Which combination of pure forwards do you prefer in a 4-3-3?

Yes, the math says that the way one can select three of five if order do not matter is (5 x 4 x 3)/(1 x 2 x 3) = 60/6 =10
So you should have got all combinations (of those five)

 

Of course I want to be the monkey in the wrench because my favorite combination up front is Rapinoe-Morgan-Press. While Rapinoe isnt a pure forward, in this system the only places u can fit her is left forward or CAM. So I guess since there r no outside midfielders, they become pure forwards by default.

Of the front four Ellis has tried i like
Rapinoe-Morgan-Press
..........Wambach

&

Leroux-Morgan-Press
---------Rapinoe

the best. I am still hoping to see

Rapinoe-Morgan-Press
............Brian

 

Where's the none of the above option?

 

Which is why I mentioned a single "none of the above."

 

Do you not see the contradiction in that?

 

Then why limit the poll to a sample of options?

 

I don't see why commenting in the thread about a none of the above option is an issue, especially when the creator of the poll said:

 

Great! Glad we got that sorted.

 

why do have 6 choices on Wambach on the far left, but zero choice on her in the middle when she is a center forward? And why only one choice of Leroux on the far left when that's been her spot for the last year or so? and why no choices for Morgan on the right, which is where she's been really good at?

 

lol some of the comments so far.

My preferred front 3, at this point in time & with what I am hoping to see at the WWCQ, is:

Rapinoe | Rodriguez | Morgan

Press would be an acceptable alternative for Rodriguez but Christen is not in the same kind of form that Amy is. Then again, after several weeks without a game, the concept of "form" kind of goes out the window.

I picked the following combination and have listed where I would like them to be.

Morgan | Rodriguez | Press


I wonder if the 7 people who voted for the Morgan / Leroux / Press combo would have still voted for that option if it had been listed as Press - Morgan - Leroux.

 

I picked that choice since it was finally made clear by the OP that you could set them up any way you like/ It should be

Leroux(left-fwd)) Press(center-fwd) Morgan(right-fwd)

If Ellis insists on using 3 fwds in this day and age, then the outside fwds need to have some 'winger' abilities to come quickly down the flanks and cross kicked it accurately to the middle. That's why the 3 center-fwd combination choice of Wambach-Press-A-Rod would be a disaster! Thankly nobody picked that one(so far!) Perhaps the OP was just testing us on that one?

 

My understanding of the 4 3 3, especially if your playing with two holding midfielders and a single 10 (like the US has in the last few matches with Rapinoe at 10) is that your three front runners and the 10 have to very, very mobile and very interchangeable. The most successful attacks so far has had the shape of those 4 to be in a box, sometimes with one of the wingers tucking underneath the 10 making the front 3 look like an Allen Wrench on the field, pivoting around the 10 constantly.

Wambach is anything but mobile, and is interchangeable to the degree that she can take 3 steps to the left, then 3 steps to the right. She may understand the game & and understand the importance of movement, but the day has long passed that she can keep up with it.

Press to me is a very skilled player and capable of significant mobility, but I've not seen a willingness from her to be interchangeable. She has a tendency to stick to where she gets put in the formation, even if there's free space for her to roam into.

Leroux is about as vertical a player as it gets, relying on determination, speed, and brute strength to take the easiest route from point A to point B. This formation is simply not for her.

Rodriguez was a similar player to Press in terms of their movement on the field, but the time at KC has done her very good. Amy's become a much more laterally oriented player and right now I think she's the better option, even though I believe Press is a more technical player and a better finisher. I think if Wambach wasn't in such bad shape, I'd be curious to see how the Rodriguez/Wambach combo would have evolved with what Amy's learned in her time at KC.

 

When I voted I assumed it would be

Leroux-Morgan-Press

as that is the way they have been playing it

 

I'm not pointing out any specific combination, I was just curious about the how the order he listed them in affected how people voted. I'm a behavioral designer, so professional curiosity.

 

Ellis has said multiple times, the 4-3-3 is just one formation to work out of. And that during a game, it can morph into whatever is needed. For me, I'd prefer a team have to stop Press, Leroux, and Morgan for 90 minutes. With the three occupying each position.

 

Well probably the best situation is throw the speed at them, build a lead and then drop back into a 4-2-3-1. Crowd the midfield, dont give up the counter and try and counter urself as the other teams have to commit numbers to the attack.

 

here might be a crazy formation you might of not seen before, a 2-3-2-1-2 courtesy of Bayern Munich's last game

gk,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.......................................,,,,,,,,...,,,,,Korpola

cb's?.....................................................Abbe.......................Manieri

fb's/Hmids?.............Shadetbeck..........................Berge.....................Lewandowski

mids.............................................Behringer......................Leupolz

AM......................................................................Iwabuchi

fwds.............................................Stengel..........................Miedema

 

well it depends on what your opponent plays too, if a team is going to play a high back line, then you need the fast wide fwds(like Leroux & Morgan) ready on the flanks to best the off sides trap. but if a defending team is going to park the bus in front of their penalty box, then naturally the 3 fwds wouldn't have anything to do but then to inter change and find what ever little space is available. then you could have your outside mids or even fb's come up the flanks.
This is then what Wambach loves best; playing against mediocre teams(like our up coming concacaf opponents) so she can stay around the middle and use the one thing thanks to her height advantage, she's good at; use her headers to score.
She also has sometimes a knack to be in the right place, at the right time. But that comes from playing with some of her NT team mates, over a hundred of games together; they know where she's at, and vice versa, she knows what her team mates going to do. This is why it's so hard for some of the other CF's who are now better(since their in their prime) like Hagen & Press to get playing time(especially in competitive games where only 3 subs are allowed), or to get the start over Wambach. The chemistry isn't there, or perhaps Wambach's buds at mid, just wouldn't let the chemistry happen? As the last time I saw Hagen play with the NT, nobody bothered passing to her