FM12: Making 4-4-2 Current And Effective (by Forza)

The following article was put together by a friend of mine and one of the Football Manager Community’s finest writers and theorists – Lee Scott, otherwise known as Forza. I am thrilled to be able to introduce Lee’s article which is appearing here on The Boy Done Good first, I hope you enjoy reading it – Dan.

Those of you that are familiar with my previous articles on FM will know that I have written about the 4-4-2 tactic before in an attempt to show that the system can still be considered current in today’s age of 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. This time around I am going to show that 4-4-2 still has a place on the tactical bookshelf of the contemporary FM player as a purely defensive setup.

Rather unsurprisingly the idea for this article came from an interview I heard by Jonathan Wilson. In the interview he talks of the defensive strengths of the 4-4-2 with the traditional two banks of four operating as a tight unit and two men in attack meaning that when the play transitions into attack you don’t have a lone striker isolated in an attempt to hold the ball up but rather a pair of strikers that can connect to force a chance or even a set piece in the opponents half. The argument will always exist and indeed is one that I have made myself that with two men in central midfield the 4-4-2 will always struggle to cope with the modern player ‘in the hole’, here however I hope to show that this floating midfielder is not necessarily the scourge of the 4-4-2.

THE SET-UP

For those of us that grew up watching football in the 90’s the above graphic is one that was synonymous with Match of the Day. The traditional English 4-4-2 with two banks of four spread across the pitch to provide width and defensive cover and two strikers – preferably one little one large – to offer attacking threat and options, this is the setup that is now considered outdated by most football journalists and pundits. Indeed any manager still playing the 4-4-2 is leaving himself open to ridicule and criticism for lack of tactical aptitude as soon results go against his team. As I am about to show however the rigid inflexible 4-4-2 still has a place in FM.

TWO BANKS OF FOUR

Setting up defensively the biggest immediate strength that we have is that with a back four and a deep lying four-man midfield there is very little space for the AI to exploit. By employing a deep line in defence and making sure the midfield drop back as well we are immediately nullifying the threat posed by the floating No.10 than operates in between the lines by squeezing the space and denying him room in which to work.

Here we see the perfect example. The defence is forming a line spread across the pitch with very little space in between the players, which the AI can use for a through ball to a quick striker. Even when the left centreback steps out of the line to engage the forward in possession of the ball the connection between right centreback and leftback remains strong. The midfield is also formed up in a line although with the centre situated deeper allowing extra cover for the centrebacks whilst the wide midfielders retain a higher position to engage the opposition wingers or attacking fullbacks. It’s clear to see that the strong connections both in the centre and out wide make it extremely difficult for the AI to break our defence down via quick incisive through balls limiting them to long shots or crosses thrown in from wide areas.

This time we are playing against Rome and their agile skilful front three. Again the familiar characteristics are in place with the defined defensive line facing up tightly to the attacking three of the AI. This time however you can see that one of our deep central midfielders has stepped out to engage Taddei in possession of the ball. In doing so our midfielder has further limited Roma’s passing options. There is no easy through pass to neither the central striker nor the left winger due to the positioning of our players. The obvious pass is slipped through to the right winger but again the positioning of our left back and left midfielder means that he will be quickly squeezed and possession will be turned over.

In defence then the deep 4-4-2 certainly has its strengths. Let’s be honest though the vast majority of FM players are not interested in purely defensive setups (myself excluded) and so there has to be some attacking advantage to the system.

LINKS IN ATTACK

With one striker you run the risk of being put under constant pressure as he struggles to hold the ball up when vastly outnumbered as the play transitions from defence to attack. With two strikers playing close together in the 4-4-2 though you are always giving yourself a chance in the attacking phase.

Here we have a perfect example of the two strikers working in tandem to create space and move the play into the oppositions half. As the ball is cycled from defence one of our deep midfielders (Gallopa) is about to take possession. Our left striker (Crespo) will move into the wide channels to receive the pass thus emptying the space in the centre of defenders and allowing our right striker (Giovinco) to move forward and provide a connection that the two strikers can utilise to build the attack. If you are using this system then consider what types of strikers complement one another best and indeed with the TC, which predefined roles you can select for the best possible outcome.

Here you can see that we have had to defend deep to withstand a prolonged period of pressure from the AI. Despite the extremely deep defence and midfield we still maintain two attackers in close contact albeit with Giovinco sitting slightly deeper than Crespo. When the Milan attack eventually breaks we are in position to take advantage of the fact they have pressed so high up against our defence and midfield. The ball is immediately cycled by Gobbi to Crespo who again moves into the wide channel emptying the central zone of defensive players. Giovinco is able to quickly move into a connecting position and we have the basis of an attack from a position of extreme defensive vulnerability.

The 4-4-2 then for me is a system that is far from dead within football and certainly from within FM. It may be that we simply have to approach the system differently with a different idea of what we are looking to achieve from its use. For the purposes of this article I played 10 competitive matches in Serie A with Parma and I leave them undefeated in second place having conceded only three goals (two corners and a penalty). There is no doubt that this is not a system that allows you to reproduce the attacking verve of Barcelona but for me being able to sit and watch a system that I have designed to operate defensively gives me as much if not more satisfaction as watching a player reach 120 short passes in a match. The FM player today shouldn’t be afraid to compromise on style if it can lead to a greater degree of substance on the pitch.

You will find more of Lee’s work shortly at SupportsInteractive.com – a ground breaking new FM site. If you’re quick you’ll be able to sign up to take part in their BETA testing, it promises to be an event that no Football Manager fanatic should miss out on.