CL: Arsenal vs Porto | 26/09/06

[Gurgen]

My word...

A 4-5-1 does not 'turn into' a 4-3-3 magically when attacking. You either play one or the other. Trust me, when a 4-3-3 team is defending it looks like a 4-3-3. Ever see Ronaldinho do defensive work at the back? Thought not. That's what makes him a forward, not a midfielder.

Jesus this is so basic that it shouldn't need explaining.

And we never failed before in the CL because of our tactics or because we were too attacking. That's a big myth on here. We failed because big players didn't turn up and other players made individual mistakes. I guess it's the 4-4-2's fault that Jens punched it straight to Lampard, or that Kolo decided to head the ball straight to Pizarro :roll:

Anyway, it doesn't really matter to me what the opposition does. We have most of the ball, they should adapt to our game, not the other way around.

 

[clockwork orange]

Beg to differ Mbaki FC Barcelona play 4-3-3.

Anyway we don't have the powerful midfield to play 4-3-3 (Holland showed this WC what happens if your midfield is not powerful enough and play 4-3-3).

We should just stick to good old 4-4-2 (which when executed properly still can win us any trophee), which is very sound defensively but gives us more options in attack.

 

[kel varnsen]

My word...

A 4-5-1 does not 'turn into' a 4-3-3 magically when attacking. You either play one or the other. Trust me, when a 4-3-3 team is defending it looks like a 4-3-3. Ever see Ronaldinho do defensive work at the back? Thought not. That's what makes him a forward, not a midfielder.

Jesus this is so basic that it shouldn't need explaining.

it really shouldn't. you're either a forward or you're a winger and that's it. you can't have it both ways; there is just way too much space to cover. you can't expect the wingers in a 4-5-1 to magically appear up front whenever we win back the ball.

 

[arsefanfan]

My word...

it really shouldn't. you're either a forward or you're a winger and that's it. you can't have it both ways; there is just way too much space to cover. you can't expect the wingers in a 4-5-1 to magically appear up front whenever we win back the ball.

Well, that must be another school of thought. I was under the impression that 4-5-1 is not much different than 4-3-3 except in having the ball or not.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 197702.stm

 

[Gurgen]

Yeah, that article is utter nonsense, sorry. Wtf do the English know of 4-3-3? Judging by that tripe, not a lot.

 

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

My word...

A 4-5-1 does not 'turn into' a 4-3-3 magically when attacking. You either play one or the other. Trust me, when a 4-3-3 team is defending it looks like a 4-3-3. Ever see Ronaldinho do defensive work at the back? Thought not. That's what makes him a forward, not a midfielder.

Jesus this is so basic that it shouldn't need explaining.

it really shouldn't. you're either a forward or you're a winger and that's it. you can't have it both ways; there is just way too much space to cover. you can't expect the wingers in a 4-5-1 to magically appear up front whenever we win back the ball.

This is not typical EPL game..where the ball goes from one end to the other in 2 seconds. The European game does not rely too much on counter attacks or hoof it up type of football. Attacks are built slowly.and so a midfielder can definitely be part of the attack. Its been going on for quite sometime actually.

A slow build up allows you to reorganize yourself even if you lose the ball and therefore keep your formation. Thats what we did very well yesterday.

You lose a bit in terms of couter attack at times but its a sacrifice worth making because you are most likely to score and less likely to concede from the slow build ups than from your counter attacks. You might NOT agree with that philosophy but look around you, most teams do take that approach so it does say something about its effectiveness.

By the way the slow build ups can still be done with a 4-4-2 formation. I am just saying you don't lose much even when you go with a 4-5-1.

 

[arsefanfan]

Yeah, that article is utter nonsense, sorry. Wtf do the English know of 4-3-3? Judging by that tripe, not a lot.

Wow, what a statement, which makes you look really good. 4-3-3 is no longer a Dutch brand and has developed a lot of variations.