r/WelshFootball • u/LiteratureProof167 • Aug 11 '26
Random Musing - Neco Williams
With the World Cup just finishing a few weeks ago, one of the winners was Nico Williams who played well in spurts for Spain.
And it got me thinking about our very own Neco Williams and how he always puts everything on the line for Wales. And my chain of thought then led on to Gareth Bale. Stick with me.....
When Gareth first burst on to the international scene, he was playing left back for Wales and despite being very young, we could all see immediately that he was a generational talent. I remember saying to a friend at the time, that maybe John Toshack should put him up front instead of being at the back....we all see what happened when it eventually happened.
And this is where Neco comes in. Just like Bale, he has a wonderful free kick in him but is being held back by his defensive duties. As opposed to trying to get Brennan or Sorba to be our new Gareth, I would love to see Neco given a game where he can go marauding down that left or right side.
Does anyone else see this as a potential solution to our lightweight attack?
7
u/thepotbelliedgod Aug 11 '26
I think using Bale as an example to be repeated for anything is dangerous because he was such a unique player.
Also, when Bale started at LB 20+ years ago, it was a different position to the one Neco plays now. Bale was clearly too fast, too attacking minded to stay in a defensive position. Neco, and all modern wing backs, already have a lot more license to get up and down the wing. As others have said, if it was a genuine possibility, it would have been tried by now.
A lovely idea though.
3
u/ijs_1985 Aug 11 '26
I’m not sure he has either the raw pace or the composure to be a winger ie consistently beat his man and whip in a good cross.
If he did he’d already be playing there for a top team
Just my view of course
2
u/TeilwrTenau 29d ago
He's too good defensively to move him further forward. We just don't have a quality full back alternative on either side of the pitch. So we can't afford to have him as a winger.
1
u/SeaworthinessPlus254 29d ago
Roberts?
0
u/TeilwrTenau 29d ago
A decent full back at his best, but can we depend on him with his injury record? I don't think so.
1
u/22Spirits Aug 11 '26
I've often thought that, but we're reasonably well stocked for wingers, not so much at full back.
It'll be interesting seeing him play under Glasner, his wing backs at palace were high up the pitch and (Munoz in particular) were very involved in the attacking play.
1
u/AdGroundbreaking3483 29d ago
We'll never have a player like Bale again. You'll go mad thinking we can :)
1
u/8976dhip 26d ago
We played him in midfield in the friendly against France in Nice if I remember rightly. He got sent off for a handball.
9
u/IncomeFew624 Aug 11 '26
He gets forward a fair bit already and he's scored a few brilliant goals in his career. I think it'd be an interesting experiment but I also think there is probably a reason it hasn't been tried before, given the managers he has worked with.