Ryan Giggs next Wales manager?

Ryan Giggs the only man who can rescue Wales


The Football Association of Wales know this, and have twice made moves for Giggs.

27th Jan 2013.

Ryan Giggs
IF there’s one thing that could arrest what seems like the terminal decline of the Wales football team it’s the appointment of Ryan Giggs as manager.

And that’s coming from someone who has never been impressed with the contribution someone of his calibre made to his country as a player.

Giggs’ stature in the game – even accounting for the fact he was largely surrounded by far more limited team mates with Wales – suggests he should have had a greater influence on our nation’s fortunes, and certainly won more than 64 caps in the course of a 16-year international career.

But Giggs remains the only Welsh figure who could transform a national set-up that is going nowhere under Chris Coleman and is bedeviled by indifference and a complete lack of realistic hope that improvement is remotely imminent.

The Football Association of Wales know this, and have twice made moves for Giggs.





The FAW’s chief executive Jonathan Ford made his name as a marketing guru. He more than anybody appreciates that Giggs is the type of figure to get the association’s brand on the bedroom walls of youngsters, a situation he covets intensely.

You therefore wonder what Ford makes of the fact Giggs is close to becoming the first man still playing to complete his Uefa Pro Licence coaching qualification, which allows him to oversee teams at Premier League and Champions League level.

Giggs, who has decided to take the course under the aegis of the Football Association at St George’s Park rather than of the Football Association of Wales, will undertake 240 hours of study to gain the qualification – including spending three days at a European club and making a detailed case study of a business. He is expected to secure the badge within the next 12 months after a period at Warwick University’s Business School.

To do this, he will need the approval and support of Sir Alex Ferguson, pictured below, the man Manchester United chairman David Gill says will get a huge say in who succeeds him when Ferguson eventually decides to step down at Old Trafford.

Inevitably then, there is speculation that Giggs, who will play one more season after this one, is being lined up to do just that.

That could well turn out to be presumptuous, but one thing looks crystal clear; Giggs IS heading into management when he hangs up his boots, but doesn’t appear to view the FAW as potential employers.

Good riddance will be the attitude of some football followers in Wales who have never warmed to him for the reasons mentioned above, however fair or unfair they may be.

But if Welsh football cannot utilise Giggs in some way after he has retired, then it will be a criminal waste.

Apart from the marketing spin-offs which would be obvious, Giggs, given the esteem in which he is held by his peers, would have a huge galvanising effect on the national squad.

There will be those who trot out the old ‘great players don’t always make great managers’ line and sure, there’s merit in that.

But I believe Giggs would rally the players around the Welsh cause in the same way the late Gary Speed managed.

It took Speed a while to start turning results around and he clearly had a bit to learn tactically, especially in the international arena.

But Speed’s triumph was that he got his players turning up and performing not just for the badge, but for him too.

The respect he was held in by each and every member of the squad was palpable. It would be the same with Giggs.

I’m not saying current boss Chris Coleman doesn’t command respect, but I see little evidence of the kind of dynamism, the kind of new mood that is needed around the Wales camp to effect an upsurge in results and to get the public to buy into the whole set-up a bit more.

We are heading into an era of arguably unprecedented interest in, and publicity for, Welsh football. But little of it centres around Coleman’s Dragons, who still have only one Gareth Bale-inspired victory over useless Scotland to their name.

The way things are going, promotion-chasing Cardiff City and Swansea City are likely to outgrow the Wales national side with their deeds in the Premier League.

The Swans, of course, are already there. Expect the Bluebirds to join them and face Manchester United.

A United side still managed by Ferguson for the foreseeable future, but for whom Giggs appears to have become a genuine contender as his successor.

Would he really be able to handle the mantle of bossing the world’s biggest club, or do United need a figure of the stature of Jose Mourinho?

Whatever, the Premier League champions will be spoilt for choice.

Wales aren’t. Which is why Giggs matters so much.

Nigel adkins for me hes made for international management
Tony pulis would do well aswell

I honestly think Giggs would make a huge impact. He would bring in the right backroom staff (not just jobs or mates).

dutch ray any one ?

dutch ray any one ?

Those bridges are well burnt.

