Playing 1 Up Front .

[Rev John Ripsher]

Time to own up , I just do not understand the theory behind playing only one man up front .
I can just about get it if you want to park a bus across your goalmouth on those occasions in the CL when you are 3-0 up from the first home leg .
It seems to my old school brain to be such a negative tactic when we are a fast breaking high energy team that relies on scoring more goals than the opposition
I do get the theory behind a very mobile midfield when we are defending in numbers such as we did last season , when we seemed to defend with 7 or 8 and attack with 6 , but then we played with 2 and sometimes 3 up front .

But , starting a home game with 4-4-1-1 is nuts in my view and sends out all the wrong signals .

Unless I just don't get it . Can someone explain ?

[Fatboyyid]

I think the 4-5-1 is dependent on who has the ball.

When defending Lennon and Bale should tuck back along with VDV making a 5 man midfield

When attackin the philosophy is the 2 wingers and the ACM join the solo striker to make a 4.

This when used effectively like Chelsea did under te special one and barca do very very well adds a fluidity to the formation.
I reality Bale, Lennon and VDV should switch positions to further elude their markers and try different forms of attack.

It is part of the new order in football. 442 is no more really.

4-5-1 can turn easily into 4-3-3 or even 4-2-4 when really attacking but just as easily back to a solid 4-5-1 within seconds.

Hope this helps.

[Rev John Ripsher]

Yes , thanks mate it helps a lot . It does need a very mobile & fit midfield though ?

Trouble is players like VdV don't like tracking back quickly

[Fatboyyid]

Yes , thanks mate it helps a lot . It does need a very mobile & fit midfield though ?

Trouble is players like VdV don't like tracking back quickly

Lennon can also be a bit of a nightmare at tracking back n

It seems we are flogging some of our best players like Bale, Lennon and VDV at the moment which is a bad idea. Bale is now injured, Lennon is shattered and needs a rest and VDV is miles off form.

Problem we have is who would replace them? Nico for VDV, Pienaar for Bale and maybe Jenas for Lennon? Does not fill you with confidence really.

The issue this season is we are trying this new formation due to the champions league.

I do think today against Blackburn we should revert to 4-4-2 with VDV and Lennon as the wide players and Defoe and Pav up top with Jenas & Nico in the middle.

Redknapp is a stubborn man so he wont change things though so j expect the same flogging of dead horses that we have seen this season and meaning a knackered team for AC.

[Rev John Ripsher]

I think you could be right , reverting back to 4-4-2 and getting some confidence boosting wins is just what we need right now . Some difficult games coming up .

[Fatboyyid]

I think you could be right , reverting back to 4-4-2 and getting some confidence boosting wins is just what we need right now . Some difficult games coming up .

Especially if you look at our next 3 away league games

Blackburn, a lot of teams have become unstuck here
Sunderland, we have a very poor record here
Blackpool, leading manure 2-0 until late on. Not a easy game

I do fear for our season if we do not pick up 7 points from these games already 6 behind Chelsea and they are starting to click now.

Hopefully we do revert back to what we know especially at the moment.

Also any fans going to today's game please do not sing about Stratford. Forget about it for one day as I believe it is affecting the team. Also get Beckham away as since he has been here we have been poor.

[rudi]

It all went downhill when we dropped the old 2-3-5 formation, frankly...

[Rev John Ripsher]

It all went downhill when we dropped the old 2-3-5 formation, frankly...

I was going to say exactly this in my first post , but I didn't know if anyone on here was old enough to remember

[rudi]

Busted.


4-4-1-1- works well for teams that play it along the floor (as we do when Crouch isn't on the pitch) but really does require an absolute demon spearheading the attack, a real goal shark. Larry Spinnaker, basically.

*sobs quietly*

4-4-2 works best when you have a great partnership, meaning that neither has to produce everything. I was in teh gym today listening to the ever-annoying Phil Cornwell podcast and they mentioned Archie and Crooks. What I'd give for a pair of their quality today...

[Rev John Ripsher]

Archie & the Crooks ......... sigh..................drifts off into a sweet reverie .............

[Yidtom501]

i think the 4-4-1-1 formation aint great ive never been a fan. id like to see bale and lennon (bit weird i know) as full backs in a 5-3-2 see how that goes

[grottim]

i think the 4-4-1-1 formation aint great ive never been a fan. id like to see bale and lennon (bit weird i know) as full backs in a 5-3-2 see how that goes

we need 3 fit CBs for that :P

[Yidtom501]

cracking point haha

[NI Yiddo]

4-5-1 is fine in a Champions League away match if we have Crouch up front and Bale, VdV, Modric, Huddlestone and Lennon across the midfield.

Defoe on his own does not work at all - Arry should've bitten the bullet and accepted blame for trying to play along the ground from the back against Fulham.

4-4-2, and Defoe with a partner please.

[ShaneOMac]

4-4-2 is what it's all about.

Rafa can play as a wide man or as an ACM whist Bale/Modric are out.