This approach would have worked if we had implemented it several years ago when Wenger decided it was the way forward. Might have had a painful initiation period with players struggling to get used to new roles and method of playing but eventually it would have paid dividends.kiwomya wrote:You get an injury and that all goes out of the window. In today's game, you have a system and the players adapt. Thus the major need for versatile players.DB10GOONER wrote:I'm with augie on this. Fit the system to the players, don't try wedge players into a system they cannot play effectively in. Also hate the 1 up top formations, unless they are similar to DB10 playing a little deeper than TH14 but I wouldn't call that 1 up top really as they were close enought to each other to call it a 2.augie wrote:Yeah it is - how can you not understand it ?I will never support a formation that plays one up front. I dont see the point in using a system with wingers cos apart from wally we aint got no wingers. We have an abundance of centre midfielders (quantity over quality eh wenker
) so we have to have a system which makes use of them. Hey presto that only leaves the 4-3-2-1 formation (although that could turn into a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation but it wouldnt be my preferred choice) cos I have always argued that the system has to be built around the players we have available to us. My only other suggestion would be 3 at the back (BFG, kos, tv5), 2 wing backs (debouchy + gibbs), 2 in midfield (quality DM & 1 of ramsey/ox/wilshere) and again ozil sitting behind sanchez and giroud.
Simples![]()
I personally prefer any form of 4-4-2.
The only thing that would rule out (augie's suggestion of) 3 at the back for me is Arsene's insistance on zonal marking. It would be disasterous. If he dropped zonal I could see the 3 at the back working with good wing backs.
People will counter with "we'd get over run in midfield with only 2 in there" but that's where your manager's tactical knowledge comes in. You simply shift slightly when on the back foot, revert your wing backs to full backs, push TV5 or whoever up into midfield, drop Ozil off and revert to a 4-4-2. It's this tactical and formation flexibility that seperates the great managers from the rest.
Players like Ozil aren't going to drop off for anyone - he isn't that type of player, which is why the modern game and formations have changed the way they have.
But Wenger has rode roughshod over that by continually buying players who DON'T fit the system. Where on earth, for example, is Lukas Podolski meant to fit in our system? How is Olivier Giroud meant to play on his own up front when he offers no credible threat in behind? How do you expect to get anything like the best from Ozil AND Cazorla in this system?
Also whilst versatility from the players would help, a bit of versatility from the manager would go a lot further. Nobody is expecting radical changes from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 to 3-4-1-2 or whatever for every game, but even a good team highly-trained in a system will need to make adjustments based on who they're playing. It is genuinely laughable that we don't and Wenger not getting completely panned for brazenly admitting he doesn't even consider changing things based on the opposition is unbelievable. If somebody like Sam Allardyce said that they'd be completely written off as a dinosaur and every single poor performance and result everyone would talk about how tactically inept they are.