Staying ahead of the curve on tactics

There's been talk about LFC going 3 at the back for the first month of the season due to CB injuries and recovery. I think TAA and Robertson are disciplined enough because our 4-3-3 is in more or less the same tactical spirit as a 3 back line in that we rely on extreme width.

The more common implementation of the formation, however, is miserable to watch. I think the future of the game is wider and wider, but in more of that 4-3-3 mold. I can't stand how most teams run 3 CBs.

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I think this mostly revolves around what area of the pitch you want to exploit. As you mentioned, most fullbacks aren't disciplined enough to play wingback. Get in behind them, drag the CBs out wide, and open those channels.

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Yeah that's what I was alluding to. I think if you keep wingers high against it, you will naturally pull out the LCB and RCB. Which should open up space for the runs from midfield and create space for the striker.

I went to T-Joe's Soccer Intensive in Delcambre.

Personally, if they are using a holding mid in front of the back 3 you have to attack the wings to press their wing backs back and high press them. If you don't, their wing backs will overload the midfield and outnumber you.

If they are using b2b with no one sitting in front, I'd use 2 up top with an attacking mid right behind them. Use one of your forwards to drop deep almost like a False 9 to attempt to drag one or two of the CD's out of place and have your AMC make runs from deep into the space they were occupying. You could also run 2 up top and have them run the channels to drag the CD's out of place if the WB's are pressing too high up the pitch and have your CM's make runs from deep to hurt them with the space the left to cover the channel.

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With that said, I absolutely despise the 3 at the back revolution going on.

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i fully agree

4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 for life

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4-2-3-1

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How quickly this became popular and then dropped off is pretty fascinating to me

I know the traditional creative, attacking midfielder who’s not willing to put in defensive work is a thing of the past, but it still seems like more teams go with either a 4-3-3 instead or a 4-4-1-1 or something similar with a support striker instead.

I guess the differences are pretty minimal too seeing as how the formation can be fluid and use similar principles in how teams attack, but gone are the days of Mesut Ozil at the 10 and Miraslav Klose at the 9

I could be completely off base too because I’m not as adept tactically as y’all

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With that said, I absolutely despise the 3 at the back revolution going on. Some teams can do it and maintain an attractive style of play (Atalanta) but so many teams just use it as a defensive crutch and it's so boring to watch.

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Absolutely

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Being completely honest, I don't know how to coach it either. Not sure if it's just kids at the age I coach but they struggle with the concept of wingbacks, they either stay parked too far back or stay up as wingers. We tried it a couple of times and it just didn't work for me.

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I know nothing about coaching, although I've been looking to find a team to help. I do have some ideas about how to employ a 3 ATB system, but it needs really specific types of players.

The most important thing is spacing between the centerbacks, and what each needs to do in a few situations. The main two are what happens when a wide player can isolate a CB on either wing, or what happens when a player is free in zone 14. If you can drill the offshoots of these situations in a consistent manner, I think you can use the 3 at the back system to your advantage in terms of a purely defensive strategy. I have other ideas which I can elaborate on later.

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I'm hoping the 3 in the back dies out on the international stage, but I'm thinking we'll see it more in the youth ranks because of copy cats. So now the next challenge becomes, how do you attack it? On the youth level, I'm thinking 3 up top with 2 box to box midfielders making runs through the channels would cause some stress. Also pressing high on the center backs.

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The weakness of the 3 ATB system is always what to do with wide players. The massive advantage it does offer currently is to counteract the very popular 5 v 4 strategy Pep made famous, where the midfield would move the ball until an opening arose in the opposition, and you would have 5 players attacking each channel, usually versus 4 defensive players. I'm skeptical you can see any but the highest level teams actually implement that strategy at the youth level, but the 3 at the back system has arisen as a way of counteracting that, as many teams use versions of this system, even teams like England.

You can disrupt the system in other ways, like keeping one winger extremely high, so that your fullback is 1 v 1 versus their wingback, but the wingback now has to make a decision on whether to mark your winger, who doesn't drop that deep defensively, essentially negating the width advantage. In this situation, you will need a midfielder and a CB to work together to contain the opposition wide player, always working to ensure that there is a 3 v 2 advantage on that side of the field, while trying to play the wide player into space as soon as they win the ball.

I referee instead of coach but I have pondered this.

If I decided to coach, I’d run 3-5-2 as my base formation. I’d find 2 kids that can run all day as my wingbacks and 1 solid CDM. My other 2 in the midfield would be an 8 and a 10 with a pair of strikers up front.

IMO most transformational and radical tactical innovations have less to do with formations and more to do with high-pressing and quick-strike attacks, as analytics show that most goals come from shorter, quicker attacks and fewer come from long possessions and slow build ups.

Formations are really about opening passing lanes, maintaining defensive shape, and getting your best players on the field. Whatever formation optimizes those three things is the best one for your team, IMO.

Watching three in the back when teams are not using three CBs is such a disaster to watch.

Also no point in considering it unless you have legit wing backs