Wembley awaits Ramsey, the boy who would be king

He may be given only a cameo role in the FA Cup final tomorrow but, one way or another, history beckons for Cardiff's scintillating young talent, says James Corrigan

(GETTY IMAGES)

His team-mates barely hesitate to hail him as "a superstar in waiting", his manager seems resigned to losing him to the Big Four anytime soon, while even his Wembley opponents identify him as "very, very dangerous". Aaron Ramsey is the boy with the world at his feet who tomorrow will be determined to make the world gasp at his feat of becoming the youngest FA Cup winner in the 136-year history of the competition.

At 17 years, 144 days, Ramsey will wipe Paul Allen from the record books should Cardiff City beat Portsmouth. It was 1980 when a club from outside the top division last hoisted the famous urn and on that glorious West Ham afternoon Allen was the hero as mothers, grandmothers and their soppy male equivalents alike, raged in protective fury as big Willie Young hacked down the kid with the goal at his mercy. Allen has never been allowed to forget the experience, while Norman Whiteside, the youngest-ever scorer in the Cup final, finds his name similarly synonymous with teenaged Wembley heroics. Are they to be joined by the lad they call "Rambo"?

Maybe, maybe not. Dave Jones has to pick him first and the rumour is that he will start his starlet on the bench. Whatever, it says much about the talent from Caerphilly, the valley town separated from the capital by its very own mountain, that much of the conjecture in this build-up has centred around what he will be up to after the final and not just during it.

Manchester United have been this week's favourites to sign him and reportedly will for £5m as soon as the Cup celebrations/commiserations die down. It is known that Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken to Jones about Ramsey, but then it is also known that Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea have expressed their interest. In fact, it seems every Premier League club worthy of their status has had Ramsey watched and every single one of them has ended up wanting him.

Take this from Stuart Morgan, Harry Redknapp's chief scout at Portsmouth. "Ramsey could be worth £10m," he said. "Of course I have recommended Ramsey to Harry. But this is a player every club in the Premier League is talking about, not just us at Portsmouth." The boy himself is rather shy when it comes to talking to the press. Make that painfully shy. There has inevitably been some media training to help him skirt the burning issue of his future but those close to him reveal that he is indeed as modest and as quiet as he comes across. But they also assure there is steel behind the stuttering as Ramsey revealed in a rare moment of candour. "What scares me? Nuffin," he writes on the social website, Bebo. "I'm hard as nails. Hmmmm... well sum say I am. But I wouldn't like to cum that close to tarantulars. If that's how u spell it."

The cynical might venture that had Ramsey stayed on at school he could have learned to spell "tarantulas", not to mention a few, more widely-used words. Yet that would be more than just a little unfair. As it is, Ramsey probably did well to pass 10 of the 11 GCSEs he was taking this time last year, as by then he had already made his senior debut for Cardiff and a lucrative career was all but assured. "I did not really enjoy school," he told The Independent this week. "It's always been football for me. My parents, in a way, made me do well at school. They've always tried to drill into me the importance of getting the right results. But I always wanted to be a footballer and never thought of doing anything different."

Thus is the way with the majority of the young millionaires that Ramsey will doubtless be joining soon, although what surely marks him out as a bit different is his background. The Rhymney Valley has never been a breeding ground for professional footballers; rugby union is the religion there and football is still regarded by many as a sacrilege.

It was not so long ago when children in certain parts of Wales – the Rhymney Valley included – who expressed an interest in playing football were told by head-teachers they had to play rugby and although this blatant infringement of human rights has blessedly been eradicated, the whims of the masters still play an influential role in the children's sport of "choice".

"Our school was into rugby," said Ramsey, "so we only had the odd football game."

Inevitably, this oval-ball bias is reflected in the community at large and such is rugby's domination that football often takes a backseat the rest of Britain would disbelieve. One remarkable exchange between Ramsey and a journalist at Cardiff's training ground this week has understandably been used to stress his age. Yet perhaps it is merely indicative of the rugby-obsessed environs where he grew up. "Do you know what the old Wembley looks like in your mind?" Ramsey was asked. "Er, no. I've seen pictures but nothing comes to mind." You must remember the Twin Towers? "Er, no, I don't."

Now, the "old" Wembley was knocked down way back in 2003 when he was 12. Ramsey was hardly in nappies. What is certain is that he knows all about the "new " stadium. He played little more than a cameo role in the semi-final victory there over Barnsley as a substitute, but still managed to do enough to earn reviews that positively raved. It has ever been the way with Ramsey, the former trainee whose skill-set his team-mates unashamedly revere. "Rambo is top class," says his captain, Stephen McPhail, who many believe should make way for Ramsey to take the playmaking role tomorrow. "He is only 17 but if you watched him play you would think he has been playing for years. He is a bit special, a superstar in waiting, if you like.

"Aaron has superb vision and a weight of pass. He likes Roy Keane but he is probably more of a Steven Gerrard-type midfielder as he has everything. He can pick passes out and has an all-round game like Gerrard. Like I said, he is going to be a superstar if he keeps his feet on the ground and works hard."

Even for someone as level-headed as Ramsey that may not be as easy as it sounds. John Toshack yesterday cranked up the hype one more notch by, for the first time, naming him in the senior Wales squad to face Iceland and the Netherlands later this month, a move that may or may not have been welcomed by Jones. The manager has used him sparingly, far too sparingly his critics claim. Yet Jones is unapologetic about his methods.

"Nothing fazes Aaron but there is an awful lot of pressure on this kid," Jones said. "When they have something special in Wales they do drain it. We're trying to cocoon him from that. If he is right to play at Wembley then he'll play. The one thing I do know is that he will have many, many more appearances in top games because he will be a top player.

"No, we don't have to sell him now. But if Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool come calling and the price is right it's difficult to say to the kid you are not going to play with Rooney and Ronaldo. And he is good enough to keep such company. In fact, the next stage of development is to go with better players."

That is widely accepted in the game, certainly down at Fratton Park where they have underlined Ramsey as a Championship player who could make it an uncomfortable afternoon for their Premier League performers. "He can play football, the kid," acknowledged the assistant coach, Tony Adams. "Wembley is a big pitch and it could just suit him. Someone so young doesn't yet know what a Cup final means. And without that pressure, he can just go out and play with freedom." Perhaps they should smuggle in a tarantula.

Teenage kicks: The FA Cup final's young record breakers

James F M Prinsep (1879, Clapham Rovers; 17 years, 245 days)

Became the youngest player ever to appear in an FA Cup final when Clapham were beaten by Old Etonians and held the record for 125 years. Went on to play for England but was later commissioned in the Essex Regiment and was killed fighting in Egypt at the age of 34.

Paul Allen (1980, West Ham; 17 years, 256 days)

Became the youngest winner of the FA Cup when Trevor Brooking scored the only goal in the defeat of Arsenal. Part of the famous Allen footballing family, he went on to play in two more finals for Spurs, losing in 1987 and winning in 1991. Retired as a 36-year-old in 1998.

Norman Whiteside (1983, Manchester United; 18 years, 14 days)

The youngest player ever to score in a final as United beat Brighton 4-0 in a replay, Whiteside is also the youngest player to appear in a World Cup. He made his debut for Northern Ireland aged 17 years and 41 days in the 1982 finals in Spain. Retired at 26 through injury.

Curtis Weston (2004, Millwall; 17 years, 119 days)

Dennis Wise came in for some criticism when subbing himself for Weston with one minute remaining in the 3-0 defeat against Manchester United, so erasing the 125-year record of Prinsep. He later signed Weston for Leeds. Now on loan at Scunthorpe.