4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-3-3! Which formation should our new manager play?

At the end of this summer when the World Cup is over, players have moved on to pastures new, and new signings have arrived at Anfield, the squad at Liverpool will have most likely changed to some extent. Probably for the worse if we look at things in the cold light of day, but as the new season kicks off, with a new manager, with some new players and a real lack of preparation, with just over two weeks preparation before our opening match in the Europa League, the real question will be, how will Liverpool play?

With all due respect to Rafa Benitez, we did score a fair few goals over the last two seasons but nobody would say that we ever played free-flowing attacking football in the guise of Barcelona or Arsenal. We, on the whole over the past six years, have played five in midfield, both in important games and away from home. Javier Mascherano, Didi Hamann or Momo Sissoko took the duties of playing the anchor in midfield while various players such as Steven Gerrard, Alberto Aquilani or most notably Xabi Alonso played alongside their defensive partner and tried to create chances in the middle of the park.

With Javier Mascherano the most likely to leave, and Steven Gerrard’s future uncertain, the new manager will certainly have to conside how he plays if these players do actually leave. Some managers try and look at the player’s they have got and put them into a system, but others like to go out and buy players who play their way. In both Kenny Dalglish and Roy Hodgson, I think the latter is very much the case. Reshaping the squad by either man will see them selling off players who they can’t see working in their system, while they will attempt to bring in players who know their way of thinking.

So with the lack of strikers and the high-ish number of midfield players, I would expect either manager to start off with Rafa’s predominant formation of 4-5-1. Both Hodgson and Dalglish however, have always favoured 4-4-2 although while Roy likes tactical discipline and rigid organisation, Dalglish prefers a more fluid system allowing for greater creativity. Nevertheless both will surely change Liverpool’s style of play, for the better will we have to wait and see. Benitez’s football, although never spectacular, was effective when his game plan was stuck to the letter. Against big teams, a high pressing style instigated by defensive midfielders, harassed the opposition off the ball and gave the Reds opportunities to counter attack. The numbers in midfield also encouraged possession football but it sometimes lacked a cutting edge against smaller teams when teams put men behind the ball.

Under Dalglish we would surely get a more expansive game, although whether it will be effective in the modern game with the player’s that he has got is another question. Hodgson’s solid style, would no doubt be effective, but it could also lead to a lack of goals and creativity which no fan would like. Rather than 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, the most common used formation in the modern game is 4-3-3. Both the last two Champions League winners Barcelona and Inter Milan used it in all of their games in the run to the final. Perhaps any new manager could consider this formation or am I being too hopeful?

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Football FanCast writer Oscar Pye-Jeary documents his time in South Africa following England in the 2010 World Cup. (England v USA).

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