John Toshack sticks with youth

WALES boss John Toshack will take one last opportunity to give teenage stars Aaron Ramsey and Jack Collison the chance to cement their roles in his World Cup plans.

Toshack named a 27-man squad today for the friendly against Poland on February 11 in Portugal – the match being played on the Algarve in Vila Real St Antonio, where Wales will be aiding the Poles’ warm-weather training ahead of their own World Cup matches next month.

Arsenal starlet Ramsey – on his full international debut – and West Ham youngster Collison played as a central midfield partnership for their country when Wales won in Denmark last November.

Toshack desperately wanted to see the pair have as much Premier League experience as possible since then, and his wish has been granted.

Ramsey has figured in nine Arsenal games since then, while Collison has won a place in Gianfranco Zola’s senior side and has played in the last 10 Hammers games.

For Toshack, this is the final game before the make-or-break home matches in World Cup qualifying group four when Wales play Finland and Germany in Cardiff on March 28 and April 1 respectively.

Those games will virtually decide whether Wales have any chance of qualifying for South Africa 2010.

But it has not all been plain sailing for Toshack as he has monitored the club progress of his youngsters, and in particular Spurs pair Chris Gunter and Gareth Bale.

Both Cardiff-born players have had their problems at White Hart Lane as the north Londoners have battled to get away from the Premier League relegation zone.

New boss Harry Redknapp has suggested Gunter would benefit from a spell on loan, while Bale has been in and out of the Spurs team and was even – it is believed – offered to Liverpool in the initial bid for Robbie Keane.

Manchester City’s young striker Ched Evans has been out of the picture there and the subject of a bid from Celtic, while goalkeeper Boaz Myhill has lost his first-team place at Hull.

But it is the improvement in Ramsey and Collison that will boost Toshack.

The duo have already been hailed as the answer to Wales’ playmaking problems, having struck up a good central midfield understanding as part of Brian Flynn’s successful under-21 side.

And Toshack is keen to give them as much time on the pitch together as possible before deciding whether to risk the young pairing against the Finns and Germans.

Toshack has been boosted for that game by the return to full fitness and the outstanding club form of defender James Collins, who finally returned to the West Ham team in October after a knee injury.

Collins has helped West Ham to an eight-match unbeaten run and won plenty of praise for his partnership with Matthew Upson.

Wales, though, have announced a big squad to cover for the expected withdrawals, and have already lost Peterborough defender Craig Morgan.

A scan today revealed a broken toe that will keep him out for several weeks, while Robert Earnshaw – back in goalscoring form at Nottingham Forest – is certain to withdraw with a hamstring problem.

An Football Association of Wales spokesman said: “John Toshack wants people to know they are involved and on standby.

“This is an important game for us because it is the only run-out the lads will have before the two World Cup games, having last seen each other in November.”

Veteran Carl Robinson, just returned to pre-season training with Toronto, has been left out along with Coventry’s Freddy Eastwood, while young striker Craig Davies – now with Brighton – is back for the first time in more than a year.

Also recalled is midfielder Andrew Crofts now he is back in action after a long spell on the sidelines. He has moved from Gillingham to Peterborough.

Stockport goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams is the only uncapped player named for his first call-up, having been promoted from the under-21s squad who did so well last year in the UEFA championships before losing out against England in a play-off to reach the finals.

The former Crewe keeper, 21, takes the place of Derby’s Lewis Price, who has had little senior activity this season and has been out on loan with MK Dons for a spell.

Flynn has named an 18-man under-21 squad for the friendly against Northern Ireland in Ballymena on February 10, including Llanelli teenage winger Jordan Follows.

The 18-year-old has made a big impact in the Welsh Premier League this season and has had a trial at Blackburn, with several Championship clubs also interested.

It is a new-look under-21 squad, with six uncapped players named in the build-up to their new UEFA championship campaign. The draw will be made in Denmark on Wednesday.

The new faces include Everton’s Nathan Craig and Bournemouth’s Joe Partington.

Lock up your golf clubs! Here's bad boy Craig Bellamy's Top 10 bust-ups

Craig Bellamy is destined for Manchester City after West Ham accepted a bid for the bad boy striker. Having previously worked with him both at Blackburn and also the Welsh national side, you'd think Mark Hughes would know what he’s letting himself in for.

But with this sort of track record, would you want Bellamy at YOUR club? Let us know by joining the debate on our Premier League Fan blog

1) In 2002 the striker was cautioned for common assault after an incident outside a Newcastle nightclub in which he was alleged to have attacked a woman.

2) Bellamy appeared before a judge again in 2006 after being accused of assaulting two women in a Cardiff nightclub. The then Liverpool player was cleared following a five-day trial at Cardiff Magistrates Court.

3) During his time at Newcastle, the petulant Welshman had a bust up with Toon assistant coach John Carver at Newcastle Airport. Bellamy threw ‘quite a heavy chair’ at Carver during the fracas.

4) Bellamy had a ding dong with Magpies boss Graeme Souness in 2005 after Souness reportedly asked him to play out of position in right midfield. It’s believed that the striker refused to play out of position and said he’d fake an injury if asked to. He was subsequently dropped, then let rip at Souness, calling him a liar. An £80,000 fine followed for Bellamy's troubles...

5) After leaving Newcastle for Celtic, Bellamy had a pop at his old club via text message. Following Newcastle 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Man United in the 2005 FA Cup semi-final, the striker sent a string of messages to Alan Shearer calling him an old man and questioning his ability. “Your legs are gone. You're too old. You're too slow,” one of the texts was reported to have read.

6) Arguably his finest hour – on or off the pitch – took place during a Liverpool training camp in the Algarve in 2007. Bellamy saw red when, during a team karaoke night, full-back John Arne Riise refused to get up and sing. The pair exchanged abuse and had to be separated by team-mates, but Bellamy wasn't finished. After the gathering had dispersed, he armed himself with a golf club, tracked down the Norwegian and allegedly took a swing at him. Bellamy later commemorated the fracas in the goal celebration (above).

7) Bellamy’s most recent managerial bust-up was with former West Ham boss Alan Curbishley. The pair got into a war of words following the Hammer’s opening day defeat to Manchester City last season - Bellamy's first game for the club...

8) It’s not just managers and Alan Shearer that the Welshman has had beef with, however. Possibly borne out of his days as a Norwich player, Bellamy has also taken a pop at Ipswich fans. During West Ham's pre-season clash with The Tractor Boys Bellamy was accused of abusing fans after being substituted. It was alleged that he swore at supporters and made reference to Ipswich prostitutes.

9) According to reports, he ended his West Ham career with - yes - another bust-up. After being told by bosses at the end of the week that they wouldn't sell him to his favoured destination, Spurs, Bellamy allegedly stormed out of the training ground, seemingly never to return.

10) Bellamy's aggressive attitude arguably derives from his fierce patriotism. The striker studies Welsh history and has a huge tattoo of Owain Glyndwr, the Welsh freedom fighter who led a revolt against England in 1400. Perhaps Mark Hughes will be off the hook after all...

Agar: It's a vital time

HULL FC today set off for Portugal with coach Richard Agar proclaiming their warm-weather training camp will be their most important week of the season.

Hull have flown to Brown's hotel complex in Portugal's Algarve for a week of intensive training.

And with FC's first friendly encounter against Leeds just eight days away - and a Super League opener against Wigan in only four weeks time - the team's preparations are about to be dramatically stepped up.

Agar says he is eager to put his men through their paces in what he believes will be their key week in their pre-season preparations.

"It's a very, very important week and is a vital and integral part of our pre-season planning" Agar told the Mail.

"We meticulously laid a plan down in the off-season as to what would be the best way forward for the group and how we would approach pre-season.

"In that aspect it is a case of so far so good and we are very happy with where the guys are at.

Scottish U19's Training in Vale do Lobo

Training has started for two of the best Scottish youth academies here on the Algarve. Dundee FC and St. Mirren arrived for two weeks at the weekend and have been training hard today at Barringtons Hotel Golf & Spa Resort in Vale do Lobo.

Barringtons General Manager Mr. Graham Stewart said "They have been working hard this morning and are thoroughly enjoying all our facilities, just as the senior squads have. The hotel is perfect for clubs to bring down their teams and get some great winter training."

Barringtons has over the last 17 years many famous football clubs staying with them including Bolton, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Please see this link for further information.

ALGARVE SPORT ROUND-UP: SC Olhanense flying high

Olhanense fly out to the Azores this weekend for their top-of-the-table clash with Santa Clara, which will be shown live on SportTV on Sunday at 10.15am.

Santa Clara has an impressive home record of five victories and one draw from six games at the S.Miguel Stadium in Ponta Delgada.

The visitors will have to be resolute in defence whilst hopefully the league’s top goalscorer Djalmir will add to his tally of 10 goals in this important fixture.

The following weekend the Olhão-based team are at home to Gondomar, from the Porto region, who are currently languishing 3rd from bottom of the Liga Vitalis with 11 points from 12 games.

SC Olhanense and their fervent supporters then travel to the Stadium of Light, Lisbon on January 14 to take on mighty Benfica, top of the Premier League and undefeated this season,

in the quarter-finals of the Carlsberg League Cup.

