4-3-3: Default formation?

[Jay The Yid]

Why Harry must you keep persisting with 4 4 2? (Even when you say you self it doesnt work? how odd!)

Why do you instruct Bale to go on the right? or let him have some sort of free role?

Keep it simple! It has worked pretty much everytime we have played it. So why change it?

We have to play Adebayor every game he is able to play as he quite simply holds the line and brings others into play unlike every other striker we have at the club.

VDV has to play off Ade. He is our spark our one players who can score out of nothing. He often is the difference in tight games

Bale must stay on the left

Lennon must stay on the right.

Sandro (My first choice) or Parker must play with Modric in the centre.

BAE & Walker (who was shocking today) are the full backs

Gallas and Kaboul are our first choice Central defenders. If injured/rested we should have enough cover

Young Brad I don't particulary rate but as it stands is our first choice.

I couldnt quite beleieve the front 2 that started today. I was shocked to see neither Sandro or Parker in the side, hate seeing Lennon and Bale swapping over. I think it has worked once, and we got what we deserved today...Nothing!

We need to go back to playing our strongest 11. 6/7 cup finals left!!!!!!!

 

[Kingstheman]

I have a copy of Soccer My Way by Danny Blanchflower.

A copy is being scanned, faxed and sent to THFC Ltd as we speak, to the attention of the manager.

 

[felmani26]

So we played 4-4-2 today, it failed miserably... I can't see us using it again this season to be honest.

What should Harry do, revert to more of a 4-3-3 type formation or a 4-4-1-1, which is still reasonably tight as VDV does mostly play in a fairly deep cental position.

I think VDV becoming the only player who can put in dead ball deliveries makes him even more important to be honest but would that mean Lennon drops back to the bench? He showed more urgency than anyone in the short time he was on against Sunderland.

433 should undoubtedly be the first choice system in all our games and IMO our first choice starting 11 is;

Friedel

Walker Kaboul Gallas BAE

Sandro Parker Modric

VDV Adebayor Bale

Lennon is a great impact player but he simply does not give us what Rafa does and therefore has to be relegated to a super sub role as like you said, our set pieces are now totally reliant on Rafa.

 

[ajspurs]

433 should undoubtedly be the first choice system in all our games and IMO our first choice starting 11 is;

Friedel

Walker Kaboul Gallas BAE

Sandro Parker Modric

VDV Adebayor Bale

Lennon is a great impact player but he simply does not give us what Rafa does and therefore has to be relegated to a super sub role as like you said, our set pieces are now totally reliant on Rafa.

Yea I think I agree.... I would much rather see what we did against Sunderland than what we did today as well. I actually think the key to this setup is Adebayor. Bale is the only player in that team who can provide a raw straight forward threat. None of the midfield 3 do and VDV is not the biggest goal threat I don't think but I think when Adebayor is playing well we don't need so much from everyone else and he obviously brings others into play quite well so they won't have to do as much for themselves.

Sunderland was a perfect example of this really. We couldn't get the ball into Adebayor and get players around him. Nothing was ever going to come from Modric/Sandro/Parker in a goal scoring sense so that left only Adebayor, Bale and VDV. Bale wasn't having that great a game and really struggled to find space whilst VDV was getting into good positions at times but couldn't apply the finishing touch and like he does, spent a lot of time on a deeper midfield position anyway and like said, Adebayor was no where to be seen and just struggled to receive the ball, it's always going to be tough to score when those are the circumstances.

 

[felmani26]

Yea I think I agree.... I would much rather see what we did against Sunderland than what we did today as well. I actually think the key to this setup is Adebayor. Bale is the only player in that team who can provide a raw straight forward threat. None of the midfield 3 do and VDV is not the biggest goal threat I don't think but I think when Adebayor is playing well we don't need so much from everyone else and he obviously brings others into play quite well so they won't have to do as much for themselves.

Sunderland was a perfect example of this really. We couldn't get the ball into Adebayor and get players around him. Nothing was ever going to come from Modric/Sandro/Parker in a goal scoring sense so that left only Adebayor, Bale and VDV. Bale wasn't having that great a game and really struggled to find space whilst VDV was getting into good positions at times but couldn't apply the finishing touch and like he does, spent a lot of time on a deeper midfield position anyway and like said, Adebayor was no where to be seen and just struggled to receive the ball, it's always going to be tough to score when those are the circumstances.

Also, what you get in that system and with those personnel is control of the game, be it home or away which inevitably minimises the chance of being caught out through poor positioning and puts the onus on the opposition to conjure up something special to score against us.

All you get with 442 coupled with lack of defensive discipline is just lazy open football in which the opposition can score cheap goals and nor does having two strikers on the pitch make us anymore threatening to their goal if our midfield has chasms the size of the Grand Canyon.

It's so frustrating because Harry has recognised these traits in the last few games and during today's match when it was clear to all and sundry that the system was inherently wrong yet he chose to ignore the blindingly obvious and instead try to rely on individial brilliance rather than sorting out the fundamentals.

 

[ajspurs]

Also, what you get in that system and with those personnel is control of the game, be it home or away which inevitably minimises the chance of being caught out through poor positioning and puts the onus on the opposition to conjure up something special to score against us.

All you get with 442 coupled with lack of defensive discipline is just lazy open football in which the opposition can score cheap goals and nor does having two strikers on the pitch make us anymore threatening to their goal if our midfield has chasms the size of the Grand Canyon.

