3-5-2

[SmallTimeCharlie]

I don't know if any of you have been watching the rest of our friendlies, but RM has used this system for every game.
Why do that if you're planning to play 4-5-1?
You might be right, but I think this is more likely Plan A for most games. Every few years football moves on, and this could be the next step. Of course you'd want Lescott in place of Savic, though he hardly misplaced a pass today, which was at least encouraging, as it looks like they're sticking with him for the time being, the gawky-looking twat.
Of course it leaves us susceptible to the long ball over the top, but we've looked very strong in the last 3 games with this formation now. And Kompany is 3 defenders all by himself.

[BmoreBlue]

I don't know if any of you have been watching the rest of our friendlies, but RM has used this system for every game.
Why do that if you're planning to play 4-5-1?
You might be right, but I think this is more likely Plan A for most games. Every few years football moves on, and this could be the next step. Of course you'd want Lescott in place of Savic, though he hardly misplaced a pass today, which was at least encouraging, as it looks like they're sticking with him for the time being, the gawky-looking twat.
Of course it leaves us susceptible to the long ball over the top, but we've looked very strong in the last 3 games with this formation now. And Kompany is 3 defenders all by himself.

mancini said in his post match interview on the OS that this will not be the usual starting formation - just something they've been working on in preseason because they were missing 12 players. i agree with the others that this will be a plan b tactic, but it suits some of our fringe-type players much better, so i'm all for it.

[BmoreBlue]

thought he even defended ok - probably because most of his job at wing back is to just get back and somewhat get in the way.

Agreed

team doomie 2012

[DoomMerchant]

thought he even defended ok - probably because most of his job at wing back is to just get back and somewhat get in the way.

Agreed

team doomie 2012

hooahhhh! I love the bmore also. I need to get back there dude and get to Fells Point. Love it.

cheers

[dazby]

3-5-2 is my fave formation. I can't see AJ being fit enough to play the wide man role though. Superjaw worked his ass off yesterday.

[Dameerto]

3-5-2 is my fave formation. I can't see AJ being fit enough to play the wide man role though. Superjaw worked his ass off yesterday.

Totally unrelated to the formation, but I loved it when Milner went in for a 50/50 against Cole and basically went straight through him, the guy nearly did a 360 through the air. Add Zabs totally owning Hazard not long before Hazard went off (cleanly taking the ball from his feet and leaving him swinging at thin air) plus Hazard attempting some silky trickery that left him tripping over his own feet and those are my three standout moments in the game (slightly ahead of Tevez's goal plus his vision in setting up Kolarov for the assist to Nasri).

[PeterParker]

This thing really bugs me. We used 4-3-2-1 and that took us every years to a whole new level, bringing us the FA Cup and the Premiership so why on hell would Bobby change that?

I understand we had problems with teams that parked their bus, but we still manage to get through. I don't understand why he doesn't use 3-5-2 when we are down one goal or we need desperate a new goal. Let's face it, this system didn't work when we played Chelsea until Ivanovic was sent off. If that incident didn''t happen, i really don't know if would have made that comeback.

Let's not say that 3-5-2 is a system where Silva is dead. He can't do anything.

A lot of things look wrong at this moment at City.

[kinkylola]

I agree with needing to have something else to go to sometimes during a match ... I don't think this 352 is the answer, and I don't like using it against big teams away.

I hope this liverpool result will be the end of it, but somehow I don't think so.

[Esky]

It's the kind of system that I like to watch other sides playing, but I don't want to see it here. Looks like it emphasizes our poor players and marginalises many of the best ones.

To defend a lead with 10 to go? Fine. To attack teams away from home? No thank you.

We just won the title. More of the same would be the obvious thing.

[DoomMerchant]

3-5-2 is my fave formation.

i preverse Reverse Cowgirl, but that's just me.

What's wrong with the 4-3-3-ish stuff we were playing seemingly most of last season?

won the league...now we need more Italiano tinkering?

fucking today was a complete joke.

