Roberto
Mancini attempts to strengthen the team other than signing players in the
market. Every club is keen in the search for improvement, regardless of their
ambition –defending a title, contending a trophy, aiming for European
competitions, or avoiding relegation. Every single way is exhausted to build an
even more competitive team.
Having
already owned one of the best squads in Europe, Roberto Mancini has not failed
to motivate himself in further strengthening the team. Conquering Europe is
their next target, however hard the challenge lies ahead, after drawing into a
group with a combined 14 Champions League trophies.
It
was not the best transfer window Manchester City have gone through, when they
were more successful in parting away with fringe players rather than bringing
in assets. They hit the rocks as other clubs often pushed for ridiculous
transfer fees from their lucrative owner. Also, Mancini’s shortlist would be
full of players who are labelled as “untouchable”.
Amid
the frustration, Mancini managed to pull the tactical talents out of his bag.
Perhaps inspired by the success of his home country in Euro 2012, the Italian
attempted to develop a plan B by introducing the 3-4-1-2 formation to Etihad
Stadium.
Manchester
City played a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-2 formation last season and was unarguably one
of the most effective tactics in the league, thanks to their midfield blend of
attacking flair and defensive awareness, particularly the all-rounded Yaya
Toure, the invaluable cornerstone who has a strong presence at both ends of the
field.
Nevertheless,
in the Linesman’s view, there is no invincible tactics. Not once have we seen
Manchester City struggle against weaker teams who crowd the backyard to make
City’s life hard. On the day when killer passes and final touches are missing,
for instance the final day of last season, they are in desperate need of an
alternative game plan.
The
reason of their struggle is the lack of width. City’s rival Manchester United
uses a similar 4-2-3-1 formation, but they field typical wingers like Valencia,
Nani and Ashley Young, in contrast to David Silva and Samir Nasri, who seldom
hug the touchline. Threats from the flanks originate from fullbacks'
overlapping, but they are not completely liberalised, given the weak presence
in defence by their wide attacking midfielders.
3-4-1-2
appears to be an appealing solution to the problem. City is no short of
attacking fullbacks, with Kolarov and Clichy on the left, Micah Richards,
Zabaleta, and new signing Maicon on the right. An extra defender at the back
grants them more freedom to surge forward. Meanwhile, it is of no compromise to
the quality of midfield. Two holding midfielders and a creative playmaker is a
solid combination that is capable of controlling the game tempo and creating
chances. The formation may sacrifice the playing time for either David Silva or
Samir Nasri, although a 3-4-2-1 formation could allocate both as the two behind
a lone striker.
While
the midfield remains superior, the defence, an area Manchester City has been
most proud of, has surprisingly become a massive issue. Firstly, they just
couldn’t find their third reliable centreback after Vincent Kompany and Johan
Lescott. Stefan Savic proves to be too raw for Premier League and has already
found his way out in order to welcome young Serbian Matija Nastasic, who is not
expected to be in the picture very soon. Kolo Toure is not Mancini’s cup of
tea, while Micah Richards demonstrates he is more comfortable playing at right
back. Mancini’s experiment of slotting Zabaleta and Gael Clichy at centreback
shows he is in fact desperately running low in as well as misplacing resources.
Secondly,
neither of those players has regularly, or ever, played in a 3 defenders system
before. Dissimilar to Italians, Germans and Argentines, a backline of 4 is a
common practice in England, where Lescott, Kolo Toure and Clichy spent most of
the time of their careers in. When attacks come from the sides, confusion and
hesitation arise that defenders are uncertain whether they should press the
wide attackers. Inserting a fullback among the three could help the situation,
but simultaneously become a risk when they are not ordinary centrebacks.
Unfortunately, the lack of positioning and coordination in a 3-defender system
can only be resolved by rigorous real match practice, only if Mancini dares to
risk the formation more frequently.
When
attack starts from flanks, ideally there should be a target for the flankers to
aim at. Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero are both of world-class calibre, but the
two Argentines are not the biggest strikers in the world. When longs balls are
seldom played, they work well in a 4-2-2-2 formation. The presence of Yaya
Toure also compensates the lack of physicality between the two Argentines.
However, when Yaya Toure is required to be sitting deeper in a 3 defenders
system, nobody has the height or the instinct to meet the crosses. Tonnes of
quality crosses, particularly from Kolarov, were left unconverted in Charity
Shield, also at Anfield. Edin Dzeko, one of their most efficient goalscorers,
possesses the physicality they need in the box. He could be the key to help
Mancini get the most out of the 3-4-1-2 formation.
There
are always more upsides than downsides for having an alternative formation in
the tactics book, especially of the squad of Manchester City. The versatility
of the players, for example Zabaleta and James Milner, even enables them to
make in-game changes in formation. The first step is always painful, as how Sir
Alex Ferguson suffered in 2001 with the 4-4-1-1 formation. Having already got
the assets, persistence and patience are what Roberto Mancini needs now to
fine-tune the system, which he may bank on through the journey as the reigning
Premier League champion.
By The Linesman
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