Impact sub I guess, he offers something different to Holt and Moro, and is handy when we're chasing a game, but beyond that probably not a lot.
My personal view is that it's a Mickey Mouse cup.Does anybody seriously think that Arsenal would have lost had they wished to progress?Lambert has tougher nuts to crack and I fully expected Villa to throw the match.Personally I don't have any animosity to Lambert Ijust think Villa was a mistake for him, they are a has been club.
It's Ironic that just south of the border we had been grappling with the 4411 formation for quite a while with some early mixed results followed by a steady slump in form to the point where we were damn right dreadful, only to change to the 'old fashioned' 442 to have a resurgence and finally get some form and back to back wins (obviously there were some other key factors involved) but maybe it shows the difference between the two leagues. In the Championship you 'rely' on having Pace and Power and in the Premiership you need that little more guile and tactical prowess. I don't think 442 is dead and it could work for you but with the right personnel in the side against a similar system, but then that again is the issue as everyone else is looking to move away from the 'old fashioned' 442
interesting points. anyone who has read any of my posts on tactics over the past few years will know that i'm firmly in the '4-4-2 is wrong for us' camp. that's not to say there isn't a time and a place for it. for a side such as ipswich who needed to get back to basics after a terrible start, playing with a flat system such as 4-4-2, using wide men and playing direct is a good way to turn around results. if you play like that in the premier league your opponents simply flood the midfield and overrun you (as happened tuesday night vs villa). it is a rigid system and because of the rigidity of it, it does have a tendency to lead to longer balls forward to a big man. 4-5-1 requires far more guile (as you say) and is far more flexible. its more sturdy defensively that 4-4-2 and more potent on the counter attack too. if the onus is on you to beat a lesser team at home then 4-5-1 is perhaps not the right system to use, but when you find yourself being underdogs or of equal footing to many opponents, its a much better system to use. it still needs decent footballers and a good holding player, as well as a creative midfielder and good wide players - its still the players playing well that win games rather than the system but it certainly helps.
