gaffr is the best way to analyse the beautiful game, share football opinions and collaborate on team selection.

Soon, you’ll be able to flex your football management skills and assemble the team that you think should be fielded in upcoming fixtures. Just like fantasy football? Not really - gaffr is not about competition at all, it’s a way of sharing your ideas about football tactics and team selection, comparing strategy with others and collaborating to produce a great team.

But that’s just the start! At its heart, gaffr is an online network where your team is the focus of attention, not your profile. You’ll be able to link up with people who share similar football management ideas to you, discuss your own and others’ teams, and add your influence to the team calculated by all gaffr users through a unique aggregation process.

If you enjoy unpicking the details of soccer managers’ decisions, you’ll want to join up with gaffr and indulge that passion to the full.

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Overview
During the 1986/87 season Tottenham, under manager David Pleat, played free-flowing football facilitated by a five-man midfield: they did not deviate from this style for the Cup Final. With Glenn Hoddle, the playmaker, as the most advanced midfielder it could be considered that Tottenham played a 4-4-1-1 formation. However, flexibility underpinned Pleat’s approach and the players’ roles overlapped a great deal and they often switched positions over the course of a game. Therefore, despite fielding just one forward, the prolific Clive Allen, this was an approach predicated on attacking football. Ossie Ardiles sat the deepest of the midfielders during the final, breaking up attacks and initiating many of Tottenham’s moves. Paul Allen sat level with Ardiles in central midfield for the early exchanges, but advanced more as the game progressed.

Perennial strugglers Coventry had enjoyed a good season in the league which was complemented by an impressive cup run. Coventry fielded a traditional 4-4-2 employing Keith Houchen at the target man next to fellow forward Cyrille Regis. Tough tackling Lloyd McGrath was allocated the task of marking Glenn Hoddle so sat deeper than his fellow central midfielder, the busy Michael Gynn. For this fixture Coventry’s 4-4-2 thus resembled 4-1-3-2.  Midfielder David Phillips dropped to right-back to cover for the injured Brian Borrows.

The game
Before the game had settled Tottenham stole an early lead which intimated that this could be a one-sided affair. Chris Waddle turned Coventry left-back Greg Downs and delivered a cross from the right; Clive Allen met it first and headed past Steve Ogrizovic. Coventry rose to the occasion, however, and did not let the early goal crush them. Houchen’s aerial presence caused Gary Mabbutt and Richard Gough problems and Coventry prevented Tottenham from dominating. Coventry pulled the game level just seven minutes after they had conceded. Downs’s cross from deep was flicked on by Houchen; right-midfielder Dave Bennett stole in ahead of a static Tottenham defence and finished deftly past Ray Clemence.

Coventry were perhaps also unlucky to have a goal ruled out on 20 minutes: Regis’s header was disallowed as Houchen was adjudged to have pushed Gough, but the contact was slight. After half-an-hour of the game Spurs were hitting their stride and with the five-man midfield combining well, they were able to retain possession and stretch Coventry. However, Tottenham’s expansive approach did leave them prone to counterattacks. During this passage of play Waddle was dispossessed on the edge of the Coventry area; Coventry broke and were faced with a threadbare Tottenham defence; Regis slid the ball through to Gynn but his shot was saved by Clemence. Tottenham did manage to take the lead again though before half-time. A free-kick delivered by Hoddle from the right was spooned into the net from the edge of the six-yard box. The goal was credited to Mabbutt but on reflection it appears to come off Coventry defender Brian Kilcline.

Both sides continued to attack in the second-half and had further chances to score.  For Coventry, Gynn was played through by Kilcline but was denied by a Gough tackle. At the other end, Clive Allen turned adroitly in the box but was crowded out by Peake and Downs before he could get his shot away. Just after the hour mark this open game yielded a further goal. A long-ball from Ogrizovic was flicked on by Cyrille Regis, Houchen played the ball out to Bennett, Bennett crossed and Houchen, continuing his run, finished with a diving header. With the score now at 2-2 both sides had opportunities to win the game within normal time, but Tottenham perhaps threatened the most. Clive Allen was arguably isolated a little during this game without a strike-partner, but when he received the ball in the box he was always dangerous. On 80 minutes he just failed to convert a Hodge cross whilst under pressure from Kilcline. And then with two minutes to go in normal time, Allen made space for himself but could only shoot against Ogrizovic’s legs from a tight angle.

