4-4-2 or 4-5-1 in the Championship?

[Tring Wolf]

I've read on a lot of threads recently that we need to 'move with the times' and 'evolve' as a team, which led me to think about which formation would best suit us in the Championship.

Looking at the top two in the Championship this year, both Reading and Southampton play a very organised and disciplined 4-4-2 with a physical 'battering ram' striker up front (Roberts/Lambert) accompanied by a lively poacher (Sharp/Hunt or Le Fondre).

The same formation also seems to have worked in recent years for Norwich (Holt and Jackson), Newcastle (Carroll and Best/Lovenkrands) and us (Iwelumo/SEB). Even going as far back as Wigan, they also got promoted playing 4-4-2 with Roberts and Ellington up top. And in the cases of Newcastle and Norwich, both of them have subsequently fared extremely well through sticking with 4-4-2 in the Premier League.

Obviously the formation we use will be decided by the new Manager and dictated to some extent by who stays and who leaves, but if Fletcher and Ebanks-Blake are both still with us next year, I would lean towards playing them together in a 4-4-2 (supported by two wingers), where I think each would score close to 20 goals. And any side who has two strikers doing that will always be in and around the automatic promotion positions.

I'd be interested as to whether other posters feel that we should stick to playing 4-4-2 or if we should be looking to evolve to a more fluid system like 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1.

Over to you guys...

 

[Bostin]

4-4-2 is a better formation for the championship, but whatever system we employ we need to be taking up to the Premiership instead of starting afresh when we get there. I'm not so sure 4-4-2 would work in the PL, so we should perfect 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1.

Guedioura has played very well in the defensive role for Forest, I wouldn't mind seeing a front 6 of:

Gued - Henry

Kightly - O'Hara - Jarvis

Striker

 

[Arcadius]

I think 4 2 3 1 is the way forward, and played is extensively these days. With Henry and Davis holding, I think it could work well for us!

 

[WalsallWolf]

You see it is these kind of assumptions which somewhat concern me. Whether we like it or not, traditionally, Wolves are a very up and at um, get out to the wings, high tempo styled football club with two big centre forwards and two wingers hugging the touchline. This is something which is very much in the ethos of the club and I don’t believe this Swansea-esque football some are touting would either work or be allowed to work.

Does anyone remember the Mark McGhee days? Or if not that let me bring you more recent, the dreaded, Glenn Hoddle days? It never sticked with Wolves fans, yes there were some games when it paid off to a tee, it was beautiful when it clicked but that was the problem because to play that style of football there is going to be games where it is a case of the opposition sticking 10 men behind the ball (certainly for next season) and having to revert to a very slow, patient build up - I don’t think that is possible at Wolves and can be implemented with the impatience of the Molineux crowd. See Gerard Houlliers time at Villa for a similar comparison, it just didn’t sit after the football Martin O’Neill played which is also very similar to what we have been brought up on and like to see.

Of course, this is all my opinion and leads me to go on to say for this reason I think Lee Clark, Sam Allardyce or Walter Smith would be brilliant choices for the Wolves manager - there styles fit Wolves down to a tee in my view.

I don’t really want to see tippy tappy football down the Wolves, like myself and others it’s not what we have been brought up on - I want to see up and at them midfielders stretching the ball out wide to the flanks and playing at a high tempo.

 

[PureGold]

4-3-3 for me, with Fletcher down the middle and Jarvis/Kightly/Hammil occupying the two wider positions switching throughout the game. Even though Jarvis is one of my favourite players I think Hammil would be more suited to this formation along with Kightly as both of them have goals in them, so unless Jarvis starts finding the net I'd use him more as an impact player or just for work rate uses in tougher games.

Henry, Davis/Gued & one new signing to play in a midfield three.

Foley, Stearman and two new signings in defence, preferably two players who can keep the ball on the ball.

Players I'd be looking to offload would be: Doyle(even though I love him), RJ, Milijas, Hunt, Elokobi, Edwards and O'hara.

Give Batth a good run in the team, bring forde through for sub appearances and let them develop. We need to develop our players and play them into a new system.

 

[Woffles]

I want to see up and at them midfielders stretching the ball out wide to the flanks and playing at a high tempo.

You probably need a time machine then. That's exactly what McCarthy kept trying - at best we clung on after a season long battle with relegation - at worst we fell apart and were relegated without a whimper.

442 with 2 wingers has been sussed - any opposition put 3 in centre midfield and you're overrun (see Albion game for horrific evidence of this). If your wingers are causing a threat then they just double mark them, threat gone, job done.

 

[WalsallWolf]

You probably need a time machine then. That's exactly what McCarthy kept trying - at best we clung on after a season long battle with relegation - at worst we fell apart and were relegated without a whimper.

442 with 2 wingers has been sussed - any opposition put 3 in centre midfield and you're overrun (see Albion game for horrific evidence of this). If your wingers are causing a threat then they just double mark them, threat gone, job done.

I wasnt necessarily hinting at 442. This can be achieved with a 451 or a 4231 and probably to better effect.

 

[MacTrizzle]

We should be addapatable as a team.

442 the majaroty of the time and 451 when we need that extra man in midfield or for a tough away game.

 

[Woffles]

That can certainly work better - but it can still be sussed if there's too much reliance on using the wings as the only attacking outlet - which I really think was Mick's downfall.

Without necessarily turning into Swansea, I still think we'll do a lot better, and stand a much better chance of becoming an established Premiership team if we can develop into a team where players are comfortable with the ball, adept and passing and moving and can pass through midfield.

 

[andyc225]

I'd like to see some rotation between Karl and Davis, Hollywood/Gued/Ned in the middle. We're well stocked for talented wingers, and if Jarvo leaves the building we've got Zeli wasting his time in the reserves. Kights seems to want to stay, so if we can build Anthony Forde in with a few cameos things should work out pretty well.

 

[dane]

We should be addapatable as a team.

442 the majaroty of the time and 451 when we need that extra man in midfield or for a tough away game.

This for me, although I'd prefer us to favour the 433/451, switching to 442 against teams who come to Molineux and park the bus.

Above all though I want a tactically astute manager, one who can read the game and make changes accordingly rather than the last clownshoes we had who made changes for the sake of making a change and hoping it works.

 

[Phitsanulok (Poole) Wolf]

There's 4-4-2 and there's 4-4-2. What I think is that we should have the option of playing with and without wingers. Diamonds, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-2 etc.. Mick farmed out all the type of midfield players suited to this degree of flexibility with monotonous regularity, Mark Davies, Andrew Surman and now Guedioura. Milijas was in then out then in again, he could never make up his mind. Without wingers fullbacks can provide the width and we can play with two up front. The current squad is very inflexible at both Championship and Premier livels. I feel we have to lose one of Fletcher or Doyle and get one or two standard up and down midfieders who are effective in different formations. David Edwards has had that role to date and has been found wanting at both tiers. We also need pace up front, not just out wide.

To sum up:
A better more flexible midfield
Pace up front (Jarvis anyone?)
Proper fullbacks who can attack
A physically strong striker
A physically strong central defender


the rest will probably