New formation suits the squad

Two wins in a row, seven goals, strikers scoring.......suddenly the Palace debacle seems a long time ago. However those fans that are asking the Curbs critics to eat their words are missing the point. The more level-headed critics (including myself) argued that it was time to blood some youngsters and drop Kevin Lisbie. The introduction of Thomas has clearly exceeded most fans expectations, and Lisbie was dropped against Spurs, and it seems he hardly endeared himself to the fans against Norwich.

Where Curbs deserves credit however is by realising that the fluid formation which was used in both victories suits the squad that we have far more than a more rigid 4-4-2. In my opinion we only have two genuine out-and-out strikers at the club, namely Bartlett and Jeffers, with the latter out of favour it appears at present. Meanwhile we have four pacey players capable of devastating runs into the channels ie. Johannson, Lisbie, Rommedahl and Thomas. However with two strikers up front, the ability of the team to get the ball wide and probe these areas is constrained in a 4-4-2 formation because it puts too much pressure on the two central midfielders when the play breaks down. Hence Rommedahl in his brief appearances has largely disappointed due to his need to constantly worry about defending first, and attacking second.

Instead, by sacrificing a striker for an extra man in central midfield (Kishishev), we suddenly have a highly fluid formation which can switch from 4-3-3 when we are pushing forward to 4-5-1 when we need to defend in numbers, but the wide men have the pace to break from deep in the latter anyhow (witness the fourth goal against Norwich as a great example of JJ's pace). Moreover it allows the full-backs to probe forward too, again knowing that Kish, Holland or Murphy will drop deeper as a result. It cannot be a coincidence that we have suddenly scored five goals in two games directly from crosses from the flanks.

Moreover, the squad is loaded with players who can make up the three in central midfield, with Hughes, El Karkouri, Konchesky, Stuart and Euell all capable of taking the place of the current incumbents.

It certainly beats watching the boring 4-4-2 with its narrow midfield and constant pumping of long balls up to strikers who are unable to hold it up. Using a lone striker in the current formation is not a defensive move because of the ability and pace of the players around him. Suddenly I find myself excited about the prospects for us now that Curbs has finally realised that it's better to fit the formation to the squad than the other way around. I'm positively salivating at the thought of Rommedahl returning to the team at some point, freed from his defensive shackles and terrifying full-backs.