I used to play 4-4-2 all the time in the lower levels, but used to do well except when I came up against formations like the Narrow Diamond counters the 4-4-2. I did okay because I had a strong squad, As for countering I've had similar results to using a fixed formation, with the odd few poor results against weaker teams, I feel that counter formations now are less effective than they used to be after findings and also forum feedback in the last few seasons.