..........................................Team Chester.........................................................................................Team Lynk..........................................
Chester said:What I'm going for here is a variation on the 4-2-4, the formation most commonly associated with the great Brazil side of '58. There are distinct differences, however, between my take on this classic formation and the Brazilian model. Matt Busby favoured the 4-2-4 too – and if anything my variation resembles his Manchester United more than Brazil, whilst not using either side as a blueprint. It's a specialized 4-2-4 with certain key elements.
Perhaps the most important of these is the role of Johnny Haynes. As the arrow (who doesn't love a good arrow?) indicates, Haynes will drop deep here – and he will do so regularly. This will allow him to use his passing range to the fullest: In what we may call the second striker position which is his default one (and which reminds us of his younger, inside forward incarnation), Haynes' main function will be that of hitting the ball short, at Dean in the middle – but not least at the ghost-into-the-box wingers, both of whom excel at precisely this sort of game: Bastin and Jackson are high scoring wingers who like nothing better than to get on the end of a through ball from a withdrawn forward: What you get here – with due respect to the great man – is an upgrade on the famous James-to-Bastin-and-into-the-net formula which was so effective for Arsenal; an upgrade I say, because Johnny Haynes is an even more clinical passer than Alex James.
Haynes' other function, however, is as stated above to drop deep, which is perfectly natural for him: He drops down further into the hole, so to speak, taking up positions from where he can ping long balls out to the wingers – who will then, simply, seek to cross: The opposite winger drifts (or rather runs, hopefully – no sense in jogging about sluggishly) into the box to join the man many consider the most dangerous header of the ball in the history of the game. Ideally, Edwards has made one of his runs at the same time, while Haynes drifts (runs!) back into his default space and beyond, leaving the opponent to deal with four men in the box as Bastin or Jackson takes aim from out wide. Well worth to note here that Dean isn't just a direct threat in the air, but an indirect one too, as it were: Heading the ball down for Jackson or Bastin (or anyone else who has managed to get into the box) is a very plausible alternative, should he be unable to finish directly.
Should be a goal or two in there somewhere.
Notes on Jackson and Bastin:
Cliff Bastin was the outside left (left winger to you) in Chapman's celebrated Arsenal side of the late 20s/early 30s. He was a right footed left winger (like Waddle in that regard) whose main strengths were his dribbling and his ability to ghost into the box and finish off attacking moves. He was a technically brilliant, highly aggressive player, always seeking to get past his man - and into dangerous areas.
Alex Jackson is one of the great dark horses of British football history: A player who was regarded by many as the best in the world at the height of his powers, a dribbling wizard and a goal scorer, but also a highly accurate crosser of the ball. He was transferred for record fees, liked his champagne off the pitch, was very much the playboy - and basically fecked up his career at the tender age of 26. In Scotland's great win over England in 1928 he was the star of the show: As the Wembley Wizards hammered England 5-1 (in English football history only the loss to Hungary in '53 compares to this humiliation), Jackson scored a hat-trick and at that point he was, as the papers said, the most discussed footballer of the century.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/nov/16/forgotten-story-alex-alec-jackson-scotland-chelsea
Addendum on Dean: While being something of an ultimate goal getter, Dean has qualities which are seldom highlighted but nevertheless characteristic of his game: He was very good at setting up his team mates with short, precise passes – which will give Bastin and Jackson an alternative to the Haynes through ball: They can play their ghost-into-the-box game with both Haynes and Dean being second-to-last on the ball. This obviously isn't Dean's main feature as a player – he is there to finish, first and foremost – but it's a quality of his which will come in handy on top of his finishing.
Roles of central midfielders: Edwards plays a box-to-box role, Crerand holds. The latter's role is very similar to the one he often played for Busby: Fairly conservative as such. Crerand, however, is an excellent passer, which comes in handy when building up attacks. Edwards' role is much freer – he operates box to box, using both his incredible physical presence and his brilliant on-the-ball skills as required, where required.
Defence: Marshaled by Billy Wright, they defend. That is their main function here. The attacking part is well taken care of by others. Two things to note, however: Byrne is more than capable of venturing forward a bit, should the occasion arise. And Woodburn likes to carry the ball out of defense, as the build-up begins: This is an important feature of his game – so I won't deny him the chance to showcase it here. He's a ball playing sort of defender, much before his time in that regard, which makes him an ideal foil for Wright. Pat Rice is a no frills, ultra dependable fullback. He will go quietly about his business here, staying tight on whoever he's marking, focusing on the defensive side of things.
In short:
It's an offensive approach, decidedly so. I plan on outscoring the other guy and I'm not overly concerned should he manage to grab a goal. Grinding out 1-0 wins is clearly a waste of my players' talents anyway. Still, for those who immediately think a 4-2-4 formation is too ultra offensive to stand a realistic chance, I point again – as I did to begin with – to Haynes' role. When he drops, as he will all the time, the nominal formation becomes either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 of sorts. Haynes isn't a striker but a playmaker, so keep that in mind.
), but it's obviously not his best role and it's strange not to play your best player in his best position - especially when there are a few players out of position as well there.