I miss 4-4-2

Amato Turn

Well-Known Member
Yeah I know, I'm a dinosaur.

But this is Scottish Football. It's a league where caveman stuff is still the prevalent norm over fancy foreign notions of tiki-taka and gegenpressing.

For whatever reason it feels like we've been wedded to 4-3-3 for a while now. Going back to 2015 and Mark Warburton really - we're 4 managerial spells down the line since then (Murty, Pedro, Murty again, Gerrard) yet on days like today when it doesn't work, when we huff and puff and can't break down a packed defense it all looks a bit samey.

We're a team who sling in a lot of crosses. Having 2 strikers in the box instead of one might help. It's been years since we've had a strike partnership of note - probably going back to Boyd & Miller first time round or Dado & Novo before that. There's something to be said for having a fully functioning strike partnership, they can push each other, combine with each other and create chances for each other through good link up play.

Right now it feels like we rely too much on our wide players (Tav, Candeias, Middleton) to create chances for one striker (Morelos) to score. Two strikers might share the required goals between them reducing our reliance on Morelos and might change the pattern of play in most of our games. We're quite predictable in how we play.

Any time we've won League titles in recent years (and I acknowledge we had better players then) under Walter, Eck and Dick 4-4-2 was generally our regular formation against the diddies and it was only really in Old Firm/European games where we sometimes felt the need to change that.
 
I was screaming out for a pass through the middle today. Every single move that made it's was to the centre circle today went right or left.

Just go forward with it! Teams are overloading the flanks to defend against us now. Do something different!!
 
Need to get other players much closer to the main striker if we are sticking with one at any rate.

Morelos’ outstanding form has masked that we don’t create enough clear cut chances. He puts away quite a few half chances.

Maybe time to revisit the 352 now Barasic is fit.
 
I was screaming out for a pass through the middle today. Every single move that made it's was to the centre circle today went right or left.

Just go forward with it! Teams are overloading the flanks to defend against us now. Do something different!!

It's cause there's nothing in central midfield mate.

It's one of the most productive parts of the mentally challengeds team - they get goals and assists from Rogic, McGregor, Ntcham and Christie from their central midfield.

In contrast, Arfield apart, we get nothing in terms of goals, assists, creativity or attacking threat from Jack, Rossiter, Coulibaly, Ejaria or Halliday.

We constantly play down the wings in the hope Tav or Candeias can put in a telling cross because there's absolutely nothing going to come from the centre of the park.

The team is screaming out for a #8 with dynamism, goals and drive who can go box to box. A Gerrard basically.
 
if we actually played midfielders in midfield we might actually dominate a game and have a platform

that was 4-2-4 today , tav bombs forward, loses it and bang one pass and thay are on top of us

like children's football
 
I couldnt agree more with you mate...

To not play two strikers in Scottish football against rank rotten teams is a joke and like you said, the striking partnerships we have had in the past highlights this.

Constantly going down the wings in the hope that we find the lone striker is a joke and an even bigger joke in the way that the standard of our crossing is absolute sh!te anyway..We need to find other ways to unlock defences.

Lafferty is getting a lot of stick but i feel its a bit unjust as no one can actually get the ball to him and he is usually chasing lost causes..when we do get the ball to him like the one in the first half today, 9 out of 10 times, he usually finishes...

I believe teams would need to rethink how they play if we played both him and Morelos up top...Managers playing this 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-2-1 is just managerial claptrap to me..in the words of mike bassatt "just play 4-4-f..ckin 2.".
 
there is an 'industrial' aspect to Scottish football
trying to play the Beautiful game with players who are not up to it in an environment like ours is pointless.
both Warbs & Pedro WTF made the same mistake
 
I agree, we need another striker in and around Morelos. Turns about of taking the ball in to feet and going in behind. Give the opposition centre backs something to think about, instead of two or three of them against one man.
 
Imo 4-4-2 is the most comprehensible formation and the easiest to play. Also, if you want to adapt it into a 4-5-1 formation, you don'the need to be a footballing genius to do it.
 
Need to get other players much closer to the main striker if we are sticking with one at any rate.

Morelos’ outstanding form has masked that we don’t create enough clear cut chances. He puts away quite a few half chances.

Maybe time to revisit the 352 now Barasic is fit.
Especially considering we actually have 4 fit CH now and wouldn't have to force Flanagan into the side to do it.
 
People often say you lose a man in midfield playing 442 but it's easily solved and I think we have the players to do it.

You make 3 of the 4 as central type midfielders, and have one wide man runner.

For us, it could be something like

Lafferty/Kent Morelos

Arfield Jack Rossiter Candeias

Kent could float behind Morelos and make runs in to the box where possible. Or even Middleton
 
We never never never go through the middle.

