By Tom Prosser Wales and Juventus star Aaron Ramsey stressed the importance of being “managed correctly” ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Estonia. The Welsh playmaker has found game-time hard to come by due to a number of niggly muscle issues which have since seen him fall out of favour with Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri. During the last seven months, Ramsey has played more minutes for Wales than Juventus and hinted that his lack minutes have not helped matters related to his injury.

By Tom Prosser  Connor Roberts says Aaron Ramsey’s inclusion in the Wales squad has given the whole team a “massive lift” ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Estonia. Ramsey has only featured in three league games for Juventus so far this season due to issues with his fitness and current club form. Since March, he has played more minutes for Wales (447) than Juventus (378). This is even more surprising when taking into account his withdrawal from Wales’ matches in September.

By Tom Prosser Exciting Wales prospect Sorba Thomas could only have dreamed of playing international football whilst earning his money as a scaffolder after being released by West Ham as a teenager.   “I had some hard days doing scaffolding, putting those poles up,” he says. “It was exhausting but I retained the hope that one day I would make it in football.

By Tom Prosser “The sky is the limit” for Wales new boy Sorba Thomas, according to his Huddersfield Town team-mate Harry Toffolo, who has loved witnessing the 22-year-old’s meteoric rise so far this season. Thomas had a breakthrough first month of the season which finished with him winning the Championship player of the month for August. The winger who qualifies for Wales through his mother, has impressed with his attacking flair and has also been a key provider of goals for the Terriers.

By Paul Jones Cardiff City won’t miss Lee Tomlin’s injury record but they might just miss his flair and outrageous goals after making the decision to release him after an injury hit spell at the club. Tomlin says, “he loved trying to get the fans off the edge of their seats”, but he has divided opinion in recent seasons due to his lack of game time on the pitch. The 32-year-old only managed to make five league appearances last season and has not managed to play a single minute this time around.

By Paul Jones Cardiff City midfielder Will Vaulks has been called up to the Wales squad for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Estonia.  Vaulks has not been in the best of form the Bluebirds so far this season and hasn’t played for Wales since their 3-0 defeat to England 12 months ago. Ironically, the 28-year-old wasn’t picked for the Euro’s despite being in good form towards the end of last season and is now called up when his form is deserting him.

Joel Piroe insists the goals will soon start flowing for Swansea City, even though he currently seems the only player capable of turning on the tap. The Swans’ 0-0 draw at Derby at the weekend was their fourth goalless draw in 11 Championship games this season. In all, Russell Martin’s side have managed just nine goals, with five of those coming from Piroe, their £1m signing from PSV Eindhoven in the summer.

By Tom Prosser Junior Hoilett has admitted it was hard to leave Cardiff City this summer – and a bittersweet moment to score against his former club on Saturday. The Reading attacker struck his first goal for the Royals since being shown the door in the summer by Cardiff, who felt he wasn’t worth a new contract.  Hoilett started Mick McCarthy’s first game in charge against Barnsley but was substituted after just 50 minutes and did play for the club again.

Newport County’s interim manager Wayne Hatswell said his side’s 3-0 win over Scunthorpe United at Rodney Parade was dedicated to Michael Flynn. Flynn, who earlier in the week had negotiated an amicable departure from his post as manager after four-and-a-half years, said his farewells to the players on Friday, but wasn’t at the ground to watch them move to within a point of the play-off places with their best win of the season. “It was a good day at the office and we got back to winning ways. The first goal was key because it put them on the back foot and gave us the belief we needed to go on to win the game,” said Hatswell, formerly Flynn’s right-hand man.

Mick McCarthy insisted he has not “lost the dressing room” but admits whether or not the board still back him at Cardiff City is another matter. The Bluebirds manager conceded he is powerless to determine his own immediate future after the club’s former striker, Junior Hoilett, gave Reading a 1-0 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium. The decision not to offer Hoilett a new contract in the summer was McCarthy’s, but the question of whether it is time for the manager to now go will not be in his hands – a fact McCarthy conceded after his fifth successive defeat and seventh in eight matches.

