Shooting the Breeze: Has 4-4-2 had its day?
England were one of the few sides to play 4-4-2 in the World Cup finals but the system that suited them against lesser opposition seems to have been found wanting in the biggest stage of all and crucially against a modern side playing a modern formation in Germany
It's one of the oldest formations in the book, and has gone through a few changes over the years but 4-4-2 seems to have gone out of fashion in recent years.
A lot of people will have noticed that many teams at the World Cup are playing just 1 striker up front with the other nominal striker floating behind him and breaking forward from a 5 man midfield. The better teams play with very good wingers who are given license to attack more than in a 4-4-2 while the remaining central players protect the back 4 and have a good range of passing available to them from deep.
WIth 5 men in midfield, it's easier to overrun teams playing 4 in midfield and control possession and turn possession into attacks with 2 wingers with more attacking freedom who can join the lone striker during counter attacks. It's common for strikers to be used as the wide men in such a formation but the best teams run with wingers who can dribble past their man with pace and put dangerous crosses in from the wide positions such as Arjen Robben and Florent Malouda.
This is the 4-2-3-1 formation which has been used at Chelsea since Jose Mourinho took charge at Stamford Bridge several years ago, by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United with Wayne Rooney as lone striker in recent years and even at Liverpool and Arsenal.
It's a system that's come into vogue in the last few years, contributing to the virtual extinction of the sweeper system and 5 at the back employed by many top European teams as well as the endangerment of 4-4-2 at the top clubs in Europe.
There's no reason for most of the England players in the squad to not be familiar with that formation and the tactics available but the personnel many people have identified as the best players in England don't seem to fit that well into the 4-2-3-1 system.
England don't have 2 defensive midfielders who can pick a short or long pass. Their wingers don't seem to be able to both run past their full back and pick a cross out at the same time while there seems to be a lack of the kind of Didier Drogba/Alan Shearer style striker who can both lead the line alone, hold up the ball, provide a target for crosses and become a goal threat at the same time.
Finally, the playmaker role off the front man has to be much more than just a midfielder who arrives late in the area to score from a deep lying role like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard do for their respective clubs. There has to be a good range of passing, vision, the ability to find space in a crowded area and produce something a bit special - more in the mould of Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole than just a midfielder who joins the attack and scores goals.
While Rooney has performed admirably in the last season as the lone striker for Manchester United he was playing in the middle of a purple patch of form which kept United in the title race until injury and the subsequent loss of form which stalled United's momentum and allowed Chelsea to win the league at the last gasp.
A lot of people have called for Rooney to be backed by Steven Gerrard as the playmaker in a 4-2-3-1 formation during this World Cup. That was probably the best plan with the personnel available and might have been even better if England's defence were not hit by injury to Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King.
If Joe Cole had been employed as one of the wide players alongside James Milner whose crosses were of a high quality during this World Cup then the England game might have lacked a bit of pace but the big weakness would have remained. A lack of protection for the back 4 points at the omission of one of Lampard or Gerrard in favour of another defensively midfielder who can play from the back.
This would represent a major sea change for England who may have to begin looking at younger players to promote from the Under 21 setup to provide the other half of the defensive shield.
If we're rebuilding the England team, is it time for some players to retire? We could start with David James hanging up his goalkeeping gloves and Joe Hart starting as number 1 while wingers with pace who can beat their man and cross the ball would also be highly valued and finally England have to find their own Didier Drogba for Wayne Rooney to play off upfront.
