Wigan stay up after a switch to 3-4-3
The surprise package in the second half of Premier League season was the only side who switched to a back three on a permanent basis.
Background
It seems odd to trace Roberto Martinez’s successful experiment with a three-man defence back to an eight-goal defeat, but that’s where we’re going to start. On the final day of the 2009/10 season, Wigan travelled to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea needed a win to make sure of the Premier League title. Chelsea won 8-0.
Wigan's formation v Arsenal away (2-1 win)
But that didn’t quite tell the story of the match. For the first half hour, Wigan actually dominated. They played an unusual 3-3-1-3ish formation, with Martinez taking the opportunity to experiment at a stage when Wigan had nothing to play for. They conceded an early goal, a slightly fortunate Nicolas Anelka strike following a set-piece – but from then on they were the better side for a good 20-minute spell. Chelsea, who were relentless and powerful at that point – but actually lacking in shape and discipline – found it very difficult to cope with the fact Wigan were playing three players in very wide positions with the ball, and by stretching the play as wide as possible, Wigan dominated possession.
What went wrong? Well, Wigan went down to ten men. Gary Caldwell was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, and Wigan could no longer play with their brave starting formation. The entire point of them playing that match was no longer there, and they ended up losing the second half 6-0 with a ramshackle formation and a half-hearted attitude.
An interesting feature of Martinez’s post-match press conferences is his insistence on looking at a short, 10-15 minute spell when Wigan were the better side – even if it was at the end of a heavy defeat – and taking positives from it. That probably won’t be possible if Martinez moves to a bigger club, as the latest sports betting odds indicate is quite likely. At one stage this season, his confidence that these spells could be replicated over the course of 90 minutes bordered on the insane, considering his side was playing terribly for the majority of games. But this tendency to look beyond the result and see patterns of play in a set period of time is very interesting, especially when looking back at this fine first half performance (with eleven players) in an eight-goal thrashing.
Return to three at the back
Martinez returned to the three-man defence on the 11th February this year, for the home game with Bolton. Before that, Wigan had picked up 16 points from 24 games. From then, they won 27 points from 14 games. The turnaround was extraordinary, and while Wigan have made late comebacks something of a habit, their formation clearly played a crucial part in this season’s turnaround.
Formation v Newcastle at home (4-0 win)
Here are Martinez’s thoughts on the 3-4-3:
“When you play a 4-3-3, you rely a lot on the full-backs to get high up the pitch. You shouldn’t look at a system as away to win a football match, it is the players that play the system. Maynor [Figueroa], Gary [Caldwell] and Antolin [Alcaraz] have been so solid with a back three, and it allows [other] players to be high up the pitch, like the wing-backs. They aren’t full-backs that need to get deep and then forward to give us an extra man, they are in positions where they can do both a little bit better, and we can be a little bit more solid.
“The difference is the width that we get…before, we had to compromise a little bit, when you want to be very attack-minded, the full-backs have to push on, so you leave two players at the back. Now you’re still pushing the wing-backs on, but you’ve still got three players at the back, plus probably a midfielder. In the West Brom game, as Paul Scharner will tell you, we were attacking with seven, eight, nine players and they were surprised it, and that’s what the system gives you, without being weak at the back.
“It suits our players. When you’ve got a Jean Beausejour who is a specialist in that position, you take advantage of that. The back three gives you that. Then there’s the energy we’ve got in midfield, players who can play between lines like Shaun Maloney and Jordi Gomez. It’s so difficult to play against…there’s a few clubs playing it around Europe now, Napoli are one: they play it with Cavani, Hamsik and Lavezzi…this is the advantage of this system – it goes where the danger is…it’s not in defensive lines, it’s not working as a unit of four, it’s not man-marking.”
Back three characteristics
The most interesting part of the formation is, naturally, the back three. Other Premier League sides have experimented with a back three, but generally only in one-off games, and often for defensive reasons.
Martinez has been more committed to the shape, and it’s been interesting how ‘logical’ the statistics of his three centre-backs have been – Antolin Alcaraz, the right-sided centre-back, and the left-sided Maynor Figueroa, play as the ‘proactive’ defenders, happy to track a man, and willing to come up into midfield to make an interception. Gary Caldwell, who plays in the centre of the three, is effectively the spare man and does the dirty work in the penalty box.
Therefore, using the statistics in this piece for WhoScored, there is a big difference between the performance of the ‘outside’ centre-backs, and Caldwell. See the figures for tackling and intercepting, compared to clearances, blocks and aerial duels won:
These statistics take into account a period when Wigan played a back four, with Alcaraz a centre-back and Figueroa a left-back. But, regardless, the separation of duties works very naturally.
Defensive version
The interesting thing about the shape is that Martinez has made it work in two very different guises. There is the extremely defensive, counter-attacking shape (that is effectively more like 5-4-1, with the wide players dropping back a line), that Wigan played in the 2-1 win at Arsenal. That’s not unnatural – at the last World Cup, for example, we saw the usefulness of a three/five-man defence for minnows against stronger sides – if you’re going to sit deep in your own third of the pitch and not compete in an open game, the ‘formation battle’ isn’t so crucial. Instead, if you’re focusing on getting men behind the ball, you may as well employ an extra centre-back to deal with aerial balls into the box.
In the Arsenal game, Wigan sat very deep in front of their own penalty area. They had a 3 v 1 against Robin van Persie, and one of the centre-backs, usually Figueroa, would follow him into deep positions. Caldwell would shuffle across, Wigan would defend with a 2 v 0, with no Arsenal player looking to make a run into Figueroa’s space. The wing-backs became permanent full-backs and picked up the Arsenal wingers, while the wingers dropped back and tracked the Arsenal full-backs.
The interesting player was Victor Moses – although he generally stayed goalside of Bacary Sagna, he sprinted past the Frenchman as soon as possession was won, always providing the out-ball and launching Wigan breaks. The only ‘problem’ for Wigan was in the midfield, where they had a 2 v 3, but since they weren’t looking to have possession, this wasn’t a huge problem. James McArthur and James McCarthy picked up Arsenal’s two more attacking midfielders, while Franco Di Santo dropped back to become an extra midfielder, pressuring Alex Song.
Attacking version
Against Newcastle it was more attacking. Newcastle were playing a 4-3-3 shape, so Wigan only had 3 v 3 at the back. Faced with either playing 5 v 3 with the wing-backs dropping deep, or 3 v 3 with them pushing on, they went for the brave option. With Alan Pardew’s side looking to play quite a reactive game and letting Wigan have the ball, Martinez instructed his wing-backs to get forward and create 2 v 1 situations with the wingers down the flanks – Newcastle were caught understaffed at the back, conceding two goals in the opening 15 minutes.
The most interesting feature of the play, and a small example that sums up the benefit of the 3-4-3 shape, was that Newcastle didn’t know how to press the 3-4-3 with their 4-3-3. The problem was this – Ali Al-Habsi would look to play the ball out to his three centre-backs, so Wigan could get the ball down and play. Newcastle wanted to stop them building from the back, so Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba in the wide positions looked to close down Wigan’s ‘outside’ centre-backs. But this then left the Wigan wing-backs free, and Al-Habsi could knock balls out to the flank, where the wing-backs would then move forward to create those 2 v 1 situations. If the Newcastle full-backs came out to the Wigan wing-backs, then the Wigan wingers would be free.
Newcastle were unable to press Wigan's 3-4-3 with a 4-3-3
Newcastle’s spare man was in the centre of midfield, and they could have been cleverer with how the three shifted across the pitch to close down the Wigan wing-backs, but they still would have been vulnerable to quick balls out to the flanks anyway. In the end, Pardew decided the only way Newcastle could press Wigan (at 2-0 down, and needing the ball) was to switch to a 3-4-3 himself. Newcastle hadn’t played that way before, and haven’t played that way since. Martinez had forced the overachievers of the season to play in an alien way, and that in itself was a victory.
Flexibility
Martinez has also shown great ability to vary the shape within games, able to play 4-3-3 or 3-4-3. Emmerson Boyce can play right-wing-back or right-back, Maynor Figueroa can play left-centre-back or left-wing-back, Jean Beausejour can play left-wing-back or left midfield. “At Anfield we played the two separate systems,” says Martinez. “And no-one would have been able to see the difference [in terms of standard of play].”
When asked if he thinks a sweeper should always play behind two other centre-backs in a back three, Martinez says, “If you play against a front two, you can do that. But if you play against a one and a one, then the sweeper plays in front, because obviously you can’t be three-versus-one at the back.”
Individuals have played their part. Moses’ rise into a top-level player has been crucial, Figueroa’s passing ability means he’s almost been like an extra midfielder when needed, and the signing of Jean Beausejour is one of the underrated transfer decisions of the season. He’s a natural crosser, knows this (rough) system well having been a wing-back in Marcelo Bielsa’s Chile side, and has provided more assists than any other Wigan played despite only joining in January.
But the key has been the system, and the manager who implemented it. Amongst more in-depth tactical analysis of the 3-4-3, there’s a lot to be said for simply ‘doing something different’ if you’re a weaker side in a league – give the opposition a new challenge, make them uncomfortable and ideally make them change, as Newcastle were forced to.
“In a year’s time, there will be a lot of teams playing a 3-4-3, believe me,” Martinez says. “And we’ll have to be able to change, to adapt to it. And that is why it’s so important that players are flexible tactically.”
Links: Wigan and Napoli – This Northern Soul, a Wigan blog
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Vintage stuff.
Agreed. Thanks for an excellent read.
Excellent read, Wigan’s display towards the end of the season was quite spectacular
Brilliant article. Martinez needs to be given much more credit, I think he’s cleverer than his performances at Wigan suggest.
I agree, one of the best managers around in the premier league. I wonder if Liverpool will go in for him, he would do a good job I think.
Hats off to Martinez. For most of the season he sounded like a starry-eyed optimist and then, kazam!, he was proved right. In spite of two dreadful offside decisions at Chelsea, the players continued to play the way he wanted; they certainly earned their success.
Would it work well with Coates-Skrtl-Agger?
I don’t see why not,Skrtel and Agger both have decent pace.Coates is pretty slow but he’s a good defender.Enrique and Glen Johnson are both potentially good wing backs.If we wanted to play this way we would need 2 new signings.
—–Coates—Sktrel—Agger
GJ————————Enrique
——-Lucas——-New CM*
Suarez——————–New winger
————-Carroll
Gerrard is finished as a top level player,he could be more of a squad player.We could get a new CM for around 15 million who has to be very comfortable passing the ball forward and keeping possession.
I’ve previously thought about Liverpool playing with a back 3, as I think that Johnson would be liberated offensively if he was used as a wing back and the club have not had top-notch wide players for some time. I had pictured Skrtel and Coates vying for the central defensive role, with Carragher/Kelly and Agger in the wider positions, but that was before Skrtel had a belter of a season. So maybe:
Reina; Carragher/Kelly, Skrtel/Coates, Agger; Johnson, Lucas, Adam?, Enrique/Downing; Gerrard (in the Hamsik role, but also able to sling crosses into the box from wide), Suarez; Carroll
Biggest issue, imo, is Enrique would be terrible as a wingback. He’s great defensively, but so so bad on the ball.
Generously worded sentence on Caldwell “doing the dirty work in the box.” Any time I’ve seen him, he’s scored an own goal, given away a penalty or got sent off (or all 3.)
Maloney’s also played a big part in the run-in. He was injured a lot at the beginning of the season, but has done well for the last few months. He was always a very talented player at Celtic but struggled with injuries. He’s less likely to get as many bad challenges in the EPL so if he could stay fit for the whole of next season he could be a big player for Wigan.
Very interesting formation and good insight.
I’ve often thought Man United would be good playing 3-4-3. With a fully fit side, Evans (or Jones) and Smalling can flank Vidic at the back, Valencia right wing-back, Evra left wing-back, Fletcher’s energy alongside Carrick’s calmness in the middle, Rooney joined up front by two of Young, Nani and Welbeck in the wide areas.
I remember the FA cup game against Arsenal in 2010/2011 the da silva twins played as wingers on either side and turned in solid performances. I’d say a wing back system would play to their strengths of carrying the ball and linking up with a more forward player all with a slightly more defensive mind set.
It would also keep them a bit more forward up the pitch and and limit their opportunity to do their crazy lunges at players..!
Thank you Mr. Cox, this is fantastic. 3313 is so good to watch, glad Beausejour’s doing well, and Moses intrigues me, but I think that your “doing something different” point and Martinez’s “adaptability” point really hit the mark here.
Great piece again ZM, very interesting read. Can I ask what your thoughts are on Martinez to Liverpool rumours (or any top club for that matter). For me, he plays the game the right way, and his management abilities could be “scaled up” to a bigger club, with better players. For example he is tactically flexible, presses, and uses possession intelligently. This is opposed to the “typical British” managers that organise teams, or play percentage football like an Allardyce, Pulis or Hodgson?
Another team to look into is Juventus who have shifted from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 to 3-5-2, where Conte has truly come to define tactical flexibility. Against teams playing with 3 at the back he has started with a 3-5-2 system especially in the second half of the season and Juventus has dominated the games with only 1 draw in the last 9-10 games. Watching the RWB and LWB bombing up the field is a joy to watch.
The tactical flexibility of Juventus will be something to watch out for in next season’s CL.
There have been a few Juve write-ups that cover the evolution of Juve’s formation. Where Juve use the formations to protect for Pirlo and provide options for him; Wigan use it more like Bielsa would to provide width, but dropping off quickly.
Roberto Martinez was a revelation among ESPN’s poor commentary team during Euro08 and WC10. Smart coaches aren’t always good at their job, but made me wonder why Wigan did not look better.
Celtic spent the last few weeks after they officially clinched the SPL in a 3-4-1-2 and I think it is what they are going to use for their CL qualification matches this summer. In an away match though I am sure it will turn into five defenders against three attackers, so I am nervous about using that as their big match formation.
I really hope not. It worked against Rangers, due to a very good understanding with the outside centre-backs and full-backs knowing when to track the wide-player and Samaras and Commons knowing when to track back. Even then, Rangers were starting to improve as the game went on. A better team (i.e. one with proper width and not playing a converted defensive midfielder as a target-man) is more likely to expose it.
Hopefully, Lennon reverts to the formations which served us fairly well in the Europa League this season – 4-2-3-1 or, more likely, 4-3-3 (with Forrest and Samaras flanking one of Hooper or – if he is unavailable – Stokes.)
I agree with you that those are the formations I would like to see, but don’t think we will. Lennon doesn’t like dropping Hooper and seems to never play him as a lone striker, so I am expecting lopsided 4-4-2, diamond midfield, or the recent 3-4-1-2. Considering that he almost exclusively went with the 3-4-1-2 after they clinched that is what I am expecting.
Another great article by the best football site out there. I am a big admirer of Martinez and the strength of character he and his team hold to continue to play the passing game while under so much pressure from the opposition’s team as well as their own fans. Of course, against the stronger sides, this 3-4-3 tactic turns into more of a 5-2-3 which helps them out predominately against teams who play two up top as you always have the two strikers tightly marked, with a spare man to sweep up.
“When asked if he thinks a sweeper should always play behind two other centre-backs in a back three, Martinez says, “If you play against a front two, you can do that. But if you play against a one and a one, then the sweeper plays in front, because obviously you can’t be three-versus-one at the back.””
Please tell me what’s the difference between playing 433 with one holder and playing 343 with sweeper playing in front?
The use of full backs in the 4-3-3 vs. wing backs in the 3-4-3 is perhaps the biggest difference. Full backs will generally have more defensive responsibility and less license to move forward. Of course, there is quite a bit of fluidity between the two; for example, Barcelona switch between the two regularly (even within games).
Let’s compare it to 4-3-3 Bilbao. Two full backs high up, and Iturraspe drops just in front of centre backs. Isn’t it just the same as wing backs + sweeper in front? What’s the difference now?:)
P.S. whats the genesis of your nickname?
It’s 2-1 rather than 1-2. Also, the starting position. Bloody obvious.
Continuing with Bilbao, it is 2-1 as well. Starting postition…does it even matter?
I’d say there is no difference in shape and duties when defending. The difference would be in attack. The duties of the wingbacks and the sweeper in 3-4-3 would be slightly different than the duties of the fullbacks and the defensive midfielder in the 4-3-3.
3-4-3 would probably look to play wider, and use the advancing wingbacks to build up the play, whereas the fullbacks in the 4-3-3 would be more cautious, and there would be more attacking/passing responsibility on the holder.
that’s make more sense for me
Interesting you should post this ZM! A very good piece and Martinez comes out of it with a lot of credit, I do rate him as a manager and I believe he has done a decent job in keeping Wigan up.
The thing that grinds my gears about Martinez however is the complete and utter hype that surrounds him, I understand to some point that it is media driven, but it drives me bananas. When people say “He will manage a top european club at some point” or “He has done a brilliant job at Wigan”. We’re talking about a manager who is in command of a team that has been on the end of numerous 6-0’s, an 8-0, a 9-1! I respect the fact that there were extenuating circumstances in the Chelsea game, but even so, how many teams go down to 10 men away from home to a top 4 side and let the floodgates open to a mauling like that?
This isn’t a criticism of Martinez, more the people that hype him up. I massively respect people who stick to their principles, if you go out to play football and get hammered 5-0 once or twice then you say: well that happens it was unfortunate it doesn’t mean it will happen every week. That is what tactics are about really. When poor results persist then you have to question your principles (Not as a knee-jerk reaction, you have to make an intelligent analysis and come to a conclusion as to whether the things you are doing are working). Credit to Martinez for doing that part way through the season, but it seems some people only remember the second half of the season. If the season had ended the other way round, I’m sure the narrative would have been different, what I mean is those dreadful results and performances haven’t just disappeared.
I understand that Wigan aren’t the biggest club in the world, and have limited funds with which to buy players. This is the same situation for other clubs yet they still manage to consistently finish mid-table-lower mid-table. Under Steve Bruce for instance Wigan finished 11th and there was no major rush to vaunt him as “destined to manage a top european club”. Obviously Martinez has different characteristics so in some ways that is an unfair comparison, granted he has footbaling principles and clearly talks intelligently about the game and he is obviously a manage of some worth. When people say “he plays good football” they fail to mention the bucketload of goals they concede and atrocious defensive organisation his team sometimes display. There was a time when people were raving about Ali Al-Habsi’s shot-stopping abilities, they didn’t mention that his team ALLOWED so many shots on his goal= poor defending. When you choose to play expansively you will sacrifice a bit of solidity at the back, but there are many teams (similar in stature and situation to Wigan) who prove you can marry attractive football and at least decent defensive organisation.
Like I said before this was an interesting piece, I like the inisights we get into the game first-hand in some articles (Hughes QPR City tactics board, this interview, Roy Hodgson discussing the 4-4-2). I apologise if I have come across demonising Martinez or in any other way aggressive. I don’t think Martinez is a bad manager, just not as good as others would have you know. Thanks
Not really understanding how this differs significantly from the older “wing-back” 3-5-2 which seems to have gone out of fashion?
You have wingers as well as wing backs. Stops the other team getting their fullbacks forward, which was how teams used to get around a 3-5-2/5-3-2. On the other hand there’s just the one centre-forward.
You basically have to look at the qualities that the various players have, the outside centre-backs are relatively mobile and comfortable in full-back positions.
The key thing really is the flexibility, because this formation can switch between virtually every type of defensive line (5,4,3). If one wingback bombs on, the other can tuck round. As ZM stated, it can vary depending on who you play, ultra defensive banks of 5-4 against arsenal, meaning narrowness cannot be exploited. Martinez also used it intelligently saying that you must not play 3v1 with an opposition player in the hole.
I’ve just realised too that the wingers high up against the opposition fullbacks counters the weakness of the 5-3-2 3-5-2 shape, when the wingbacks drop in you have a bank of 5. With a narrow 3 in midfield you could get 2v1’s or exploited wide due to the narrowness of the midfield, the wingers tracking the fullbacks prevent this resulting in the 5-4-1 ZM referenced at Arsenal.
The “3-5-2″ has 3-central midfielders. This system only has 2. As for the forwards, the 3-5-2 usually has 2 CF’s who stayed up whereas this system has 2 wide-forwards who track back/mark the oppositions full-backs, and while you can use a CF who stays high, Martinez has apparently instructed his CF (Di Santo) to play more as a false nine at times, also dropping in to play some defense against the holding midfielder.
Before you had Roma’s and Man United’s 4-6-0 formation. Now, at times, you have Wigan’s 5-5-0 or really a 5-4-1-0, since all of their attackers will drop in to defend occassionally. This helps in winning possession and finding an easy pass, but you can also find it very difficult to score doing this, since it’s hard to find penetrating runs when you have no one far enough up the field to do that.
Great piece.
It was actually in Novemeber in the Blackburn home game that Wigan started to use the 3 man defence.
They played variants of this formation quite often before you suggest. The home match against Arsenal for example where they were astonishingly bad. Buying Beasejour certainly helped them find the right balance along with Moses and the centre mids improving.
Beausejour is a brilliant player, one of the world’s most underrated. Don’t follow EPL, other than when ZM features it, so had no idea he’d gone to Wigan. Not surprised he’s done well under a shrewd manager like Martinez. Juve would do well to pluck him up as an upgrade on Estigarribia.
He’s had some comically inept strikes on goal but has otherwise impressed.
Great article ZM. Its refreshing that Martinez was given the time to experiment by a patient owner. Its perhaps one of the problems with managing a premier league team that few managers would have survived the start they had and as a result don’t risk experimenting with different shapes and tactics.
Great Article ZM, you have really analysed this new system well. I think the key element is the fluidity it creates, as players are constantly moving forward and back and creating space for others. A 433 could probably do the same, but this formation almost forces the players to keep moving ie Wingbacks moving forward, allowing wingers inside etc.
I think the Wigan squad was well set up for this system too. Caldwell has been excellent as the covering CB, cutting out the mistakes that had been common in his Wigan career beforehand. Alcaraz and Figueroa are highly mobile CB’s that can play high up the pitch and regain possession quickly, while Figueroa has also taken on the responsibility of starting attacks from deep, with an excellent range of passing something I didn’t know he possessed.
Both Wing-backs have provided the stamina and wingplay needed from this formation, although if Wigan are to play this next season, they may need to replace Boyce. ZM is right in saying Beausejour has been one of the signing of the seasons, in fact if there was a second half of the season team of the season, then he would easily have got the LB slot.
The CM’s are highly mobile and have the good technique required to play a short passing game. They both push up and press the other teams midfield, with Figueroa stepping up to cover in midfield if the first press fails. McArthur has also attacked well in this new position as the better cover in behind him allows him to go on long dribbling runs into the final third, usually creating havoc with the opposition.
Then up front, the front three work brilliantly. Maloney/Gomez play in between the lines in those positions that are hard to pick up, and look to play the killer pass or have a shot from range. While Moses constantly looks to get in behind into central positions, giving the team great penetration in attacks. He his helped by Di Santo dropping deep and creating space in behind, and his movement and build up play have greatly improved. This allows Wigan a double threat, where the the opposition either plays a high line and gets exposed by Moses pace or plays deep and allows the wing-backs forward into dangerous positions.
The system and team are not fool proof however, as quick transition can still catch Wigan out when their wingbacks are in attacking positions and they also still don’t have a good presence in the penalty area. Di Santo has been good in possession, but his finishing and presence in the air have been poor. Wigan will need to sign a more dominant striker as a plan B, as teams that defend deep against them don’t have much to fear from crosses into the penalty area.
Again great article ZM, also check out my blog if you get the chance http://economicinterest.wordpress.com/
Genius article.
Can’t help but applaud Martinez, the guy has somehow managed yet again to keep Wigan up despite having perhaps the worst squad in the EPL
That was a nice read. I remember feeling the same way about Wigan’s performance during that 8-0 defeat, but glad you brought back the memory.
I guess now I know what Roberto Martinez is talking about when he brings up the positives from every game they drop points in. It’s true they play some good football at times and when they impose their philosophy, like the aforementioned game vs Arsenal or the one against United, they look like a top half side. They just don’t seem to do it enough and hence been flirting with relegation right till the end. It also looks like they’re going to lose Rodallega and possibly a few others – Franco di Santo has to improve his all-round game. I think Wigan in general need to find more ways to score and signing another forward or two might be the way to go.
Hopefully they will hang on to some of their young talent, like Victor Moses and James McCarthy, but most importantly the manager. It would be very interesting to see him bring in a couple more intelligent footballers that fit the system and see where this team can go. Unfortunately, football doesn’t always work that way and we’ll have to wait and find out.
Good job on the article once again.
excellent article. your best in quite a while actually.
are you going to preview the Euro 2012 squads / formations / systems once the friendlies kick-off?
I hope so, zm seems not as active as he used to be, hopefully he will feature alot of the euros. I didn’t know about zm during south Africa 2010 and am looking forward to his coverage of a major tournament
This is why I keep coming back to this site. Enjoy the ESPN stuff, too, but this is pure fun.
As a coach who has to make do with limited talent against superior opposition every year, I really appreciate Martinez for continuing to impress a positive philosophy on a team assembled for a song. I’ve always enjoyed his pleasant candor but I didn’t realize his tactical prowess until recently. He is in an interesting place at Wigan, because to up and coming (but not superstar) Latin players, he can offer the spotlight of Premier League football with a more cultured, passing approach not found in the stereotypical cellar dwelling sides. He manages to incorporate the better elements of both the English and Spanish footballing cultures.
I started by being impressed at your knowledge that this shape stated against Chelsea, however I lost interest as soon as you said it returned against Bolton. It actually returned in November against Blackburn in a 3-3 draw. Come on?!
In terms of this season, the first time we saw it was in the second half against Spurs, in September. At which stage the majority of our fans were still too worried about us not playing 4-4-2 and banging it up to a big man to notice.
http://www.thisnorthernsoul.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7074.msg7095#msg7095
The one thing I would add to this piece is a more explicit acknowledgement to the reason why 4-3-3 didn’t work for us. Basically we couldn’t find a tactically aware enough four plus defensive midfielder in order to allow our full backs to push on and still leave the right cover at the back. So although the overall purpose of the formation is to allow WAFC to attack in the way they want to, the need for the formation is a defensive one.
In the near future we will no longer stick to formation. It is just how 11 players move and integrate.
Strange statement. For the most part the world of football has moved from rigid strict formations a long time ago, and the concept of “formations” nowadays is exactly the way those players move and integrate. That’s been the whole premise of this website.
Cycles my friend. Rigid, formation based systems eventually give way to more freedom-flowing systems, which in turn eventually give way back to formation based systems again, each time with a new twist or idea.
There can only be one “best”. But in football, and professional sports in general, the most successful team draws a host of imitators who look to follow in their mold. That is until the next club that finds a new way to beat and better the previous “Best”. And then other clubs start imitating the new “best” with a different approach.
Fantastic article ZM. Terrific insight and a through and understandable explanation.
Martinez has always struck me as one of Football’s nice guys and it’s great to know that he can combine that approachability with some astute tactical awareness and great man-management.
I expect he’ll leave Wigan this season for a bigger club. He’s certainly earned the right!
ZM, how about you interview football managers / coaching staff about the games they regard as the most memorable, exemplary tactical performances? Do it. Do it.
Do it.
I found it quite interesting to read Jonathan Wilson’s article on Guardiola’s farewell. Basically, he said that Pep overcomplicated things by adopting the 3-4-3 formation, almost replicating a fatalistic end common to greek tragedies.
Reading your article, and looking at what Juve and Napoli did this season, it seems that once again, Guardiola is going to be proven right in his choices. Or simply, that Guardiola’s options continue to illustrate quite well football’s present and future trends.
Speaking as a lad who grew up in Wigan (played on slag heaps near Goose Green [won a 5 a side game the day Revie's England came back from behind to beat Italy on a slag heap once] and kissed me first girl down Pony Dick seriously that’s what the place was called}), let me tell you there is a world of difference between a Barca side looking to dominate the World and a Wigan side hoping to avoid relegation
Barca’s 3-4-3 diamond and Wigan’s 3-4-3 with wingbacks are nowhere near the same thing. Barca essentially played with 3 attacking central midfielders, a false nine and two true wingers to stay wide. Wigan play with two holders, two wingbacks, two attacking wide players who come inside and link play and one center forward. A world of difference.
Actually Wigan’s 3-4-3 reminds me a bit of Systema Toshack or the 3-3-3-1 played by Argentina and chile under Bielsa.
Still ZM has a point! Wigan are one of the few sides to get the better of a 4-3-3 in that shape!
I think the counter to this formation is a 4-2-3-1 but instead of the two defensive midfielders you play them as centre midfielders and a trequartista, you then force the two centre backs out wide by playing your wingers wider and you have a spare man in the triangle.
Great article, ZM. I was expecting an article on Wigan, but I wasn’t expecting the in-depth evidence that you have used to back up your analysis – those graphs on Gary Caldwell were top-notch stats that really showed how the back-3 operated as a defensive unit…….
……keep it coming ZM!!!
This is something Paul Lambert has tried at Norwich last season and this season (in very short spells). He played Russell Martin as the sweeper (who has been exceptional as a last ditch centre back given Norwich’s injury problems) and two wing backs (tierney/lappin and naughton). The problem that Norwich had was the two wide centre back were not comfortable chasing players out from the back (and being run at) and we had no winger/outside half playing.
The system is very reliant on the two supporting forwards (Moses and Maloney) being comfortable running at defenders and thus occupying multiple players from the other team. The way to stop this system from operating correctly is to defend counter-intuitively. Naturally you are supposed to be goalside and to force play out wide. Instead your strikers should press the two wing-backs high up the pitch so that they can’t joint the two wide players in your half. This means that if they want to play out wide they have to play long which would be difficult against a traditional four man defence. This forces the ball into the middle where you have a numerical advantage in midfield, unless one or more of the defenders joins the play. In such a case this leaves the normal 2 defenders vs 1 forward with your two wide players now also able to join in by playing off the shoulders of the wingbacks.
i am sorry i dont agree with you and wont praise you like other and wont take your word for granted .what are you saying that he played a 3-4-3 . i am sorry i dont feel that way infact i was going to ask you write about wigan but i dont think it was the system . to be honest i think he played 5-3-2 instead of 3-4-3 . the most important change was having bosejour and maloney in january basuejour played as the fifth defender covering figueroa . if you had seen man utd’s match against wigan the only reason that valencia was kept quite because basejour marked him not figueroa . while maloney’s position to play in behind the striker using his skill and energy not only to keep the ball but pass it better . wigan mostly played on counter and martinez has to be credited for the work that he had done with his especially de santo who looked a different player altogether . they didnt played 3-4-3 like barcelona where on the they had major possession they just allowed teams to have possession soak up pressure and hit them on counter with speed . there was another change wigan played more on flanks rather than through the centre which saved his central midfielders from getting exposed in direct battle because earlier in the season he was more focused on playing through the middle but the things worked against him in latter stages he changed his strategy started playing on the counter rather than to actually fight for possession and most importantly he was helped by signing of some good players like bosejour and maloney who bought a lot of quality to the side and most importantly it helped took weight of gomez shoulders who now had somebody along side him to create and make things for him.
he didnt played a 3-4-3 but instead he kept an extra man at the back with alcaraz and caldwell mostly figueroa who is some what slow but good in the air .
I think the article also highlights the fact that we can change the formation (or more accurately player positions) as they are needed. You have to keep in mind that Martinez also stated that sometimes you have to change formations to suit the players as much as ask the players to play in a set formation.
Man, you may have some points. But please learn how to write on the internet.
sorry man my first language is not english . i am indian and i suppose i just need to get the point not think about the composition of it .
Perhaps Rahul should be commended, not ridiculed, for trying to contribute to a discussion that isnt in his native language.
Just saw the Wigan chairman on Sky Sports News there claim Wigan’s survival was down to ” lady luck” and “good refereeing decisions”. And people wonder why English football culture remains in the dark ages.
Because he couldn’t possibly have been being sarcastic or playing down the achievements of his manager to keep him. There is a feller called “Jose Mourinho” who at least in the past tended to talk about refereeing descisions. In a football sense at least he MUST be in the dark ages!
Will you do Team of the Season though? Any idea what you think it’ll be?
He did one for ESPN:
http://search.espn.go.com/michael-cox/
Outstanding article.
As stated in the article, a strong attack minded serie a type diamond midfield could
nullify the width of this type of 3-4-3 but of course is susceptible in defense.
Thanks Michael for doing the article I suggested!
Obviously the results show the formation change was a resounding success, but looking at the form from 3 key attacking players since the switch is also indicative of it’s success.
Shaun Maloney – 3 goals, 2 assists (0 prior. In fact, he wasn’t even playing.)
Victor Moses – 4 goals (2 prior)
Jean Beausejour – 5 assists (0 prior, as he had only just signed)
Gary Caldwell, Antonin Alcaraz and Emmerson Boyce scored all their combined 7 goals following the switch.
And also, the dropping of Mohamed Diame was massive. He played in 19 (18 starts) of the first 20 games, and Wigan won just 3 of them. Since returning from the African Cup of Nations, he hasn’t started a single game and has played just 103 minutes. Wigan have won 8 games.
It’s a massive shame we probably won’t be seeing Wigan use the formation next season with these players. Be interesting to see if he takes it with him to Liverpool, should he join.
the 3-4-3 is suicide against teams with orthodox wingers(once who dont cut inside). once wingbacks get caught too high up, it’s bye bye. but those types of wingers are getting rarer and rarer by the second. and you better be sure your central defenders are fast, cuz look what happened to inter.
You mean someone like Valencia? because he didn’t have a great game when United played Wigan.
Very pleased.to see this article, seems popular too. Match write ups are brilliant but more general articles about trends in football are very appre ciated by readers, ZM.
The 3-4-3 is good because it makes certain players, the wing backs, look world class and your club can make a profit selling them. Ha! Ha! Ha!
I’ve been hoping Chelsea would try a 3-4-3 when Mata is out.
Ivanovic, Terry and Luiz are the back three with Ramires and Cole as your wingbacks. Lampard plays next to Mikel in the MF, leaving Sturridge, Drogba and Torres up front. To me this would work and give Chelsea the much needed room when Mata is resting.