The 5-3-2 formation looks set to take the football world by storm

After the departure of Spain from the World cup, in harrowing fashion, and Bayern Munich’s failure to retain the Champions League the “false nine” formation looks set to be locked away in the annals of football.

The formation that has stood out so far in this World Cup is the versatile 5-3-2 formation used to such great effect by the Netherlands and Mexico.

Both teams were unbeaten in the group stage, showing both attacking flair and defensive stability.

 The Netherlands' formation in practice

It is naturally a counterattacking formation, almost a foil for the “false nine” formation. Where the “false nine” style of play looks at keeping the ball as much as possible, the 5-3-2 is set up to play direct and with pace.

There is a lot of flexibility to this formation, however, and it is not necessarily restricted to this setup. Obviously with wing backs, when in attack it looks more like a 3-5-2. The three centre midfielders have the option to be versatile, with one player able to play in a more advance position, think Wesley Sneijder for the Netherlands, so that it looks more like a 3-4-1-2.

The key components to the 5-3-2 are wing backs with the ability to attack and defend, a ball playing centre back that can glide into the oppositions half to start attacks and a genuine striker.

One of the reasons why this formation is so effective is that when in possession teams can play keep ball. The three centre backs mean that teams can pass it at the back with ease. The three centre midfielders do not get over run in the middle. The wing backs offer the wide options and one of the two attackers has the freedom to move to wide positions.

Secondly, with three at the back teams cannot break against them as effectively. If the opposition decides to play more direct, there are three recognised centre backs or defensive minded players able to deal with it. With a ball playing centre back there, such as Rafael Marquez for Mexico, the side can start an attack with a player who is just as comfortable stopping one.

Thirdly, there is always a player in the box. Sides that play with a “false nine” formation are often criticised for not getting enough players in the box. Germany, in the World Cup so far, look a much more dynamic side when Miroslav Klose comes on giving them a different option and another factor that defences have to deal with.

Finally, there is freedom for a “number 10” to drop off or join the front man or move into the wider areas. Allowing these players freedom makes it difficult for opposition to defend as they find little pockets of space in the final third where they can be devastating. It doesn’t restrict them, like Eden Hazard for Belgium has found, to the wider areas and allows them to have more influence on the game. Arjen Robben for the Netherlands and Giovanni dos Santos for Mexico have been outstanding in this role.

It would not be surprising to see Louis Van Gaal adopt this formation in the Premiership next season and it could possibly see it take the football world by storm.

Rickie Lambert’s move from Southampton to Liverpool suits all involved

 From a neutrals perspective the unravelling at Southampton breeds concern. The Saints played with great flair to reach eighth in the Premier League, but now their squad is starting to be poached by bigger clubs.

Mauricio Pochettino has left for Tottenham Hotspurs, with players such as Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana being heavily linked with moves away from St Marys. The move, though, for Rickie Lambert, suits all parties concerned.

Lambert, a childhood Liverpool fan, is 32 years old and so has a limited shelf life at the highest level. He is unlikely to get another chance to play in the Champions League and so must take this opportunity.

As a child it would have been his dream to play at Anfield on a big European night, so you can hardly begrudge him this move.

Those sceptical of the move can argue that he will not play regularly; he will be the third choice striker behind Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.  Though, with such a small squad and playing in four competitions next season, Lambert will have a role to play for Liverpool.

That role could be a vital one. With Gerrard unlikely to feature in every fixture, Liverpool need a set piece specialist as skilful. In fact Lambert is a superior penalty taker and so will offer that option.

He also offers a different style to Sturridge and Suarez. With his sheer physical presence, aerial ability and holding up skills Liverpool can look to him to be a target when they need to be more direct.

When in Europe there will be times when Liverpool will go through periods with little possession and chance will be few and far between. Lambert is the sort of player who can muscle his way to half chances from nowhere.

His lack of European experience could be counted against him. Lambert has never played in a European competition and has only a handful of caps for England. Though, in his brief England career, he has proven to be more than adept.

Lambert scoring on debut in a 3-2 win against Scotland at Wembley

For Southampton, the player does not have much shelf life left. He has been synonymous with Southampton’s rise from Championship relegation to a top ten Premier League finish, but his time is limited. It is the right time to cash in on the England international.

It is a very difficult time for Southampton at the moment and if they are not careful all the hard work over the last five years could be for nothing. With Pochettino leaving and other players looking to move on it is going to be interesting to see whether or not Southampton can stay in the division.

It may seem quite brash to suggest a team finishing eighth face a relegation battle. With many first team players expected to exit it will be difficult to replace them and build the same sort of team chemistry that Southampton possess with the current squad.

Even though the Southampton are losing are good player they are right to take the money. 

Does the technical area cause more harm then good?

In the light of Alan Pardew's seven game ban for headbutting Hull City's David Meyler calls for a reassessment of the technical have been brought forward.

