Quote Originally Posted by Moel View Post
So I spend alot of time thinking about counter formations and what seems like it should work against various formations. When I apply what seems logical to me in games I often do not have good results.

So just to take a single example. 4-4-2 narrow diamond is said to be good against 4-4-2 normal. Why?

the differences in the formations are one has an attacking mid and a defensive mid. The other has neither of those, but instead has two wide mids.

Logically to me the defensive mid of the diamond is marking nothing other than maybe cutting out some passes of the opponents 2 cms. the attacking mid yes is good as it's being marked by nothing specific.

But on the other side the diamond has no wide mids helping with defensive duties so the standard wide mids, have a free run at the diamonds full backs and are backed up in attack by it's full backs.

The diamond has no attack on the flanks whereas the standard does.
For me there are no counter formations. What is widely touted as counter could fall flat if tactical instructions are wrong. To beat the narrow diamond by attacking the flanks, you need to first nullify their threat through the middle by using an anchorman. so, rather than 4-4-2, in which you cannot double up down the flanks as you're left short-handed in the middle, just replace one of the strikers with an anchorman(DMC) and you have a gameplan. Whether it works depends on several variables but it is a plan and for me, it's about having a plan rather than looking at the scoreline to determine what works and what doesn't. Last season, i had the perfect gameplan against 3-2(wb)-2-1-2 in the CL quarters second leg away, having drawn the first at home. Playing on the counter and attacking the flanks, i created 20+ chances, over twice as many as the opponent but got done by a goal from a free kick by his scout fk specialist. It might not always work but for me having a template is half the job and in football sometimes that is all a manager can do! Even a Mourinho cannot control everything. Set the team out and leave the result in the lap of the football gods.