Wales must be trying to play "The Swansea Way"...

Late call-ups for ex-Swans means squad has a decidedly South West Walian feel to it...

Wales have been underperforming for a while. Since being appointed, Chris Coleman has struggled to get his team producing results - or even decent performances. The football they've played has, on occasion, made them look like a poor man's Swansea and it's understandable they're trying to put in place a style of play which can be carried on by the next manager, in a bid to benefit from continued continuity much like the Swans have.

Without a crop of star players for every position, the best way to assemble an international team must surely be to pick a young squad and stick with it. The players will learn each other's games, and over time you'll develop a tasty looking team. Toshack started this but was hounded out by the vendetta-fuelled Robbie Savage and chums, and I thought that was pretty harsh. He had the right idea, and I'm convinced if he'd have had more time we'd have seen him produce results.

This brings me neatly to the announcement that Chris Coleman has called up nine players to cover injury victims, one of whom (Daniel Alfei) is currently a Swansea player and another five of whom used to play for Swansea (or are out on loan in Jazz Richards' case). The full list of replacements called up was as follows: Lloyd Isgrove, Owain Tudur Jones, Daniel Alfei, James Wilson, Rhoys Wiggins, Jermaine Easter, Shaun MacDonald, David Cotterill and Jazz Richards.

With so many players in the squad having experienced life in SA1, it seems Wales could benefit from adopting the "pass and move" style we've become so used to in these parts. Wales have tried to operate in this manner for a while with limited success, so hopefully having a lot of people singing from the same hymn sheet will stand the squad in good stead and they can adjust to each others games' quickly. 

Why Coleman called up Bale when Madrid had said he wasn't fit we don't know - he withdrew from the squad only hours after being called up. It was a very strange move which doesn't help Coleman at all - it smacks of desparation and he's surely not long in a job if results don't go his way in the next two matches, despite FAW protestations otherwise.

As for current Swansea players, Ben Davies, Neil Taylor & Ashley Williams were due to travel to meet up with the rest of the squad, despite all recently having their own injury worries. Davies has been ruled out of both games after picking up a hamstring injury against Southampton while Ash is continuing his comeback from an ankle injury which has kept him out of the last few Swans' matches. If Coleman plays Ash when he's not 100% fit, he can expect a frosty relationship with Huw & Co for the rest of his tenure. Taylor, however, should be fully recovered from a bruised thigh.

With Macedonia up first, the lads will be keen to secure a result ahead of a seriously testing trip to Belgium. With eight ex or current Swansea players in the squad, at least we should be able to make a decent fist of a possession game. 

That'll be the idea, anyway...

Craig Bellamy: "Swansea have educated us all. Swansea have lit the light"

In an emotional interview discussing the Welsh team's result, Bellamy shows how highly Swans are regarded.

In the aftermath of Wales again coming from behind to snatch a 2-1 win over Scotland, a clearly very emotional Craig Bellamy was interviewed, and gave a clear indication that Swansea have proven to be a strong influence on the football of the national side. 

Craig Bellamy: I used to think he was a
how's-your-father, however it turns out
he gives millions to charity. Top chap.

It's long been stated (and long been ignored) that to build a successful national team you need two things; a core of players who know each other very well, and an established playing style. Toshack started to develop this kind of policy, however Robbie Savage and his media bloodhounds soon put paid to that, but in fairness Gary Speed was doing an outstanding job. Four wins out of five is a far cry from the Wales we've become used to in recent times, and the squad did seem to have turned a corner. 

The continuation of blooding young players will ultimately pay dividends for Wales. You only have to look at Greece, who won the European Championship in 2004, to realise that you don't need a squad full of world-beaters to beat the best players in the world, you just need the best squad. That being said, I wouldn't kick Gareth Bale out of the squad, he's alright like. 

The adoption of a Swansea-esque playing style will ultimately benefit the national team, as players coming into the squad will know what they are expected to do, however Bellamy namedropping both the Swans, and former Swansea defender Chris Coleman like this must irk some Cardiff fans.  

"Swansea have educated us all. Swansea have lit the light,"

"We had an incredible human being [Gary Speed] who came into our national squad as manager and wanted to emphasise that. 

"Cookie [Chris Coleman] is trying to do the same as well and trying to deliver the same philosophy We've gone this way with our football in the last few years. 

"We were left a legacy by an incredible human being and we've followed that through, which makes me even more proud that… we represent him [Speed] every time we play. 

"I'm not emotional. I'm just proud." Craig Bellamy

Sounds just a little emotional, if you ask me.

Discussing Scotland's opener Bellamy indicated there's still work to be done on the training ground;

"Another set piece which we need to do something about - that's eight set pieces now we've conceded in this group; We can't do that, and I said at half time, 'if we lose, we lose'. 

"The philosophy of the football is playing football and keeping the ball. I can take a loss. I can walk off, as long as my head's held high and I'm passing the ball like that, I'll lose. If that's not good enough, then it's not good enough."

I don't think it can be emphasised enough just how impressed I am by the acceptance of this philosophy by the Wales set-up. For so long it's seemed archaic, resistant to change and indicative of everything that's wrong with "old boy networks" and "the top brass" - but it seems Gary Speed's tenure has left a legacy which has revitalised Wales, even if there was an understandable dip in performance levels following his tragic death.

Gareth Bale, or, as he's come to be known recently,
"Tottenham Hotspur".

The 15 year old Swansea fan in me simply likes the fact that a Cardiff-born Cardiff player saw fit to say "Swansea lit the light", but in truth it resonates more deeply than that. Swansea have lit the light, and Bellamy isn't alone in waxing lyrical about the Swans. Ferguson went on record as saying that Swansea are his "team of the season" (with Michu being his bargain of the season to boot) and Laudrup was recently voted "most impressive manager" by the League Manager's Association, so the superlatives have been flowing fairly freely of late.

The Swans must, of course, guard against complacency in the run in. All but mathematically safe from relegation and with European football secured, some teams would ease up down the final run-in, but with transfers expected and Laudrup on record as wanting to trim his squad, most of the Swansea squad are playing for their futures. There's probably a handful of players (Ash, Chico, Taylor, Davies, Britton, Ki, Michu, Routledge, Hernandez, Dyer) who can consider themselves safe but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw one or two shock departures.

Next up are Spurs, and with (international players aside) both squads enjoying an extended rest & recuperation period it's likely we're going to see an electric ninety minutes of football.

One final note is that Gareth Bale aggravated an ankle injury against Scotland and failed to reappear for the second half. If he fancies giving it a go for Wales against Croatia, I've no objection to him picking up a little harmless niggle which rules him out of the Swans game whatsoever...