4-2-3-1: The Assessment

By: cathal | July 13th, 2009

In last night’s friendly and our first game of the season, our new coach decided to experiment with a new formation: the 4-2-3-1. The 10-0 scoreline in our favour will tell you that the opposition’s calibre was hardly remarkable but even in small fixtures like these, clues can be found. The big question is, will the system work? This is my assessment.

Advantages:
One of our greatest deficiencies, if not the greatest deficiency last season was our disorganised and at times, shambolic defence. Ledesma often had to work his socks off to help out whatever combination Rossi fielded and it was only when Matuzalem lined up alongside him that we seemed to have any control at the back. Even with a traditional back four, our midfielders had to help out. The 4-2-3-1 may give even greater protection to our defenders and if we organise ourselves better this season, we could be difficult to break down with this system. As an example, imagine that Dabo and Brocchi are our defensive midfielders. The former acts as the cool head, picking up the loose balls and distributing them to the attackers while the latter scurries around the field making hard tackles and breaking up play. If they get tired, we can bring on Firmani to increase the energy and the intensity. Considering one man wasn’t enough last season and that our defence remains much the same, two men may be the solution we require.

The three attack-minded midfielders may seem a bit odd at first but it could actually work. I recently watched Foggia for Italy in a game where he adopted a position on the right side of attack and how many times last season did we see Zarate cut in from the left and hit a piledriver into the top corner? These attacking roles should suit our most influential players and even useful back-ups such as Eliseu and Del Nero will fit well in this system.

Disadvantages:
I’ve always been told that you should play to your strengths and our forte is most definitely our attack. A 4-2-3-1 can be interpreted in various ways; are we looking at six defensive players and four offensive players or vice versa? Knowing Davide and his previous ideas, this system will be as attack-minded as possible but would that leave us too vulnerable at the back? If we use a defensive variation, we could be preventing our dangerous attack from flourishing and our firepower may diminish. In other words, are we finding the correct balance with this system?

I also question the usefulness of Matuzalem and Rocchi in a formation like this. Francelino is a great all-round midfielder; I think he has a bit of everything in his game, however, this could be disadvantageous in a system like this. Has he got enough defensively to play a holding role or does he have the playmaking and general attacking prowess to play as a trequartista? With the recent negotiations, Matu has been absent from the squad and I have to wonder if the 4-2-3-1 is a temporary solution for when the Brazilian can’t take part. As for Tommaso, I don’t think a lone role upfront is ideal for him. Yes, he is a superb finisher but he is also a talented link-up player and unless Maurito and Pasquale can regularly push up and support him, I think he will suffer there. Perhaps acquiring a target man such as Cruz is the key to this system? Who knows.

I believe this will be the first of many formations that our new coach will test over the coming friendlies. However, with less than four weeks to go until the Supercoppa, he needs to find at least one that works as soon as possible. Forza Lazio!