THE DEMISE OF THE CLASSIC WINGER

In the lead up to the new Premier League season I will be discussing any potential shifts in managers' tactics that may be on display over the course of the following twelve months. For the last three or four seasons we have seen a huge shift in the way teams are lining up. So let's take a look at how formations and tactics have changed in recent years, and predict what may become the fashion in the 2014/15 season.


4-4-2

Throughout the 90s and the majority of the 00s, most English teams were playing the familiar 4-4-2 system, a cornerstone of the dominant Man Utd team under Ferguson.

The system allows teams to stay tight at the back while the two central midfielders operate in a box-to-box role, requiring them to provide bite in the tackle, through balls and the ability to arrive late in the box and contribute goals. Great central midfield partnerships in the 4-4-2 system often consisted of one more forward thinking player, and one in a deeper lying, more defensively minded role. Think of Keane and Scholes or Makalele and Lampard.

The focal point of the system, however, came from out wide. Whether it was Beckham and Giggs or Pires and Ljungberg, the wingers were the key assist makers and provided the pace and creativity key to the best attacking threats.

The problem, however, with this system, comes when you are faced with a deep lying forward who can find space between the defense and attack. Given space, this 'hole' player can create havoc. Should a centre back come out and challenge, allowing space for the forwards to exploit? Should an opposing midfielder man mark? Players like Zidane and Ronaldinho mastered this ability and forced managers the world over to find a system that could at once enable a player in their team to fulfil this role, and eliminate the threat of the opposing 'No 10'.

4-2-3-1

In recent years the 4-2-3-1 has become the 'in vogue' formation across European football. The formation was introduced to the Premier league most notably by the Manchester City team of the 2010/11 season. With Yaya Toure and de Jong operating in the 'holding' roles this formation enabled players like Silva and Nasri to abandon their defensive responsibilities and play a far more fluid, flexible game.

This, along with Barcelona's revolutionary 'False 9' system (see below) saw the rise of the 'luxury player' or 'No 10.' reach astronomical heights, and many teams began to play three or even four of this kind of player at a time, all of whom would rotate, switch position, and become almost impossible to mark in the traditional sense.  Defenders had to mark space rather than men and this, when facing the likes of Messi, Aguero or Mueller is an almost impossible task.

(The false 9 system as used most famously by the Guardiola
inspired, world beating Barcelona team of the 2008-2012 era.) 

So what's the problem here? Well, in theory, nothing. Your 'free role' players are free to roam around the attacking third as they see fit, mesmerising defenders by being everywhere except where they are expected. Your defence is shielded by two holding players who break up the play and start your attacking moves while taking out the threat of the opposing No 10s. However, we are in a situation now where so many teams are using this system, they are beginning to cancel each other out. If you have better players than the opposing team then this isn't a problem, but good tactics are about making the game work in your favour when you have players of equal or lesser quality than your opponent.

The flaw in the two systems discussed here is the lack of width coming from attacking players that is so integral to the 4-4-2 formation. With so many players who are at their best operating in a central or ever-shifting role (not to mention the common use of 'opposite foot wingers' who cut in off the flanks and shoot with their stronger foot)  there has been a distinct shift towards a much narrower final third. Look at Chelsea, for example, who play Hazard, Willian and Oscar in behind their striker, or Man Utd who consistently struggled to find space in the team for Rooney, Mata and Kagawa, arguably their most threatening attacking midfield players.

If a manger forces central players outside, they are naturally drawn away from the touchlines, meaning that the classic winger, in the Ribery or Pedro style is a position that is gradually being eradicated. In fact, players like Ronaldo, Messi and Bale, all who began as wide players and would almost certainly be playing as 7s or 11s if this were ten years ago, have been converted into central roles to enable them to have more influence on matches. The result of this is that full backs are being asked to do more attacking than ever.


WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Last season signaled the beginning of another shift in fashionable tactics and formations as Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers implemented a wing back system that was also seen in Italy, as AC Milan and Inter both play with three centre backs. In the light of the issues with both the 4-2-3-1 and the False 9 system it makes sense for teams to demand full backs to utilise their attacking instincts, while remaining responsible at the back. Louis van Gaal has regularly used a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 system throughout the Netherlands' World Cup campaign as well as making a name for himself at Ajax between 1991-1997 with a similar system. There is good reason to believe, then, that Man Utd may also be bringing this system into use next year.

Even with four at the back, more is being expected of full backs. It is nothing new to see advanced wide defenders when a team is in possession (look at Cafu and Roberto Carlos in the 90s) but more and more often we are seeing full backs as the most advanced wide player in a team. The narrow diamond is another alternative that was used by Liverpool last season, but with players like Henderson, Gerrard and Joe Allen in the central areas, Rodgers was still demanding attacking bursts from Flanagan and Johnson to provide crosses into the box.

This, to me, seems to be the logical next step in the demise of the classic wide role, as more players in all areas of the pitch are being asked to perform more flexible, all-round jobs within the team. Defenders that attack, goalkeepers that can act as the last line of defence outside of the box and an ever rotating carousel of attacking players, who can play left, right or central, and often do all of the above.

The days of twenty Premier League teams lining up in 4-4-2 are long gone, and scarcely missed, but it looks increasingly as if we are moving towards another reinvention of the way managers build their teams. The luxury player, such a novelty just ten or fifteen years ago, has become the most influential role on the field (the world cup has been dominated by 10s: Messi, Neymar, Rodriguez) and the wide threat is slowly being passed almost exclusively to the wing backs. With the global game more competitive than ever, it will be fascinating to see if this system can prevail while so many try to stay ahead of the opposition.