France has so many great strikers its almost embarassing how difficult it is for Les Bleus to score lately. Part of the problem is that France has been using the same exact formation for years without a playmaker and the opposing teams know exactly how to stifle our offense. Since Raymond always plays with 2 defensive mids and 2 wingers the task is easy for the opposing team. Shut down the wings and force France to play through the middle. Since Vieira and Makelele dont pose much of a creative threat the opposing team simply hangs back, sits tight and waits for an opening to counter. It can be extremely frustrating to watch as a supporter of the French team. What hasnt happened yet is to use a formation that caters to France's strengths. Witness: 3-5-2 using Thuram, Gallas AND MEXES and with Nasri in the playmaker role plus twin strikers. what could be better? ---------------------Coupet----------------------- --------Mexes------Thuram--------Gallas------- --------------Viera----------Makelele------------ --Ribery------------Nasri-------------Malouda-- -----------Anelka-----------Henry--------------- This way Domenech can keep his beloved Vieira, Makelele pairing intact, Mexes can play alongside Thuram and most importantly, France has what in every great French team was needed......a number 10, Nasri. Since it uses 2 strikers Domenech is free to choose from a greater number of available striker options, for example, Henry and Anelka or one I would like to see, Benzema and Trezeguet. Ben Arfa can also be subbed in for Malouda to add an even stronger attacking edge. What do you think? (P.S. I tested it out in FIFA 08 and it works fantastic!)
We're not really gonna say that it'll work because it works in Fifa are we? It's like transfer threads where people just list the latest people from Football Manager. It looks a decent side, but where is Sagnol and his killer cross? And personally I would be much more comfortable with Gallas in the middle as he is younger and has more pace than Thuram, who is getting on, despite how much I love him. He is much more effective in the middle, having watched him this season about 20 or so odd times.
Sagnol is great but you cant say that he's crucial for scoring goals. I honestly can't remember the last time he provided an assist for Les Bleus. And no this is not a FIFA based decision, its based on figuring out a way to supply balls to the forwards so they can get it into the back of the net without sacrificing a balanced midfield and solid backline.
If I were playing that formation, I'd like the backline to be Gallas-Mexès-Abidal as opposed to Mexès-Thuram-Gallas, but other than that, it's not a bad idea. However, I think one should be realistic that Domenech won't be altering his tactics, and that all France fans are able to hope for is that he utilizes the right personnel in a formation where they will be positioned to be efficient. A defensive mid on the wing, as seen yesterday, doesn't cut it.
In fifa08, copy the one the australian national side has as their default. It's the best, and you can play the best football, but you have to be sharp.
3-man backfield? why not bring back the W-M? seriously, just having ribéry or govou or nasri on the right would have made a big difference against spain. let's not forget that you don't win a tournament like this with 11 players or even 16; in this light check out this firepower: two from column A: anelka benzema henry trezeguet one from column B: ben arfa malouda one from column C: govou nasri ribéry two from column D: l. diarra makelele toulalan vieira column D you might not want to call firepower, even if diarra scored this weekend and vieira is always dangerous on set pieces, but all these fellows can launch an attack in their own way, and before that important last pass, there has to be a first pass. the best part of this list is looking at all the fresh legs you can choose from for the last 15-20 minutes of a close match, and euro knockouts tend to be close. as for including trezeguet, i know france has precedents for locking out obvious selections... (i'm thinking about cantona and ginola actually) but my little finger tells me that trezeguet's making the squad will be RD's hole ace.
this has been an ongoing problem for France with or without Ribery. regardless of the backline setup i feel that France needs a number 10 formation to create more goal-scoring opportunities for the strikers. every great France team has had one. and per Thuram in the 3-5-2, he wouldn't be alone since in this set up its a flat back and mexes and gallas would stay by his side for the most part.
It'd be much easier to play a 4-1-2-1-2. Why using two DMs all the time, even against teams like the Faroes? It makes no sense. I would never play only three in the back with two wings who can't defend (Ribéry & Malouda) against teams like Spain, Italy or the Netherlands.
