Spot on mate. Having him step in, which he does well, gives the midfielders a lot more freedom. When Dan Neil goes to the right he always takes a player out of their middle and space opens up. Same with Pritch. It is a really clever tactical play by Neil I think, and so far teams arent cottoning on to it. When Sheff Utd got promoted and did well in the prem it was similar, with a CB that essentially pushed in and split the midfield. I dont think Alex is as rigid as Wilder was and he will mix and match formations this year, but for now you can see the challenge it is giving opposition teams.
Methven is enough of a whopper to threaten fans with legal action, never been happier to see the back of anyone from this club
Totally agree. Also,not only does it open space in the middle, it doubles up down the wings,with Neil and Gooch on one side and Pritch and Clarke on the other.With two,very mobile strikers ahead of them,it's a good tactic.Imo,a strong mobile central midfielder to take the weight off Corey would be bunce to this system. I think other teams can see it,but,as you say,it pulls players wide out of the middle,which they don't like.
Kildare was a strange one, I no longer post on there or even browse so not sure if he is still around but he must have had links to CM
I once read something that said that, in coaching/managerial terms, true innovators only come along once a generation and everyone else just copies them. I'm not sure that's entirely true but it gets to the heart of the issue that formations are often subject to what's in fashion. Amongst teams that I watch, 442 is currently almost exclusively used as a defensive formation, perhaps influenced by Simeone and Atletico (in fact coaches I know have copied him and I've got a text book about it sitting on my desk currently) but it doesn't have to be used that way. That being said, due to the way I see it used most at the moment, I would anticipate (prior to seeing them play) that a team lining up that way would be keeping things tight and hoping to hit the opposition on the break. The way things are currently, I would expect teams lining up 433 or 4231 to be more attacking. That impression may well be completely reversed in 5 or 10 years time though.
This is a great discussion. Alex Neil has talked about his philosophy of attacking football,and there doesn't seem any doubt that's the way he wants to play. What do you think of the 3 at the back,with wing backs? Would that system be even more attacking than the two formations you mention?
I think it depends on your approach to it really. Like 442, you can play a defensive game based on it, or you can play a more attacking game. I think its working really well for us at the moment, in the way that you and FellTop describe. If you push the wing backs on and the 10, you can almost make a front 5, which I suppose is inherently very attacking.
Indeed. Formations and tactics are fluid. We go around in circles with them. Football and Rugby were closely linked back in the 19th century and both styles were pack hunting where players moved as a unit. That was the press happening right back then. Football slowly evolved away from Rugby and we began to find our own style. I agree, in the future 4-4-2 will come back and people will be lapping up how it counteracts most styles and formations.
Blackburn according to local sources (and also hinted by Nixon) are back in on van Hecke. But we are still in race. Nixon suggesting Blackburn want him permanently but Brighton want to loan out
This Costa Rican we are supposedly signing, was reported to be flying over Wednesday last. Has he gone by north and south poles. Or on a hang glider.
Whatever. Any differing opinion to yours must be watching someone else! Not the first time you’ve said that either is it? As a left back in a 4 Cirkin struggled defensively. As a lwb in a 5 he looked good.
Whilst I agree mostly, I hate the second “top”!!!!! A mountain climber never tries to get to the “top top” of Mount Everest do they?
Not dodgy at all this... He only signed for Watford in January for £3m or so. Same bloke owns both Udinese and Watford for those that don't know.
