I do think it's madness that Townsend isn't even in the squad. What on earth is someone like Barkley really offering by being there? He has no attributes that aren't covered by the other centre-mids. Meanwhile we've got one player in the entire squad who really hugs the touchline, and he's a fullback.
I was probably one of the most vocal for not wanting him to join us half a year ago but I agree, he just offer something different. Barkley, Alli, Lallana all offer same thing, from a tactical perspective, you're not changing a game by switching Alli out for Lallana.