The game opened up even more in extra-time but it was Coventry that managed the breakthrough. Substitute Graham Rodger broke from defence and fed McGrath on the right; McGrath’s cross caught Mabbutt’s knee and looped over Clemence to make it 3-2 to Coventry. In the second period of extra-time Tottenham did not look likely to draw level. Perhaps the fluid five-man midfield was not equipped to carry a team through 120 minutes as Tottenham seemed more weary than Coventry. Waddle in particular appeared to be labouring in a more central position. Pleat brought Nico Claesen on to join the attack and even Gough advanced to provide an aerial option. Hoddle moved back in the endeavour to influence play from deeper, but it was to no avail and if anything Coventry threatened more. An interception by Dave Bennett just inside the Tottenham half allowed him to send Gynn through, but the latter failed to round Clemence. Coventry then held on comfortably for a deserved and famous victory; their first major trophy in their 104 year history.

In conclusion
Coventry perhaps did not display the sophistication of Tottenham over this final, but there was more to Coventry’s game than route one football. They battled very hard but also engaged in some lively and well coordinated attacking play of their own. What is apparent, on reflection, is how much ground both sides covered. Tottenham did adopt a flexible approach but players for both sides assumed positions which appeared contrary to their allocated roles. It may have been that man-marking was adopted over a zonal approach. At times even full-backs ended up on the opposite side of the pitch from their regular positions. It is also interesting that neither side had much penetration on the left. Steve Hodge seldom advanced down his flank for Tottenham to test makeshift right-back Dave Phillips. Meanwhile Coventry’s left-midfielder Nick Pickering had very little attacking presence and did not advance to the Tottenham goal-line throughout the game. Pickering however was somewhat waylaid with defensive duties. Waddle was a handful for Downs so the left-back required support, and whenever Paul Allen broke from midfield it was usually down this flank as Tottenham tried to make the most of their extra midfielder.

Coventry’s stalwart defender Trevor Peake became increasingly commanding as the game progressed after a couple of shaky first-half moments, and he needed to be at the top of his game to thwart Clive Allen. McGrath and Gynn were also crucial and battled hard throughout to contain Hoddle and the other Tottenham midfielders. Hoddle’s influence was significantly curtailed by the close attentions of McGrath and this limited the efficacy of Pleat’s five-man midfield. While Tottenham attacked freely at times it must be noted that the only goal they scored from open play was two minutes into the game. Therefore, whilst both sides could have won this entertaining and open fixture, nobody could begrudge the hardworking and spirited Coventry their moment of glory.

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France also had very little cutting edge; however, they demonstrated that one breakthrough can be devastating with a forward such as Anelka in the frontline. Clerc slipped the attentions of the otherwise resilient Hargreaves and played through Anelka whose pace took him away from John Terry; Anelka was brought down by David James in the area and Ribery converted the spot-kick.

I would persist with 4-2-3-1 for future fixtures as it appeared a well organized unit. What is required is more impact from the advanced midfielders. Steven Gerrard exerted little influence and Joe Cole had one of his less impressive games. Beckham worked hard on the right and some of his distribution was excellent, but his limitations are well documented and he is unlikely to get past his marker. This does not mean that these players cannot be accommodated under this formation, but highlights that the advanced midfield line should be supplemented by a player (or players) with more pace or attacking verve. For example, Beckham had a good final season for Real Madrid under a Capello-organized 4-2-3-1, but he was accompanied in midfield by Raul and Robinho.

Wayne Rooney toiled upfront in this fixture but had little service. He plays the lone forward role well for Man Utd, who currently lead the English Premier League, so he is well equipped for this position. However, Man Utd have an abundance of goalscoring midfielders and England do not have someone with Cristiano Ronaldo’s attacking presence situated behind the forward. For England, Rooney should therefore drop back from the lone forward role into a deeper position with Crouch leading the line. Frank Lampard is a further contender to join the advanced midfield trio. David Bentley, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon provide additional options if an injection of pace is required.

