Since the end of the summer transfer window, a lot of noise has been made amongst fans about the positive and negatives of a 3-5-2 formation. This can be put down to the seemingly random stockpiling of centre backs, people attempting to read Brendan Rodgers’ mind or just simply wishful thinking; If we say it enough, it will happen. The formation may well never be used by Liverpool regularly, although what if it was? Exactly what would it bring to the table that the current system doesn’t? Well…
As mentioned previously, the depth in the centre of defence has drastically improved recently, with Mamadou Sakho, Tiago Ilori and that unimportant free transfer from Man City (just kidding, Kolo) replacing the only out-going centre half, Jamie Carragher. However, the full backs still lack a certain something defensively, left side in particular. Aly Cissokho was brought in but he is seen as a more offensive full back, or a wing back, as opposed to a defensively solid full back. Although a great deal is made of ‘modern full backs being more attacking’ I am a believer that they should be defensively stable, in particular when they’re part of a back 4. So far, our defence this season has been very solid; I’m not going to argue otherwise. A record of 3 clean sheets speaks for itself. However, on Monday night we saw what happens when our first choice back 4 is interrupted, as Jonjo Shelvey scored the first league goal against Liverpool this season. Leaving the obvious irony about the scorer aside, it is generally agreed that the goal was extremely avoidable, and disappointing to concede in the circumstances.
Now, a 3-5-2 formation won’t guarantee 38 clean sheets a season, but then what formation will? It simply ensures that should an injury be suffered by Glen Johnson and to a lesser extent Jose Enrique, then young central defenders who should be concentrating on honing their own game in their natural position (no offence Andre Wisdom) will not be asked to fill in and be put under unnecessary pressure in the heat of the Premier League. As a side note, that was by no means mocking Andre Wisdom. I truly believe he has a bright future in his natural position, but anyone can see that he looks out of position at full back and even as a temporary solution is simply not the answer. If Liverpool were to have employed a 3-5-2 formation with the players available against Swansea, then either Jordan Henderson or Raheem Sterling would have been likely to start as a right wing back. This would have left 3 natural centre backs to get on with what they do best, instead of worrying about the rigours of playing as a full back.
Another point is the versatility of the current Liverpool squad. Arguably there is only one player who is completely comfortable as a right back, and competent enough to play there regularly – Glen Johnson. Yes, Martin Kelly and Wisdom can fill in temporarily but would you be willing to play them regularly there? Guessing not. Moving on to the right wing back position. Johnson has always been seen as brilliant going forwards at times, but then is very inconsistent defensively. A 3-5-2 formation is quite literally a perfect formation for him to play as the wing back. There would be a worry about an extra attacking burden being placed on Jose Enrique on the other flank, but the positives outweigh the negatives on this one for me. Also, should an injury occur to either wing back, it is not as difficult to temporarily play a winger as the role is more offensive than that of a full back. Raheem Sterling or even Jordon Ibe could do a job on the right of a 3-5-2, and as he has already shown Henderson would have virtually no problem with the extra running workload that a wing back must undertake. This is the brilliance of the 3-5-2 formation in my eyes; there are no players in the Liverpool squad who wouldn’t easily fit into at least one position in it.
Another headache that the formation instantly sorts out is the worry of fitting Coutinho into the team. It is not even debatable, it is a given. He would be the 10, playing as an attacking midfielder. In the centre. How devastating a strike-force could Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez be with a creator to rival any other in the league behind them. I mean it when I say that those 3 are all Champions League quality players, but it will be difficult to fit them all together without sacrificing at least one’s best position. However, a 3-5-2 achieves this. If Liverpool can find a way of gelling the majority of their key players into a single starting XI, then there is no reason that they can’t challenge for the Champions League places.
In short, I feel that a 3-5-2 is the way forward for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool squad. There isn’t a player that wouldn’t benefit from the transition in my opinion, and would ease the constant demand on Johnson as there would be a suitable back up for him if required. The graphic below shows the team I would play if a 3-5-2 was to be used, feel free to use the squad selector on the site and tweet us in yours!
