Last Friday the Welsh national team recorded an impressive 2-1 victory over previously unbeaten Montenegro in their European Championships Qualification match. Whilst two Swansea players, Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor, played the full 90 minutes, the third Swans player had to make do with observing from the sidelines.
The question is, why does Joe Allen feature so infrequently for the Welsh squad? He is often called up in the named 26-man squad, however his appearance on the pitch is rarely from the start and only occasionally being brought on as a sub in the final stages of the match.
The system that Gary Speed is trying to implement for Wales is a much more attractive, patient style than his predecessors have attempted - some could almost say that it is Swansea-esque. Despite a bumpy start for Speed's managerial career, the team had finally managed to show their potential on Friday with some exceptional link up play between Bellamy, Bale, Morison and Ramsey.
Those four players do appear to be key to the system working, with Bellamy and Bale providing the required pace and flair down the wings, Ramsey excelling in the creative role, and Morison being able to hold up the play well. So where could Joe Allen fit in this system to improve it?
Looking at the way the teams lined up on Friday, the Welsh central midfield consisted of Aaron Ramsey, David Vaughan and Joe Ledley, with Andrew Crofts making an appearance just after the hour mark, replacing Ramsey.
As we all know, Allen is a fairly flexible central midfielder - not only can he pick out a pass and attack with ease but it is within his defensive play in a holding position where he is most effective, in my opinion. Similarly to Leon Britton, Allen has the never say die attitude and he uses that determination to his advantge. With the Premier League experience of going toe to toe with players of a much greater quality than the Championship, it would be a key time to implement his flexibility and skills to the squad.
It could be bias talking but I feel that Allen would certainly give more to the midfield than Joe Ledley would. I feel Ledley is still riding off a decent season with Cardiff where his reputation grew to overshadow the fact he is a fairly average player. In addition to this, he would've given more determination defensively than Andrew Crofts (who presumably replaced Aaron Ramsey in the Montenegro game for that reason) who appears to be getting more game time at international level.
Let us not forget the other players who are in contention in the middle of the park for Wales. Jack Collison is an excellent talent, however injuries and now the weakened opposition that he faces may hinder his development. Andy King is the other candidate in the centre, however Speed has recently been deploying King on the wing more than through the centre. The Leicester player certainly has a lot of attacking prowess and comparing him to Allen he has the edge going forward but in terms of versatility and suiting the style of play that Speed endeavours for, the favour swings Allen's way.
One understandable reason why Allen isn't getting a more regular position that he deserves in the national team is a lack of starting appearances at club level. Joe's similarities to Leon Britton are obvious to see and it's Leon who has been handed the starting spot in our first three games. The other spot in midfield is more often than not being handed to Kemy Agustien and it's clear to see why Brendan wants to not play both Allen and Britton due to a lack of physical presence that Agustien provides.
However, the appearances that Allen has made coming off the bench have, statistically, been impressive with a high percentage of passes completed and maintaining the equally impressive possession statistics the club boasts to have thus far.
With a good run in the team, or at least some more impressive appearances coming off the bench, hopefully Joe will do enough to convince Gary Speed and his staff that he is up to starting in that central role for his country.
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