'It's not systems, everyone get's obsessed with systems. Just head and kick the ball, defend and close gaps'
Lee Clark
All goods things come to an end & Lee Clark finally lost to Leeds for the first time as a manager. The Birmingham City manager looked like a lost soul on the touchline as his team were hammered 4:0 by Leeds United. The cause of Clark's torment was Leeds new 3-5-2 formation which allowed the mighty whites to smash the blues all over the park.
I'm glad that Brian McDermott has finally seen sense & decided that 3-5-2 is the perfect system for his set of players. To be honest with you, he should have known that in pre-season. The international break was a blessing for the Leeds United manager because it has given him time to work on this formation and boy did it work. Having 5 bodies in midfield allowed Leeds to dominate the game & Birmingham City just couldn't cope with the pressure.
England have always played their best football in the 3-5-2 formation. At the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the senior England players persuaded Bobby Robson to change from 4-4-2 to a back three which gave Gascoigne & Platt more freedom in central midfield. That team reached the semi-final and so did Terry Venables Euro 96 team which played the same way. Glenn Hoddle was always a 3-5-2 man which started at Swindon Town where he played sweeper in the final days of his playing career. He continued this formation at Chelsea where Ruud Gullit was signed to play in the sweeper position. The FA were impressed by Hoddle's tactical knowledge and offered him the England job. When Hoddle became England manager he adapted the 3-5-2 formation slightly by playing 2 holding midfielders in Ince & Batty. Despite epic games against Italy in Rome & Argentina in the 1998 World Cup in France, Hoddle was sacked by the FA in 1999. Hoddle missed on the chance to work with the 'Golden Generation' and the opportunity to select Rio Ferdinand as an England sweeper.
At Leeds it's about which formation suit the present players. In my opinion Brian McDermott should try to copy Martin O'Neill's formula that he had at Leicester City. Stick 3 big lumps at the guy, have 5 terriers in midfield & have the big man/little man combination up front. This is the best option we have at Leeds till proper investment in the team happens.