In the second-half England switched to 4-4-2 (4-1-3-2) with Hargreaves now behind Barry in central midfield, and Peter Crouch and Michael Owen paired up front. The format of the second-half did not deviate greatly from the first. France were in control of the game more in the second period though, and were happy to hold on to a lead which they never looked like relinquishing. Whilst Barry had a sound first-half, he perhaps does not have enough about his game to be an effective advanced midfielder in a 4-4-2 at international level. Of the substitutes, Stewart Downing had a few bright moments on the left of midfield and Joleon Lescott appeared composed in central defence. The new attack had very little impact with Owen particularly ineffectual. If two forwards are played together in forthcoming fixtures, a partnership should be developed between Rooney and Crouch. And as highlighted above, whilst there was not a substantial difference between the two halves, I believe England looked more organized under 4-2-3-1 and any deficiencies should be addressed with this as the on-pitch template for future games.

Despite the 1-0 defeat it must be remembered that this was an away fixture against one of the strongest international teams.

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One of England’s most famous victories is the 5-1 defeat of Germany in Munich on the road to World Cup 2002. Analysis of this historic victory may provide clues as to why England failed to live up to the expectation that this result generated. England adopted a 4-4-2 approach for what was anticipated to be a testing away fixture. Germany opted for a 3-5-2 system with wing-backs, but with Dietmar Hamann dropping deep from midfield this could be considered a 3-1-4-2 formation.

Central midfield
Perhaps the key focus of interest when scrutinising this fixture is the arrangement of England’s central midfield. The question of how England should divide the responsibilities of its central midfielders has persisted over recent years. Did England succeed in this game because distinct roles had been allocated to the two central midfielders? Review of this fixture suggests that a distinct positional brief had not been allocated to either player: whilst Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard are usually considered to be attack-minded midfielders, both players adopted restrained defensive roles for this tricky away tie. Over the 90 minutes neither player adopted a markedly more advanced position than the other.

The build-up to Germany’s only goal of the game endorses the suspicion that there was not a clear demarcation of responsibilities between Gerrard and Scholes. In the early stages of the game, Germany made the most of their additional centrally-located personnel. Hamann strolled forwards from defence and played the ball to fellow midfielder Ballack; Ballack crossed for Neuville who nodded it into the path of his strike-partner Jancker. With England’s central midfield protecting the defence Hamann was able to initiate this successful attack without an advanced English midfielder placing him under any pressure. After the goal it was Emile Heskey, from his attacking berth, who was allocated the task of closing down the German players as they advanced from defence.

On the flanks
Nick Barmby had been allocated to, what was then, England’s problem role on the left of midfield. During this game Barmby kept things tight but offered very little going forwards. Likewise, David Beckham often drifted infield and offered little penetration down the right flank: however, it should be acknowledged that he was closely involved in three of the five England goals.

It is perhaps a surprise that the German wing-backs Rehmer and Bohme did not push forward more to test England’s full-backs. With Hamann dropping back as almost fourth defender at times, the three centre-backs should have been able to cover the space adequately if Beckham or Barmby had gone on the offensive. There was, therefore, an adequate defensive platform which should have allowed the wing-backs to eschew some defensive responsibilities. In fact, with German personnel focused on central areas (and with Rehmer and Bohme occupied with Beckham and Barmby) it was the full-backs Gary Neville and Ashley Cole who had the most attacking freedom. England’s success in this fixture, without any real attacking presence at wide-midfield, may have been a factor which prompted Sven Goran-Eriksson to experiment in later years with a more narrow diamond formation.

In conclusion
5-1 suggests an emphatic victory but many of the tactical frailties which bedevilled England over later years were actually apparent in this game. There was no clear division of labour in central midfield and, apart from sporadic flourishes from the full-backs, there was little cutting edge down the flanks. The first-half was evenly matched and both of England’s goals arose from set-pieces; in open play Michael Owen and Heskey were often detached from the withdrawn midfield. Germany also had several further chances to score; Deisler notably missed a sitter which would have put Germany back in front. England scored a third early in the second-half which greatly shaped the rest of the game. England now sat back to defend their advantage, with Heskey joining the deep-lying midfield on the edge of the penalty area. Despite applying pressure Germany failed to reduce the deficit, then England scored two breakaway goals within 10 minutes to inflate the score line.