Pardew, not shy of touchline infringements having been in trouble with the FA on four previous occasions, will not be allowed in the stadium for the first three games and will be banned from the touchline for the next four.

What I'm going to look at is how crucial is the technical area in football?

In other sports it plays a significant part for head coaches. In American Football the coach plays the most crucial role in the whole operation. They call the plays, with the help of specialist coaches, and are constantly interacting with members of the squad.

With the stop start nature of American Football it is crucial that the coach uses this time to orchestrate their plans.

Is their need for this level of interaction with players in the beautiful game?

In Rugby Union manages sit in boxes or in the stands away from the action as they put faith in their players and use the week before to fully prepare them.

However, the formations in rugby is rigid and cannot be changed, where as football you can have any formation you want. Also in rugby the coaches are down on the touchline interacting at all times.

The main issue with managers is their interactions with the referees on the sideline. It is perfectly fine them sorting out tactics and interacting with their players but often Managers can lose their cool and lash out at referees.

Ian Holloway speaks about this issue in a very reassuring and frank manner. This video was taken before Crystal Palace played Manchester United, back when he managed Palace. He speaks about how it's not the end of the world because he can give team talks before and at half time, he has the chance to prepare them and speak to coaches who had to make the decisions at his expense. However, being the passionate man he is he wants to do as much as possible to help his team:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Y_LsGlHVk

Managers do not need necessarily need to be there to make an impact on the game and due to the frequent infringements that occur across all leagues (I was unable to find statistics but there were thousands of news articles about touchline bans).

However, there will be uproar amongst managers and will there will be major backing of the LMA to stop any move to take managers away from the technical areas even though they do more harm than good there.

Armchair Fans Fund Football

Being called an armchair fan is an insult. This derogatory term, if given to you, means that you do not support your team enough and is a means of questioning not only whether you support the club but whether you should support them. It almost feels like being told that the club do not need someone like you supporting the them.
 Fulham fan complains as BT Vision camera ruins his view of the match

However, armchair fans are a crucial part of football nowadays. There are two reasons why they have become more fervent:

The cost and demand for a match day ticket has become astronomical for some people.

The game has become so global that fans can come from all corners of the globe meaning that Television coverage is more readily available.    

As seen in the image, though, there are the negative connotations of television coverage. Less fans come to the games causing a lack of atmosphere and the cameras need to be placed somewhere which means that views can be impaired.
                                         
Television rights and coverage is, in spite of the above, far too crucial to be stopped because of complaints such as this. This is because of the rise of the armchair fan as the cost of football becomes unbearable.

At the start of the 2013/4 season in the Premier League, contradictory to common belief. the average for the most expensive adult season ticket fell 1.6% (from £546.30 in 2012 to £537.60 in 2013). The average for the cheapest adult match-day ticket is down 1.9% (from £21.24 to £20.85). The average for the most expensive adult match-day ticket dropped around 1% (from £34.11 to £33.81).

These prices are still tough to afford for people. It is also not just the price themselves but also the price of travel to get there. Fuel plays a key part in travel costs and as the table below demonstrates this is becoming ever more expensive.

Month	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
January	87.3p	104.0p	87.0p	111.4p	127.9p	133.3p	132.7p
February	86.7p	104.3p	90.2p	112.1p	128.7p	135.1p	137.1p
March	89.4p	106.4p	90.8p	115.6p	132.2p	138.9p	138.8p
April	92.6p	108.1p	94.8p	120.5p	134.7p	141.9p	136.7p
May	95.6p	112.5p	97.7p	121.0p	136.7p	137.9p	133.9p
June	96.9p	117.6p	102.2p	118.2p	135.7p	133.1p	134.6p
July	96.7p	118.7p	103.0p	117.3p	134.9p	132.1p	135.7p
August	96.0p	113.4p	103.9p	116.2p	135.5p	135.9p	137.5p
September	95.3p	112.0p	106.2p	115.3p	135.4p	139.6p	137.7p
October	97.7p	104.7p	105.7p	117.4p	134.6p	138.5p	132.4p
November	101.1p	94.9p	108.4p	118.9p	133.8p	135.3p	130.6p
December	102.8p	89.5p	108.2p	122.0p	132.5p	132.7p	131.0p

Source petrolprices.com

With growing concerns in the Crimea region prices in Oil could well increase. This also comes with a 2.8% increase in train prices meaning that those able to get to games has become harder.

It is not just the financial loss in going to games, there is also the emotional loss that comes with prioritising a live football match rather than spending time with loved ones.

Time spent at home watching a game last 2 hours, the time spent watching a game live a the ground lasts over 5 hours at least with whole weekends sometimes being taken up.

The money that clubs now get from television rights means that viewership is incredibly crucial. The amount that television companies make in revenue is dependent on selling ad space with the cost of this space heavily dependent on viewership.

