Formations, Formations !

A brief History of tactical formations.

When football first began, the whole purpose of the game was to attack the opponents goal, there was really no concept of defence or even midfield, other than to get the ball back into the opponents half as quick as possible.

Early formations resembled how children play football at a very early age, all running in a big group around the ball with the odd one or two hanging back ready to kick the ball away should it come clear of the pack towards their goal.

Way back in 1872, when England played Scotland in the first International game, this was certainly the case, as England's formation was 1-2-7 and scotland's was 2-2-6. The six or seven forwards would dribble the ball up the field and when they were blocked out by the opposition they would kick the ball forward for their fellow attackers to chase. The Scottish players departed from 'tradition' by working in pairs and passing the ball to work their way forward.

The more familiar (to the older pundits at least) 2-3-5 formation, was pioneered by Blackburn Rovers in th 1880's and by the next decade was adopted by most teams worldwide. The concept being a more balanced formation, with 5 defenders and five attackers (2 full-backs, 3 half-backs and five forwards).

This formation endured until the mid 1900's, but the seeds of change were sown in the 1920's and 1930's and came about partially because of a change in the offside rule, reducing from 3 to 2 the number of defending players needed between the attackers and the goal.

This rule change (in 1925) resulted in the introduction of the centre-back, a position created to counter the opposition centre-forward, the idea accredited to Charlie Buchan who suggested it to Hebert Chapman, then manager of Arsenal. The player roaming centre-midfield would drop back to become a 'stopper'.

This idea changed the standard 2-3-5 formation to 3-4-3 or 3-2-5 (known as the'WM' formation after the pattern it made on the field spelling out the two letters) and meant the offside trap now became the responsibility of the central defender with the two full-backs pushed out wider to cover the wings.

Of course with any formation, you need the right players to be able to carry-out the responsibilities and it took Chapman several years of perseverance and the signing of quality players such as Alex james, Cliff Bastin, David Jack and ex-Poppy Eddie Hapgood.

The perseverance with the WM formation paid off and Chapman guided Arsenal to their first championship win in 1931. The Gunners followed up with a hat-trick of championships in 1933, 1934 and 1935 (inronically finishing runner's up in League and Cup in 1932). Arsenal's dominance understandably led to the majority of English clubs adopting the proven success of the WM formation.

Variations continued to develop on the WM formation, with one of the inside forwards dropping back into 'midfield' alongside the two wing-halfs creating a 3-3-4 formation. This setup was widely adopted during the 50' and 60's and successfully delpoyed by Tottenham Hotspur during their double winning 1961 side, the middle trio being Danny Blanchflower, David McKay and John White.

Meanwhile in Brazil, the idea of having '6 defenders and 6 attackers' using only 10 outfield players was implemented using the 4-2-4 formation, popularised by the success of the Brazilian national side in winning the 1958 and 1970 World Cups, aided of course by talented and athletic players such as Pele.

This formation meant the skill level needed by the defensive unit was far greater than before. They now had to be able to not only tackle and win the ball, but move forward with it and be creative also, helping out the midfield that was reduced to two players. This also meant a much greater level of tactical awareness was need by the whole team.

The 4-3-3 formation was developed as a more defensive approach than the 4-2-4 with the extra forward dropping back to form a more cohesive midfield unit in front of the defence and the three forwards then expected to 'tackle-back'. The more recent variation of this setup is to drop the two wide players into a 5-man midfield creating a 4-5-1 formation, defending en-masse and hitting on the break.

The most commonly adopted formation at the present is 4-4-2 with the midfielders helping both the defence and the attack, the wide midfielders covering both flanks and getting forward down the touchline to support the front two, as well as one of the central midfielders pushing up as additional support going forward. The England World Cup winners in 1966 no doubt helped with the 4-4-2's popularity.

Slight variations on the 4-4-2 formation are used depending upon the type of players occupying the central midfield roles. The much-debated 'diamond' formation which staggers the midfield into a 4-1-2-1-2 setup was used to great effect by FC Barcelona in winning the 2006 Champions League.

The Italian World Cup 2006 winning team favoured a 4-4-1-1 formation with a striker playing 'in the hole' behind his more forward partner. Add another striker 'in the hole' instead of a midfielder and you end up with the 4-3-2-1 formation, commonly known as the Christmas Tree.