Everything is down the wing. Ball in and it’s either straight into the keepers arms or over everyone’s head.
It is difficult though with so many behind the call. That’s were creativity will come in.

I like the idea of rossitier or jack sitting behind Arfield and Davis
 
I,ve said for years simplicity in Scottish football is the key, no fancy formations a straight 4 4 2 every week, maybe I am a dinosaur but it works. Fuk when I started watching football it was a 2 3 5.
 
People often say you lose a man in midfield playing 442 but it's easily solved and I think we have the players to do it.

You make 3 of the 4 as central type midfielders, and have one wide man runner.

For us, it could be something like

Lafferty/Kent Morelos

Arfield Jack Rossiter Candeias

Kent could float behind Morelos and make runs in to the box where possible. Or even Middleton

Smith done it with McCulloch/Lafferty on left Thomson Ferguson then Davis wide right and Boyd Miller up top
 
there is an 'industrial' aspect to Scottish football
trying to play the Beautiful game with players who are not up to it in an environment like ours is pointless.
both Warbs & Pedro WTF made the same mistake

We can go further back to PLG, trying to bring in more technically sound players, and play a style of football that has seen the rest of not just Europe but the world over take Scottish football however it needs big money, like the £30million or so a year Advocaat spent with us to achieve it.
 
I have a thing about this.

Why has 4-4-2 fallen out of favour?

Twin strikers? Double Trouble? What’s not to like?

The best, most balanced Rangers side I’ve ever seen - Advocaat’s - was a classic 4-4-2.

It would rip this Beasts team apart regardless of the formation they chose to play.

Admittedly it was a team assembled at the sort of expense we can only dream of now, but this modern obsession with 4-3-3 does aggravate me.

It can clearly work, but to do so consistently, I think you need much better players than we currently have on our books.
 
The players have changed but the poor defending leading to conceding early, a dysfunctional midfield and a powderpuff tippy tappy approach to attacking seems to have been with us since Mark Warburton’s days turned sour.
 
I have a thing about this.

Why has 4-4-2 fallen out of favour?

Twin strikers? Double Trouble? What’s not to like?

The best, most balanced Rangers side I’ve ever seen - Advocaat’s - was a classic 4-4-2.

It would rip this Beasts team apart regardless of the formation they chose to play.

Admittedly it was a team assembled at the sort of expense we can only dream of now, but this modern obsession with 4-3-3 does aggravate me.

It can clearly work, but to do so consistently, I think you need much better players than we currently have on our books.
Because it’s very easy to have the arse ripped out of you in midfield.
 
Yes. It would be even worse if you can imagine it. See last year under Pedro if you’re skeptical.

3 man midfield or 4 man midfield?

I prefer the latter, but I appreciate you probably need the players to make it work.

Then again, you need the players to make 4-3-3 work consistently and we don’t have them.
 
Because it’s very easy to have the arse ripped out of you in midfield.

I don't believe we're ever going to win the Scottish League playing the 4-3-3 we've been devoted to since 2015. Not with the level of player we have/can afford.

When we won 3IAR under Walter it was with a combination of 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 and that was with better players than we have now.

We're not good enough to win this League playing an open, expansive 4-3-3. I also don't believe it's a style suited for the shitehouse shenanigans we come up against on a weekly basis.
 
We would need a new forward to play With Morelos as Lafferty isn't the answer

True, but Shankland is clearly is we simply have to get him signed and straight into the team...we need 2 strikers against teams that pack the box that system is a huge problem, ops correct, boss has to accept it and change it.
 
4-4-2 will struggle every bit as much against these packed midfields and defences, always a struggle with two CMs up against three.
 
4-4-2 will struggle every bit as much against these packed midfields and defences, always a struggle with two CMs up against three.

Play one of the wide men narrow ala how we played Steven Davis tucked in on the right or Albertz tucked in on the left, then you still essentially have a central 3.

Atletico Madrid play 4-4-2 every week but pretty much do that on both sides so they have a very narrow 4 which almost gives them 4 central midfielders.
 
If we chose to go 4-4-2 you could play a diamond with Jack/Rossiter/McCrorie playing at the base protecting the back 4 then play with three central midfielders, our width is always going to come from Tav and Barasic
 
352. Allows us to keep 3 in the middle but get two up top.

Get Barisic and Tav delivering quality balls into Lafferty and Morelos and we will get goals.

The service to Lafferty was absolutely pathetic today. 6 shots on goal all game against 10 men for 70 mins is literally embarrassing.
 
Would like our backroom team to have the tactical nous to change the system mid game to suit the opposition's strengths/weaknesses. Or am i asking too much?
 
Pedro played 4-4-2 often.

We don't have 2 central midfielders good enough to play against the 3 every other team would fill that area with. Was obvious then, would be the same now.
 
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