With the changes in sport broadcasting it is key for clubs that BT and BSkyB continue to have strong viewership.

BT bought a large proportion of televised football rights, boosting this Premier League season's TV deal to a record £3 billion over three years, a 71% increase.

This has a major impact for every club in the Premier League as it equates to at least £14 million more per year for each football club.

Without these armchair fans there would not be this amount of money available. Many of these fans either cannot afford the games or cannot afford the time to watch the games but still watch the games on television. Do not discredit the armchair fan but make sure that they watch as much football on the television as possible. 

How sports clubs attempts to offer more tickets has increased prices

Have you heard of Stubhub? No? I hadn't either until a friend mentioned it to me. Supposedly it is big in the US and it is spreading to Premier League clubs. What it does if offer a market place for those with tickets, especially season ticket holders, a way to sell their tickets to other members for a fee.

Seems like a good idea in principle. It offers more chance for supporters to watch a game as seats could be wasted if the season ticket holder is unavailable.

In actual fact what it does is inflate the prices of tickets and offers the chance for season tickets holders to make a profit. This then makes it tougher for fans who are die hard but cannot afford the ever inflating price of football tickets.

How the above happens is that there is no limit on the price that ticket holders can charge. So for most games demand is high enough that most are willing to pay well above the standard price to watch a game.

A season ticket holder can then get a seat for the match through being quick when applying for a ticket as a member of the club. This means that the season ticket holder can now watch the match and actually make money.

What was supposed to be a way of offering more tickets to the fans now is a money making option to those who can already afford a season ticket holder and the chance for a wealthy fan who just wants to watch a one off match.

This is another example of the growing trend of football clubs losing touch with the fans.

Is bigger always better (Part 2 Football)?

Following on from my previous blog I will now look at whether being bigger is an advantage in professional football.

When looking at arguably the two best players in the world. I say arguably but I would like to see someone to try and disagree with me that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the best two players in the world. Yet, there physical stature could not be more different.

Messi at 5 feet 7 and weighs 67 kilograms can be considered as diminutive. Ronaldo at 6 feet 1, 84 kg is literally head and shoulders above Messi and others. There is, however, little difference in overall ability.

Unlike other sports, to play in positions there is often a specific body type needed to excel. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule but generally speaking certain positions require certain physiques.

Using a traditional four - four - two formation I will set out the ideal body types for each position and give an example of a player matching this type. It demonstrates that being the right size is the most important factor, rather than necessarily being bigger:
 
                                                       GK
                                                      6ft 4
                                               David Seaman

RB                               CB                               CB                                      LB

Cafu                      Thiago Silva                Tony Adams                Ashley Cole
5ft 9                            6ft                               6ft 4                                    5ft 9

RM                              CM                              CM                                    LM

David Beckham      Yaya Toure                 Andrea Pirlo              Gareth Bale

6ft                                6ft 3                            5ft 10                                  6ft

                                    ST                                ST

                        Michael Owen             Robin Van Persie

                                    5ft 8                            6ft 2

As a goalkeeper you have to be able to deal with crosses that come in so a physical presence is crucial. You must also have the agility to deal with quick, low shots but be tall enough to reach shots in the top corner. At 6 feet 4 inches I feel that David Seaman's size gives him the perfect frame for what is needed.

At 5ft 9 Cafu and Ashley Cole have the necessary stature to be quick across the ground, maintain this explosive pace up and down for 90 minutes and have enough height to be an aerial presence if called upon. With the main aim of a full back to stop the ball coming in to start with have quick acceleration is crucial something that Cafu and Cole are able to do with ease.

The spine of the team throughout have size differences between the pairs. Starting with the centre backs, they need to compliment each other. With Thiago Silva you have someone who is still tall enough to challenge physically with the world's strikers but have the pace and to match them as well. The word sweeper best describes this role, while as the phrase ball winner best describes Tony Adams. At 6ft 4 few are able to compete with the former Arsenal man in the air. He is still not too tall that his movement is heavily restricted.

In centre midfield, for this formation, the type of players needed are a creative player and someone more combative. Yaya Toure at 6ft 3 loses little in the air, he is also able to build up serious speed through the middle when his long legs get going and is as strong as an ox. At 5ft 10 Andrea Pirlo can put up a fight in the air but his main role is to quick sharp movements that can get the ball moving, but still be physically tough enough for the midfield battle.

Up front the little and large combination is the ideal match for a 4-4-2 formation. What is needed is someone to compete for headers so Van Persie is a good height to do this. People may decide that the striker needs to be at the same height of the tallest defender but Van Persie is tall enough to compete but still quick enough to shrug off the centre back and lose his man. That same philosophy of losing his man especially applies to role Michael Owen plays in using his acceleration to get in behind the defence.

