The popularity of the 4-3-3 formation all over Europe has enabled clubs, fans and players to re-evaluate the nature of the central midfield. Especially in England, where 4-4-2 and two central midfielders has been the norm for decades, the revival of 4-3-3 and it’s variations (4-1-4-1, 4-1-2-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-2-1-3) has demanded a closer look at the skill set and make-up of the central midfield roles, outside of the simplicity of the traditional “Ball-Winner” and “Box-to-Box” midfielders seen often in the 4-4-2. And in Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool have a manager who is a devotee of the three-man midfield. With this in mind, it would be prudent to examine the details of the central midfield components in a 4-3-3, and how Liverpool and Rodgers might bring those components together over the course of a season.
The Basic Variations
When we look at the central midfield of a 4-3-3 (and its offshoots), we can see that there are four basic shapes that the central midfield can take. Generally, a manager will select one of the variations based on the players at his disposal. Often, though, the set-up might be selected to counter something in the opposition’s attack, or else to take advantage of a perceived weakness in their central area. The first and simplest variation is to play three defensive midfielders. This is extremely conservative, and doesn’t really promote attacking football, but it is incredibly effective (and it is tactically flexible – it can either be the “3” in a 4-3-3 midfield or the “3” in a 4-3-1-2 midfield, a 4-4-2 variant). This system of playing a “3” in a midfield was used by Manchester City to great effect in 2010-11 when they finished second and won the FA Cup. It is, though, quite defensive and doesn’t allow for much variety in the attack.
(Three Defensive Midfielders)
“2-1” Midfield
The next variation to look at is a central midfield “3” configured in a “2-1” formation. This would be seen mainly in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-2-1-3, although it can also be seen in a 3-5-2 formation (3-4-1-2). The key to this formation is having two strong defensive midfielders who play mainly in front of the back four, protect them from direct attacks in the central channel, and keep the ball switching from wing to wing, thus maintaining the possession cycle. These players have to be strong in the tackle but also technically proficient.
(“2-1” Midfield)
Right now, Liverpool don’t really have the players to effectively play a “2-1” midfield, although cases could be made for Allen, Gerrard and even Shelvey. However, Lucas is the clear specific defensive midfielder in the team, and there is nobody of the quality of Alonso or Mascherano to play alongside him to do the defensive job first that this set-up requires. If we look at a possible “2-1” set-up, we can see that even visually, it looks like it lacks something:
(“2-1” Midfield with Lucas, Allen and Coutinho)
As we can see, it lacks “something”, and looks a little lightweight. This is probably one of the reasons that Rodgers hasn’t attempted to play it in its strictest form. The formation would be largely dependent on the two defensive midfielders staying disciplined in the middle and offering little in the way of mobility and relying more on passing ability to create attacking options. As it is, Liverpool only really have Lucas who is capable of both tactical defending and passing ability in the attack in equal measure.
“1-2” Midfield
This is the more traditional midfield for a 4-3-3, and it allows for protection of the back four, pressure in the midfield, and support in the attack, especially for second phase attacks (attacks after the second ball or a failed shot and recycling of possession). The idea behind the “1-2” midfield is to have one player defend the central area in front of the two central defenders, and two box-to-box attacking midfielders who push forward with the attack and drop back to help the defence:
(“1-2” Formation)
The problem with this formation, as Liverpool have seen, is that if even one element of the attacking midfield fails to track back, it isolates the defensive midfielder and creates overloads for the attacking team to take advantage of, putting the central defenders under more pressure than they should be under. If we look at this set-up for Liverpool, we can see possibilities, but they necessarily leave out Gerrard, as he doesn’t have the engine to play box-to-box for 90 minutes anymore:
(“1-2” with Henderson and Gerrard – Coutinho can be an option for Gerrard with Henderson moving across)
Even with Henderson and Coutinho as the “2”, there are still questions about the defensive responsibilities of at least one of the two attacking midfielders. With this kind of arrangement, the personnel in the attacking section (the “2”) are necessarily hard working and fit to play that role. It also requires a tactically intelligent Defensive Midfielder who knows when to drop in and when to hold position. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why Rodgers has gone for the more compromise version.
The “Staggered Three”
If we look at the personnel we have available (for at least the first half of the season) we can see that we had the players to fill certain roles, but we needed to alter their positioning somewhat to take advantage of their physical and tactical abilities. To that end, we played more of a staggered midfield three, with a Defensive Midfielder, an Attacking Midfielder and a player who played in between the two:
(Staggered Midfield)
With this set-up, triangulation is very important, to prevent the midfield being caught too narrow, or too square. For the most part, the best version of this midfield has been one that contained Lucas, Henderson and Gerrard in the central role:
(Staggered Midfield with Lucas, Gerrard and Henderson)
This midfield gave Liverpool the most balance, in terms of space and in terms of tasks – Lucas shielded the back four and dropped into the middle; Henderson pressed high and forced the other team to play slow; and Gerrard played in the space between, keeping the ball moving laterally and playing the longer penetrating passes. This midfield set-up probably represents Liverpool’s strongest midfield alignment, and it is easy to see even at first glance how each player and their characteristics can make this type of midfield the strongest one Liverpool can line up with.
Going Forward
Looking at recent games, it is clear that there has been a subtle tactical shift in the midfield, with varying success. It might be that this shift is intended to accommodate Sturridge and Suarez in the same team as central strikers; if so, the strength of the midfield three is lost and can only be recovered by playing a 3-4-1-2 formation, although this means dropping one of Coutinho or Henderson. Otherwise, it is imperative that Rodgers thinks about how he wants to shape the midfield for next season, because if he allows the midfield to be exposed too much, he might not see the progress he wants.
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