A huge year is in store for Welsh football 2023, with so many questions that need answering?
Where will Cardiff City and Swansea City finish the Championship season?
What does the future hold for rival bosses Mark Hudson and Russell Martin?
Will we see the so-called impossible and the end of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey being regulars for Wales?
And will Wrexham finally win promotion back into the Football League?
Questions, questions, questions. Our football experts Glen Williams, Tom Coleman, Ian Mitchelmore and Mat Davies dust down their crystal balls.
Will Cardiff City be relegated?
Glen Williams: Well, it doesn't look too clever at the moment, does it? So much hinges on the January transfer window, because if they don't address the debilitating lack of goals in the squad then there is only one direction in which this club is going, unfortunately.
That's easier said than done, of course, with a transfer ban hanging over their heads, but, by hook or by crook, they need goals. Goals and creativity. Without those then I fear they will be heading to League One. Something has got to give.
Mat Davies: What may save them is the fact the Championship is so poor - not just at the bottom but all the way up to the play-off spots. The topsy-turvy nature of the league could be their saving grace. Sorting themselves out in January has to be the priority. Otherwise League One is a very realistic destination.
Tom Coleman: Supporting Cardiff must be an utterly joyless chore right now. The results are bad, and the performances are often worse. If nothing changes, I really think they might go down.
There are clearly wider problems at the club, but right now the focus has to be on the pitch. The current transfer embargo has made the prospect of turning things round an unenviably monumental task, but Mark Hudson has to find a way of doing just that.
Will Vincent Tan sell up?
Glen Williams: The Bluebirds owner in November gave an impassioned defence of his tenure and appeared as determined as always to navigate the club through the increasingly-chopping waters in which it finds itself. Even though he admitted his family want him to sell up yesterday.
The club is an attractive one, given its size and potential fan base, and Tan has had a number of offers over the years. At the moment, though, with so many liabilities and the Emiliano Sala transfer fee still to be paid, the money Tan would want to recoup at least some of his losses would surely be prohibitively high?
In its current state, without a bid from a super-rich consortium, I just can't see how Tan would make it work.
Mat Davies: As a capital city club with excellent facilities and good potential, Cardiff are an attractive proposition should Tan want to sell up and move on. But as Glen highlights above, there are too many caveats for a new owner to consider - their future in the Championship being a major one. Tan appears to be here to stay.
Tom Coleman: Relegation to League One would clearly have an effect on the landscape, but unless someone comes in with an offer Tan considers too good to turn down, it seems unlikely that he'll sell, regardless of what division the club is playing in.
At the moment, it's probably best to work on the assumption that he will still be here this time next year.
Will Mark Hudson be in charge at end of the year?
Glen Williams: Again, alluding to that Vincent Tan interview, the owner said Hudson would be in charge until the end of the season "unless he does badly". Well his current record in the Bluebirds dugout doesn't augur well.
Tan clearly likes Hudson. Why else would he pass on other highly-thought-of managers, who were free at the time of Steve Morison's sacking or have since become available, like Rob Edwards, Carlos Corberan, Neil Critchley, David Wagner, Chris Wilder and, most recently, Dean Smith?
It's a results business, though, and unless Hudson starts putting the points on the board sooner rather than later there is only one conclusion. Four wins in 21 matches doesn't cut the mustard and Hudson knows that.
Mat Davies: Cardiff's record in the managerial department suggests he won't be. Results under Steve Morison were heading one way and few can argue things have improved under Hudson. I would be surprised if he lasts the season, let alone the year.
Tom Coleman: Not on current form, no. I wouldn't be surprised to see someone come in for the second half of the season with the brief of keeping City up. Does Neil Warnock have one last job in him? You really wouldn't bet against it.
Where will Swansea City finish?
Ian Mitchelmore: I said they'd get a play-off spot before a ball was kicked this season, so I'll have to stick with that.
At the time of writing, Swansea, in my opinion, are just two players away from being genuine top six contenders. We've seen numerous times how quickly the Championship table can change, and if the Swans can get things right in the transfer window, they'll give themselves a brilliant chance of achieving their dreams this season. But you'd imagine around half of the teams in the division are currently thinking exactly the same!
Mat Davies: At the start of the season I predicted an eighth-place finish for Swansea and I'm going to stick with that. When Swansea are good they are very good but when they are bad... you know the drill. They have this annoying habit of giving their opponents a head start in far too many games.
