EVEN if Forrest Gump is interested in the Welsh manager's job, as Neville Southall suggested he might be after this latest step on the road to watching France 98 on television, he would surely think twice before predicting Wales could win all their remaining matches and still qualify.
That is what Bobby Gould did, refusing to accept the evidence of a 7-1 thrashing in Eindhoven and offering another rash hostage to fortune by claiming that if Wimbledon could win four matches in a row, so could Wales.
When does positive thinking become self-delusion? This was the easiest of the four matches in question. Dropping two points at home against Turkey hardly augurs well for the two remaining fixtures against Belgium and the trip to Istanbul, and the reality, for all the limited encouragement offered by Holland's defeat of Belgium, is surely that Wales will now find it impossible to get to France.
Someone should perhaps tell Southall. "We can still qualify as long as people believe in us," said an assistant coach who has either been taking Gould too literally or taking the kids to see Peter Pan. Gould even tried to get his squad to think only happy thoughts prior to the Turkey game, but there was no evidence of flying.
Which was a pity, since Southall was correct in stating that a 0-0 draw against superior opposition was a moral victory in its way, coming off the back of a 7-1 defeat. Turkey were superior, but Wales called on luck and their goalkeeper to hold them and were almost able to pinch a result through Hughes at the end.
Abdullah was the best player on the field by a distance and he and Hakan could have had three or four goals between them but for a lack of urgency redolent of the training ground. They kept trying to walk the ball into the net, or score with chips and flicks when a direct approach would almost certainly have paid dividends.
As long as Wales set impossibly high standards for them selves, they will struggle to avoid a dispiriting cycle of disappointment. The huge banks of empty seats at the Arms Park set the tone of the game before kick-off, a thumbsdown from the fans which in the event some encouraging performances from Giggs and Speed did not deserve.
Wales did not really deserve more than a point though, despite having a reasonable penalty shout turned down, and could not have complained at defeat. It was a case of being grateful for small mercies. "We showed commitment and a bit of character, I think Bobby Gould will be delighted with that," Southall said. Delighted may not be the precise word, but Wales are [back among the goalless draw merchants of world football, as opposed to the whipping boys, and Gould may have to be content with that.
