Now although Steve Bruce quite clearly prefers to play two strikers I thought with our options next season currently shaping up that we may start to see a 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 whatever you want to call it style formation more often. We now seem to have a strong selection of attacking style midfielders and less out and out strikers about after Fryatts departure. If we were to play a 4-2-3-1 with the trio of attacking midfielders we could be a lot more versatile with movement around the pitch and I think Bruce will play this more next season as it would make it easier to accommodate more of our attacking players. What would you guys think 4-2-3-1 or are you more for a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2? (Not considering any future signings) Here are our current options for the front 4 attacking spots. Strikers: Jelavić, Long, Sagbo, Aluko and Proschwitz. Left midfield: Brady, Quinn, Boyd, Ince, Sagbo, Snodgrass. Right Midfield: Elmohamady, Snodgrass, Ince, Sagbo. Central behind the striker: Aluko, Quinn, Boyd, Brady. My preferred 4-2-3-1: McGregor Elmohamady Chester Davies Figueroa Huddlestone Livermore Snodgrass Brady Aluko Long
If that was to be the case, you'd probably see Jelavic as the lone front man, so it'd probaly be: -------McGregor------ Elmo ---Chester ---Davies ----Rosenior (if we haven't signed a new LB) -------Huddlestone ----Livermore Snodgrass -------Long ------------Ince ----------Jelavic ----------
IMO there is too much emphasis on formations. In my day you won the ball, bombed forward along with your teamates (maybe left a couple at the back) to be safe and if you lost the ball you bombed back to defend (leaving a couple up front). so I would go 1 in goal 2 at the back 2 upfront the other 6 round around like f**k. Job done...now where is that England managers application form?
We don't currently have a striker that suits playing a lone front man role, so we won't play that way.
No chance. More likely to be 3 - 5 - 2 with a few 4 - 4 - 2 formations. I suspect that SB will have a horses for courses policy in many games especially in the cups.
Brilliant Great formation and a glaringly simple way of guaranteeing success. I love the 3 behind a lone striker but you really need someone like Drogba to be that striker.
My point is that although it may not suit are current strikers are team may be stronger and benefit more by having more attacking midfielders that we have. What's to say Sagbo or Long couldn't play the lone role.
Sagbo has played it and he was poor(he looks the part, it just rarely seems to fall right for him), Long simply isn't a lone striker type of player.
McGregor Elmo Davies Chester Robertson Huddlestone Livermore Ince Snodgrass Jelavic Long Maybe a new cb over Chester if SB brings one in, also looking increasingly likely that we'll sign Robertson (fingers crossed) Would like to include Brady but don't think its possible whilst playing 2 strikers + Snodgrass and Ince
no its 2 up front (ie Waggy and Chilo) Leave a goalie and 2 at the back. So that's 6 supporting them. Worked every time in the Sunday League.
i see man utd played 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 against l.a.galaxy last night and did well out of it. i hope this is a general trend against the the execrable lone striker methods. i don't care which midfielders support a loan striker; most teams and most players are not equipped to play the role and it is anathema to good football. in fact, it epitomises s**t football. in the last few years we've seen smaller premier league teams go to so-called big teams and take points from them by attacking them with corporal jones gusto, including ourselves. this compares immensely favourably with the older habit of playing a lone striker and parking the bus as a form of damage limitation. i loathe, despise, hate, abhor, detest any formation that uses a lone striker and i wish nothing but ill on all its perpetrators and all its supporters. it is anti-football and should not be countenanced under any circumstance except perhaps after sendings off.
Gopd thread this. I agree that our midfield options now would suit a 4231 but I also think OLM is right that our strikers don't suit it. I also agree that 1 up front is often negative, and I really like the way Bruce has made us a 2 up front team with a proper old style strike partnership. Barmby struggled to fit thr extra midfielder he wanted with 2 up front, and the 352 Bruce brought in was the answer. I think a lot of managers are a bit afraid to try 3 at the back though. At the moment I can only predict well try a fee different things as we're well equipped for different shapes.
What games did Sagbo play as the lone front man?? Can only remember Norwich home where he won a penalty and got sent off, Liverpool home where he was arguably motm and Sheffield United where he scored.
Chelsea home, Liverpool away, Palace home, Southampton away, Sunderland home and Spurs away, I didn't count Liverpool at home as Koren was playing as a second striker.
I agree with this, he looked average as a lone striker against Ferriby. He's quick and strong but his positioning for a lone striker is pretty poor. He needs a second striker with him
We could play a 4-2-4? Does that work in real life? McGregor Rosenior Davies Chester Robertson Livermore Thudd Ince Long Jelavic Snodgrass
