4-4-2 (diamond) - but that means no lennon

[Sir_Joshula]

Hey fellow lillywhites, i've been enjoying the forums for a while now and this will be my first post.

Since the signing of van der vaart i've been pondering different formations and this one i have not read anything about yet and thought it quite interesting. There are two main reasons why i think a 4-4-2 (diamond) could be very effective, played like chelsea are.

-The first is that we have a fantastic midfield right now, that can line up on paper to most across europe. VDV has been quality so far. He needs to be playing in the hole and though he gets that from a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1, this option allows for 2 strikers.

-The second reason is gareth bale. He's clearly a fantastic left winger, and a decent defender, but more often now he's getting doubled up on when attacking and this would really give him the space, not to mention he's got the stamina for it. It will be much harder for other teams to double up on him if he's coming from full back. I think he could easily be what cashley is for chelsea.

On the other side of defense, charlie is leaving a lot to be desired. I think a more attacking fullback such as walker or naughton could give the width in this formation and they deserve a chance in the full team.

The only downside to this formation is that Lennon couldn't play in it. He would really upset the balance if he were part of the diamond, though on his recent performances he doesnt deserve a nailed on spot in the 11.

With a fully fit team i would use:

Gomes; Naughton, King, Dawson, Bale; Palacios (maybe sandro); Huddlestone, Modric; Van der Vaart; Crouch, Defoe

Against wolves tomorrow:

Cudicini; Naughton, Gallas, Kaboul, Bale; Palacios (maybe even sandro); Huddlestone, Modric; Kranjcar; Crouch, Pav.

Though without VDV its not nearly as impressive.

Any thoughts?

[Heroes]

Welcome to the forum...have fun!

[Irish Yid Pavlyuchenko]

Huddlestone on the Right of Midfield? I'd see him as a VERY central player.

I think you could put Huddlestone in Palacios' Position. Van der Vaart in the Hole yes, Modric on the left but the Right of Midfield has no one Apart from krancjar really and that's far too attack minded.

[Sir_Joshula]

The way is see it, that position is not really the right of midfield in a diamond. its much more like the right of central midfield, which is his position. I did think of playing huddlestone in the holding role but with 2 attacking fullbacks the defense might be a bit lapse. Chelsea play essien, mikel, lampard and malouda in midfield and only malouda can play wide out of those 4 (like modric can play wide for us).