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Daniel Brigham

We need to talk about diamonds (latest blog)

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Neil Adams needs to find a system that gets the most out of his players - which means ditching the diamond. By Daniel BrighamAs first acts go, it seemed a good one. When

Neil Adams took over from Chris Hughton, his inaugural move was to

bring back the diamond. The change of system was welcomed by many. It

appeased divided camps: those who wanted two up top were happy and those

who wanted a midfield that could play between the lines were also

satisfied. Hey presto, Adams was a consolatory genius.Except it didn’t work. Against

Fulham it didn’t work because it had Bradley Johnson at the base of the

diamond and Nathan Redmond as one of the front two. 121 days later, in a

different division, it didn’t work against Wolverhampton Wanderers

because it had Johnson at the base of the diamond and Redmond as one of

the front two. It was like a motorbike stunt pyramid: too compact, too

slow, too precarious. As far as diamonds go, it’s a bit

Elizabeth Duke. It’s clear by now, however, that Adams is rather

attached to a diamond formation. While casting out last season’s

(alleged) naughty boys Seb Bassong and Anthony Pilkington, he has thrown

bouquets at Wes Hoolahan. He has made him feel loved and convinced him

that Norwich is more dreamhouse than sh*thouse. With Robert Snodgrass –

who played at the tip against Fulham – gone, keeping Hoolahan was vital

to making the diamond work. It is his preferred position, the hole in

which he fits most snugly. There is a problem, though. While

Adams has found a formation that might get the best out of Wes, he may

have done so to the detriment of the team.As Louis van Gaal is

so keen to emphasise, a system should aim to get the most out of the

collective strengths of the available players. Van Gaal has identifed

that Manchester United are weak in central defence and wooly in the

centre of midfield so he''s compensated by playing 3-5-2. Even Tony

Pulis, characterised as a lover of long balls while at Stoke, saw that

Crystal Palace''s best chance of staying up was by using their attacking

full backs and keeping it tight centrally rather than playing primarily

through the middle, as Ian Holloway had tried. Norwich’s key

strength is in its array of midfielders. Hoolahan, Jonny Howson, Andrew

Surman, Leroy Fer, Alex Tettey, Johnson, Nathan Redmond, Gary O’Neil,

Elliott Bennett and Josh Murphy is an eye-poppingly strong set of

midfielders for the Championship. Aside from some comedy passing (with

no need to mention names), it offers pace, power, guile and trickery. The

problem with the diamond is that it utilises only four of those 10

names which means, inevitably, that you will be leaving some of your

best players out. Even with departures – Fer likely, Tettey and Redmond

possible – Adams should be looking to build the team around our

midfield. How to do this?Well, the answer is obvious: A

2-7-1 formation, using our only two Premier League-quality defenders

Michael Turner and Martin Olsson, seven in the middle and either Lewis

Grabban or Kyle Lafferty up front. Easy. It even leaves Adams with some

midfielders on the bench.This, of course, is nonsense. We''ve already established that Hoolahan has to be in the hole, so 2-6-1-1 it is.I

suspect Adams may feel this leaves Norwich a tad short at the back so

let’s go with five in midfield. (Warning: here follows two paragraphs of

full-on Formation Bore). The increasingly fashionable 3-5-2 is a

possibility with Olsson (when he’s not flapping at referees) and,

perhaps, Elliott Bennett as wing backs but it would mean not getting the

best out of Redmond or, indeed Bennett. During the World Cup some

writers tried to claim that the preferred system of most Premier League

sides last season – 4-2-3-1 – was going out of fashion, using that claim

as a stick to beat Roy Hodgson with. They then had to watch Germany’s

band of marauders put seven past Brazil and go on to win the World Cup

using that very system (almost certainly, somewhere in Norfolk a Norwich

fan would have been bemoaning Germany for not playing two up top). It

is 4-2-3-1 that best suits the players at Adams’ disposal. It allows

two of Johnson, Tettey, O’Neil or even Fer and Howson to sit, while

Hoolahan or, indeed, Fer or Howson gets to play in the middle of the

three, with Surman, Redmond (who needs to be put back out wide),

Bennett, Murphy or even Grabban either side of him. It’s flexible, gives

Adams options, protects a wobbly defence better than the diamond,

allows them to play either narrow or with width and best utilises our

attacking players. There is a danger that we can go overboard

discussing formations. If you have 11 good players on the pitch – and

Norwich certainly have one of the strongest squads in the Championship –

then it shouldn’t matter how they’re lined up. Except, of course, it

does. Or we’d still be watching football with a rush goalkeeper and 10

players charging forward as a group.Rules are so arbitrary in

football – having a fixed goalkeeper, offside, throw-ins rather than

kick-ins – that, at some stage, a stuffy governing body could easily

have settled on a permanent formation that all teams had to play, like

table football – or rugby. If you can’t imagine how that would have

looked, then sit down to watch West Ham play under Sam Allardyce.We

should enjoy the cacophony of formations, revel in the different styles

of football that this affords the viewer. It is also why it’s vital

that a team finds a system that gets the most out of its players,

because you can bet that most opposition sides already have. Adams has

to settle quickly on one that works, or Norwich will quickly get left

behind. Daniel Brigham is features editor of The Cricketer magazine. He tweets at @cricketer_dan

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A well argued piece.I think that we will likely find occasions, due to injury or who we''re playing where 4-5-1 or 3-5-2 would serve us better, but I agree with the main thrust of the argument that our main strength is in midfield and we should use this area as a platform for attack and a shield for the defence.Who knows, if it led to a few clean sheets we might see a revival of confidence and form in the defence.

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Agreed about the diamond not working and also I think the 3-5-2 could work with our set of players. We don''t create much through our wingers anyway so having a strong base in midfield with hopefully Fer and Howson could be the answer.

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[quote user="Daniel Brigham"]It

is 4-2-3-1 that best suits the players at Adams’ disposal. It allows

two of Johnson, Tettey, O’Neil or even Fer and Howson to sit, while

Hoolahan or, indeed, Fer or Howson gets to play in the middle of the

three, with Surman, Redmond (who needs to be put back out wide),

Bennett, Murphy or even Grabban either side of him. It’s flexible, gives

Adams options, protects a wobbly defence better than the diamond,

allows them to play either narrow or with width and best utilises our

attacking players.

[/quote]Exactly what I have been banging on about for weeks now.  A solid enough back four protected by Johnson and Tettey, who in turn can play short and simple passes into either Grabban, Bennett or Redmond, who in turn can look to link up with each other and Lafferty as the lone striker. You can interchange the names "Hoolahan" and "O''Neil" and whomever else we have available at will, but the principle is the same.

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It seems Adams dumped the diamond. If so he has just passed the first real test of his full-time managerial career. It shows character to scrap a system you have put so much faith in.

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[quote user="PurpleCanary"]It seems Adams dumped the diamond. If so he has just passed the first real test of his full-time managerial career. It shows character to scrap a system you have put so much faith in.
[/quote]

 

Just as quickly as Louis van Gaal will dump his formation no doubt.

It''s back to the drawing board for you Daniel. [:D]

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