[The Italian Job]

We never played 4-3-3 last season. It was more a 4-2-2-2 / 4-4-2 / 4-2-3-1 hybrid.

Regarding 3-5-2; I like the idea, but today was the wrong game & it's mind-boggling that Mancini didn't realise that. He only changed it late in the game one goal down with the introduction of Silva.

You want 3 centre backs when you're up against 2 centre forwards, not one (Suarez). We practically sacrificed Silva for an extra CB we didn't need & there still was a big, gaping hole in front of our back line. Kolarov & Milner still struggled with their wide players even with protection from the extra CB.

Even Gary fucking Neville pointed it out before the game. Sort it out Roberto!

[Cocacolajojo1]

The problem does not lie with the back line. It lies with the black hole that is created in front of the centre backs and which both southhampton and Liverpool used to their advantage. If you're going to have one less midfielder and one more centre back, one of them has to play in a libero-role or the centre backs will be exposed.

[xavi6]

You can't play three at the back if the one on the right side is an absolute donkey. It should've been a flat four with Zabaleta marking Sterling and Milner doing the covering. There was no need to drop Lescott to bring in a worse player who most likely doesn't have a future at the club.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

You can't play three at the back if the one on the right side is an absolute donkey. It should've been a flat four with Zabaleta marking Sterling and Milner doing the covering. There was no need to drop Lescott to bring in a worse player who most likely doesn't have a future at the club.

I thought kolo did quite well, what baffles me is why we play an extra cb, yet drop one of our two main cb's at the same time?

[Esky]

The problem does not lie with the back line. It lies with the black hole that is created in front of the centre backs and which both southhampton and Liverpool used to their advantage. If you're going to have one less midfielder and one more centre back, one of them has to play in a libero-role or the centre backs will be exposed.

It was a problem in the Chelsea game, too. Definitely one of the biggest issues with the system.

Hopefully normal service resumes against QPR.

[xavi6]

You can't play three at the back if the one on the right side is an absolute donkey. It should've been a flat four with Zabaleta marking Sterling and Milner doing the covering. There was no need to drop Lescott to bring in a worse player who most likely doesn't have a future at the club.

I thought kolo did quite well, what baffles me is why we play an extra cb, yet drop one of our two main cb's at the same time?

I thought he looked sluggish when dragged wide. I know he played at right back in his younger years but I'd have felt a lot more comfortable with Zabaleta there. Zab put in a crunching challenge on Sterling in the last few minutes when he was moved over to that side, something that should've been done in the first five minutes.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

I thought he looked sluggish when dragged wide. I know he played at right back in his younger years but I'd have felt a lot more comfortable with Zabaleta there. Zab put in a crunching challenge on Sterling in the last few minutes when he was moved over to that side, something that should've been done in the first five minutes.

Yeah the 3 got dragged both ways, I just thought that was more the system than the player. Vinny was all over the show as well.

Kolo looked really good on the ball. I know that's not his main job, but it suits us and it's been a while since he was in the side so I wasn't expecting him to be brilliant.

[Rag_hater]

The best team ever,ever ever did it for a lot of games last year and ended up 9 pts behind the moaners team so think its a bit flawed myself.

[Ted Hughes]

I think most of the detailed comments about tactics are spot on. (I can't agree about Kolo on the ball though as he got caught on several occasions).

Lescott could have played if we were playing 3 at the back, it did create a hole in front of the defence & unfortunately, Gary Neville was actually more astute tactically than Mancini on the day.

Imo Bob's biggest weakness since he became City manager has been random tactical changes in certain big games. He has got away with it (just) by the end result in the season, but he has handicapped himself on several occasions.

Imo, it's not the systems that he gets wrong, it's the personel & the timing of using them.

In the old days, you had two markers & a sweeper in a back 3. What's wrong with trying that if as Bob says, we want to use it as essentially an attacking system ? Then we wouldn't have situations like 3 men marking Suarez, we would have in effect a spare creative midfielder who is unmarked.