It is the question on every Huddersfield Town supporter’s lips right now — just why is Nahki Wells not starting and thus, why is 4-4-2 not used more regularly?

Huddersfield fans are itching to see a dual strike force of Grant Holt and Wells and on the evidence of a 0-0 bore draw with Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, it is easy to see why.

In the defence of Chris Powell, the Huddersfield manager, this is a dilemma he has agonised over for weeks.

Like at the opposite end of the field, Powell is somewhat blessed with having good competition in a key area of the side but competition in itself presents selection problems.

Welcome ones at that, but one that is proving increasingly difficult to solve in the case of the striker position.

Town looked slightly bereft of ideas in the final third against a resolute Wednesday outfit on Saturday until Wells’s introduction and he could not have done much more in his audition from the bench, other than scoring perhaps.

He squandered a series of chances to pilfer a winner for his side, with the most clear-cut arriving when he bore down on Kieren Westwood’s goal only to fire straight at the Wednesday goalkeeper, but his impact was clear. And it left Huddersfield fans after the game wondering whether or not their team would benefit from the pair having a sustained run together at the apex of the side.

It seemed significant that each of the three shots on target Huddersfield registered against Wednesday were courtesy of Wells, who posted five of their 15 in total.

Given that he only had 23 minutes in which to prove himself, that is an impressive feat and it left many wondering what if he had longer on the field to wreak such havoc against a Wednesday defence who, in truth, dealt effectively with Holt but were barely tested.

With Harry Bunn struggling to make the impression he has all season long on the left flank, Holt’s desire to try and work the channels just to get on the ball and have an impact minimised his contribution down the middle, where a player of Wells’s ilk could have occupied the central defenders far more.

His and Holt’s relationship as a front pairing is the ultimate little-and-large combination and the synergy between the two brings out the best traits in the other’s game.

With Wells’s pace allied by clever movement and positioning, the 24-year-old is able to capitalise on the flick-ons and lay-offs Holt’s physical presence provides in abundance.On the flip side, Wells looks ill-equipped to win the high balls and bring midfielders into play as a lone asset down the middle while Holt does not possess the speed to breach a defence.

It should be noted at this point that Town’s seven-game unbeaten run was built on both formations and Holt performed the lone role expertly against both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackpool.

But what makes it difficult for Powell is that the 4-4-2 has also proved effective, as the stunning comeback at Ipswich Town and the all-star attacking display at home to a shellshocked Nottingham Forest will attest.

In hindsight, he may well regret leaving such a potent weapon on the bench for so long against a side not just struggling for form, but goals too. The fact Wednesday have the second-best defensive record in the division should surely have acted as an incentive to field two strikers in an attempt to pose twice the problem to Stuart Gray’s men.

You have to wonder whether the decision to go with two up front in the 3-2 defeat at high-flying Derby County, because of Jonathan Hogg’s absence through injury, has slightly scarred the manager and therefore caution has prevailed of late.

The fact he has moved for added midfield reinforcements in the shape of Diego Poyet, who enjoyed a positive debut on loan from West Ham United, also suggests he may feel his options in that department do not provide adequate experience or defensive nous to cope as a two-man unit. But at home to a side Huddersfield fans firmly believed were there for the taking on Saturday lunchtime felt like a slightly missed opportunity on Powell’s part.

Wells will be frustrated not to be proving his point from the outset on a more consistent basis, particularly given he is delivering the goods.

He struck twice on the day of Holt’s arrival at home to Millwall before starting just once in the next four games. His next opportunity came at Ipswich and he was able to recover from a gilt-edged first-half miss to grab two second-half goals before netting in the romp over Forest.

Even at Fulham before the international break, his arrival to the contest gave Town a cutting edge they had previously lacked and it was Wells who won the free kick that led to an equaliser in the 3-1 reverse at Fulham.

Intriguingly enough, the statistics above would appear to indicate that Huddersfield function better from an attacking perspective without Wells, but his lively cameo on Saturday and the clamour for him to be involved from the start more often from the terraces have certainly handed Powell added food for thought.