I don't think he is a manager anyway. A number two with the right manager yes.

Tony Pulis.

dutch ray any one ?

Too outspoken for the faw and didnt do himself any favours when he appeared on the footballers football show on sky he ripped right into them when questioned about it
Fair play he was spot on aswell

I totally agree with you Giggs would do a great job for Wales i think you would actually see the players putting a effort in to play for there manager an country

its a shame, we could of done well under him, instead we were lumbered with that greasy tw*t coleman and now look at us

ryan giggs has shown absolutely no commitment to wales throughout his career. why should he be managing?!

ryan giggs has shown absolutely no commitment to wales throughout his career. why should he be managing?!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^This!!

ryan giggs has shown absolutely no commitment to wales throughout his career. why should he be managing?!

Agree. Why should any of the players turn up, when he himself only did occasionally?

Why should his career damage his chance of being a manager?

You accept Coleman ffs.

Giggs would be good imo. Hes young and would understand the players and they would respect him.

Agree with the last couple of posts.Why should we give him a leg up on the managerial merry go round when he showed us zero loyalty as a player?He'd do the same as Hughes once a decnt club came calling.

f**k him.

We wont get Adkins or Pulis as they still have good stock as club managers.We need to look outside the box now,abroad maybe,although the WFA are always reluctant to do so,favouring Welsh managers.

What evidence is there to suggest that Giggs would be a good Wales manager? I don't see any. Ok, he was a class player and still is but that is all from what I can see. Someone above mentioned Nigel Adkins and Tony Pulis, one of whom is Welsh, which are great shouts.

As others say, why would players play for him as Welsh manager when he showed little interest in playing for Wales himself? I am a big Giggs fan but the jury is still well and truly out when it comes to his management credentials.

too old...

Giggs is my number one choice

As others have said, Adkins and Pulis both decent contenders.

Gary Neville is the only man who can save us.

Nigel adkins for me hes made for international management
Tony pulis would do well aswell

Adkins for sure would certainly make us hard to beat.

The manager has to be Welsh nonsense will come into this.

The manager has to be Welsh nonsense will come into this.

TONY PULIS.

Why did Giggs abandon Wales in the first place?

Why did Giggs abandon Wales in the first place?

Because he's barely even Welsh. He's a Mancunian through and through and any opportunity to play for England he would have jumped at.

Giggs will no doubt inspire the welsh players to pick and choose which games they want to play in just the same as he did

Why did Giggs abandon Wales in the first place?

Because he's barely even Welsh. He's a Mancunian through and through and any opportunity to play for England he would have jumped at.

He could have played for England, he played for them at schoolboy level.

Why did Giggs abandon Wales in the first place?

Because he's barely even Welsh. He's a Mancunian through and through and any opportunity to play for England he would have jumped at.

He could have played for England, he played for them at schoolboy level.

School boy level is based on location not nationality like other levels. Giggs had no qualification to play for England beyond that. If he was not british he could have claimed residency but an agreement between the home nations prevents residency being used as a qualification for international football.

Why did Giggs abandon Wales in the first place?

Sir Alex Ferguson, to sum it up. He doesnt like his players playing international games. He has a problem with English players because England is a pretty good team and regularly qualify for international competitions. When it comes to Wales he considers our football team to be a non-entity. He has always threatened international managers with withdrawing his players when he can including Wayne Rooney.

What a pathetic article.

I am not one of those who become anti-giggs for his limited appearances for Wales, it was his choice or perhaps more often or not his managers... I certainly wouldn't have wanted the worlds hottest property playing Latvia in a friendly in any circumstances.

But there is a lot of assumptions about Giggs coaching abilities. Truth is no one knows whether he will be a successful coach at this stage, to my knowledge he hasn't done much coaching let alone managing... so why people are claiming he would be a decent coach or manager for Manchester United or even Wales is beyond me. He may turn out to be brilliant or he may turn out to be like Ian Rush ..

Who would look after the team for the friendlies ?

Because Giggs won't be there !


Like others have said - he has never managed or coached any sort of team. It would be another 2 wasted years if he took control.
We have a manager anyway, so what's the story about ?

ryan giggs, forever english