England certainly deserved their victory, however, and were well set-up by Eriksson for a tight away fixture: they shut down Germany on the flanks and eventually came to grips with their extra man in central midfield. But 5-1 was the outcome of a rather fortunate sequence of events, rather than an accurate reflection of the victorious team’s superiority.

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Against Switzerland, Capello sent England out as a 4-1-4-1 version of 4-5-1 with Gareth Barry playing behind Jermaine Jenas and Steven Gerrard in central midfield. As this fixture pits England against a stronger side, and is away from home, I believe that Capello should adjust this formation slightly and play two defensive midfielders under a 4-2-3-1 formation. This is an approach that Capello previously utilized at Real Madrid. Barry retains his place in the starting line-up and is joined at the base of midfield by Owen Hargreaves. Hargreaves’ Man Utd teammate Michael Carrick would have provided a further option for defensive midfield and may feel slightly aggrieved that he was not even named in the initial squad of 30. The advanced trio of midfielders is led by Frank Lampard who is flanked by David Bentley and Joe Cole. Bentley and Cole are both in fine form for their clubs; they also performed well against Switzerland so should be rewarded with places in the starting line-up. David Beckham can win his 100th cap from the bench.

There is also no place for Steven Gerrard in my XI. The Guardian’s Kevin McCarra suggested that the captaincy should reside elsewhere, after Gerrard’s provisional appointment against Switzerland, and argues that: “it would be best to excuse him those responsibilities in the hope that free rein is given to his explosive spontaneity”. However, it is doubtful that it was the temporary bestowal of captaincy that hindered Gerrard in the aforementioned game: explosive spontaneity has generally been absent from his England performances. He has been an England mainstay for seven years and has persistently disappointed at international level. Excuses must soon wear thin and we may discover under Capello whether Gerrard can make a useful contribution as an impact substitute.

Elsewhere within this formation, Wayne Rooney takes up the lone forward berth and looked sharp against Liverpool on Sunday. Michael Owen has intimated that he may be returning to form with Newcastle but he will not suit the lone forward role so is restricted to the bench. The defence almost picks itself, but Wes Brown is under pressure from Glen Johnson for the right-back slot.

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“The methods of the research were quite simple: we undertook a close textual analysis of newspaper and magazine articles which discussed football management. Perhaps the most fascinating finding pertained to Chelsea’s former manager, Jose Mourinho. The percentage of articles citing Mourinho that referred to him the ‘Special One’ was actually over 100%. It seems that no self-respecting writer can refrain from referring to Mourinho as the ‘Special One’.

“This intriguing finding must tell us something about the nature of sports journalism and fandom in England, and we are hoping that supplementary research will be able to tell us why the use of the ‘Special One’ is so prevalent. It is incredible that a throwaway term used in a press conference several years ago (when the ‘Special One’ referred to himself as a ‘Special One’) is still being utilized with such ferocious consistency.

“No mention of the ‘Special One’ is possible without stating the ‘Special One’ but it’s not as though readers need reminding of the ‘Special One’ moniker when every single article on the ‘Special One’ mentions the ‘Special One’. I’m hoping that the ‘Special One’ tag continues to accompany all mentions of the ‘Special One’ in articles on ‘The Special One’ for the foreseeable future. As lazy over-repeated soundbites go, it really is rather special.”

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4-4-2 is the traditional formation on these isles. With Scotland’s Darren Fletcher in the holding midfield role it could be construed as 4-1-3-2. The other representative for Scotland is Alan Hutton who has performed well at right-back this season for Tottenham. The remainder of the defence is English, whilst the keeper’s jersey is handed to the Republic of Ireland’s Shay Given.
 
England’s Wayne Rooney and Northern Ireland’s David Healy are stationed in attack. Healy’s record at international level is exceptional and he also scored an excellent goal for Fulham at the weekend.
 
Steven Gerrard seldom performs well for England, but is allocated the central midfield role as a result of his club form. The Republic’s centre forward Robbie Keane is, perhaps controversially, positioned at right-midfield; but he’s a talented and versatile player so can make a positive contribution in this role. I struggled to select a viable team representative from Wales to be honest, but Jason Koumas adds a dash of colour to the graphic at left-midfield.
 
Who would be in your UK and Rep of Ireland XI?

