Wake up and smell the 4-4-2

Article by ginolasleftfoot

Such is the need to categorise all behaviours, trends and such things alike that within football the principle of formations has reached the point of saturation.

Few coaches discuss formations publicly to the level it is reflected in society, yet it has now pervaded it’s way into the forefront of the minds and mouths of authors, fans, podcasts and post match coverage analysts.

We are a nation obsessed with formations. And the more complex, the better.

Tim Sherwood’s media interaction since his appointment as Head Coach at Spurs has been a simplistic narrative in his expectation of how he feels the game should be played, and what he expects from his players. He smiles a lot. He talks of ball retention, passing, possession being the best form of defence.

Follow e-Spurs on Twitter here!

The 4-4-2 formation has long been derided as an archaic, stone age, mill that has hung round the neck of English football for too long. The nation has embraced the exploration of their respective team’s positional set up, with the utmost fervour.

Whether this insatiable hunger is a by-product of British football’s continuing search for international success and recognition of it’s own talent, is a debate for another time. What is apparent is a collectively accepted notion that certain formations outweigh others and stigmas therefore become attached to the coaches who choose such formations.

Sherwood has been lampooned in a variety of manners by various media outlets, who cackle and whisper at this maverick coach who would line up with ‘The Formation That Cannot Be Named.’ A fool’s errand, no doubt.

If the evolution of football shows us anything is that footballers are becoming all-rounders. The ebb and flow of defensive and attacking duties are now approached collectively by the elite teams, with coaches such as Pep Guardiola verging on an ethereal concept of his team’s movement over the course of a match.

Think Albatross by Fleetwood Mac. Peter Green called it ‘a lesson in simplicity.

Sherwood is clear in his team selection that his intent is for them to create a high volume of goal scoring opportunities through pro-active attack based possession.

Long term success for a football team in its most basic form must surely be based around the principle of outscoring your opponent. Everything else is just figuring out how best to do it.

Sherwood’s selection of Emmanuel Adebayor has played a vital role in Tottenham’s recent wins against Man United, not only contributing in front of goal but with his overall movement. The same can be said of Soldado, who’s through ball for Eriksen to set up Adebayor for the 1st Spurs goal, was sublime. Add to that his cross, again for Adebayor from wide on the left against Stoke City indicate that the overall movement of these players is at odds with the general overview of 4-4-2 formation.

When players reach an elite level, one should be able to foresee an environment where the state of play is interchangeable. One can argue that in today’s football only the goalkeeper can claim to have a fixed positional role. But even the goalkeeper’s role has been evolved to one that is capable of exacting change, as opposed to its previous, reactive nature.

Whether the wing personnel have the game intelligence to know when to track back and deliver sound defensive duties will play out over the 2nd half of the season, but Sherwood should not be seen as some happy-go-lucky, chocs-away, up and at-em type of coach. It appears he has asked both Soldado and Adebayor to fulfill more expansive roles in order to ease the demands placed on the two central midfielders. Eriksen has reveled in a similar role to that of Samir Nasri at Man City, who appears to start out on the left but drifts further infield to allow Rose to overlap.

The criticism of Sherwood’s apparent naivety in his approach is interestingly at odds with the Chilean, Manuel Pellegrini , who also employs what can be considered a 4-4-2 set up if @Statszone (FourFourTwo’s excellent analysis app) is to be considered accurate and reputable.

No such media circus has gathered at the gates of the Etihad Stadium to poke fun at Pellegrini’s choice of formation. Perhaps, it is simply because his team are currently so emphatic when winning, but Man City have not performed without fault or error this season and yet few lines are written questioning whether Pellegrini is correct in his choice of team selection.

Whether Sherwood will be a success for Spurs remains to be seen, but to paint the man as someone bereft of tactical nous simply isn’t correct. His team has already shown in their displays that there exists fluidity in their attacking interplay that belies the archaic myth of 4-4-2.

I for one am enjoying watching Spurs again.

Over and out.

© e-Spurs 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Spurs

Share on Google Plus