Formations?

[Obinna]

Bit of a fantasy thread if you will, as none of us will influence the formation Hart decides to use, but what formation would you prefer? I seen a few interesting ones this world cup, one of my favroite being the one the dutch used. It was a 4-2-3-1. To me, this would be interesting with the players we have:

----------------------Friend-----------------------

Simpson-----------DeRosario--------------Peters

--------Hutchinson-------------De Guzman-------

Kulkowski----McKenna---Jakovic---------Straith

-------------------doesn't matter--------------

Firstly, I think playing Friend up top is the right move, and I still haven't lost faith that we haven't seen his best yet for Canada. Big guy but mobile and can play with the ball to his feet. Haven't seen much of Haber but from what I have seen he could be a decent back-up in this formation. Haber doesn't appear as strong as Friend but perhaps better running at players.

DeRosaio, Simpson, and Peters are all players who can run at opponents, and all are quick, especially the later two. DeRosario is best when he is given a free role, Simpson is very fast and can put in adequate crosses, but I admit that I am unsure of Peters crossing ability at this time. Still though, the kid has pace to burn. Hume and Johnson could slot in these positions as well, perhaps even Pedro from what ive read, too bad I missed him in South America...

This leaves De Guzman and Hutchinson protecting the back four. Both cover alot of ground and are arguably our best distributers. De Guzman, since his move to TFC, gives away the ball too much for my liking, but I attribute this to player movement of his teammates at the club, and hope this doesn't continue. Hutchinson will only get better playing with PSV. He is the type of player who breaks up plays on the defensive end well, and we all know how important he can be for maintaining posession. Same with JDG. Will Johnson appears to be suited for replacing either off the bench because he has many of the same qualities of the other two.

This is our best back four in my opinion. McKenna and Jakovic compliment each other well and Straith and Kulkowski are both able to play. I think Hainualt is good for reserve only but I think De Jong can push for Kulkowski's spot. He may also be effective as a defensive mid a la JDG or Hutch. Some call for Jakovic as a defensive mid but I don't think we have anyone composed enough on the ball that can play centre back. Perhaps Edgar if he gets his act together in England but besides, does anyone think he would be better than De Guzman, Hutchinson, or Johnson for that role? I don't think he is near mobile enough.

Where we are weakest in my opinion is actually in centre back, so perhaps having both JDG and Hutch placed where they are could offset this. I think this may be what Hart was going for during the last gold cup when both players and Bernier played infront of the defense. The problem with this was that we never had enough creativity going forward, and I feel like JDG and Hutch should be enough to keep in front of the back four.

Feel free to comment, praise, criticize, or post your own formation.

obinna

[Toronto Ruffrider]

I like the 4-2-3-1 formation; it is so much more fluid and effective than the antiquated 4-5-1. The 4-5-1 is a stagnant formation that is wasteful toward certain players. Friend is a solid striker, but he has been quiet with the CMNT because he hasn't been properly utilised. With a 4-2-3-1, we can get a proper possession game going and use the whole field (and all of our players) to much greater efficiency.

As an alternative to the 4-2-3-1, I can see 4-1-4-1 being effective. Stick one of JDG or Hutch as the holding mid, and allow the other player to be more creative in the attack.

[Sam]

Where we are weakest in my opinion is actually in centre back

I think at the moment with Jakovic, McKenna, Attakora, Hainault, Edgar et all we are actually stronger than usual at the back. I've thrown support behind Jakovic countless times on this board. I think he's one of Canada's best technical players at the moment. As you pointed out he is extremely composed on the ball, he is good in the tackle and his passing range is better than any other centre back I can remember Canada having. Put him alongside a hard man who will win the ball in the air like a McKenna or even possibly Attakora you've got a very good centre back combo there.

What worries me is we still have no proven international goal scorer. The problem with playing Friend up front by himself is that he needs to get very good service, service I just don't think Simpson or Johnson can provide on a regular basis. The best crosser of the ball we have is Klukowski and relying on a left back to give the right delivery to a lone striker isn't going to get you very far against good defensive teams. I have no problem playing Friend, but with the players Canada has behind him Friend is far too static of a forward to play up front by himself.

[jpg75]

We are still weak at the back and in net. These positions have been traditional strengths for us and i see no one in our player pool who is as capable as some of our better players who have played in those positions for us in the past 25 years.

I would definitely not put out a 1 striker formation anymore. We just don't have the type of dominant forward needed to make the system work, nor do we have midfielders with the balls and smarts to get forward in dangerous areas, take defenders on and generally will themselves to score. We have a bunch of safe, stay at home mids who don't move around much to give their teammates someone to pass to and look for others to take the initiative.

[Toronto Ruffrider]

I would definitely not put out a 1 striker formation anymore. We just don't have the type of dominant forward needed to make the system work, nor do we have midfielders with the balls and smarts to get forward in dangerous areas, take defenders on and generally will themselves to score. We have a bunch of safe, stay at home mids who don't move around much to give their teammates someone to pass to and look for others to take the initiative.

The 4-2-3-1 can easily morph into a 4-4-2, so I think it's worth a try. If players such as Rob Friend can't work in this formation, then we need to consider starting anew upfront.

[Jeremy]

The 4-2-3-1 can easily morph into a 4-4-2, so I think it's worth a try. If players such as Rob Friend can't work in this formation, then we need to consider starting anew upfront.

you would change Rob Friend instead of changing the formation?

[jpg75]

I like Rob Friend as a player and a person, but i would not have him in my 2 striker starting lineup for Canada.

[Toronto Ruffrider]

you would change Rob Friend instead of changing the formation?

