Winning with Football Formations

Is it 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 or 4-3-3?  I’ll Let You Decide.

As Manchester United go in search of another Premier League title and on the back of dismantling Arsenal’s so called beautiful football, Mark Duckworth takes a look at the ever changing team tactics.

4-5-1 used to be a formation that was frowned upon by fans and the media but as football dawns a new age the once disliked formation has been adopted by winners.

The formation has had roots in success in the past as former Italian teams of the 50’s and 60’s lined up with a five man midfield to combat the strength and brawn of English teams. But with the emergence of British football a five man midfield simply got overrun. English teams just made the pitch wider and played in early crosses to on-running strikers and midfielders who broke through the midfielder barrier.

But the formation is back as football players and coaches have developed, the 4-5-1 has made a successful return.  The 4-5-1 made its mark in the 2006 Champions League final when a certain Jose Mourinho guided Porto to victory using it. The key to the success of Jose and his formation is its adaptability.  When the team is defending it collapses to a five man midfield but when they get the ball it explodes to a 4-3-3, exploiting the space that the 4-4-2 leaves. When Mourinho arrived at Old Trafford with his now famous 4-5-1, I don’t think even he realised he was ushering in a new era of football, tactics and formations.

But a new era it was and when he returned to England as manager of Chelsea his formation was an instant success. With wingers such as Joe Cole and Arjen Robben, Chelsea soon became league champions as a defensive formation became an attacking one. Mourinho has since left these shores but his formation lives on. Chelsea still plays an adaptation of 4-5-1 and sit top of the league. They are the only club in the big four still in the FA Cup. Manchester United have since adopted the 4-5-1 and with the inform Wayne Rooney it seems like a master stroke by arguably greatest manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson. Rooney is scoring for United on his own at the moment and that may because of the formation; as he leads the attack he can’t wonder all around the pitch like in the past.  But for the 4-5-1 to work he has to be up the middle and hence scoring goals.

One of England’s biggest criticisms is their failing to adapt to the changing face of football and move with the times. The answer could lie across the water on Spanish soil and their recent international success. The Spanish like their domestic and European champions Barcelona, have adopted the once ugly duckling of 4-5-1. If Wayne Rooney can score a hatful of goals in a 4-5-1 Manchester United team then surely he could score the same in an England 4-5-1.