The 5-3-2 formation relies heavily on the two wide full-backs acting as wing-backs to provide attacking options and is also sometimes used employing a sweeper in the centre.

Pushing the two wide backs forward into midfield creates a 3-5-2 formation with the emphasis more on attack, the central midfielder tends to hang back more to prevent the counter-attack. This formation was used to great effect by two World Cup winners (Argentina in 1986 and Brazil in 2002).

Gascoigne and Davis interviews after the Stalybridge match

Paul Gascoigne's and Paul Davis' interviews after the Stalybridge Celtic 4-1 home victory.

Paul Gascoigne interviewed after match

Paul Davis interviewed after match

(Interviews published by kind permission of BBC Radio Northampton.)

A fans eye view - Kevin Wilson

(Published by kind permission of the author - Kevin Meikle)

Talking to Kevin Wilson at the press conference that announced that Paul Gascoigne would be taking over Kettering Town as manager, with Paul Davis as his assistant, he acknowledged that it was great news for the club as a whole, but was still somewhat unsure as to his intentions. Having announced that he has parted company with the club on Wednesday evening it is apparent that he didn't see the role of Director of Football as one that would satisfy the desires that he wished to attain through football.

Many people had said that he would not stay long after the take-over had been completed, however I, along with many other fans, was hoping that he would remain with the club as his knowledge of football at this level would hugely beneficial. But what made him come to this decision? You only had to see him in the mainstand on Saturday at our game against Droylsden to see how uncomfortable that he was. It was if he was kicking and heading every ball with his players but could actually doing nothing to influence how the game was progressing.

I for one realised then that it would only be a matter of time, and in that sense Kevin Wilson deserves huge credit for his integrity. He could have easily remained at the club picking up a decent wage working alongside our new manager until the end of the season and then taken a pick of the jobs available. He has stated that it became apparent on Saturday that he couldn't continue in the role that the club wished him to fulfil, because in his own works, "I want to be a hands on manager". I am sure that there would be very few people, in no matter what sphere of life, who would remain doing something that they knew that the wouldn't enjoy. To that end I am sure that there will be few fans whom would not wish him all the best for his future career in football, as long as his is not playing against the Poppies of course.

But we now must ask where does that leave the club? As I have stated, Kevin Wilson's knowledge of football at this level is second to none, it can be argued this is one area that is lacking in our current managers team, but does it matter? My initial thoughts were that it would be a problem but having given the subject much thought I don't believe that it will. The reason, look at the experiences of two very successful managers, Bill Shankly and Martin O'Neil.

Shankly famously stated that he took little notice of his opponents, though not advocating this it is just to make a point, the important this was to make sure that the team were prepared for the job that they had to do. If they complied with this there was little reason to worry about what the opposition was set out to do and you could argue he did pretty well out of this philosophy. Secondly Martin O'Neil, a European Cup winner and International and one who played under my all time favourite manager, Brian Clough.

He cut his managerial teeth at Grantham Town before moving onto Wycombe Wanders, who at the time were in the Conference. Having played football at the highest level for many years, initially he would have had little knowledge of football in the lower leagues. You only have to once again look at his record to see that this didn't act as a handicap to what he aimed to and did achieve. We must be careful not to get too wrapped up in the areas that we feel we have shortcomings, because from what I have seen so far, we make up for it in other areas that are just as important.

On behalf of all the supporters I would offer my thanks and best wishes to Kevin Wilson, and not forgetting Alan Biley, for all the work and effort they put into Kettering Town Football Club. I hope they both have a successful future, and that Kevin is involved in football in near future, thanks.

Paul Davis and Paul Gascoigne Interviews - before and after FA Cup tie

Paul Davis' interview before the Stevenage Borough FA Cup tie on Radio Northampton, followed by Paul Gascoigne's interview which came after the final whistle.

Paul Davis interviewed before kick-off

Paul Gascoigne interviewed after match

(Interviews published by kind permission of BBC Radio Northampton.)

Paul Gascoigne interview after Droylsden match

Paul Gascoigne's interview on Radio Northampton following the new manager's first match in charge, a 1-0 home win over Droylsden, Saturday October 29th 2005.

Paul Gascoigne Interview

(Interview published by kind permission of Radio Northampton.)