When it became clear that Wales manager John Toshack would be leaving his post, a host of names were linked with the position. Tony Pulis, Chris Coleman, Brian Flynn were the front-runners along with Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs. Even though Giggs has no managerial experience, he quickly became the fan’s choice for the role, as they hoped he would bring some spark back to an already troubled campaign and a Wales camp which has been less than dynamic in the past few years. His lack of experience did not seem to put off the Welsh FA, with The Sun quoting a FAW insider as stating,

“Ryan has always been seen as the long-term replacement. He would certainly galvanise the players. He could be offered a deal where he could carry on playing.”

Whilst his association are keen, should Giggs himself consider taking the post at this point in his career?

The main obstacle to Ryan Giggs taking the job is that he is still playing football. Giggs has shown sublime form for the past few seasons and continued to prove that for him age truly is just a number, with himself and Paul Scholes being two of United’s best performers so far this season. His club manager Sir Alex Ferguson shares this belief, The Sun quotes,

“I spoke to him and it will not happen. We have to be selfish here – I am not even prepared to negotiate on the matter. At his age, Ryan needs to use all his energy and concentration to be here.”

Ferguson’s words have seemingly put an end to Welsh hopes that Giggs would take over as manager. But at this moment, it may not be such a bad thing. If Giggs were to take the job now his mind would be in two places, on his playing career and his managerial career and it is not unlikely his form for both would suffer as a result. If he took the Wales job it would be his first one in management and he would need his full concentration on the task in hand to commit himself fully to the job and learn from his experiences. Ryan Giggs has stated that he would like to manage Wales one day, but this opportunity has come around that little bit too soon.

There is nothing to stop Giggs becoming manager of Wales in the future, and you get the sense that it will almost inevitably happen at some point. When Giggs retires from his playing career, whenever that may be, it could be a very wise move for the Welsh FA to give him a job as assistant, as long as circumstances permitted it. This would give him vital experience of what it takes to manage internationally and Giggs would be better placed to take over when the time came.

Ryan Giggs is almost certainly not going to take the role of manager of Wales at this moment in his life. His playing career is still going strong and you would not put it past him to have another year of football after the end of this season. Wales fans should not be disheartened however that their number one choice is not going to take over now, because I think it is likely that at some point in the future Ryan Giggs will become manager of Wales. The wait will surely be worth it for the fans, and for Giggs himself.

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