Season 9: PLAYER ROLES MEETS FORMATION MATTERS EPISODE 17: 4-5-1A meets Player Roles

Soccerblog 4 Minutes

Here we have yet another formation within our ‘4 at the back’ merry go round… In this episode we take a look at a formation that still remains one of the more popular formations within today’s game. The 4-5-1 was popularized back in the early 2000’s by what many consider to be a very ‘Special’ manager. This formation was introduced to the football world during a time when majority of clubs were playing a flat 4-4-2 (or 4-4-2A, to put it in Soccermanager terms). It started out as a 4-3-3 formation that saw 2 ‘Wingers’ join a main Forward while being backed up by a midfield 3, and it’s this midfield 3 which saw an overload in the centre of the park which caused a whole heap of problems against the 2 men within the centre of midfield for the opposition (it also helps that one of the players within the midfield 3 was a goal scoring phenomenon named Sir Frank Lampard… #easteregg).

In today’s modern game, the 4-5-1 is strictly a defensive type formation that aims to bulk up the midfield in order to make its user extremely hard to break down while still having runners from midfield helping the main F(C) up top.

DEFENCE

We have to come to terms that this and the next formation up are primarily defensive first type formations that are very similar to the ‘5 at the back’ formations that we will be getting into in a couple of episodes within the future. We start off with a back 4 that does the job in terms of ensuring that they are primarily focused on ensuring that their defensive work is being well taken care of…

In goal, we have the Juventus shot stopper and Polish number 1, Wojciech Szczęsny who displayed his shot stopping prowess back in the latest world cup. So, we can expect him to protect his goal and dominate his 18 yard box as best as he possibly can. What this means is that we shouldn’t be expecting anything from him when we are in the early stages of possession. With the emphasis on ‘defence first’, we have 3 of this back 4 who have played together (in real life) and are quite familiar to this defence first approach. In front of Szczęsny, we have the Uruguayan and Montenegran Internationals, Jose Giménez and Setvan Savić who will keep things simple on the ball but are decent enough to pick a pass (if not under severe pressure). Outwide, we have 2 ‘Wingbacks’ who have a level of experience which means that we can rely on them throughout the entire 90 minutes. Kieran Tripper is currently the best DM(R) within the world based on form and we can expect him to constantly be giving us a great level of creative spark both in open play and if he is granted as our set piece specialist. Nicólas Tagliafico is an Argentinian who doesn’t fit the regular mold in terms of the country always producing attacking ‘Wingbacks’. But he still will provide good efforts in possession but he is primarily a player that is more attuned to his defensive work and will be quite difficult to beat no matter who he is up against.

MIDFIELD

One of the biggest assets of this formation is the amount of numbers that are within the middle of the park. It’s so filled that it is the main reason as to why this formation is one of the best in terms of getting solid connections between the defence and midfield. In the midfield triangle, we don’t have a recognizable ‘Ball Winning Midfielder, but it’s okay since we have two players who will work their f**cking socks off and will be the example for the rest of the team in Jordan Henderson and Frank Kessié. Kessié will be responsible with more of the progressive work in possession, while Hendo will simply showcase his world class leadership qualities. But the main man within the middle of the park is the German clutch player, Ilkay Gündoğan who with his role will be given liscence to do whatever he wants and as we’ve already explained in his own personal episode back in season 8, Gundo is one of the most intelligent and versatile world class players within the entire game.

Out wide we have two players who will be aiming to provide different things on the ball with Thomas Lemar acting like a 3rd playmaker outwide, hugging the touch line and cutting infield sparingly whenever Gundo has vacated that position, while Luis Díaz will be more explosive in his attempt to get pass his oppostion, and aid the main man up top in the box (alongside Ilkay)…

FORWARDS

This perfectly leads us to the main man up top who is the superstar not only in this starting XI, but within your entire club and will be reliant on to make the difference. This player is the one and only Robert Lewandowski, who needs no introduction (HE WAS ROBBED IN 2020!!!!). Although many are used to Robert dropping slighly deeper to get more involved in play, he will primarily operate as a ‘R.T.M’ who will aim to lead the line up top, hold up the ball to bring others into the game as well as finishing all of the chances he gets within the box. With Lewandowski in your team, you will always have a chance to win the league no matter what formation you play

DEFENSIVE TRANSITION

There really isn’t a need for a lot of explanation since this formation is primarily suited for this phase of play. The only thing we will like to mention is that by no means should anyone attempt to press all over whenever using this formation or its evil twin. They are not suited for a high press and should be only implemented when there is a need for some defensive stalwarts to display thier bravery and tenacity in terms of not being beaten or broken down…

Up next we have the brother of this formation who has a motive on letting you believe that he is more superior…. Will you be convinced???

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