What formation works best? 4-4-2 vs 4-5-1?
Swansea City manager Roberto Martinez has used two main formations this season, 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 although he refers to it as 4-3-3 with two attacking wingers.
The Spaniard has often switched between them for certain games, early on in the season he used 4-4-2 and after a string of average results at home, he tried out 4-5-1, much to the belief of the fans.
Most of us instantly thought Roberto was turning negative all of a sudden, but it proved to be an excellent change at the Liberty Stadium and has worked wonders for us ever since.
Despite that though, I did think he got it wrong to use 4-5-1 against Oldham on Saturday. Each formation suits the players we have available. For instance, last weekend, we had Darren Pratley out along with Paul Anderson. Pratley’s midfield partnership with Bodde and Britton in a 5-man midfield works wonders but without him, and playing the inexperienced Joe Allen just didn’t work.
Another thing 4-5-1 isn’t suited to is resting Jason Scotland and playing Guillem Bauza up front on his own. He seems to struggle without a strike partner and if he is going to play I think it should be in a 4-4-2.
His introduction against Oldham was vital however as he simply won us the game. His energy and skill played a huge role in getting the winning goal – courtesy of Manchester United loanee Febian Brandy.
I definitely think 4-5-1 works best at home, especially if we have Pratley and Bodde available along with 2 wingers. It urges the wingers to get forward and it enables us to get more men forward but without exposing the defence on the counter-attack.
I’d imagine Martinez will go for 4-4-2 away at Crewe on Saturday. He usually chooses that formation away from home and I think Bauza deserves another start. I think Jason Scotland’s position could come under threat if Brandy keeps up his goalscoring form. Scotland lacks a lot of effort in games and in those where we need to battle for everything against a strong and solid side (like Oldham last Saturday) we need energetic players fighting for every loose ball, just like Guillem Bauza when he came on.
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