I believe Malouda's actually known for his defensive work, tracking back to help. But I agree with the 4-1-2-1-2, I think that would be a good idea. Milan has won Champions Leagues using that.
the formation you're on about has already been used many times since 2006, called 4-4-2 en losange (diamond). the difference with the milan setup being that vieira isn't pirlo. all three of vieira, makelele and toulalan have the capability of igniting an attack from the center circle, either by eliminating a first defender or by a long pass, but it's clear that france's contemporary modus operandi is transmission on the wings. not only does that make best use of athletic superiority, it's how the game is taught here starting from débutants*. if there was a natural n°10 in the platoche tradition things might be different; and as nasri grows up we may see a change. as for malouda, ribéry or govou not being able to defend, define defense: it's not always tackling the ball away in your own penalty area! a striker running at a GK getting ready to clear off the ground is DEFENSE. for a winger defense is a lot more than just tracking back; most importantly it's making that first pass difficult. all candidates for the wing spots except ben arfa are excellent at that. more particularly about malouda: he started his pro career at LB at guingamp; at lyon he filled in there often enough and well enough that re-reconverting him was considered. * "écarte! écarte"! when french youth coaches talk in their sleep that's what come out of their mouths!
why is this? don't they encourage intelligence anywhere anymore? it's so rare to see a team which tries to use space and passing all the time. I am so glad that for germany, going to the wing for a cross is the 3rd of 4th option every time.
i don't see what's unintelligent about using the whole width of the field. youngsters especially have a tendancy to agglutinate in the center. it's widening the game that creates the space. they're not after crossing from the corner flag, in fact they don't have the leg for it at that age; even corners are usually played à la rémoise...
I was talking more about how the kids grow up and play in the NT. Like you said, france's contemporary MO is transmission on the wings. What exactly did you mean by that?
à la rémoise? when the corner kick is played short, not put into the box. apparently it was a specialty of stade reims.
No no, I'm talking about the NT. You said transmission on the wings is the MO. And I asked why they do not teach intelligent football where you think on your feet and pass to manipulate space. You know, like France played in the 80s.
i don't think there's anything unintelligent about playing to the wings either but what does strike me as unintelligent is to never be willing to change your formation, especially when lower tier teams have already demonstrated the ability to shut you down. Scotland beat France twice because they knew exactly how France would play and devised a gameplan to counter it. Now every other country in the world simply has to model Scotland's approach and they will cause France problems. I definately think that Nasri should be employed, if not in every game but if only to mix things up. And who said that he couldn't be used in the second half to destabilize the other team by switching from a winger formation to a playmaker one?
As much as I've supported Nasri's inclusion into the starting lineup, I'm also going to support Hatem Ben Arfa since he brings not only that quality of ingenuity that Nasri does, but also he'd be able to work well in any formation. Have a look. 4-4-2? Hatem can be good on both wings. 4-1-2-1-2? Hatem can be "second striker," the Bergkamp-type position, or on the wing. 4-2-3-1? Behind the lone striker or on both wings. 3-5-2? Anywhere in midfield, provided it's attacking. The only worry (and I'm asking the OL fans to confirm) is that Ben Arfa wouldn't isn't that known for tracking back to defend, so if it's a formation where he'd be restricted to the wing, that could be an issue. Though Abidal/Evra and Sagna/Sagnol are as good as it gets when it comes to full backs, so we should not be that concerned either.
What formation is it? I love the 3-5-2 that I use, I got Theo Walcott on the left wing and he's lightning fast!
its sort of a 3-2-2-1-1-1 if you go strictly along the lines. it's compact and has lots of players making runs and allows for great passing football where you can prise open defences without the crosses and long balls. But you have to be sharp to see the runs and the gaps and passing has to be one touch pretty much. It's a challenge. go to edit formations, go to the australia one - called "aus" - and then save it for whatever your team is. Except I would edit the 3 CBs back a little bit cos I think they play too high and all the computer then does is play long balls to try beat the offside trap.
C'est ça! Exactly that! I'm afraid other teams have figured France out and that's why scoring is so hard. All they have to do is mark the wings and deny runs and passes to the middle and that's it: France cannot score. Any team that is above mediocre can manage that, it's what Scotland did. Pack the defence, close their wings and play counter, and you got France. And if you have the firepower, just block the wings and play in the middle.
I've been trying to be positive all day after the match (as many of you see with other comments I've had), though I have to reveal what a source once told me about Domenech, actually, as I think it's more than relevant. Anyway the source said, "It's not that Raymond does not like to attack, it's that he doesn't have that many ideas on how to do that." This makes sense to me as Domenech was a defender, and a tough-tackling, hard one at that, so why should he have any idea on how to make a good attack? Nevertheless, I do believe Henry and Benzema have such quality that they'll come up with it themselves. Very much like Zizou did at the World Cup.