They have managed to keep Joel Piroe but the fact the Dutchman has only recently found his shooting boots, coupled with the poor contributions from Michael Obafemi and Jamie Paterson compared to last season, means they aren't fully clicking. I see them just missing out.
Tom Coleman: I said in the summer that I didn't think Swansea had quite enough to earn a top six spot, and I've not really seen anything to change my mind on that. They just haven't quite found the happy medium between the sublime and ridiculous just yet.
A strong January window might change things, but given the financial constraints the club is still operating under, I'm not sure you can really count on that. I just think they'll fall short.
Will Russell Martin still be in charge at end of the year?
Ian Mitchelmore: You can never rule out an exit, particularly given the attraction of Martin's style. It feels like the head coach, if the Swans do not go up to the Premier League either this season or next, is destined for a top job.
You would hope he would sign a fresh deal at some stage which would put Swansea in a stronger position should Martin be poached, although the head coach has regularly spoken of his love for the club and the city. He is in no rush to leave, but Brighton taking Graham Potter in 2019 is the perfect example of what can happen when admirers with cash to burn come calling.
Mat Davies: Swansea certainly won't be pulling the trigger on Martin, the danger lurks in other teams eyeing his situation and trying to prise him away. He has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal. Former club Norwich City are looking for a new boss but at present I think Martin is happy enough in Landore and will remain with the Swansea project for the foreseeable.
Tom Coleman: Unless a much bigger job comes calling, then yes he'll be in charge. Swansea don't sack their managers nowadays, and I think there's still plenty of belief in the project behind the scenes.
Will Bale and Ramsey be dropped by Wales?
Ian Mitchelmore: Absolutely not. Bale and Ramsey still have plenty to offer. The World Cup was bitterly disappointing, but their experience will remain key as Rob Page looks to integrate some younger players during the course of 2023. We didn't see it in Qatar, but the duo still possess tremendous quality which will be more than useful in Euro qualifying.
That said, injuries and a lack of match action well and truly caught up with them at the World Cup, and their impact on the pitch this year will certainly be reduced. A transitional period can't and won't be a case of five players out and five players in.
It will be gradual, and players such as Ollie Cooper and Rubin Colwill will learn so much from Bale and Ramsey who still have a huge amount to offer.
Glen Williams: I think we are getting to the stage where it might be a case of playing one or the other, especially from the start. Rob Page has already alluded to having one eye on the future and it might be a case of picking and choosing carefully when these two play.
It will be a bold call, but change is afoot with the national team and the changing of the guard was always going to happen at some stage. It just has to be managed carefully.
Tom Coleman: As much as it pains me to say it, both players are probably finished at the very highest level in my opinion, but I still think they've got plenty to offer Rob Page. Besides, they surely deserve to go out on their own terms considering what they've given their country.
Wales are on the cusp of a real transitional period, with the embers of Golden Generation down to the final few flickers. As a result, there could be some choppy waters ahead, and the influence of both players could prove useful in helping to ease in the new era. Any young player coming into camp would surely benefit from their presence.
Additionally, while well past their prime, I still think they're much better players than what they showed in Qatar, and you wouldn't bet against either of them producing the occasional piece of match-winning magic - even if it's just off the bench.
Mat Davies: Bale is unlikely to be playing much football before the end of February, with the MLS season not getting back under way until then, and Ramsey has yet to return for Nice. If we are being brutally honest, neither were fit for the World Cup but their presence around the squad will be invaluable. Keep them within the fold and have them as bench options would be my call.
Will Wrexham get promoted?
Tom Coleman: It's surely only a matter of time before Wrexham finally crack it? They'll still have to work hard for it, mind. At this level, it's perfectly possible for a team to rack up over 90 points and still not go up, such is the level of competitiveness at the top.
After going toe-to-toe with eventual champions Stockport County last season, Notts County have taken on the mantle of title rivals this time around, and this challenge could be even tougher. At the heart of the Magpies' hopes is striker Macaulay Langstaff, who's netted 22 goals in 24 games at the time of writing - a run that's seen him emerge on the radar of a number of other clubs, including Cardiff City.
But Wrexham have a star striker too in Paul Mullin, who is only five goals behind and is, quite frankly, far too good for this level. Ollie Palmer and Aaron Hayden have chipped in too with 22 goals between them, so there's plenty of attacking bite in this team, and that might well edge them ahead of their rivals.
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