One of the happiest men in football at the emergence of Leighton James as a goal-scoring, fast running winger very much in the old-fashioned role is not, as you would immediately think, his Burnley manager Jimmy Adamson. The man happy about it all is Dave Bowen, under-privileged manager of the Welsh national side. He feels so satisfied about it because it marks a breakthrough of new talent into the Welsh international arena. The Welsh team has virtually picked itself for the last four or five years....and then has been cruelly disseminated by injuries or vital club calls.

The number of new faces to emerge as true rivals to the recognised men who practically wear the red shirt like a permanent under-vest, has been few. But this season, things are looking definitely brighter. Apart from James, John Mahoney, first capped as a teenager, has emerged as a regular and talented First Division performer with Stoke City this season, and down in the Third Division, Frank Prince and Wayne Jones of Bristol Rovers have both caught Bowen�s eye.

But the man most people in soccer are talking about is this week�s cover man, Leighton James. In a Burnley side which soared right to the top of the Second Division as soon as the season got underway � and has stayed there ever since � James is the master craftsman of wing play with a lethal finishing touch. Two super goals in a televised match against Luton Town brought him to the notice of those who were not really aware of his ability. "Leighton�s emergence this season is great not only for the game, but for Welsh football," says Dave Bowen.

"Obviously, I don�t like to say too much about individual players, but at last new talent is coming through. Mind you, we�re still nowhere near as well off as we ought to be. I think I�m right in saying that Northern Ireland have more First Division players to choose from. So that makes us the poor relations."

He adds: "The side has picked itself in recent years and then we�ve always had injury or club call problems." That underprivileged reality has led to the selection of Yorkshire-born Trevor Hockey under the International Board decision which allows appearances for the country of a player�s birth. But Leighton James is as Welsh as they come. Born in the statutory Welsh valley � Llwchwr, in Glamorgan � and even complete with a shock of red hair, he was a full international before he had even made an Under-23 appearance. Direct and forceful, he is certainly a player for any defence to watch closely. He�ll probably be peering just as intently as defenders though � he wears contact lenses! But, at 19, Leighton James is, above all, one of the new Welsh breed. And Dave Bowen couldn�t be more relieved.

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