MAYBE Aaron Ramsey thought he would rekindle the old magic by bringing back his Euros 2016 peroxide blonde trim.
At the peak of his powers six years ago, Rambo was named in the team of the tournament as Wales reached the last four.
Yet the 2022 version could not be further removed from that midfield maestro – same haircut or not.
Footballers don’t deserve much sympathy yet it was bordering on sad watching Ramsey toil in the Qatari heat during this crushing 2-0 defeat to Iran.
Once the poster boy of Welsh football alongside Gareth Bale, he has become a liability.
The 31-year-old wasn’t the only culprit during this shocking Wales showing but he was the worst, closely followed by Bale.
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Bale had the fewest touches (36) of any outfield player who was on for the whole game, and managed only one shot on goal.
While completely off the pace from start to finish, how Ramsey stayed on until Wayne Hennessey’s 86th-minute red card with the Dragos desperate for victory was a mystery.
The Nice man lost possession an astonishing 21 times. Yes, you read that correctly.
It wasn’t for a want of trying, it’s just that nothing he did attempt came off.
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The ex-Arsenal midfielder unsurprisingly offered no protection to the defence.
He clearly doesn’t have the legs anymore to get up and down anymore, and his touch in the final third was hopeless.
A shadow of his former self, Ramsey – who came into the tournament undercooked following ANOTHER stop-start season – offers nothing to this Welsh side.
Terrible for the majority of the opener against the USA too, Rob Page has got to seriously consider dropping him for next Tuesday’s must-win clash against England.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk