4-2-3-1 and the SFA

[JUSTaway]

Too many coaches were seduced by Barcelona at their peak. It's all fine and well setting out to play in that style, but you have to be pragmatic too!

There is nothing wrong with the 4-2-3-1 formation if you have the players to play it but McKinnon seems to have decided to fit square pegs in round holes.

Basic requirements if you are playing without wingers is to have full-backs who can at least bomb on and provide width, and a focal point at the top who can hold the ball up and bring the others into play (e.g. a Ciftci type player). what did we do? Re-sign a honking midfielder in Murdoch who has been converted into at best a bog standard full-back, and if playing Scobbie at left-back, a defender with no pace or quality in the final third (and that's not even addressing the full-backs defensive issues). And sign a 33 year old stiker dwarf not suited to the lone striker role, and ask him to run the channels, win headers and hold the ball up, whilst offering him little support because we are so slow and ponderous moving the ball that he gets isolated.


Teams such as Dumbarton and Brechin get wrongly tarred as coming to Tannadice and sitting in with the aim of frustrating when in fact all they are is organised.

Nkoyi made a difference yesterday just because of the type of player he was, rather than his ability, which was pretty awful at times yesterday. But therein lies another problem, we dont really have the players without a hitman to play 4-4-2 particularly well either. Its should be common sense when you build a squad that you buy players of different strenghts to play different styles if need be.

also the movement at throw ins is absolutely woeful.

[JUSTaway]

the worrying thing is it takes about 20 mins of watching Utd to see these things