Russell Martin has praised Wayne Rooney’s management at Derby County and suggested if the England legend was all about ego, he would already have walked away from the crisis club. Swansea City head coach Martin takes his team to the Championship’s bottom club hoping to inflict more misery on the Rams by collecting some much-needed points of their own. Derby sit bottom of the table with a single point after having a 12-point deduction, with a further nine-point deduction still likely.

Mick McCarthy is hoping the return of Cardiff City’s midfield stalwart Joe Ralls can halt the Bluebirds’ sliding autumn from turning into a winter of discontent. The Cardiff manager is pinning his hopes on Ralls’ comeback helping bring an end to their run of four consecutive defeats against Reading on Saturday in the capital. Ralls has been sidelined with an on-going groin strain for the past five matches and is set to return to action the day after celebrating the 10th anniversary of his Championship debut with the club he joined at 17.

By Tom Prosser Russell Martin is delighted that his Swansea side have the joint most clean sheets in the league so far this season and insists he is not going to panic about their concerning defensive record when playing away from home. Swansea have so far let in 11 away goals this season and have conceded three at Preston, Luton and Fulham. “We have the most clean sheets in the league,” explained Martin.

By Tom Prosser Newport County manager Michael Flynn is set to leave the club after Saturday’s match against Scunthorpe at Rodney Parade. Flynn has been in charge since 2017 and is reportedly handing over the reigns to his assistant Wayne Hatswell who played for the Exiles during the 2011-12 season. Newport have had a successful time on the pitch with Flynn at the helm.

Russell Martin has insisted he was “really proud” of his Swansea City players – even though a 3-1 defeat at Fulham exposed now familiar shortcomings in a season that has yielded just two victories in the first 10 Championship matches. The Swans have 10 points and are back in 19th position after an Aleksandar Mitrovic hat-trick condemned them to a first defeat in five games. Head coach Martin was pleased with the way his team held onto possession and created their own openings, including a well taken goal by Jamie Paterson which brought the scores back to 2-1.

By Paul Jones Mick McCarthy is now under intense pressure as Cardiff City manager after admitting concerns about his own fans chanting ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ during their 4-0 defeat to West Brom on Tuesday. The result follows Saturday’s 5-1 defeat to Blackburn and means the Bluebirds have lost six of their last seven matches in all competitions. “The away fans singing it at me doesn’t bother me one bit. But the home fans doing it? That’s a completely different ball game,” said McCarthy.

Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales’ World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Estonia with a “significant hamstring tear” – and may even struggle to make the November matches. Skipper Bale has not played since Wales’ goalless draw against Estonia on September 8 after being injured on his return to Real Madrid. The 32-year-old was due to win his 100th cap against the Czechs and his absence for October’s double-header deals a serious blow to Wales’ qualification hopes for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Cardiff City have been warned that promotion-chasing West Brom will not be knocked out of their stride by a physical approach when they visit the Bluebirds on Tuesday night. Mick McCarthy and his team are desperate to stop the rot for the home side who have lost five of their last six games in all competitions and three on the trot in the Championship. The Yorkshireman is a manager under pressure with fans growing restless after the 5-1 hammering suffered at Blackburn Rovers last weekend, but any attempt to muscle their way to a result will be countered, according to West Brom boss Velerien Ismael, whose team have only lost once this season.

New FAW chief executive Noel Mooney says UEFA would welcome a British and Irish bid for the 2030 World Cup. Mooney spent 10 years at UEFA and worked with all 55 European federations in his role as head of strategic development there before joining the FAW in July. The Irishman’s arrival in Cardiff comes at a time when a feasibility study is assessing whether the UK and Ireland will go ahead with an attempt to host the 2030 World Cup.

Former Newport County manager and Sunderland defender Len Ashurst has died at the age of 82. Ashurst made 409 appearances for the Black Cats – a club record for an outfield player – before moving into management.