4-5-1 / 4-3-3

Standish, without wishing to be offensive, I think you’re only seeing what you want to see in that article.

Yes Curbishley states that it “can” be an attacking formation but he also states that its use is “pragmatic” and that managers use it when they’re “facing one of the top teams and not want to get walloped” or they’re “on a losing run that he wants to end”. Not only that but he states “Newly promoted sides often play 4-5-1 as a way of reducing their chances of losing”.

All of which indicate that it can (and is) used as a very drab, game strangling formation just as much as it can be used as an attacking formation.

What I would also say is that all the examples he uses of it as an attacking formation are using top teams i.e. Chelsea, Arsenal, Man U, Portugal & there to me lies the problem with Bobby trying it here. A top team will have far more possession & is able to do far better things with the ball than a relegation fighting team which means they spend far more time with the ball in attacking areas of the pitch, which in turn means that the formation far more than not is 4-3-3 by virtue of where on the pitch they have the most possession.
Switch that to Latics or any other relegation fighting side & those teams spend far more of their time defending meaning when they do get the ball to build an attack they have to hit the front man early & rely on people getting up in support quickly.
As a result you need a good target/ball holding player to keep hold of the ball until others can be brought into play. We don’t have that as neither Scotland or Moreno (from what little I’ve seen of him) look good enough & Rodallega just aint that sort of player.
Not only that, but Bobby is trying to get them to “play out” from the back & we are up against far superior opposition most of the time to be able to do that with the players we have or against teams that just hound our players so they have to resort to a hoof & the ball comes straight back at em
If you haven’t got high quality players then 4-5-1 becomes a very defensive formation as it isolates your front man & (if you play it with left footers on teh right etc..) it doesn’t give you the ability to get in behind teams & stretch their defence
We also have 2 wide men who aren’t the greatest at tracking back & never will be so it doesn’t even give us the defensive stability that 4-5-1 should provide

All of that is why I see 4-5-1 as a defensive formation when its used at Latics. It was when Jewell used it. It was when Bruce used it & it is now Martinez is using it. I’ve said numerous times before its only attacking when used by the top teams

“Martinez has made it work at Swansea. Perhaps therefore it is a lack of quality in the squad that is to blame” – he was able to make it work at Swansea coz you don’t have the vast difference in quality between the top & bottom teams in the lower divisions that Latics are up against & you get far more even games
We will always have that lack of quality in the squad in this division by virtue of the size of club we are & our spending power relative to many others, so to try & “out-football” some of the best teams in Europe with lower quality players is suicide IMO.
Just as its suicide to continue to persevere with it when its clear to anyone with any ounce of sense that we don’t have the quality of players to play that way

I think we are fine fitness wise, Whelan made a nice saving by getting shut of the fitness coach and instead gets Brenda to run a “bums & tums” class for the players on a Thursday afternoon

I like playing with 8 outfield players too. Works really well. Can’t wait til Martinez does this.

Different point.. To whoever was in the discussion regarding the question ‘Do we have a fitness trainer?’… Of course we do, I have no knowledge or anything but, we are a professional football club we MUSt have somebody there doing fitness training. :shock: