Diamond Formation

[jarriss]

Wanting to understand this proposed new system, I googled "diamond formation". Initially, I got a lot of (useful) information about carbon under pressure for millions of years forming transparent precious stones...

Adding 'football' and 'tactics' into the search and I got:

The ‘Diamond Formation’ (4-3-1-2 - Four Three One Two)

The diamond in the formation refers to the midfield, with an attacking midfielder and a holding midfielder employed and flanked by two wingers, who move in-field slightly to shore up the gaps in the centre. To cover for the lack of width in the side, the full-backs become wingbacks and start slightly higher up the pitch.

The diamond formation is typically associated with the World Cup-winning English national team in 1966, christened the ‘wingless wonders’. In recent times though, the employment of the diamond usually revolves around a single player. The Argentinian national side in the 2006 World Cup held an
extremely fluid diamond formation which gave Juan Roman Riquelme space to instigate attacks, while AC Milan under Carlo Ancelotti in 2004 used the diamond to assist the Brazilian playmaker Kaká.

Looking at our current and hopefully not yet complete squad, have we got the personnel to achieve this?

If we do pull our finger out, stop quibbling over the rumoured £25k price difference and spent any Hooper cash on signing Charlie Mulgrew, I think the Francis/Mulgrew fullback/wingback combination would be awesome.

Who would be our holding / attacking midfielders? Bailey holding? Do we have a playmaker/attacking midfielder since Gower went Welsh? Or would 3 central midfielders (Bailey/McCormack/Moussa) work just as well, with a roaming winger switching flanks?

Or am I just that bored at work this afternoon?

 

[Nobby Snide]

we have 3 who could fill that role..Revell, Foran(he's still on our books) and more likely Bailey.

Three in midfield...Macca, Scannell and Mousse, (prob one other yet to be signed)

 

[sufcjoe]

Well after seeing this system in action i thought it worked pretty well although at times the full back looked to play a ball down the line and there was nobody there thats my main concern although Francis seemed to enjoy the freedom getting forward at every opportunity as would Mulgrew if he was to join. imo Bailey and Macca would need to be our wider midfielders as there our legs in midfield. i feel a defensive/playmaker would need to be signed although Barrett would do well in this role and that would solve the Barrett/Clarke partnership and i felt Walker done well in an attacking midfield role.

 

[maninasuitcase]

Well for a start, I don't think Francis/Mulgrew would be awesome, indeed I don't think any full back could be described as awesome.

We don't appear to have a holding midfield player, Maher would have been a good choice if we'd offered him a contract. Or attacking ball playing midfielder who can pass accurately. Maybe Gower or Black could have fulfilled that role.

We seem to have dabbled with a formation we don't have the players for.

I'd like to see 4-5-1 with 2 wide men joining a lone forward to make 4-3-3 when attacking.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Well for a start, I don't think Francis/Mulgrew would be awesome, indeed I don't think any full back could be described as awesome.

We don't appear to have a holding midfield player, Maher would have been a good choice if we'd offered him a contract. Or attacking ball playing midfielder who can pass accurately. Maybe Gower or Black could have fulfilled that role.

We seem to have dabbled with a formation we don't have the players for.

I'd like to see 4-5-1 with 2 wide men joining a lone forward to make 4-3-3 when attacking.

Both Bailey and Moussa are holding midfielders, although they may be versatile to play other positions as well.

I see Walker played the attacking midfielder role last night, any views on how he fared in the role?

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Get Antony Grant in as the holding midfield, Bails and Macca ahead of him. Either Scannel or Gowers replacement in the hole and Barney plus a more mobile striker up top (maybe Hoskins??). Wont work with Furlong or Revell as they are about as mobile as my nan.

 

[maninasuitcase]

Both Bailey and Moussa are holding midfielders, although they may be versatile to play other positions as well.

I see Walker played the attacking midfielder role last night, any views on how he fared in the role?

They didn't do much holding at the keepmoat where Doncaster cut through us like a hot knife through butter.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

They didn't do much holding at the keepmoat where Doncaster cut through us like a hot knife through butter.

That is because we were chasing the game, having gone one-nil down to a referee error and two-nil down to a keeping error.

 

[smudgster]

We reached the play off's last season playing 4 4 2. Why change anything ?

 

[Hazey]

Agree that with Grant we would have our holding player, he would be like a Makalele type player. Either that or the option is to go for a Pirlo type, who can dictate play from deep. In the attacking midfield role we need someone who can pick out a through ball, someone who is tricky and can weigh in with a few goals. Scannel could do this I suppose although if we had signed that Fox bloke he would probably have gone there. Bailey and Macca the other two obviously. How about trying Moussa in that advanced role?

 

[BoyWonder2]

I, for one, can't stand a lot of this new formations, especially the 4-5-1 that is sweeping the Premiership. I'd much rather see us play 4-4-2, nice and simple.

 

[Hazey]

Some times last season we were a bit 1 dimensional, Bristol Rovers at home, Carlisle at home ect, especially over christmas. Having the option and the ability to try a different system when the going gets tough can only improve the team. Every good team has a plan B

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

I, for one, can't stand a lot of this new formations, especially the 4-5-1 that is sweeping the Premiership. I'd much rather see us play 4-4-2, nice and simple.

Because it's good to have a plan B for when plan A doesn't work? We're used to 4-4-2, so if we want a good plan b we have to practise it against other teams.

Agree that with Grant we would have our holding player, he would be like a Makalele type player. Either that or the option is to go for a Pirlo type, who can dictate play from deep. In the attacking midfield role we need someone who can pick out a through ball, someone who is tricky and can weigh in with a few goals. Scannel could do this I suppose although if we had signed that Fox bloke he would probably have gone there. Bailey and Macca the other two obviously. How about trying Moussa in that advanced role?

Grant would indeed make a good holding player. I agree Moussa might work quite well in the advanced role, as might Max Noble from what people have been saying about him. Bailey & Macca definately have the mobility for the 'wide' midfield roles.

 

[maninasuitcase]

That is because we were chasing the game, having gone one-nil down to a referee error and two-nil down to a keeping error.

We were chasing the game because Walker missed a sitter and Clarke, not for the first time, conceded a soft penalty.

 

[Skyblue]

My concern with diamonds is that they're fine if you're on top in a game and pushing the opostion back but if your against a couple of wingers who don't drop back at all into their own half, your full backs are left exposed. If they don't then push up then you have no width at all.

 

[Firestorm]

Personal I prefer the exagerated version of 1-3-1-3-1.
As I learnt at an early age that a double diamond works wonders