Flexibility

[Tetteys Jig 830]

4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-1-4-1, 4-1-2-1-2 and even 4-3-3 can all comfortably be used now. There''s the difference compared to last year.

I''d imagine the 5 at the back to be staple, so for the final 6 positions, here we go:

4-2-3-1:

Jonno

Fer

Snoddy

Wes

Pilks

RVW

4-4-2

Snoddy

Fer

Howson

Redmond

Hooper

RVW

4-5-1

Bennett

Fer

Howson

Hoolahan

Redmond

RVW

4-1-2-1-2

Tettey

Johnno

Fer

Howson

Hooper

RVW

4-1-4-1

Fox

Snoddy

Fer

Howson

Redmond

RVW

4-3-3

Johnno

Tettey

Fer

Hooper

Becchio

RVW

Last season we were pretty much forced into 4-2-3-1 and didn''t have much on the bench to shake things up.

If we can build on that we''ll do really well!

[Salopian 1]

I''m sure a major emphasis of pre-season will be an attempt to assess different permutations, and try players in various positions. CH hinted that he had kept one or two players out of the third game because of the nature of the pitch. He is already thinking of situations where he may want to change the formation- perhaps Bennett E at right back if there is a very quick left winger in the opposing team.

 

He has all sorts of options, and we shall be able to judge how far he has out-thought opposing managers at times.

[Jack Flash 13]

Totally agree with the flexibility we now have, and looking at the options outlined above, do we actually need Quag or indeed any other expensive signing. Perhaps we could sit on the £10M or whatever is still in the pot, until January? I really like what we already have available.

[HampsteadCanary 0]

Really like the look of the 4-1-4-1, would love to see Fox, Fer and Howson linking - a good mixture of finesse, power and comfort on the ball, with good pace on the wings. Could be a winner, doubt we''ll see it though, as Hughton doesn''t seem to rate Fox that highly. As much as I love Tettey and Johnson for their industry and desire, being REALLY comfortable on with the football is quite important!

[pilksfanclub 0]

It is going to be 4-4-1-1. Even with Hooper as the one he would just play it differently. As even in a 4-4-2 you get split strikers as otherwise it doesn''t really work.

Not changing formation isn''t a huge problem. You expect tactical flexibility but that doesn''t have to come from changing formation.

[Brightside 0]

It''s great we''ve now got that flexibility. But it means nothing without sound tactics to accompany it. It was very frustrating at times last season when we clearly adopted negative tactics which didn''t utilise the strength of squad. It was also painful to watch substitutions kept to the last 10 mins when we were behind and desperately needed a different approach.

Now that we have the depth to play different formations I hope we are able to use this to our advantage now.

I would like to hope that we will now more often play the right formation for us and not to counter what other teams are doing.