The 4-4-1-1 started as a variation of the 4-4-2. It became more common in the 1990s, when teams started to combine a deep lying forward with a more traditional striker up front. The deep lying forward would drop deeper, playing in the space between the opponent’s midfield and defensive lines. This formation is a link between the 4-4-2 that has dominated the past 40 years, and the 4-2-3-1 that seems to be dominating football today. There are only a few differences between the 4-2-3-1 and the 4-4-1-1, with the main difference being the player in the gap, or the playmaker. In a 4-2-3-1, it is a playmaking midfielder (normally called a number 10), while in a 4-4-1-1 it’s a forward. Continue reading

This has been the standard formation in England for several decades. This formation blasted onto the scene in England with Alf Ramsey’s 1966 England team. The 4-4-2 became the mainstay for English football for 40 years, with most teams playing this formation to the exclusion of almost every other formation. For the next 40 years, almost every team that won the league title in England used a 4-4-2. This formation also caught on in much of Europe, but it fell out of favor in Europe in the early 2000s. Most European teams started switching to a 4-3-3, or eventually a 4-2-3-1, but the 4-4-2 remained dominant in English football. Continue reading

Formations in 2012/2013

Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager of Manchester United for 25 years, and in that time he has become a loyal follower of the 4-4-2 formation that has been dominant in England for decades. This formation has been the foundation upon which he’s built the most successful football clubs in history. He’s managed to win 12 Premier League trophies, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 2 UEFA Champion’s League trophies, 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.

In this past season, Sir Alex Ferguson made use of several different formations which he altered depending on the players available to him, the team they faced, and the strategy he intended to use. His main formation for most of the past season was a 4-4-1-1, which is very similar to the 4-4-2 that has been the mainstay of his managerial tenure. But he also used a 4-4-2, and a 4-3-3 against some weaker Premier League teams, while he used a 4-5-1 in most of the Champion League and Europa League games. He also made use of 4-2-3-1 in the occasional League game including the season finale against Sunderland.

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Until the 1980s, English football was run by an innocuous assortment of local businessmen who demonstrated a distinct lack of national ambition. Their financial model amounted to little more than “putting bums on seats” for home games. The creation of the English Premier League in 1992 changed everything, triggering a gluttonous gold rush. Some of the most sophisticated global sports business minds poured into English football to exploit the new frontiers of domestic, international and digital rights, and the exploding universe of commercial opportunities.

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With The London Olympics hogging the limelight and making all the headlines, Premier League football is taking an usual and unfamiliar berth at the back of peoples minds right now, but there’s a mere two-and-a-bit weeks to go until United kick their glory hunting season of 2012/13 off with the aim of wrestling the title back from (bitter) arch rivals, City.

The betting markets are flat outside the Olympics at the moment and that could explain why bwin betting are offering an eye-watering 16/1 on United lifting the Premier League title……

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In a Manchester United career spanning 25 years and 4 decades, Sir Alex Ferguson has achieved a collection of honours greater than any other manager in the history of British football. His management and tenure has seen Manchester United United dragged from their underperforming FA Cup winning era of the 70′s & 80′s and returned them to the title winning and European conquering era’s of the 50′s and 60′s. Importantly, he’s achieved it by playing attack minded football the United way.

However, there’s a growing sense of distaste amongst the Manchester United fans for the greatest manager of all-time, the man who has undoubtedly brought them footballing moments they never dreamt they would see thanks to comments he’s alledged to have said recently. Red Issue have pencilled and forwarded a letter to Mr Ferguson in the hope he’ll find the time to respond and answer the questions put to him about how he sees The Glazer’s, the clubs debt and more importantly asks….what is a real fan?

Here’s the letter in full.

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With the news of Manchester United’s recent pursuit of Brazilian teenage starlet rumoured to be over following quotes suggesting that United would not increase their offer for the player from Lucas’ agent Wagner Ribeiro it appears that Manchester United will have to turn their focus onto other targets in order for them to improve the squad that finished runners up to fierce city rivals Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League last season.

For a club like Manchester United there are always options in the transfer market with the name of the club revered around the globe due the clubs vast success over the years, in particular the Sir Alex Ferguson era, as well as the huge globalisation of marketing that Manchester United have undertaken over the years in order to expand their brand into places such as Africa, Asia and more recently the United States of America.

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I used to spend summers avidly reading every bit of transfer gossip containing the words “Manchester United”, wondering which player would make the step from a smaller English club to M16 or which footballer would bring his continental flair and panache onto the Old Trafford turf.

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“For the first time since the late 1960s, Manchester emerged as the capital of English football in 2011/12, as 19-times champions United were confronted by local rivals City in a local skirmish which spilled over into a battle for the Barclays Premier League title.”

This year’s Season review had a lot to live up to. The previous DVD offering for the 2010/11 season had been roundly criticised in many quarters, especially when reflecting on  a record breaking 19^th League winning season. So the Manchester United Merchandise Team needed a suitable reply! I believe they have done…..

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Last season marked the 20th anniversary since the arrival of Sky and the introduction of the Premier League completely changed  the landscape of English football.

The media have been busy compiling “best of” lists and delivering awards to celebrate the two decades of one of the most exciting leagues in the world, but here at Red Rants we thought that, only by celebrating the team that has won the Premier League 12 times since its inception, would the anniversary been properly marked.

So, here’s the first stop in our 12 stations trip, throughout 20 years that have seen United dominating, the emergence of boy bands (of dubious talent), civil wars & revolutions across Europe and technology reach heights previously unseen.

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Amidst the football thugs and exhilarating goals, there’s been plenty to talk about at Euro 2012 recently.

However, today’s back pages are all about Wayne Rooney and the news United have signed yet another young starlet with the world at his feet.

The Sun and the Telegraph report that despite being moderately satisfied with the draw against France, Roy Hodgson believes that Rooney is the man England will rely on to make the final leap and book a ticket for the quarter-finals.

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Following last May’s heartbreak Manchester United have been busy in the last few weeks as the signings of Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell, and young Chilean striker Angelo Henriquez testify.

With offers for Luka Modric and Leighton Baines reportedly being lined up, it’s realistic to imagine a different looking United resuming Premier League hostilities in August.

The new signings have also confirmed what United fans have known for a while.

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Today sees England begin their Euro 2012 campaign as underdogs versus the much fancied French, but are Manchester United fans really as ‘Anti-Ingerlund’ as they make out?

If you fancy a bet on the England National Squad and you do fancy their chances, there’s plenty of so-called ‘value’ in the market thanks to unusually low expectations on the team.

I’ve been surprised by the amount of ‘Come on England’ tweets littering my Twitter timeline considering the followers of @Red_Rants are obviously 99% United fans. With the fashionable stance amongst United fans (which has been fashionable for many years now) to publicly and vociferously detest England and its ‘Anti-Manchester United’ supporters, it’s refreshing (to me) to see so many messages of good will towards the team.

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Few players have divided public opinion in recent years like Wayne Rooney.

Love him or loathe him – the latter a feeling experienced by his own fans only 18 months ago – there’s no question that the boy from Croxteth is probably England’s most talented footballer since Gazza, minus the heavy burden of alcohol addiction.

As I have previously and clearly expressed through some of my contribution to Red Rants, since last season I classify myself as a “Rooney skeptical“, but even I must admit that he has gone some way towards regaining my esteem which, I am sure, matters a great deal to him!

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