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This 4-3-3 is to some extent a variant of 4-5-1 but with the wide players pushed up as wingers rather than wide-midfielders. However, these wingers will retain some defensive responsibilities and the formation may resemble 4-5-1 in a tight game or when a narrow lead must be preserved. With wide attacking players, the midfield under this 4-3-3 should take up a narrow shape to prevent the team from being over-run in central areas. During Mourinho’s early days at Chelsea, Claude Makelele took up the defensive midfield position with Frank Lampard and Tiago the more advanced central midfielders. Therefore, broken down further into its constituent elements, Mourinho’s 4-3-3 resembled 4-1-2-3.

At Newcastle, on the other hand, Kevin Keegan has recently assembled three centre-forwards at the head of the formation. This is the team configuration Keegan has fielded in recent fixtures, which have included the comprehensive defeat of Tottenham at White Hart Lane last Saturday. The three forwards were Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka. In contrast to the 4-3-3 with wingers, this trio are usually associated with central striking roles. Rather than shoehorning these players into a ‘conventional’ 4-3-3 and pushing two of them into wide positions where they may not be comfortable, Keegan accommodated them by playing Owen in a withdrawn role as a support striker. 4-3-3 was therefore 4-3-1-2. Tottenham actually deployed a similar formation in this game and placed Dimitar Berbatov behind Robbie Keane and Darren Bent in attack.

4-3-3 in this instance mutates into a variant of 4-4-2, with a striker dropping to take up a position akin to an advanced central midfielder. However, the midfield may need to take a compact centrally-focused shape to provide defensive solidity. As this is an adjustment of 4-3-3 the player dropping deeper than the forwards is less likely to provide defensive coverage than a regular advanced midfielder under a 4-4-2. Positioning Michael Owen behind the forwards is an attack-minded move and therefore the midfield must provide some counterbalance. Almost paradoxically, the narrow attacking shape requires support from a narrow midfield: if the midfield took up a standard left-to-right spread this would leave the team very exposed in central areas. This 4-3-1-2 approach could thus also be considered to be a 4-4-2 (diamond) with Geremi and Joey Barton slightly more advanced than the holding midfielder Nicky Butt.

A possible shortcoming of Keegan’s approach is a lack of width. Mourinho’s 4-3-3 is predicated on attacking width with the wingers given licence to attack down their respective flanks. With Keegan’s 4-3-3 the forwards are retained centrally, and the midfield must also stay compact to provide counterbalance to the attacking focus. But with three players positioned as forwards there should be sufficient flexibility for one or more to drift into wider areas. The full-backs may also have additional scope to push forward.

Keegan appears to have reinvigorated Newcastle, at least temporarily, and their 4-3-3 formation was certainly sufficient to overcome a lackadaisical Tottenham side. However, I feel the classic 4-3-3 with wingers provides a better balance of central and wide on-pitch coverage; more astute sides may be able to shut down Newcastle’s attacking approach whilst exploiting its shortcomings.

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Derby County have experienced a torrid time in the top flight over the last few months and are on course for the lowest ever accumulation of points over a Premier League season. Relegation is virtually assured, but Paul Jewell must still endeavour to obtain as many good results as possible before the season’s end. A realistic target for Derby is to pick up six points, which would trump the previous lowest total, 15 - the sum of Sunderland’s efforts in 2005/06. This minor triumph will hardly take Derby into the summer in buoyant spirits, but it may assist them to regroup effectively before next season’s Championship campaign.

Derby performed creditably in their last fixture at home against Man Utd and were only beaten by a second-half goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. With Fulham and Reading still to play at home, Derby must be hopeful of procuring some points over the spring months. For these games at Pride Park, Jewell can deploy the 4-4-2 formation which functioned proficiently against Man Utd.

However, away points are also required to supplement any home gains. With just three draws on their travels this season, Jewell needs to scrutinize how he sets his Derby side for away fixtures. Derby must try to steal as many points as possible and this means shutting games down so that they don’t concede goals. They have leaked an average of 2.6 goals per game away from home; therefore, fairly drastic measures are required. For away games, starting with Middlesbrough this weekend, Jewell should set his side up with an ultra-defensive 5-4-1 formation. This approach is often referred to as catenaccio (’door bolt’) and is associated with defensive Italian football of the 1960s which was perfected by Inter Milan.

