"playing one striker is indefendsible"

anything but 4-5-1. as far as i am concerned 4-5-1 has one striker and
five midfielders and 4-3-3 has three strikers and three midfielders. so
very different. too many people are conned into thinking 4-5-1 and 4-3-3
are the same but its not so. playing one striker is indefendsible.

Try to look past the retarded language he wrote in. This is some guys opinion off a Hull forum.

Do you agree or disagree?


And, can someone tell me the last time Drogba, Anelka and Torres all started together? He tried using that as an argument but i'm sure it was tried last season and failed.

Depends. Some of the teams players on the wing will get back and defend when they don't have the ball. But will obviously get forward when they do.

That isn't down to the formation then, that's down to the players chosen to play.

in 433 the wide men would generally be more forward than the wide men in a 451.
I do think 451 is a defensive tactic in some ways, yes.

James wrote:That isn't down to the formation then, that's down to the players chosen to play.

Fairly valid point too...

Last season we played a lone striker in a 451/433/4231 formation for most games and we scored the most goals in the league. We did have Gradel, Snodgrass and Howson tearing defences apart as well though.

Imo a lone striker in a 451 is different to a lone striker in 433. In 451 the striker tends to be alot more subdued, and never really gets much support. But then again it depends on the team alot.

VivaRonaldo wrote:in 433 the wide men would generally be more forward than the wide men in a 451.
I do think 451 is a defensive tactic in some ways, yes.

But the thing is, just about every team with wide men play wingers. I don't know any team that really plays side midfielders that are asked to class defence more important that attacking. Players like Walcott who are wingers but often said they can play up front are still expected to track back.

coolhead33 wrote:Last season we played a lone striker in a 451/433/4231 formation for most games and we scored the most goals in the league. We did have Gradel, Snodgrass and Howson tearing defences apart as well though.

Might use that point when he argues back Swansea + Qpr also got promoted playing 1 striker formations.

Playing 4-5-1 and 4-3-3 isn't the same, but both formations use 1 out and out striker so he's point is stupid, although the role/purpose of the striker is different. Just ask him to name a side that plays 3 proper strikers, and yeah I think Chelsea tried it a couple times but it didn't work.

4-5-1 is more when the wide players track back more and is more defensive, and a 4-3-3 is more attacking.

Besides, nobody uses an out and out 4-5-1 much nowadays, unless it's to hold a lead or to purposely try and draw/not lose. It's normally 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.

James wrote:

VivaRonaldo wrote:in 433 the wide men would generally be more forward than the wide men in a 451.
I do think 451 is a defensive tactic in some ways, yes.

But the thing is, just about every team with wide men play wingers. I don't know any team that really plays side midfielders that are asked class defence more important that attacking. Players like Walcott who are wingers but often said they can play up front are still expected to track back.

Yeah thats why I agree with you when you said it depends on the players alot too.

James wrote:That isn't down to the formation then, that's down to the players chosen to play.

Yeah, it's down to what the manager wants them to play. Barca play 4-3-3 but you can't say Villa, Messi and Pedro don't do their bit defensively.

It's down to the players who are either playing in a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 i.e. the wide players.

Malouda can play in an attacking 4-3-3, or in a balanced 4-5-1.

Players of this calibre on the and in attacking positions move around, so ultimately it's about the quality and style of these players

In my opinion, a straight out 4-5-1 would be a normal back 4, but the wingers would be replaced by full backs. No one does that

I hate the term 451 unless it actually means a flat midfield 5 with 1 lone striker, I hate when people use it to describe 4231, 4411, 4141 etc, way too vague, so my idea of 451 are thw wide midfielders starting very deep, and having higher defensie responsibilties, like bale/lennon do for us, whereas in a 433 the wingers job is to cause damage in the final third, like Malouda/Anelka do for chelsea.

To sum it up, basically its down to the wide men and what job they do. 451 wide men would be more defensive, the wide men in a 433 are just to go at defenders and cause havoc.

4-5-1 is an unbeatable formation when we play it, but 4-3-3 we always struggle to win.

VivaRonaldo wrote:To sum it up, basically its down to the wide men and what job they do. 451 wide men would be more defensive, the wide men in a 433 are just to go at defenders and cause havoc.

Gradel and Snodgrass do both so it doesn't always work like that. One second Gradel is defending in his own box and the next he is taking on the other teams defence. Snodgrass does the same but isn't as fast.

4-3-3 becomes 4-5-1 when teams defend most of the time, and 4-5-1 quickly becomes 4-3-3 on the counter attack

Laurencio wrote:4-3-3 becomes 4-5-1 when teams defend most of the time, and 4-5-1 quickly becomes 4-3-3 on the counter attack

The formation doesn't change like that. That's like saying if a goalkeeper started dribbling past the whole team then the formation would be 443. It's a tactic and not a change of formation.

The 433/451 formation is probably the hardest to tell the difference between because of how much the wingers attack and defend.

When we got relegated last season we played 4-5-0 every game because Jerome doesnt count as a footballer to be honest

It depends on the players in the team. If you have three played regarded as strikers in a 4-3-3, you will certainly be seen as being a lot more attacking.

James wrote:In my opinion, a straight out 4-5-1 would be a normal back 4, but the wingers would be replaced by full backs. No one does that

That's how it traditionally is. The wide midfielders basically just play as attacking wing backs. Its a pretty uncommon formation but I'm sure people still use it. I don't know anyone who played a 4-3-3 with 3 strikers though