels like our home and to give them their due, the FAW have worked hard to ensure that is the case for international games. The branding, the matchday entertainment and the noise generated in that stadium is superb.
“I can see the argument over the financial incentive of playing at the stadium in the short term, but surely we need to take every advantage that is ours when it comes to qualifying.
“During the Euro 2016 campaign, the Cardiff City Stadium was a fortress. The money you would make from qualifying would far outweigh, so why risk that by seeking a shortterm fiscal kick-back from playing at the Principality Stadium.
“When the lights lit up in the second half it only served to underline how bored the crowd were.” SIMON EVANS (thinks the ‘plastics’ shouldn’t get tickets for other games) “The only fans I’ve got problems with are the ones who complain they can’t get tickets for the big games - when they show no interest in other games.
“I’m not saying come to every game but don’t expect an Ireland World Cup ticket if it’s your first of the campaign and you haven’t even become a member (a one off annual fee of only £10).
“Just next time Wales get on a good run I don’t want a repeat of the Ireland World Cup game with some fans moaning they can’t get tickets.” SCOTT JOHNSON (defends the newcomers) “Everyone is entitled to their own personal preferences with regards to which stadium they prefer and why. My opinion is to watch Wales play at Cardiff City Stadium, although not necessarily exclusively.
“You can complain about the (Spain) atmosphere as much as you like, but it was a friendly in a bigger stadium. It’s to be expected.
“What concerns me more than playing away from the CCS is the precious attitude of some supporters. Welsh football is for everyone and it’s not supposed to look or feel any one way.
“I guess complaining about an attendance of 50,000 on a Thursday night shows how far Welsh football has come in the last few years.” ELIS JAMES (Welsh comedian, actor and broadcaster and huge Wales football fan who argues the Millennium was never that special in the past) “The anthem is always great, wherever we play. It’s a myth that the atmosphere was great when we played at a full MS under Hughes. Even for Italy 2002, it’s the occasional ‘Wales! Wales!’ and air horns. Nothing like the club atmosphere we generate at the CCS. We had no songs then!
“We’d start off with a titanic anthem (see Wales v Russia, November 2003), then settle into watching the game in tense silence, punctuated by air horns and the odd ‘Wales! Wales!’ at times of high excitement.
“The ground would go crazy and erupt if we scored. Nothing like the fan culture that has built up around the CCS, especially the Canton Stand – and this is coming from a dyed-inthe-wool Jack.
“We’re destroying that by going to the Principality. The Canton Stand fan culture that is unique in my time of going to Wales games (25 years plus) has to be cherished. I would estimate that around 6-8k Wales fans do Wales away regularly.
“They are sat in the Canton. They sing - it emanates around the CCS. That lot get spread out around the MS. If there was a 39th game abroad in the Premier League, you could not displace the Kop or Stratford End, even if you paid for everybody’s flights.
“I think it’s madness to leave the CCS. For the vast majority of friendlies we don’t fill it anyway, and our record there in competitive fixtures is so good. Atmosphere is created by repeated routines, which is why new club grounds take so much time to bed in.
“We have finally bedded in at the CCS, our win ratio there is far superior, why change it? Thursday night felt like a return to international football being a sideshow.”
THE PLAYERS ARE KEEN TO RETURN
Much as the team love the home of the Bluebirds, their ideal is to appear in front of 74,000 sellouts at the Principality Stadium.
So says Sam Vokes, who scored against Spain.
“It is a great ground, it is where we want to be. If you get the ground full there is nothing like it,” he said.
“That’s where we want to be, that’s the end goal. A full Principality is a great event for us.”
AS FOR THE MANAGER...
Ryan Giggs says everything was right about Thursday night — except for the performance of his team.
“There was a real buzz travelling to the ground. The build-up was magnificent, we loved it travelling to the stadium on the coach.
“It was different, people were looking forward to and it’s disappointing we let ourselves down and didn’t give them them more to cheer about.
“I don’t think the stadium had any bearing on the result. The game could have been on a parks pitch, but if you don’t do the basics right the result will always be the same. The goals we conceded were really disappointing.”
WHY THE FAW ARE KEEN TO RETURN
Three reasons: 1) Finance. The more tickets sold, the more revenue they make. After TV money, it is their biggest source of income.
The FAW are a not-for-profit organisation and every penny accrued is ploughed back into the game, from grassroots to the top.
They can make £2m from a bigger crowd at the Principality. There is a rental fee to the WRU, but so there is to Cardiff City for use of their home.
The bigger countries like Spain command greater fees for friendlies, so the game had to go to the Principality to make it cost-effective. 2) Expand the fan base. While the FAW are appreciative of their hard-core support, they want to grow it further by attracting more youngsters. Many commented to them on how much they enjoyed Thursday’s experience, despite the loss, which was their first time at a Wales game. They say they plan to return - although there are plenty saying the opposite on Twitter. 3) It will mean Wales are doing well. Giggs and FAW boss Jonathan Ford want to afford as many people as possible the opportunity to watch a successful national team. Their ideal, like that of Sam Vokes, is to be so good they will have no option but to go to the bigger venue.
CONCLUSION AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The FAW say the night was a big success. But it wasn’t so rip-roaringly brilliant that they can guarantee going back there.
A crowd of 50,000 was excellent, but it still wasn’t a sell-out.
The likelihood is most Euro 2020 qualifiers will go to Cardiff City Stadium, and rightly so. But if Wales pull a plum draw - like England, Germany, France or Spain again - they will probably veer towards taking that game to the Principality. It could lead to a backlash from some, but the FAW, as we say, want to reach out to a wider part of the Welsh public.
On the playing side, they argue an in transition Wales squad Giggs himself was part of back in 2000 learned from a sobering 3-0 defeat to Brazil. It was an experience that helped them subsequently defeat Italy and Germany at the venue.
If they do go back, the FAW hope Thursday night will have been the start of something again – not the end. Many fans are hoping it’s just the end.