4-4-2

[linkenholtroyal]

So this might be nostalgia talking but why do we not play 4-4-2 anymore. Or any team for that matter.
As a team our most successful period was in that setup and the game seemed to flow so much better with 2 strikers playing off each other being provided crosses from the wings. Why does no one do it anymore?
Trying also to work out which team in any of the English leagues still play that way and whether it works for them.

I would love nothing more than buying 2 new strikers and playing them in that system.

[Esteban]

I think Wrexham played it a lot last season maybe? Certainly did in League 2 and the National league.

I guess football has moved on from it, but the best I've ever seen Reading play is using that formation. I'd have no issue if Noel gave it a try as a plan B now and then.

[Hound]

I think basically teams worked out how to counter it by overloading the midfield and outnumbering the 2 cms and isolating the wingers so they weren’t in the game

Something like the popular 4-2-3-1 just overruns that 4-4-2 midfield

Football is often cyclical though so you never know, may come back into fashion

[Extended-Phenotype]

Possession football, midfield control, the press, specialised midfielders etc. All work better with the extra man in the middle.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I was thinking about Coppell's 442 earlier. We got the ball wide quickly, put quality crosses in and always had 3 or 4 players attacking it. So hard to defend against.

I think in today's game they would see a lot less of the ball, and teams would press to stop them getting upfield. The game is just not set up for it any more. They would be good enough to have a good season, but not the unstoppable force we remember.

[leon]

For every formation there’s a counter formation(s).

That’s why there’s no one formation that football has arrived at that supersedes all others.

[stealthpapes]

Short answer - triangles.

Medium answer - Possession football, midfield control, the press, specialised midfielders etc. All work better with the extra man in the middle.

Additional medium answer - For every formation there are counter formations. That’s why there’s no one formation that football has arrived at that supersedes all others.

What we're playing now means that we've got an additional body in midfield and *should* always mean they've got options, whether inside to another midfielder, back to the more defensively minded midfield or centre back, or up to striker or forwards. In defence, we should have an extra body to help press - which I think is meant to be Savage and a great use of his additional energy. It puts a lot of pressure on the striker, who has to do two roles, effectively. First, run the channels, holding the ball up where possible, putting pressure on the defence. Second, be in the right place for any crosses that do come in. It also can end up being very negative - if your forwards end up pushed back, you've lost any advantage you previously had and have crowded the centre of the pitch. There's no obvious ball, so often you push it long for someone, anyone, to run on to.

i.e. what we saw on Wednesday in the first half.

All formations have a weaknesses. Coppell's 4-4-2 really didn't work that well the previous season, with a few square pegs in round holes. Remember endless arguments about the usage of certain players - Forster couldn't work with a partner, Hughes was a wild card, I'd argue Harper and Sidwell were not quite mature enough to work as a central two, which necessitated another body in there.

[Sutekh]

Get fed up with the new fads and everyone copying someone else just because that someone else won something. Worst ever was the damn tedious tippi-tappi that everyone invested in suddenly in the late 00s, the remnants of which we have today with the execrable "must play out from the back at all costs" even when that means poncing about with opponents strikers right in your face.

[Extended-Phenotype]

People copy it because what ever “it” is, tends to be countered best (or simplest) by the same thing.

[Hound]

Blame Pep.

I actually preferred the old days to be honest with the 4-4-2 set ups, but progress…

[rabidbee]

If it’s all about having an extra man in the middle and overloading opposition centre-backs, we should revert to the old 2-3-5 formation.

[Millsy]

442 is football

Everything else is muggy bonehead.