The formation puts players in wide areas that shouldn't really be in wide areas. This is something you simply cannot avoid unless you want to completely forego possession in wide areas which is what we are sort of doing right now.
A ST shouldn't be in a wide area, ideally. Neither should a CM, ideally. We can all agree on this. The only players you could say should really be there are the fullbacks but then you are leaving yourself open at the back. You can't always rely on defenders to supply attacking width, it's such a big risk.
Any formation can work if you just overwhelm the opponent with top players. Like we did with Pogba, Pirlo, Marchisio and Vidal. But the 4-3-1-2 has glaring flaws staring you right in the face. Immediately you have to solve a problem, and that's regarding who you want to receive the ball in wide areas. It's just so dumb IMO.
Ok, to play a 4-3-1-2, I'll buy Kante to play B2B. Great, he's an 8 out of 10 in this formation because he doesn't want to go wide. But he's such a good player that it still works. And the formation works, I win games. But if I play Kante in a 4-3-3, he's a 10 out of 10! So why don't I just do that?
If I ask Cuadrado to play full back but always up beside the strikers and still run back in defence he's an 8 out of 10. He's a great player so it works, and I win games! But if I play Cuadrado in a 4-3-3, where he doesn't have to play two different positions at once, he's a 10 out of 10! Why don't I just do that?
And same with a striker. If you buy a great striker, he can receive the ball wide and still be effective, but you want the striker central.
Now all these sacrifices are being made because you want to put a Trequartista on the field? It better be someone amazing, who can operate in such small spaces. Such a player that barely exists, and doesn't exist on this team for sure.
I think this is obviously why this formation is uncommon.
Buy on AliExpress.com