With the 4-4-2 formation it is crucial that wide players are able work up and down and so there defensive duties are crucial. Being at 6ft David Beckham and Gareth Bale can offer defensive duties as well as offer an attacking threat aerially. They also have the change of pace to take on their man.

This formation, however, is becoming redundant with the versatility of the 4-2-3-1 being preferred. With the backline and centre midfielders similar and the attacking three versatile in physique the difficulty is choosing the right player to play the lone striker.

Van Persie is the type of forward who could lead the line where as Owen would struggle. Does this spell the end for the role of the poacher?

Watching Tottenham Hotspurs play this formation with Roberto Soldado up front has seen them lack any real cutting edge and it wasn't until they brought in the physicality of Emmanuel Adebayor have they turn their fortunes.

Another example that the fox in the box style striker is becoming obsolete is Javier Hernandez at Manchester United. He has not featured as much with the preference of the 4-2-3-1 under David Moyes. He is not able to compete with opponent defenders as easily as other, taller strikers and the only team able to play without a striker who can help link up the play is Barcelona.

So it is not necessarily how big you are it is about whether your size fits the role you are playing in your side.

Does Fantasy Ruin Reality?

In most sports nowadays ranging from Basketball to Rugby Union anyone can create their own fantasy league team, compete against friends and show their credentials as managers. This brings enjoyment to all those who are successful and despair to those struggling.

The concept is a great own because, unlike manager simulation games which to play against one another is incredibly impractical, it is easy to see who is a better manager (to some extent). Though it can ruin the enjoyment of reality.

I am talking about wanting a player to succeed from a rival team, just so you can earn a few extra fantasy points. For example my fantasy football team I play using the Barclays premier league website has 3 Manchester City players in it. Every time City play I want them to lose but as long as the players I have gain points. This means desiring ridiculous score lines that have no real chance of happening.

This sees me supporting players I do not want to succeed and puts me in a weird position in celebrating goals that I really shouldn't and waiting with anxiety as to whether my defender has claimed a clean sheet for a team one point ahead of the team I support.

The counter argument is that it does provide excitement to games that you would otherwise completely ignore. This also exposes people to different players and to teams that they would otherwise have ignored. It also makes people more knowledgeable of players and thus a better, less biased view on the sport.

This is all well but it does not retract from that awkward moment when as a Fulham fan you celebrate a Eden Hazard goal or as a Pittsburgh Steelers fans you hope that Sebastian Janikowski can make a last minute field goal. Also, no matter how knowledgeable you are about a sport bias will always remain and be a strong part of your opinion.

A friend of mine refuses to do this because he feels that it ruins games. I can see why he believes in this and can definitely see positives behind it. I am tempted not to play fantasy football next year (not just because I am struggling in my leagues) for this reason, yet the games appeal out weighs the negatives.

To get the same enjoyment from non event matches I would need to start gambling and that's something I personally do not want to get into. So I will be cheering on Norwich at home to Aston Villa or hoping that Fulham and Everton can either give me a 0-0 or Steve Sidwell scores more than anyone else this season.

Too many cooks spoil the broth

With Juan Mata looking destined to join Manchester United there is a lot of speculation as to how will he fit into a full strength United side. A player who for the past two years had been Chelsea's player of the season could was ousted by the former young pretender turn star Oscar, but will Mata's proposed move bring success or will it be more bench time for the Spanish international.

Mata has looked a shadow of himself when pushed out wide for Chelsea this season. The same can be said for United's former Bundesliga player of the year Shinji Kagawa. Manchester United's manager David Moyes seems reluctant to play Kagawa there preferring almost every other option. This could not only spell the end for a player who was pivotal to the success of Borussia Dortmund but also see Mata replace him in a wide role on the left.

Unfortunately for him, with the ever improving Adnan Januzaj proving a revelation and Moyes' consistent desire to play Valencia, Mata's lack of form playing wide may see him fall out of favour there and have to fight for the number 10 role with club legend Wayne Rooney

People will suggest that the United first choice front for will look like this:

                                             Van Persie

Mata                                     Rooney                               Januzaj

However, only two out of the four are playing in their most effective positions. When Mata has played this season he has underperformed when placed out wide.

Obviously strength in depth is key to any side and having an abundance of attacking options can not be seen as a bad thing but there is also many negative impacts of this. For one, players vying for a starting role will need to make sure they perform or fear being dropped. This fear can drive better performances but can also see players afraid to express themselves and when they do get a chance lack match sharpness, for example Javier Hernandez at the moment.

So instead of adding to an already populated position in the United squad, Moyes should have looked to improve areas where United have looked the most vulnerable, across back four and in centre midfield. There is not enough quality in this area, whereas in attacking positions there are too many options, not enough consistency and because of this they have underperformed this year.

Only time, and a signed contract, will tell whether it will be a success story, but what it has done is made the shelf life of a number of players considerably shorter.