Three centre-backs are employed under 5-4-1 with full-backs situated either side of this triumvirate. Dean Leacock, Darren Moore and Andy Todd can take up the three central defensive positions. The combative Robbie Savage should sit the deepest of the midfield quartet as the key defensive shield. With Savage slightly withdrawn from the rest of the midfield this could be considered a 5-1-3-1 formation. Defensive duties will still be the primary focus for the more advanced midfielders and their hard running can help to close the game down. Mile Sterjovski started three games for Gus Hiddink’s highly organized Australian side in the 2006 World Cup, so is well equipped to make a positive contribution at right-midfield. Likewise, Eddie Lewis has featured in two World Cups for the USA at both left-back and left-midfield, so he has the capacity to help shut down the opposition on his flank. David Jones came up through the youth system at Man United and played well against his old side last weekend; he is handed the remaining midfield slot.

Jewell needs to be aware that the catenaccio approach may actually have some defensive shortcomings if faced with a five-man midfield. With resources focused on the back-line, 5-4-1 might allow the midfield to be overrun and thus opposition attacks are almost invited. This can be countered by enabling one of the centre-backs to push forwards into midfield when necessary: Andy Todd must therefore be briefed to join Savage at the base of midfield when additional help is required to impede burgeoning opposition manouevres. Todd has played for Derby in a defensive midfield position before, so is the most suitable candidate to take on this extra responsibility.

Although this system is designed to choke the game to a goalless conclusion, with a hard working midfield and Scottish international Kenny Miller up front, there is the possibility that Derby might nick a goal. Whilst 5-4-1 may appear excessively negative, it could actually provide Derby with their best chance of winning an away game this season.

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Newcastle’s on-pitch problems have been well documented of late as their expensive squad slips towards the relegation zone. The rot set in when Sam Allardyce was in charge, but this has only been exacerbated since the arrival of his replacement Kevin Keegan. gaffr provides some suggestions below as to how Keegan might reinvigorate Newcastle’s season, starting with the forthcoming away fixture at Birmingham.

Keegan needs to engineer at least a draw at St Andrews to prevent a precarious situation from becoming an emergency. Newcastle have been in woeful form so it is imperative that things are kept tight. Newcastle should therefore field a 4-4-2 with a narrow midfield configured as what is commonly termed ‘the diamond’. Abdoulaye Faye is brought forwards from central defence to take up the position at the base of midfield. Faye regularly played in this position for his previous club Bolton, in particular during the 2005-06 season in which his midfield enforcement helped them to a Premiership finish of 8th place. Nicky Butt and Alan Smith take up midfield positions either side of Faye; James Milner is positioned at the vertex of the diamond. Milner has been one of the few Newcastle players to have retained some credibility this season: whilst he usually plays at wide-midfield he should have the requisites to perform this role behind the centre forwards. If Milner is unfit for the Birmingham fixture then Damien Duff can be allocated to this position instead.

With three midfielders focused on shielding the back four, this could almost be considered a 4-3-1-2 formation. This approach does not need to be excessively defensive however. Whilst a draw is an essential requirement, Newcastle’s formation should have sufficient flexibility to enable attacking manoeuvres against a Birmingham side who are also facing a relegation battle. Newcastle’s compact midfield will allow the full-backs to progress up their respective flanks in support of the more advanced players. Geremi and N’Zogbia have therefore been selected for the full-back slots as they both have significant experience of midfield roles. If the full-backs push up in support of the attack, Faye will be able to supplement the defensive line.

Keegan tried to keep things tight recently against Liverpool, but sought refuge in a 4-5-1 formation which left Michael Owen isolated up front. This narrow 4-4-2 approach will provide a significant defensive base but also provides Owen with a strike partner. Obafemi Martins (who was a lively substitute against Liverpool) is brought in to accompany Owen. This further demonstrates that this formation is not only equipped to stifle the game but can reconcile the requirements for defensive solidity with service to the attacking players.

A draw or win against Birmingham will bequeath much needed confidence to Newcastle players before an eminently winnable home tie against Fulham. A solid but polished midfield diamond can thus help to get Newcastle’s season back on track.

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