Let's Talk About Tactics
Another The Swansea Way debut - please welcome Nathan Lewis, who's had a look at how we may be lining up next season
As we enter our first full season with Super Garry Monk at the helm, it's time to look at how we might be playing next year. More specifically, it's time to look at what shape we'll be playing in. Will it be the classic 4-2-3-1 that we've seen in the last few years, or will we see the emergence of the 4-4-2 Diamond?
The start of the Garry Monk era back in February saw the return of the sort of football we had become accustomed to under Brendan Rodgers. Team pressing, wingers hugging the touchline and some rapid passing. The results may not have been hugely more impressive than under Laudrup, but the “Swansea Way” seemed to be back in action. That being said, in his four months in charge so far, Monk has been quite experimental, and most surprisingly to some has set the midfield out in a diamond shape in a few games.
The best managers adapt the tactics to compliment the strengths of their team. With the arrival of Bafetimbi Gomis, you could argue that we now have two strikers who almost demand a place in the starting line-up, whereas last year the presence of Alvaro Vazquez and Michu's injury troubles meant that Bony upfront on his own was almost printed on the teamsheet every week. Our strength up front allows Monk the freedom to put two strikers up front - but once you put these two strikers up top, the next question is what shape the midfield takes behind them.
With two muscular, 6ft strikers up front, it should surely make sense that we should start with players capable of putting in a decent cross. De Guzman's incredible ability to pick out the first defender from every corner suggests that he should not be left solely in charge of crossing, so you would imagine that players such as Routledge, Dyer and Hernandez would be liking their chances of supplying the two big strikers. These players, however, would not naturally fit into a Diamond shape, with the possible exception of Hernandez, who flourished in the number ten role last season. Without utilising any of these wide players, we could rely on Rangel and Davies or Taylor (whichever decides to stay) for our width and crosses. Given Rangel's increasing lack of pace however, it would be difficult to rely on him solely for width and attacking options down the right side.
Since we have such a strong depth in midfield, perhaps the familiar 4-2-3-1 is the better option, since it would allow Monk to pack the midfield with the likes of Britton, Shelvey, Ki, or De Guzman. You would have to wonder however, where Gomis would fit into this system. Assuming he has not been signed to sit on the bench for large chunks of the season, where could he possibly fit? He perhaps could sit behind Bony and play in the style of Michu, coming from deep. It wouldn't be a natural fit though, and statistics from last year show that he wouldn't be as creative a force as perhaps Hernandez or de Guzman could be. With just one assist and a comparatively poor record in chance creation and pass completion, both Pablo and de Guzman would be more sensible picks to play behind Bony. Equally, instructing him to run up and down the wing to cover the right-back does not seem a great use of his height, strength and heading ability.
The 4-4-2 Diamond has versatility, allowing transitions to all sorts of shapes (3-5-2 and 4-5-1 both easily reached from a diamond shape), but it doesn't allow Monk to use the burning pace of Dyer and or the creativity of Routledge. The 4-2-3-1 on the other hand, would release our talented midfielders, but also restrict the use of Gomis and Bony together.
Garry Monk has shown in his short tenure so far that he is willing to shake things up and experiment in order to get the best out of his players, and who is to say that this year we won't see the Swans line up in both these formations and more? Depending on the opposition, or perhaps injury problems, we could see a more fluid approach as demonstrated by Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool last year. Switching between a 3-5-2, a 4-4-2 diamond and a 4-2-3-1 propelled Liverpool to second place last year - why couldn't a similar set of systems work at the Swans?
With a number of friendlies coming up, beginning with the training camp and tour in the US, Monk and his coaches have plenty of time to prepare a variety of tactical shapes and line-ups, and therefore I can't see any reason why we won't see a fluid mentality in terms of tactics next season.
Whichever shape we line up in next year, the variety of tactical and playing options available to Garry Monk is extremely exciting.