Changing from the traditional Swansea formation to a lopsided 4-4-2 means we're clearly ready to experiment - so why not try it?
This summer we saw numerous teams deploy a 3-5-2 formation with much success at the World Cup. What's more, we've seen teams in the UK use it of late too - Wigan used it under Martinez before he departed for Everton, while Steve Bruce has used it at Hull to decent effect. Louis Van Gaal showed just how effective it can be when his Dutch side demolished Spain in the opening round of the World Cup this summer, and he seems set to deploy it in the Premier League with Manchester United too.
For the Swans, the crux of the matter is playing two up top. Neither Bony nor Gomis will take kindly to being benched, so it's about finding a formation that allows us to play with both. Against Reading and Villareal we played with a lopsided midfield that lacked balance and left us exposed, and I can't help but feel that without a relatively "mirrored" formation - ie. one that is vaguely symmetrical - you'll always be exposed to counter-attacks, as it's almost impossible to retain a solid defensive shape.
This is why I think 3-5-2 could be the answer. Even if you consider we have a lack of centre-backs (indeed, only having three on the books right now) I don't think that's the issue. The role of a centre-back in a three is different to in a two, and I think Neil Taylor or Angel Rangel could get away with playing alongside two "traditional" centre-backs, giving us more flexibility and pace as the defence pivots whilst under pressure. Here's how it could look:
My thinking is that with this formation, it's so much more simple for the defence to pivot into a four man backline, whilst still having one natural wide player to track back whichever side the threat is coming down. What's more, playing like this allows you to retain a three man midfield, and operate with two up front. You can even retain the wonky "winger one side more defensive midfielder the other" aspect of the formation, which I think is an interesting ploy which does give rise to interesting tactical possibilities.
It's definitely something I think would suit our current squad, and if Federico Fernandez comes in I'm sure he'd suit this system, given 3-5-2 is much more widely employed in his native Argentina and he's bound to have more of an understanding of it as a result. If Steve Bruce can do it with his Hull team, we can do it with our squad.
Whether we'll see the Swans set out like this is debatable, and there is the option of switching to a 3-5-2 from a 4-4-2 diamond "in play", but I think it's something we would definitely benefit from trying.
Maybe not away at Man Utd, but definitely worth trying.