- Jul 20, 2011
- 4,041
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I also liek the system, but it requires a lot of fluidity that some of our current players lack the ability / versatility for.Lately, City haven’t been using wing backs at all, though. The system has been a 3241 or 3223 (sort of like the very old school WM formation).
————————GK————————
———RB———-CB————LB——-
—————CDM——-CDM————-
RW———RAM———-LAM———-LW
————————ST————————
There is a lot of fluidity about those positions, though.
Full backs can operate as centre backs effectively, or they can push on with one of the defensive midfielders dropping in to cover.
Those same defensive midfielder, though, can also act more like hybrid 6/8s or box to box midfielders, with the role seemingly changing throughout the game.
The attacking midfielders can drop a little deeper to receive the ball at times and overload the middle of the park, or they can run beyond to either receive balls from the inverted wingers or to create space for them when they cut inside.
I like it a lot as a system.
Emerson, Dier and Davies are proven to have the required versatility (despite each having some shortcomings), but Porro, Perisic & Sessegnon would be at high risk of leaving us defensively exposed in this system.
There's talk of us signing Laporte, which I would be strongly in favour of, but Pep has clearly deemed him to be less suitable to this system than other players at his disposal.
We also can't overlook the tactical preferences and abilities of our new manager. I expect him to improve us, but I don't expect him to demonstrate the same level of inspired tactical genius as Pep (or to attempt to!). Tactically, I think Ange is more on Poch's level.