Trailing Clouds of Glory - Welsh Football's Forgotten Heroes of 1976

In two years, Wales went from Home International wooden spoon holders four times running to 1976 European Football Championship quarter-finalists. The book provides the background to qualification, accounts of all matches, examination of the fallout from the campaign's controversial ending, and a 'Where are they now?' section. ~Publisher: Y Lolfa

In December 1958, my late uncle took me to my first game at the Vetch Field, Swansea. The opponents were Sheffield Wednesday, and the match was won 4-0 by the Swans. Six months earlier the Welsh football team, having qualified, albeit by default, because of a complicated situation regarding the participation of Israel, participated in the 1958 World Cup finals, played in Sweden. Wales eventually lost in the quarter finals to a goal by some unknown Brazilian, a 17-year-old youngster called Pelé. I, and most of the general public, I suspect, were unaware of this tournament, as indeed were the railway porters and ticket collectors at Swansea railway station who greeted Mel Charles and some of the other players on their return from Stockholm, thinking they were returning from a holiday! These were the days before the wall-to-wall coverage of football on SKY Sports.



When Wales qualified for the 2016 UEFA Euro tournament, reaching its semi-final, the press and television largely reported that this was the first time Wales had qualified for any major tournament since 1958. They had been agonisingly close several times, only to fall at the final hurdle, missing crucial penalties or losing out on goal difference or in play-offs.



However, in 1976 Wales enjoyed some real success when they topped their qualifying Euro group and earned a two-legged play-off with host nation Yugoslavia for a place in the finals, having seen off Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg, and winning five qualifying matches in succession. The team, managed by Englishman Mike Smith has not, according to the author of this book, received the recognition it deserves, and the purpose of this book is to acknowledge the considerable achievement of this talented squad, who finally bowed out of the tournament after a niggly second-leg draw at Cardiff, having lost the first leg in Zagreb. At Cardiff, Wales missed a penalty, hit the post, and had two goals disallowed, and succumbed to a dubious penalty kick awarded by a somewhat controversial East German referee. Had VAR (the video assistant referee) been in operation at that time, the result might well have been very different.



This book is meticulously researched and is very well-written. It takes us back to an era when the Football Association of Wales was not the efficient organisation it is today. This was also the era when League managers held more sway, and would constantly refuse to release players to play for their country. The introduction of the ‘international break’ has largely ended that practice. This was the period when the English FA refused to play our national anthem at Wembley, when hooliganism was rife, when our playing stadia were grim and attendances low, and when rugby reigned supreme in Wales.



However, the contribution made by Mike Smith in laying the foundations of the current international set-up cannot be underestimated and was described by Dai Davies, the Welsh goalkeeper, as ‘revolutionary’. Under the guidance of this graduate PE teacher, the Welsh team that performed so well in 1974–76 in reaching the latter stages of a major tournament included a number of players who remain household names – players such as John Toshack, Terry Yorath, John Mahoney and the mercurial Leighton James. The achievement was even more remarkable when considered that England failed to qualify. As an innovator and excellent man-manager, Smith moulded his motley squad into a formidable team, which included for the first time a number of so-called Anglos, who had been drafted in because of a rule change allowing English-born players with a Welsh parent to be eligible to represent Wales. This gave the squad greater depth with the addition of personnel such as Ian Evans and Dave Roberts.



The narrative also gives us a flavour of other events during this period so as to place all matches in their historical context. This aspect deals with such issues as broadcasting, fashion, politics and pop music, which adds an interesting and valuable dimension to the book.



With Wales having qualified for the 2020 Euro tournament as runners-up in a group which included familiar opponents from 1976 such as Croatia (from the former Yugoslavia) and Hungary, there is a little feeling of déjà vu. This was no mean achievement which surely owes much to the foundations so carefully laid by Mike Smith. He and the 1976 team are all deserving of this volume which all Welsh football fans will enjoy, whilst looking forward to the exciting challenge of our next Euro finals in June 2020. ~Richard E. Huws @ www.gwales.com