Shape of things to come for Wales (From Campaign Series)

Shape of things to come for Wales

12:40pm Monday 16th November 2009

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WALES’ star men from Saturday’s convincing win over rivals Scotland are hoping that it’ll be a case of ‘diamonds are forever’ after boss John Toshack finally found the winning combination with his formation.

Toshack has had an almost ever changing approach in how his side shapes up in his five year tenure as Wales boss, having adopted several different formations, none of which has displaced his favoured 5-3-2.

However, things fell beautifully into place for Toshack at Cardiff City’s Stadium with Aaron Ramsey the gem in the diamond, spearheading a midfield quartet that finally saw Wales playing as their supporters crave, with intent, pace and fluidity.

With Ashley Williams shielding the back four and Ramsey advanced ahead of David Edwards and Joe Ledley, Wales looked more of a goal threat than they have in an eternity, Craig Bellamy surely relishing the prospect of partnering either Ched Evans or goalscorer Simon Church in attack, rather than swimming against the tide as a lone forward.

And a host of Welsh stars, including their three goal scorers Simon Church, Aaron Ramsay and David Edwards, have admitted to the Argus that they enjoyed the new formation, the same one that has seen Chelsea hit the summit of the Premier League under Carlo Ancelotti.

Edwards explained: “We played some great stuff, our shape was really solid, with Ashley Williams sitting and Joe (Ledley) and I either side, it gave Rambo (Aaron Ramsay) space to get in behind and we broke really quickly with two willing runners up front and players breaking from midfield.

“The shape got the best out of everyone, we all knew our jobs and it gives Aaron space. It’s up to the manager; he always picks what he thinks is the best formation. I think this formation got the best out of us.”

That view was endorsed by Tottenham’s Gareth Bale and skipper Ashley Williams.

“We showed we are learning all the time. We all enjoyed playing with that system, we worked hard on it and training and hopefully we can keep playing it,” Bale said.

“It suits me down to the ground as an attacking full back; I think it suits a lot of the players.”

“The shape of the team helps Aaron Ramsey, we all really enjoyed it,” Williams added.

“I think it suited us, we played really well once we were in a rhythm, it suits everyone, we’ve got a young team with lots of energy and pace. The young lads are brave lads and we don’t fear anyone.”

Newport’s Church is hopeful he can continue to link with the supremely talented Ramsey, also endorsing the 4-4-2 diamond formation.

“Having Aaron just behind us, as a guy who runs behind defenders, it’s a dream, especially for a striker like me who gets in behind defenders,” he said.

“We were all comfortable with the system, it worked really well, we created a lot of chances and all the players felt comfortable.”

Man of the match Ramsey praised his colleagues, despite his eye-catching performance.

“We played at a high intensity and the win was a great team effort,” he said.

“We were under pressure for the first 15 minutes but after we got the goal, we didn’t look back as everyone gave everything for the cause.”

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