The 3-5-2

[dom]

You need the players to do it, if you have then it can work a dream.

I personally am not a fan of having 3 out and out CBs in the three, I like Pep Guardiolas 3-4-3 formation in which he used firstly Toure, then Mascherano as a sweeper - this for me is far more effective.

I would play Kompany on the right, Lescott on the left and Garcia in the central sweeping position, Barry can be the ball winner and Yaya can then focus on his bombing runs.

Just my thoughts.

Not to be a pedant, but it's Busquets who is/was used mostly in the 3-4-3 sweeper role. It was tailor made for him.

Well whatever, but I think that is how the three a the back should be played. The way Mancini uses the three at the back formation creates the team to sit back too much when the other team has the ball, Guardiola had the team pressing like mad. He made the pitch look huge when they had the ball and really small when they did not have the ball.

That is another thing, what we should learn off Madrid is their pressing, as soon as we had the ball their players were on us in an instant, we never do this and I don't understand why, not at the pace they were doing it.

This x 1000
This is the single most unanswered question on all BM threads and right up to the top of the club


It is the comment that NEVER draws a response , let alone a reasoned tactical point of view

We hae loads of attccking thread, but when the opposition haveposeesion we look gutless, and worse, clueless

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

You need the players to do it, if you have then it can work a dream.

I personally am not a fan of having 3 out and out CBs in the three, I like Pep Guardiolas 3-4-3 formation in which he used firstly Toure, then Mascherano as a sweeper - this for me is far more effective.

I would play Kompany on the right, Lescott on the left and Garcia in the central sweeping position, Barry can be the ball winner and Yaya can then focus on his bombing runs.

Just my thoughts.

Not to be a pedant, but it's Busquets who is/was used mostly in the 3-4-3 sweeper role. It was tailor made for him.

Well whatever, but I think that is how the three a the back should be played. The way Mancini uses the three at the back formation creates the team to sit back too much when the other team has the ball, Guardiola had the team pressing like mad. He made the pitch look huge when they had the ball and really small when they did not have the ball.

That is another thing, what we should learn off Madrid is their pressing, as soon as we had the ball their players were on us in an instant, we never do this and I don't understand why, not at the pace they were doing it.

And this is what every tuppenny-ha'penny team tried last season and it frustrated the life out of our players. It's what Carlos used to do to every back four player - the Duracell bunny mode! Players like a second or two on the ball. In the first half we never got a sniff with Real pressing the way they did. Yer have to have the fittest of the fit, though, or yer end up walking and wheezing in the second half.