We talk about the emergence of modern football but don't forget that we did a decent job in Europe in a 4-4-2 formation under an average manager and minus some of our better signings from the following mercato.
Under a 4-4-2 you're attacking options aren't limited (you don't necessarily have to only play wide or only play central like we did in a 4-3-1-2), you can afford to have more defensively minded right and left backs and still manage to attack down the wings. You also don't limit yourself with only one striker.
So is it any coincidence that we managed to do a much better job under a 4-4-2 then a 4-3-1-2. We don't have the group for a 4-3-1-2 thats for sure. Our left and right backs just aren't good enough which makes us opt to attack mainly through Diego, this means all the opposition has to do is double up on him and all of the sudden we're sending long ball after long ball. It also doesn't suit from a defensive view point, again because we lack decent players in the left a right back positions. This means that teams have much more space down the wings against us (remember when Napoli just raped our left side?) and that in turn means that we play 3 defensive midfielders to make up for that and so again we lose creativity in the midfield.
We should be finding a right winger, not Vargas. That would equipt us well for Del Neri's 4-4-2.
4-2-3-1 is still my favorite formation for this squad of players but I don't think that there isn't any room for a 4-4-2 in "modern football".
Under a 4-4-2 you're attacking options aren't limited (you don't necessarily have to only play wide or only play central like we did in a 4-3-1-2), you can afford to have more defensively minded right and left backs and still manage to attack down the wings. You also don't limit yourself with only one striker.
So is it any coincidence that we managed to do a much better job under a 4-4-2 then a 4-3-1-2. We don't have the group for a 4-3-1-2 thats for sure. Our left and right backs just aren't good enough which makes us opt to attack mainly through Diego, this means all the opposition has to do is double up on him and all of the sudden we're sending long ball after long ball. It also doesn't suit from a defensive view point, again because we lack decent players in the left a right back positions. This means that teams have much more space down the wings against us (remember when Napoli just raped our left side?) and that in turn means that we play 3 defensive midfielders to make up for that and so again we lose creativity in the midfield.
We should be finding a right winger, not Vargas. That would equipt us well for Del Neri's 4-4-2.
4-2-3-1 is still my favorite formation for this squad of players but I don't think that there isn't any room for a 4-4-2 in "modern football".
