Will this team reach it's potential in a 4-4-2?

[lazyfreak]

And you say that 3-1-4-2 has never worked as it is unbalanced, who actually plays it to prove that?

kind of interrupting your discussion here, but isn't this at least an indirect proof of the assertive claim? the fact that there aren't many(or any?) teams playing 3-1-4-1 does at least suggest that it doesn't work...

Boro used a 3-5-2 for a while last season and they were quite successful with it... beating Manure 4-1 at the Riverside being one of the highlights. So probably you can't really say that a 3-1-4-2 basically a 3-5-2 is unbalanced or doesn't work even if they used it for only a short period and ended up being inconsistant.

You may argue that there aren't any other teams using it and there aren't any using it right now. True... but I don't think its related to the fact that "it doesn't work," it could be that other teams are more comfortable using a different formation, mainly the 4-4-2.

 

[Jasper]

Two problems.

1) Our wingers aren't as wide as suppose to be. They tend to move inside instead of running down the line. This problem can be taken care of if we had real fullbacks like Cole and Lauren than can run down the flanks and cross the ball correctly but Gallas and Eboue aren't like them. Clichy might be though.

2) A 4-4-2 would only work for us if we replaced Cesc with Baptista or have a real striker that likes to play in front of goal. Wenger's 4-4-2 depends on two holding midfielder's like Gilberto and Vieira. We replaced Vieira with Cesc which gave us more passing options but the backbone of our defence and set pieces disappeared. Cesc is one of our best players at the moment, but with Cesc we have to play a five man midlfield to secure that possession.

The problem is Henry, he's lacked that supporting striker ever since Bergkamp left so he tries to do eveything himself like taking the ball in midfield and dribbiling it all the way up the goal eventually losing the ball because he's double marked..

 

[celestis]

I am not sure that losing Vieira had much to do with our current play . We played the first part of 2004/2005 without him and we came flying out of the blocks , some of the attacking we played was breathtaking in speed and execution. We also played a few games without him in the unbeaten including whooping Inter Milan . More pertinent is Bergkamp and Pires entering the twilight of their career .

 

[Da New Kid]

I see most of you are really stuck into that 4-4-2 formation, so if this is the case then play:


........................Lehman........................
Eboue........Toure.......Djourou.......Gallas

........................Gilberto........................
.................. Cesc................. Rosicky...
......RVP..............................................
........................................Henry..........
....................Ade/Baptista....................

This way, Rosicky can cut inside like he likes transforming into a second creative midfielder, running from the left into the middle. RvP will have his wing and can still play as a third striker and Henry doing what he does best which is starting long runs from the left into the box.

 

[bohemian]

I see most of you are really stuck into that 4-4-2 formation, so if this is the case then play:


........................Lehman........................
Eboue........Toure.......Djourou.......Gallas

........................Gilberto........................
.................. Cesc................. Rosicky...
......RVP..............................................
........................................Henry..........
....................Ade/Baptista....................

This way, Rosicky can cut inside like he likes transforming into a second creative midfielder, running from the left into the middle. RvP will have his wing and can still play as a third striker and Henry doing what he does best which is starting long runs from the left into the box.

this is probably the most realistic option. i would like to see a 4-3-3, but don't see it happening. i could see wenger start baptista up top with henry. not sure rvp will ever be a winger under wenger, but i also think it is his natural position.