I remember reading a few years ago that everyone knows how to play against 4-4-2. I don't. I may be taking the everybody too literally and maybe it meant all the top coaches or something, but just in case I'm not, I thought I might as well ask.

How do you play against 4-4-2?

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On 2022-11-01 05:13, Mark wrote:

I remember reading a few years ago that everyone knows how to play against 4-4-2. I don't. I may be taking the everybody too literally and maybe it meant all the top coaches or something, but just in case I'm not, I thought I might as well ask.

How do you play against 4-4-2?

One obvious way is to play a 4-4-2 as well, but with better players !

I have noticed a few managers reverting to 4-4-2 of late, including Klopp.

Some of the potential pitfalls of 4-4-2 when playing against eg. a 4-3-3
or a 3-5-2 or a 4-2-3-1 is that your two central midfielders can get overwhelmed and outnumbered by the opposing midfield. Also your
fullbacks can get tied up defending a bit too much and not get forward,
or when they do get forward end up stepping on the toes of the wide MF.
But none of those is an insurmountable problem if you have the right
players.

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On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 5:36:07 PM UTC, MH wrote:

On 2022-11-01 05:13, Mark wrote:

I remember reading a few years ago that everyone knows how to play against 4-4-2. I don't. I may be taking the everybody too literally and maybe it meant all the top coaches or something, but just in case I'm not, I thought I might as well ask.

How do you play against 4-4-2?

One obvious way is to play a 4-4-2 as well, but with better players !

I have noticed a few managers reverting to 4-4-2 of late, including Klopp.

Some of the potential pitfalls of 4-4-2 when playing against eg. a 4-3-3
or a 3-5-2 or a 4-2-3-1 is that your two central midfielders can get overwhelmed and outnumbered by the opposing midfield. Also your
fullbacks can get tied up defending a bit too much and not get forward,
or when they do get forward end up stepping on the toes of the wide MF.
But none of those is an insurmountable problem if you have the right
players.

I suppose the question is then, how do teams exploit those weaknesses?

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On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 1:13:25 PM UTC+2, Mark wrote:

I remember reading a few years ago that everyone knows how to play against 4-4-2. I don't. I may be taking the everybody too literally and maybe it meant all the top coaches or something, but just in case I'm not, I thought I might as well ask.

How do you play against 4-4-2?

M’ritser:

Axiomático, lest we forget! Everybody plays one and the same system:
1–10.

It started that way. Watch again that Netflix documentary: “The English Game”. Watch how they started the game back then. Ten field players facing ten field players at the center line. Looked a lot like rugby, a later incarnation of football.

A Scot footballer made the first alteration to the system. He placed two field players: one to the far left and one to the far right. The system struck like a bolt from the blue! The “working class” shocked the Etonians!

But if one wants to split hairs, there are TWO systems only, depending on who is the TOP DOG and who is the UNDERDOG.

You watch and study ANY match you will please. There is ALWAYS TOP DOG vs. UNDERDOG. No matter how you “Spin Doctor” it, a football match always reveals TWO systems — during the same match —

0 – 5 – 5 played by the Big Dog
5 – 5 – 0 played by the Underdog.

Just observe, axiomático! Big Dog plays with his Defenders at the Centerline. The Underdog crams his “Offence” at their 2-third line…

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On Friday, November 4, 2022 at 3:25:34 PM UTC, ions...@gmail.com wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 1:13:25 PM UTC+2, Mark wrote:

I remember reading a few years ago that everyone knows how to play against 4-4-2. I don't. I may be taking the everybody too literally and maybe it meant all the top coaches or something, but just in case I'm not, I thought I might as well ask.

How do you play against 4-4-2?

M’ritser:

Axiomático, lest we forget! Everybody plays one and the same system: 1–10.

Why are you so obsessed with axiomatics?

It started that way. Watch again that Netflix documentary: “The English Game”. Watch how they started the game back then. Ten field players facing ten field players at the center line. Looked a lot like rugby, a later incarnation of football.

A Scot footballer made the first alteration to the system. He placed two field players: one to the far left and one to the far right. The system struck like a bolt from the blue! The “working class” shocked the Etonians!

Not everybody plays 1-10 then.

But if one wants to split hairs, there are TWO systems only, depending on who is the TOP DOG and who is the UNDERDOG.

You watch and study ANY match you will please. There is ALWAYS TOP DOG vs. UNDERDOG. No matter how you “Spin Doctor” it, a football match always reveals TWO systems — during the same match —

0 – 5 – 5 played by the Big Dog
5 – 5 – 0 played by the Underdog.

Just observe, axiomático! Big Dog plays with his Defenders at the Centerline. The Underdog crams his “Offence” at their 2-third line…

What if it's 2 evenly matched teams, like Palmeiras v Flamengo?

Anyway, you've inspired me to do another post on how tactics have evolved. So please feel free to read that and let me educate you.

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