Yep. Friend is a skilled player, but if he can't work in a 4-2-3-1, a formation that's similar to a 4-4-2, then we need to go with someone else. The modern game of soccer is very flexible, and players can't afford to be rigid when it comes to tactics.

[BearcatSA]

We have a bunch of safe, stay at home mids who don't move around much to give their teammates someone to pass to and look for others to take the initiative.

I have come to the conclusion that they are linking players, guys who get the ball from the harder edged defensive types to the attacking/creative guys.

[jpg75]

I have come to the conclusion that they are linking players, guys who get the ball from the harder edged defensive types to the attacking/creative guys.

I think you're being generous. When i think of linking play i think of players who will support the attack, who get involved to receive passes and will play balls into dangerous spaces for the attackers. With the exception of Radz, the old De Guzman before he lost his form and sometimes Simpson and Pacheco all i see is a bunch of guys worried they'll lose the ball if they get it so they stand around ball watching.

[BearcatSA]

I think you're being generous. When i think of linking play i think of players who will support the attack, who get involved to receive passes and will play balls into dangerous spaces for the attackers. With the exception of Radz, the old De Guzman before he lost his form and sometimes Simpson and Pacheco all i see is a bunch of guys worried they'll lose the ball if they get it so they stand around ball watching.

^I'm thinking back to the best time we played as a midfield unit, regardless of the context, which to me was GC 07. I guess my view of linking play is also a little different nowadays considering the trend towards 4 layer formations rather than the traditional 3 layers in an era of more specialization. If you use the 4-2-3-1 as the example, I see one of those two guys in the two man shielding position as a distributor hub while the other guy is more of a ball winner. Here's an example from the fairly recent past: Yallop's Galaxy vs Pachuca in the CCL Final in a similar formation, where he had Harmse and Vagenas in the holding mid spots, with the latter being the linking mid entrusted with getting the ball up to Golden Balls and Landycakes, et al. These guys weren't asked to do a lot of attacking support, though Harmse had a few attacking runs before he cramped up and was subbed off in extra time IIRC. Also, towards the end of his WCQ Yallop used a similar setup with Imhoff and Grande, the latter being more of the deep lying distribution focal point.

[loyola]

What about starting Cann and Nana at the back? If those 2 continue to play together at CB for TFC we could've a CB pairing with over 60 games experience together in 2 years.

I know they probably aren't the best at the position but familiarity is very important at that position.

Just a thought!

[Toronto Ruffrider]

What about starting Cann and Nana at the back? If those 2 continue to play together at CB for TFC we could've a CB pairing with over 60 games experience together in 2 years.

I know they probably aren't the best at the position but familiarity is very important at that position.

Just a thought!

Those two have been very reliable for TFC this season, so it's worth a shot. Even with a heavier schedule of friendlies, it will take a while for a more random CB combo to click in the way that Cann and Attakora already have.

[loyola]

Those two have been very reliable for TFC this season, so it's worth a shot. Even with a heavier schedule of friendlies, it will take a while for a more random CB combo to click in the way that Cann and Attakora already have.

I'm not sure we have that many more friendlies line up these days. If we compare the last WC year (2006) we played 5 games (USA, Austria, Jamaica twice and Hungary) and this year we will be playing 6 games. Not a big improvement IMO.

I'm surprise the names of Cann and Nana haven't been mentionned as a possible pairing, they've been very solid together and are a pleasant surprise.

[Obinna]

I think at the moment with Jakovic, McKenna, Attakora, Hainault, Edgar et all we are actually stronger than usual at the back. I've thrown support behind Jakovic countless times on this board. I think he's one of Canada's best technical players at the moment. As you pointed out he is extremely composed on the ball, he is good in the tackle and his passing range is better than any other centre back I can remember Canada having. Put him alongside a hard man who will win the ball in the air like a McKenna or even possibly Attakora you've got a very good centre back combo there.

We seem to have alot of depth in centre back, which is quite good, you can also move straith into the centre so you can add another name to that list.

The thing is, we don't really have too much quality in this position, although the mentioned all have positive qualities. None are the whole package and they can generally range from dependable(Attakora) to error prone (Hainuant). Mckenna brings alot of experience and (at times) composure but he is not very quick. Jakovic is a good distributer, has a good touch, and is slightly more athletic, but has little experience with the group. We certainly don't have any central defenders of the calibar of Figuroa of Wigan. I bet Chad Gavin would challenge for a starting role yet is probably 5th or 6th on the American depth chart. But yes, i guess we have improved, from the days of Gervis and Braz (even Hastings for that matter.)

[Toronto Ruffrider]

I'm not sure we have that many more friendlies line up these days. If we compare the last WC year (2006) we played 5 games (USA, Austria, Jamaica twice and Hungary) and this year we will be playing 6 games. Not a big improvement IMO.

Even more reason to give Cann and Attakora a shot. There are only so many international match days on the FIFA calendar, so our team can only bond so much. Given that our next two friendlies are on home soil, it's the perfect opportunity to test this CB duo.

[BearcatSA]

I'm surprise the names of Cann and Nana haven't been mentionned as a possible pairing, they've been very solid together and are a pleasant surprise.

They complement each other well and have done well at MLS level. I like Attakora's upside (his play somewhat reminds me of former US international Eddie Pope) but I sort of feel that MLS is Cann's ceiling, so to speak. However, familiarity can make up for a lot of things, so you never know.

[El Hombre]

So, if we are pairing Cann and Nana at the back, does that mean we can then play McKenna with Friend up front? That would be fun to watch.