Why a Three-man Midfield is Crucial for England at Euro 2016
There is something very depressing about the way the process repeats every time a tournament comes round. The period of friendlies before the event itself is not even a phony war - it’s worse than that. Roy Hodgson, hopefully, knows what he’s looking out for and keeping his mind clear, for if he is not, this is a desperately confusing time, all the more so because the nature of friendlies is that pretty much everybody just sees in them what they want to see: the bits that don’t fit a particular standpoint can be dismissed because it’s only a friendly.
And just about everybody, suddenly, has their grand plan for how England can win the Euros. Forget the past two years, forget the 10 wins out of 10 in qualifying, forget the friendly wins over France and Germany and the defeats to Spain and the Netherlands, forget everything other than the idea that’s just popped into somebody’s head. It’s exactly the same logic that demands a call-up for any English player who happens to be doing well, even if the incumbent has played well for the national team for months.
By this stage, no national manager should be looking at radical overhauls. It’s about tweaking a pre-existing system. Before the World Cup, Hodgson was apparently persuaded by the wave of public boredom that followed some tedious friendlies to switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, something that ultimately left England’s rickety defence horribly exposed in Brazil because Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson lacked the discipline, awareness and understanding to operate as a holding midfield pair; they’d done it once for Liverpool in a chaotic 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
This time, hopefully, he’ll stick with a three-man midfield, even if the emergence of Eric Dier gives England a proper holding player for the first time since Gareth Barry was in his pomp: 2.1 tackles and 2.2 interceptions per game this season for Tottenham demonstrates how effective he has been at regaining possession. But what’s telling is that Dele Alli, with 2.2 tackles and 1.8 interceptions, has been almost as effective. When England rattled Germany in the latter stages in Berlin, it was their pressing that was key, the Tottenham connection, their familiarity with that way of playing, proving a huge advantage.
Spurs this season often played a sort of 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 hybrid, with Dier at the base of the midfield, Mousa Dembele a little advanced to his right and Alli pushed higher to the left, an asymmetric triangle in the middle. That seems to be the shape Hodgson is reaching towards, with either Henderson, if fit, or Jack Wilshere in the Dembele role. Henderson’s record of 2.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in the league this season suggests his ball-winning qualities, but Wilshere is the better passer, hitting an 85.2% pass success rate over the past four season’s as opposed to Henderson’s 83.3% in the same period.
The question then is whether to play an orthodox 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2 formation but, given the form of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy, and the existence of Wayne Rooney, the latter seems more probable, although the potential narrowness of the shape both requires the full-backs to get forward - Danny Rose and Kyle Walker both set up three goals this season and both put in 0.5 crosses per game.
By comparison, Nathaniel Clyne didn’t set up a single goal and put in just 0.3 crosses, Ryan Bertrand registered three assists and put in 0.9 crosses per game. The success of the formation also requires Kane and Vardy to fulfil their defensive work in closing down the opposing full-backs, something Rooney and Danny Welbeck did superbly when England played a diamond away to Switzerland and won 2-0. With Welbeck injured and Raheem Sterling out of sorts, it makes little sense to go in with a system that demands attacking width.
The most vital issue, though, is that Hodgson does not repeat the weakness of the World Cup and leave a shaky defence protected by only two midfielders.
Do you think England should play with a three-man midfield system at Euro 2016? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
