England’s new-look formation not received well

You can always count on the English media for an overreaction. That a 4-5-1 formation can prompt such clamour, such inquest, hints that the scribes are truly bored.

Thankfully, there were no column inches dedicated to England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson’s extra-curricular (ahem) affairs. Rather, the media swooped down at the scene of what they saw as gross indecency: England playing a crowded midfield with just one striker up front. Suddenly Eriksson, who has polarized opinion in the country like no other manager of late, was in the firing line for football reasons.

In a qualifier against Wales in Cardiff, England played with less conviction than they are wont to. David Beckham, one of the few bright points of the game, played a holding role in midfield, with neither the poise of Andrea Pirlo of Italy and Milan nor the strength of Claude Makelele of France and Chelsea. But no one could fault his spectacular delivery to a wasteful Joe Cole and company. Even Wayne Rooney looked forlorn, shorn of a partner up front, the powerful teenager tried to do it all on his own and achieved little.

It thus took a deflected Cole shot for England to squeak past a Welsh side, who had held their own with John Hartson producing a blinder of a save from Paul Robinson (the goalkeeper filling in for the media-crucified David James).

However, rather than treating the result with calm, next-day introspection, the media turned on Eriksson, questioning his tactical nous once again.

It matters little to many that Eriksson has just lost a few competitive games for the road of defeat might be one less travelled by England but it has made all the difference.

Critics point to Brazil and Portugal as a damning indictment of Eriksson’s naivety. Against the former, during the quarter-finals of the World Cup in the Far East, England, despite taking a quick lead, failed to take advantage of ten-man opposition and wilted to a 2-1 defeat. Against the latter, during the recent quarter-finals of the European championships, England again went ahead, only to see the Portuguese midfield, Tottenham reject Helder Postiga and goalkeeper Ricardo completely upstage them and go on to win in penalties.

It was as if Eriksson had no plan B and when he did try to come up with one against Wales, it was the wrong option. The 4-5-1 formation came about, of course, because Michael Owen was suspended and after England were demolished 4-1 by Denmark in a friendly, the public wanted an emphatic win against the Welsh. Eriksson’s answer to that defeat, it appeared, was to shore up the flanks, which were so cruelly exposed by the Dane’s swift wingplay.

But the expected thrashing never came and the media refused to take refuge in clichés like “we won without playing well, signs of a great team.” Instead they focused on what could force Eriksson’s hand to play such an inexplicable system.

Player power was their answer. It seemed that Eriksson had had a meeting with his senior players and they insisted on such a formation.

Of course there is nothing wrong with a coach meeting with his players and discussing tactics, but the media chose to believe that Eriksson was at his wit’s end and had no more ideas.

That assertion can never be easily proved for measuring managerial constitution is no easy thing. The game against Wales, then, became a pseudo-measure of how far Eriksson had come- in losing the plot.

The subsequent laboured and uninspired 1-0 victory was music to the ears of critics everywhere. No credit was given, thus, to how England grinded out a win despite playing with a new system, no credit was given to the energetic Shaun Wright-Phillips on the wing.

Not surprisingly, then, Eriksson is keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of the match against Northern Ireland. However it does not take a genius to figure out that Eriksson is set to bring back Newcastle signing Owen into the mix, alongside Rooney.

Yet Beckham believes that the England camp is being as surreptitious as ever. In a recent conference, in one of his most featherweight statements yet, the skipper told us: “We don’t like to discuss formations because if the opposition finds out they can make adjustments.”

Beckham, it seems, has a degree from the University of Obvious and for now 4-4-2 seems the obvious thing for England to do. Plan B can wait.

Hasan Saiyid
TotalSoccer.ca writer/editor