The flying Tottenham winger will be utilised in his
accustomed wide position for the forthcoming friendly, but, maybe in a warning
shot to his miss-firing strikers, Coleman has admitted he is prepared to play
Bale in a striking role in the upcoming qualifiers with Scotland and Croatia.
Coleman said: “You have to score goals to win matches and
it’s a role he could perform, without any shadow of a doubt. I do think about
these things. Can I surprise Scotland or Croatia by playing someone like Gareth
out of position?
“He could even perform this role of a false nine, so to
speak, the system Spain introduced with no out and out striker. Barcelona also
play that way from time to time with Lionel Messi.
“Once you put somebody like Gareth up front, the formation
of the opposition changes completely. Defenders drop deep because they are
terrified of his pace and that, in turn, creates space for your midfield to run
into and support Gareth.
“We tried this when we were chasing the game against Croatia
(in the 2-0 loss in Osijek back in October) and, if we can get the formation
around him right, we may well use Gareth in that type of role going forward.
“Obviously that means the position he traditionally fills is
not as strong for us, and I don’t wish that to sound derogatory to anyone. But
these are the balancing acts I have to think about.”
But would such a move work for Wales? Well, as stated by
Coleman, Bale filled the role during the second half out in Croatia, and
provided by far Wales’ best attacking outlet. One trademark run from half-way
brought a fine save from Croatia ‘keeper Stipe Pletikosa.
Bale certainly holds the attributes to be an explosive
striker. Similar to a young Michael Owen or Thierry Henry in terms of pace and
the ability to take a defender on (if not the finishing), he has produced
memorable goals at full speed for both Wales and Spurs.
Against Scotland at home in the same month as the Croatia
defeat, the 23-year-old almost single-handedly took the game to the visitors in
the second half, and his second goal, a long-range thunderbolt, will live long
in the memory.
We have seen Theo Walcott perform the same role for Arsenal
too this season, with some success. But questions would be asked over Bale’s
ability to find the net consistently, and those queries could only be answered
by the Cardiff-born star.
It may also further dent the confidence of an
underperforming Welsh frontline.
Wales have managed to find the net just three times in four
qualifiers for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 – all from the boot of Bale.
In fact, the last players to score other than Bale were
Craig Bellamy and Sam Vokes (twice) in Wales’ 4-1 victory over Norway (Bale got
the other of course) in November 2011, Gary Speed’s last match in charge before
his tragic death.
Of the current Welsh strike force, Bellamy has amassed 19
goals in 70 caps and Vokes four in 24 (both seeing their last strikes in that
Norway match).
Simon Church only has one goal in 19 caps, the second in a
3-0 friendly win over Scotland in November 2009, and Craig Davies has not found
the net in six appearances, although this writer remembers him missing a
dreadful open goal on his competitive debut in a 1-0 defeat in Poland in
September 2005 (I was there).
Of the rest of the current crop not involved for various
reasons: Robbie Earnshaw has netted 16 times in 58 caps for his country, but
not since May 2011 against Northern Ireland and Scotland in the Nations Cup
held in Dublin.
Steve Morison’s only goal in 20 appearances came in the 2-1
Euro 2012 qualifying win over Montenegro in September 2011, and other than Hal
Robson-Kanu (no goals in 11 caps although really a winger by trade like Bale),
there are no other real options.
There has been a real failure by any one player to nail down
the No9 jersey since John Hartson (14 goals in 51 caps) retired, and with
another qualifying campaign in danger of slipping away Coleman may be right in
testing one of world football’s brightest prospects in a prominent attacking
position to try and find a new talisman.
Bale’s one-man show against Scotland shows he may possess
the ability to carry Wales further than he already has in a goal threat sense,
and his current tally of nine international goals is more than Vokes, Church,
Davies and Morison combined. And he has done it in nearly half (38 caps) the
others’ combined appearances (69 caps).
Scoring goals consistently at international level is not
easy, as many prolific strikes at club level have found out to their detriment.
But the scoring totals of the current crop of frontmen do pale in comparison
when compared to some of Wales’ recent greats.
With Bale in his finest scoring form for Tottenham this
season, club manager Andre Villas Boas could also have toyed with the idea. But
while Spurs have a wealth of attacking midfield options to pick from to replace
Bale should he move forward, Coleman’s Wales choices are more limited. If you
take Bale out of midfield, would he get the service?
There are Aaron Ramsey and the two Joes, Allen and Ledley,
still in there, so there is still every chance that Bale would see the ball up
front.
The best option is to wait for the Scotland and Croatia games
and see how such a formation would work. On the evidence given above, it might
just be worth a shot.
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