Formation?

There has been several discussions about what formation should be played next season. For me there is no debate 4-2-3-1 is the only sensible formation. With the quality wingers we have signed in Hazard, Marin to complement Mata and the imminent signing of Hulk (despite his agent playing games to try increase the offer) we need a formation to utilise this talent.

It will take time for our back line to get used to having a slightly higher line. Not as high as it was under AVB but work as a unit to press team and get back the ball to break on the counter. The majority of the back line will have no trouble at all adjusting. Ivanovic will take a little while to get used to it but has the pace to keep up. Terry is likely to be the one who will find it the hardest but his quality and the fact he will most likely be between Cole and Luiz/Cahill lightening the need for pace.

The midfield 2 will be split into two distinct roles, a Makélélé style holding midfielder who will look to sit back more and defend while the other midfielder and full backs attack. Also breaking down opposition attacks and quickly launching counter attacks. The other midfielder will play more of a box-to-box style player who will counter when possible but will also get back and help out when needed.

The three attacking midfielders will interchange much like what we saw when Robben and Duff were at their prime. This will cause defenders problems because at times they could unbalance and have two on a wing or switch between each other to go from the physical threat of Hulk to the skill and pace of Hazard.

The centre forward will get much more support in this formation compared to the days when we just used to lump the ball to Drogba in a 4-3-3 and he could hold the ball up all day. This supply will overwhelm defences and create a much more attacking flare which Roman is after. The problem with having so much attacking outlets on the field is that the defence is not as strong as possible, this means we need the wingers to pressure the players close to them. The majority of the players playing the attacking roles we have are we known for their lazy defence, something RDM is going to have to work hard on to stop.