4-3-1-2 can be beautifully Red

4-3-1-2 is probably my favourite formation in football. It attacks with a dynamic purpose that is coupled with subtle creativity, whilst it defends with vigour to limit space and win the ball back quickly. Sir Alex Ferguson has now used this formation a couple of times recently in pre-season and in the league cup, and could be possibly looking to it as a future progression from United’s typical concentrated wide-play.

This diagram shows a basic outline of a 4-3-1-2 formation. In essence, the back four is a typical back four, except the full-backs are often required to be wing-backs in order to compensate for the lack of forward width in the formation. Often one of the three midfielders will be more defensive, acting as cover for the swashbuckling full-backs and as support for the centre-backs. The central midfield players are particularly important at prompting attacks quickly; because of the lesser wide threat in this formation it is important that the team attacks with speed and directness so that the opposition cannot simply block their path through the middle with clever positioning. The player behind the strikers is archetypally the creative hub of the team, but the midfielders behind him need to assume that creative role should the attacking midfielder be marked out of the game. The two strikers have to do a lot of running into the channels, often exploiting the width either side of them and also pushing the opposition defence around out of position so that the central midfield players have space to work in.

An example of this formation in terms of current Man United players would start with a standard back three combination, perhaps de Gea, Ferdinand and Vidic. The full-backs, for example Evra and Rafael, would be given even more license to push forward like they both already do well. The defensive midfielder could be the energetic Fletcher, or the excellent positional-wise Carrick, whilst the other two central midfielders could be the dynamic, complimentary Anderson and Cleverley. Attacking midfield could be adopted by the crafty Kagawa or the visionary Rooney, whilst the probing forwards full of running could easily be tasked to Welbeck, Hernandez or van Persie.

The primary benefit of this formation is that it would solve United’s main perceived weakness, that is the potency of the midfield. The emblematic successful style of play in today’s game is based around possession, as typified by the great Barcelona and Spain sides. A 4-3-1-2 requires good ball-playing midfielders who can keep possession for sustained periods. These players don’t need to be big and strong, because the main defensive play of the team comes through possession, positioning and pressing. Ferguson himself is clearly a fan of passing midfielders as shown by his trust in Scholes and Carrick, and his distinct lack of interest in buying a destroyer-type midfielder. United’s academy is also bringing through plenty of young talent that are very good technically without being dominating physically, the likes of Jesse Lingard, Tom Cleverley, Davide Petrucci and Larnell Cole for example. It certainly appears United are favouring a good technical, passing midfield, something that can be achieved through a 4-3-1-2 set-up.

The question that an adoption of 4-3-1-2 would raise is about United’s indoctrinated wing-play. United have always played a style with width, and currently Nani, Valencia and Young are all integral parts to the attacking play. Perhaps these players will soon leave the club. Perhaps Valencia may become a wing-back. Perhaps they would act as an alternative to the 4-3-1-2 system. Perhaps Ferguson would only use a 4-3-1-2 system after the era of his current wingers. One thing is certain though; a shift to 4-3-1-2 would see a dramatic transferral away from United’s ingrained wing-play, and there would be ramifications for the squad to go with that.

In summary, 4-3-1-2 at its best is fluid, effective and brilliantly dynamic to watch. United’s squad appears to be suited towards fitting into such a style, and it may be the future that Sir Alex Ferguson is moulding the team towards. I would love to see this style become beautifully Red. Would you?