jondesouza
Well-Known Member
- Oct 18, 2004
- 2,842
- 1,558
Clearly, a substantial amount of the discussion on SC comes down to preferred formations. I know there are various schools of thought - some people think that certain formations are intrinsically less good (4-4-2 for example). I'm of the opinion that no one formation is better than any other. Much depends on the players chosen and how well they fit the system.
We are currently blessed with two players at the club with phenomenal speed and fantastic ball control in Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon. Arguably we have a third breaking through in Andros Townsend. (I don't include Iago Falque as his wide play isn't based on the same use of speed). What I want to do here is look at different formations and how well these wide players fit. Part of the reason for this is a personal view that these players haven't been consistently performing up to the standard that we've come to expect. There have been numerous comments on the forum about Bale not tracking back and both Bale and Lennon not looking as much of a threat in an attacking sense. My assertion that some of these issues are caused by their starting positions on the pitch and that both Bale and Lennon have been shown to be most dangerous when being able to come from deeper and run at opponents with pace. I'm leaving out any consideration of Bale as a left-back from this discussion.
Let's start by considering a 4-3-3; the formation that we all believed AVB would bring with him. In that formation Bale could play as the left-sided player in the front 3. Lennon's natural role would be as the right-sided player in the front 3. As part of the front three, both players' starting positions would be reasonably high up the pitch. Arguably this would put two of our most potent attacking threats in positions dangerous to the opposition. In my view Lennon, and to a lesser extent Bale, would be nullified by this as neither would be able to use their pace to full effect as they would be accelerating from a high attacking position. The opportunities to get round the back of the full-back - something which has been shown to generate results for us in the past - would therefore be reduced. In fact, in the 4-3-3 there is a greater requirement for the wide attacking players to cut in to support the central striker in the 3 and certainly this isn't something which suits Lennon. I also believe this formation would mean that we'd see little of Bale carrying out defensive duties. Arguably the formation would make this difficult. The requirement for the higher starting position making it difficult for the wide players in the front three to both deliver defensive duties while effectively fulfilling their attacking roles.
The picture is similar in a 4-2-3-1. Again, you'd imagine that Bale and Lennon would be the left and right sided players respectively in the front three. And again, their starting positions would be higher up the pitch meaning that they aren't running at defenders at full tilt. Where this formation arguably differs is in the role that the central player in the three and the striker can play in creating space for the wide players in the three. We've seen that this season - some of our best moments have come from intelligent runs from Defoe creating space for Bale to run into. Just in terms of how we get the best out of our current wide players I'd suggest that 4-2-3-1 is a better fit than 4-3-3.
However I'd argue that a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 actually suits Bale and Lennon better. In these formations, as the wide players in the midfield four, both would start from deeper. In the last few seasons we've seen how much damage both players can do by picking up the ball from well into our own half, even just outside our own penalty area and tearing opposition defenders a new one. Coming from deep also increases the opportunities to either go outside to the by-line or, with forwards creating space with runs, cut in towards goal. I really do believe that the goal threat from Bale and Lennon (either scoring or assisting) would be greater were they able to run from deep more. Furthermore, in recent seasons both Bale and Lennon have been a very useful out ball for the defence when playing in a four and we lose that when we use other formations. Arguably (although this wasn't true with Bale at the weekend) a midfield four encourages the wide players to support more defensively.
So, just in terms of Bale and Lennon, I think a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 fits better. What this doesn't mean is that I think 4-4-2 is a better overall formation. All I wanted to do here is start a discussion on how we get the best from two of our most dangerous attacking players and see if some of the above provides a reason why they've played differently this season to in previous ones.
We are currently blessed with two players at the club with phenomenal speed and fantastic ball control in Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon. Arguably we have a third breaking through in Andros Townsend. (I don't include Iago Falque as his wide play isn't based on the same use of speed). What I want to do here is look at different formations and how well these wide players fit. Part of the reason for this is a personal view that these players haven't been consistently performing up to the standard that we've come to expect. There have been numerous comments on the forum about Bale not tracking back and both Bale and Lennon not looking as much of a threat in an attacking sense. My assertion that some of these issues are caused by their starting positions on the pitch and that both Bale and Lennon have been shown to be most dangerous when being able to come from deeper and run at opponents with pace. I'm leaving out any consideration of Bale as a left-back from this discussion.
Let's start by considering a 4-3-3; the formation that we all believed AVB would bring with him. In that formation Bale could play as the left-sided player in the front 3. Lennon's natural role would be as the right-sided player in the front 3. As part of the front three, both players' starting positions would be reasonably high up the pitch. Arguably this would put two of our most potent attacking threats in positions dangerous to the opposition. In my view Lennon, and to a lesser extent Bale, would be nullified by this as neither would be able to use their pace to full effect as they would be accelerating from a high attacking position. The opportunities to get round the back of the full-back - something which has been shown to generate results for us in the past - would therefore be reduced. In fact, in the 4-3-3 there is a greater requirement for the wide attacking players to cut in to support the central striker in the 3 and certainly this isn't something which suits Lennon. I also believe this formation would mean that we'd see little of Bale carrying out defensive duties. Arguably the formation would make this difficult. The requirement for the higher starting position making it difficult for the wide players in the front three to both deliver defensive duties while effectively fulfilling their attacking roles.
The picture is similar in a 4-2-3-1. Again, you'd imagine that Bale and Lennon would be the left and right sided players respectively in the front three. And again, their starting positions would be higher up the pitch meaning that they aren't running at defenders at full tilt. Where this formation arguably differs is in the role that the central player in the three and the striker can play in creating space for the wide players in the three. We've seen that this season - some of our best moments have come from intelligent runs from Defoe creating space for Bale to run into. Just in terms of how we get the best out of our current wide players I'd suggest that 4-2-3-1 is a better fit than 4-3-3.
However I'd argue that a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 actually suits Bale and Lennon better. In these formations, as the wide players in the midfield four, both would start from deeper. In the last few seasons we've seen how much damage both players can do by picking up the ball from well into our own half, even just outside our own penalty area and tearing opposition defenders a new one. Coming from deep also increases the opportunities to either go outside to the by-line or, with forwards creating space with runs, cut in towards goal. I really do believe that the goal threat from Bale and Lennon (either scoring or assisting) would be greater were they able to run from deep more. Furthermore, in recent seasons both Bale and Lennon have been a very useful out ball for the defence when playing in a four and we lose that when we use other formations. Arguably (although this wasn't true with Bale at the weekend) a midfield four encourages the wide players to support more defensively.
So, just in terms of Bale and Lennon, I think a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 fits better. What this doesn't mean is that I think 4-4-2 is a better overall formation. All I wanted to do here is start a discussion on how we get the best from two of our most dangerous attacking players and see if some of the above provides a reason why they've played differently this season to in previous ones.
