WELL it finally happened. The Welsh FA has confirmed the worst kept secret in British football by confirming Chris Coleman as new national team manager.
This appointment, although much needed after several months of disarray following the tragic death of Gary Speed, has not been universally welcomed.
It was a rock and hard place decision for the Welsh FA. Ultimately Speed had surpassed all expections in his year at the helm and whoever was appointed would be controversial.
Firstly I am going to reserve judgement on Coleman. When Speed was appointed I had little faith in the Welsh FA choice and I would hate to make the same mistake twice but I have major reservations about Coleman.
Regardless of the fact that Coleman was not as good a player as Speed we must look at his coaching credentials alone.
Of course Coleman is remembered best for his two seasons at Fulham but it is important to remember in his final season he was sacked after an awful run with Lawrie Sanchez keeping the Cottagers up on the final day of the season.
His next managerial stint at Real Sociedad in Spain was an unmitigated disaster and in his two years at Coventry City he managed the club to their lowest league position in almost half a century.
A nine month spell in the Greek second division hardly fills Welsh fans with any confidence.
This is not to say that Coleman is neccassarily not good enough but one has to question the strength of his CV.
It seemed to me that one of the reason's Coleman was regarded so highly was that he was friends with Speed.
As the outpouring of grief following Speed's death last December showed he was remarkably popular and if being friends with him was a pre-requisite for consideration I think you could include any player or manager from the past 20 years.
Although I am sure the two were friends and Speed's death must have upset Coleman like everyone else who had the pleasure of knowing Speed, I do not think that alone should be enough to be considered as a viable successor.
Remember Speed had also had an unremarkable start to club management at Sheffield United but his Welsh tenure was a huge success.
I am undecided whether the Welsh FA have made a mistake of monumental proportion or a masterstroke.
If Coleman fails as he has done at his previous three clubs then the most talented generation of Welsh players in half a century will join their predecessors in never going to a major tournament.
However if Coleman can repeat the surprise success Speed enjoyed during his time as Welsh manager then I am sure there will be a queue of critics only to happy to apologise.
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TNS effectively threw down the gauntlet for the Welsh Premier title this week.
By describing the club's last game of the season - the April 21 clash with defending champions Bangor City as a "repeat of last season's title showdown at Farrar Road" fans of City, Llanelli and Neath have been given even more motivation in the title run-in.
The match has also been made an ticket affair with tickets priced £13 with an early bird offer offering fans a reduced admission rate of £6.
I have been watching Welsh Premier football since 1992 for my sins. It is true that standards have improved over the past 20 years but £13 is too much for 90 minutes entertainment at this level.
I appreciate the club will want to cash-in on the match, which will inevitably attract the cameras of S4C as this fixture always does, but £13 in today's current economic climate is simply unrealistic.
With the match on television it seems even more curious that that club would think it was even a close choice between watching it for free on S4C or spending £13 on admission alone.
The other concern for TNS would be that, with a new manager and potentially their best player in Craig Jones departing, there are certainly no gurantees that this match will be the title decider.
If nothing else the early proclamation that it would be is likely to give their rivals even more incentive, as if they needed it, to ensure the the fixture is a dead rubber and the Saints end up with eggs on their faces.
It is a risky strategy and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.