Four days later, on Sunday January 17, the final game in the League Cup mini-league involves a visit to V. Guimarães who are having a mediocre season following their success of finishing 3rd last season behind Porto & Sporting but above Benfica.

This is an exciting time for Olhanense and come the end of May it would be a tremendous boost for football in the Algarve if they could finish in the top two and achieve promotion to the Premier League.

Wales upbeat on new Toshack deal

The Football Association of Wales is confident that manager John Toshack will sign a new contract next month. "It is expected that the national manager's contract will be formally discussed at the next board meeting," said FAW spokesman Ceri Stennett. Toshack, 60 in March, will come to the end of his current five-year deal when the World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010 conclude in October.

Wales currently sit third in World Cup qualifying Group Four. They are four points behind leaders Germany after two wins and two defeats. The FAW has wanted to extend Toshack's contract for some time, and the only doubt has been whether the former Liverpool striker wants to continue. But Toshack has now told the FAW that he would like to carry on for another two years, taking his term up to the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

"We have been very happy with the way John has changed things around with so many good young players coming through," said Stennett. "The board have always been happy to abide by his decision, the contract extension has not really been an issue." Wales' next match is a friendly against Poland to be played in Portugal's Algarve on 11 February.

Poland have invited Wales to provide the opposition for their training camp ahead of the next round of World Cup qualifiers in March. Toshack is by then expected to have put pen to paper on a new deal that will take his spell as Wales boss to seven years, by when he hopes to have achieved his goal of guiding Wales to a major tournament.

Qualification for South Africa is unlikely, but with the finals of Euro 2012 set to be enlarged to include 24 teams, Toshack believes his emerging young side could well reach that tournament. Wales may also have an Under-21 friendly on 10 February away to Northern Ireland as they prepare for the Uefa championship qualifiers for 2011, due to start in March.

Their impressive exploits in the previous campaign, which saw them reach a play-off with England after winning their group, now sees Wales awarded with a second-place seeding for the draw in Denmark on 4 February.

Finland getting into gear for 2009 finals

UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ hosts Finland will begin a busy year of preparations for the finals with a trip to China next month for a four-team tournament involving the home nation, South Korea and New Zealand.Absentees

The tournament will be played in Guangzhou from 10-14 January and Finland coach Michael Käld has named a strong squad with the only notable absentees Laura Österberg-Kalmari and Miia Niemi. Niemi is still suffering from a thigh injury sustained against Wales in November and Österberg-Kalmari will not travel for family reasons. Käld, who has added FC Honka Espoo coach Marko Saloranta to his technical team on a part-time basis, said: "We have a very interesting tournament ahead of us. It will also mark the beginning of our final preparations for the finals. We will be facing strong opponents in China and it will be a good opportunity to see where we stand at the moment.

"Fixtures
His team's only other confirmed fixtures are in the 2009 Algarve Cup from 4-11 March, when they will compete in Group A against Sweden, Germany and China. Finland open UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ at Helsinki's Olympic Stadium on 23 August against Denmark before taking on the Netherlands and Ukraine in the same venue at four-day intervals.

What's On - Estádio Algarve

Local Football

On the 14th of December at 3:00p.m, Estádio Algarve will be hosting match day 13 of the 3rd Division series F of the National Football League between SC Farense and Silves FC. Come to the Estádio Algarve and root for SC Farense!

On the 21st of December , at 3:00p.m, Estádio Algarve will be hosting match day 14 of the 3rd Division series F of the National Football League between Louletano DC and Silves FC. Come to the Estádio Algarve and root for Louletano DC!

On the 28th of December at 3:00p.m, Estádio Algarve will be hosting match day 15 of the 3rd Division series F of the National Football League between SC Farense and FC Castrense. Come to the Estádio Algarve and root for SC Farense!

World Cup 2010 Warm-Up Game

On the 11th of February 2009 Portugal will take on Finland in a prepartion game for the World Cup Final to be held in South Africa 2010. I will post further information nearer the time.

WRC 2009

The Vodafone Rally of Portugal is back in the FIA World Rally Championship.

The Estádio Algarve will be hosting from the 2nd to the 5th of April 2009 the Vodafone Rally of Portugal. The organization of the event will be based once again at the Estádio Algarve, where two super special stages will be held; one in the beginning of the event and the second closing the rally, for a double-dose of excitement and an exceptional spectacle.

Parque das Cidades/ Estádio Algarve and the Automóvel Clube de Portugal look forward to welcoming you to the Algarve - Portugal, for the next WRC-running of Vodafone Rally of Portugal.