New Wales captain set to be named

Garry Speed today announces his first squad as manager of Wales, but all eyes will be on another decision that the new man in charge will have to make, as he names the new captain of the side.

Former captain of the Welsh national team, Craig Bellamy, 31, decided to call an end to his role after announcing he would only be able to ‘pick and choose’ which games he plays in, due to his chronic knee injuries. This has left Speed in a position to select a new leader of the team, his first big decision as the manager of the struggling nation, in which will be selected later today.

Ashley Williams and James Collins of Swansea City and West Ham respectively – who have both captained the country before – will both be hopeful of being handed the captains armband, but many are linking the role to youngster Aaron Ramsey, currently on loan at Welsh side Cardiff City, with whom the national team is expected to be built around in the coming years.

From one Wales captain to another... Speed today makes his biggest decision yet

Speaking to the media earlier this month, Speed said that the new captain would “be long-term” and that he would “pick someone who can deal with the responsibilities of being an international captain”, Ramsey, who turned 20 last month, certainly fulfils this criteria.

But would the strain that comes with being captain come too soon for a player whose short term goal is simply getting back to match fitness with hometown club Cardiff? Not according to former Cardiff player Nathan Blake who believes Ramsey has the potential to become a great Wales captain, “I hope my old team-mate Gary picks Aaron after his recent injury.

“But is he also bold enough to make him captain right from the start?

“Yes, Ramsey is only 20, but he’s such a talent Gary has to start thinking of building the national side around him.

“I was a great fan of Aaron’s before he left Cardiff a couple of years ago. He was a yard quicker in thought than his team-mates then… these days he’s probably three yards quicker after a couple of years at Arsenal.”

Perhaps James Collins who will be 28 later this year will not offer as much of a “long-term” potential as Ramsey, but as far as experience is concerned, you simply cannot look past the Aston Villa man, who has years of Premier League and international experience behind him.

Speed will be naming his captain later on today where he will also announce his first squad as the Welsh manager, a job in which he said he simply couldn’t refuse after leaving Sheffield United at the back end of last year. Wales currently sit outside the top 100 in the FIFA rankings, but with players such as Ramsey, Bale, Bellamy and co, surely this is a false position?

It is expected however that those three players named will be absent from Speeds first match in charge against the Carling Nations Cup hosts Republic of Ireland next month, which comes two days after Cardiff City’s clash with rivals Swansea City next month, meaning Ramsey and Bellamy are expected to sit out. Bale is also expected to be missing after picking up a back injury with club Spurs, the winger – who has been linked with a £40,000,000 move to Inter Milan this month– has missed his last two games with Spurs and is expected to be out for another few weeks.

So today will mark the beginning of a new era for Welsh football, an era in which all Welsh fans will be hopeful will provide more excitement and joy than the previous reign of John Toshack offered. Speed, who lacks experience as a manager, will be hoping to get the players on his side as early as possible, and with his first big decision as manager to be made today; he can go a long way in achieving that goal and getting Wales back on track.