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4-2-3-1 vs 4-3-3

The recent flurry of articles linking our club with central midfielders has got me thinking about which formation would be optimal for Chelsea. If Chelsea did purchase another central midfielder (my vote would probably go to Javi Martinez on ability or Paul Pogba on circumstantial advantages), this would guarantee that Mourinho would be about to change our formation to 4-3-3. As a result of this, I believe that one of our "attacking" midfielders would have to be either sold or put on loan, as having 5 players for 2 positions would result in someone being left out of the squad rather regularly (more than likely Salah). Plus, a 4-3-3 would make the No. 10 position redundant. This, I believe, would lead to Oscar eventually seeking a transfer. I think having Hazard on the left and either Willian or Schurrle on the right would leave us in a relatively comfortable position – in this situation, Salah would be retained to provide us with enough back-up. To be honest, I would be content with this outcome.

In central midfield, we would have Matic, Fabregas, Ramires, Van Ginkel, Romeu and Pogba (probably the most likely) as options. (I believe that Mikel should be sold. That said, he has been a great player for the club and he should be respected as such.) The first choice trio, I guess, would be Matic as the defensive player and Fabregas and Pogba as the more forward options. This would be a supreme combination. I would probably prefer Martinez to Matic and some might say that Kroos, Modric or Gundogan (pre-injury) would be minor upgrades, but, overall, that combination would be near-optimal.

My reservations lie in the attacking ability of such a formation. I consider 4-2-3-1 to be a slightly more attacking formation to 4-3-3 as only 6 of the players in the former are required to defend reliably whereas 7 of the players in the latter are required to do so. That said, upon examination of the great teams that have dominated in recent years, almost every one has played with a de facto 4-3-3 formation. Last year’s Real Madrid team and the previous year’s Bayern Munich team are obvious examples of this. Perhaps Chelsea’s most potent example of such a midfield trio was the Makelele – Lampard – Tiago midfield that dominated during the 2004-05 season.

All of this leaves me with the following question: why has Mourinho given the 4-2-3-1 any credence at all since he arrived last year? The only explanation I can think of is that someone else in the club wants Chelsea to play with more small, technically-gifted players up front, hence the purchases of Schurrle, Willian and Salah recently and Oscar and Hazard before that. Another thing to consider is that the flank players in a 4-3-3 would have to be more wingers than attacking midfielders – Duff and Joe Cole played those roles to great effect during 2004-05. As far as I can determine, none of our complement of attacking midfielders are true wingers – perhaps Salah is the most adaptable.

All of this leaves me very confused. I don’t believe in doing things by halves. If we want to play a 4-3-3 with a physically dominant midfield and athletic wingers, then we should go for it. If we want to play a 4-2-3-1 with small, technically-gifted flair players in the attacking band, then we should go for it. To be honest, I would favour the latter as that is the kind of football that I most enjoy watching. Quick, one-touch passing with accurate through-balls, hunting in packs and telepathic movement off the ball. However, I don’t think that you can have both of the options. I know that many people believe that it is possible to have as many bases as possible covered, but I fear that the team may end up being a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. I believe that if a team becomes sufficiently adroit in a formation that has been intelligently-constructed, it can become near-unbeatable. Plus, I believe that it helps with squad morale, as I believe that players will not remain satisfied for long with only being used in certain circumstances.

As a result of all of this, I believe that the purchase of another central midfielder will alter the course that our team has been on over the past 2 seasons. Do I believe that that is a good thing? Probably. I think Mourinho believes that an athletic midfield is the key to building a great football team. As he is our manager – and probably the best candidate for the job – he should be allowed to enforce his philosophy on the team. Perhaps, in time, I will come to love such a formation as well.

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