Respectfully, this is not correct. A 4-2-3-1 is not “usually narrow”. In fact, a ton of teams play it very wide (Tottenham Hotspur for instance). The benefit of the 4-2-3-1 as a pure formation without going into a ton of the tactics is that you have 2 defensive oriented midfielders to shield the backline and try to prevent the ball from entering Zone 14. Playing wingers more withdrawn doesn’t narrow or widen them (that’s a tactic not a part of the formation), but instead allows you to try to create numbers in the midfield. Functionally, you’re trying to use a withdrawn winger/wide midfielder to help play out of the back when one of the two defensive mids needs to combine to beat the press. They can either play side to side, pass to the central midfielder, or work to a winger who isn’t as high up the pitch.

But it has nothing to do with playing through the middle. You can play it more narrowly if you choose to do that tactically, but you can do that with the 4-3-3 as well. It really all depends on what you want to do with the wingers. Sporting’s peak offensive era came with using two inverted wingers to cut in and combine with a number 9. Johnny and Salloi both worked most effectively being able to get on their favored foot as inverted players – which is playing more narrowly than going wide towards the touchline to stretch the defense and whipping in crosses.

Sporting has struggled for years playing through the middle. It’s one of the biggest issues with the league as a whole, because most guys aren’t skilled enough to play in tight spaces. Some have suggested using Manu as a deep lying playmaker, but that takes away his biggest strength, which is turning and bursting forward – kind of like the runs Kinda made before his injury. That’s a very typical offensive minded 8/10 (though nowhere near a true 10).

Thommy’s best goals have often come from the right wing. When he plays on the left he’s inverted but he’s not nearly as strong as when he’s on the right.

Finally, I agree that we’re defensively deficient. However, two of our three league goals this year came on set pieces, which have nothing to do with a single pivot or a double pivot. Messi’s goal in the home opener of CCL was also bypassing the midfield. The double pivot shields a weak backline but it would do nothing to push the attack forward with a triangle spearheaded by Garcia that an inverted triangle with a single pivot can’t do. The 4-3-3- single pivot with Garcia and Davis playing higher up the pitch is far more likely to yield offensive results.

At the end of the day though, the FORMATION matters little. The specific tactics are what matter. The reality is that this team loves to push the ball wide because we’re awful at playing through the middle. So we take the space provided and cross into oblivion. Unless we sign some wingers who can actually play in tight spaces and cut in (So far, I’m unimpressed with Shapi and Thommy isn’t lighting the world on fire), it’s not going to get any better.

Look, you don’t have to sell me on the need to play through the middle. I’m not defending Vermes’ system and playing everything through the wings. It works when we have JFR and peak Daniel. But by and large it fucking sucks and it’s not fun to watch us cross over and over and over because we can’t unlock a defense.

My point was simply that the formational change means nothing unless there’s a broader tactical change. YOU set up your team narrowly. But that’s not an inherent facet of the formation. The majority of the teams setting up in that system in the prem or UCL are playing wide. They’re not tucking the midfield band in to funnel play to the middle of the pitch. They’re playing to the endline and looking for cutbacks.

Thommy is better on the right than he is on the left. Whether he’s in the midfield or wing, he belongs on the right. Moreover, Thommy is a decent player, but he’s not a world beater. And like you said, you’re just hoping for havoc but there’s not necessarily structure or buildup.

If your argument is playing Thommy in a 4-2-3-1 as part of the “3” he’s still a winger. It just affects how high up the pitch he’ll be when he receives the ball from Leibold (also a problem). What’s the best 3 man midfield the team can put out? Manu, Thommy, and Radoja? Manu, Thommy, and Barlett?

Davis is a traditional 8 destroyer in the vein of Roger and Diego Chara. He’s got a ton of value on the pitch breaking up play but is also willing to make a progressive carry to shuttle the ball forward. He’s not a 6 though and won’t flourish there.

Unless Vermes decides he doesn’t want to play with wingers anymore, I don’t see a world in which the formational shift is anything more than a minor tactical thing.