It's so frustrating because Harry has recognised these traits in the last few games and during today's match when it was clear to all and sundry that the system was inherently wrong yet he chose to ignore the blindingly obvious and instead try to rely on individial brilliance rather than sorting out the fundamentals.

Yea agreed, it's refreshing and a joy to watch us control games home and away with such a system and not really look like conceding. Yep, I knew he wasn't going to change it to a system with one striker though, as soon as he started with 2 strikers it was always gonna end that way despite how the game was going Especially after Defoe scored

 

[stevenurse]

Reading this on the official site just made me as angry as I was yesterday. How can Harry say a week before that we looked really good with a 4-3-3 then change it to appease the fringe players? We play a 4-3-3 because it suits our players and is very effective. When we play this way we are very fluid with our attacking players given license to do what they do best with our defensive wall there. Completely agree with steve Claridge when he said that if Parker was playing, they don't score that second goal.

He said Scott Parker wasn't fit, so play sandro! Showing once again he is tactically a dinosaur and would be ripped apart at international level. If he goes then good luck to him but we all know it will end in tears, possibly for all concerned...

I am like a lot of fans now, angry as hell and taking it far too seriously but the changing of the tactics baffles me

 

[Black]

Jermaine Defoe he's yiddo

 

[Kingellesar]

Half time the wrong substituion was made, it should've been Saha for Sandro if he thought we were too open. Personally I thought Adebayor looked alright when he came on, the link up with Ekotto was nice but if Harry knew we were too open why not bring Sandro on at HT? That would've tightened the midfield up at 1-1, giving us 45 minutes with Modric, Defoe, Bale and Lennon in attack, then if needed we could've taken Defoe off for Adebayor and maybe Modric/Livermore for VdV later on.

We are starting to see the real Harry Redknapp now, the one who is losing control and yet again I feel he will start bringing up certain facts such as "they've never had it as good, they were bottom when I took over so to finish 6th would be a huge step forward....".

 

[stevenqoz]

Sandro was totally inept last game.....almost Palacios-like in giving it away in dodgy places.......we were only winning one in ten second balls yesterday...that was our main problem apart from King failing to win a single challenge

 

[stevenurse]

Also shocked me just how many silly free-kicks we gave away. We complain if a team makes the game bitty and broken up but we did it to ourselves yesterday. We didn't allow ourselves to get into a rhythm because we kept making it stop/start. Walker especially seemed to foul every time he made a challenge

 

[vonn]

What's worrying is that Harry admitted in the after match interview that we were too open but didn't actually do anything to rectify this when the game was being played. Should have taken Defoe off and put VdV up behind Saha or put Sandro on and let Modric drift forward.

 

[The Apprentice]

Harry does know that he has the power to make decisions, doesnt he? It's almost as if he was forced to make us open and it's out of his hands. Who is this "they" he talks of? Does he seriously base his tactical decisions on what Soccer Saturday pundits are saying?

 

[gilzeantheking]

What's worrying is that Harry admitted in the after match interview that we were too open but didn't actually do anything to rectify this when the game was being played. Should have taken Defoe off and put VdV up behind Saha or put Sandro on and let Modric drift forward.

This.

I am beginning to wonder if he is angling to get the sack and getting his contract paid up by Spurs, thus saving his FA puppet masters a large wedge which would probably go into his contract. Win Win for Harry and sod Spurs.

 

[vonn]

Also shocked me just how many silly free-kicks we gave away.

Quite. According to ESPN our defenders as a group conceded 9 fouls, most of them in dangerous positions.

 

[alfiespurs]

What a pathetic statement - Did you not leanr anything from the Everton game? tI think he's losing the plot .... quite simply NOT Good Enough - Go and take the England job - right up your street.

 

[mattyspurs]

This.

I am beginning to wonder if he is angling to get the sack and getting his contract paid up by Spurs, thus saving his FA puppet masters a large wedge which would probably go into his contract. Win Win for Harry and sod Spurs.

Of course, you are not beginning to wonder this really are you? Because Harry failing at Spurs from a seemingly unfailable position, would in the eyes of many, including the no marks at the FA would begin to doubt the qualities of Harry taking ove rthe England job. If they are not already starting to doubt.

So really, this is probably not his intentions at all.

 

[mattyspurs]

What a pathetic statement - Did you not leanr anything from the Everton game? tI think he's losing the plot .... quite simply NOT Good Enough - Go and take the England job - right up your street.

I like alot of fans, are starting to have doubts about Harry, but we don't know if he is not good enough until the end of may. If we win the FA Cup and finish in the top 4, then yes, he is good enough. But if we fail to achieve those objectives from the position that we were in, then he will be deemed not good enough.

But the time to judge is in May and not April.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

Harry is committing tactical suicide, and what makes it worse, he's doing it over and over again.

Can never see none of the top managers coming out with this stuff. Even someone like Moyes, picks the way he wants to play (1 up front) and sticks with it. Even through their bad patches. HE won't ever set up his teams open time and time again.

Even Pardew made the mistake v us and has not done so again.

 

[theShiznit]

4-4-2 can work of course it can (Norwich played it...)
The difference being they went into the game like they were fighting for their lives, we went into it like we were 4-0 and a man up.

You can make scape goats of King/Defoe or whoever but the fact is that our attitude towards that game stunk from the start and our only (apprant) option to change it was to go gung-ho, and leave the creaking Ledley/Nelson partnership even more exposed.