If we play 3-4-3, it should never be the way Pep has lined up the team for this match... Alves SHOULD be one of the 4. Otherwise it's suicide. Drop a forward, shift MEssi to the right, make the glorious Messi-Alves combo work and add the effect of the excellant CF runs into the box of Cesc Fabregas. That's the only way.
As such our inside forwards are suffering from lack of goals, shouldn't make them suffer even more. No need to crowd the box needlessly
4-3-3 > 3-4-3 in how Pep uses it. You just have to look at the average positioning of the players in our 4-3-3 and compare it with the average positioning in our 3-4-3.
4-3-3 looks something like this:
Winger---------------------------------------Winger------
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------Messi------------------Alves--
------------Iniesta----------------------------------------
-------------------------------------Xavi------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Busquets--------------------------
Abidal------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Pique-----------Puyol--------------
The 3-4-3 like this:
Winger-------------------------------------------------Alves
------------------------------Messi--------------------------
----------------------Fabregas-------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------Iniesta----------------------Xavi----------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------Busquets---------------------------------
Abidal--------------------------------Pique---------------Puyol
No wonder we aren't controlling games as good anymore as we used to do in the 4-3-3. In the 3-4-3 Busquets is busy functioning as a centre back and defensive midfielder at the same time. Alves doesn't make penetrating runs from deep because now he's playing
permanentely upfront which also takes a passing option away from Xavi to make his trademark diagonal passes to Alves to catch defenses on surprise (also Alves is not a good enough finisher to play permanentely upfront). Fabregas doesn't participate in any passing game in the middle appropriate enough for a Barcelona midfielder. And once oppositions put pressure on the wings, we lose our whole shape, since Alves is covering a whole flank on his own (he got totally raped by Alba-Mathieu, not because Pique wasn't there but because 3-4-3 means that you'll get outnumbered on the wings since you don't have full back + winger working together but a winger and a static centre back).
In our 4-3-3 we had a proven diamond of Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta-Messi with Alves bombing forward and catching defenses on surprise and 2 proven goalscorers on the wings = beautiful tiki-taka + 75 % possession. Our 3-4-3 means that we're playing a fullback as a winger, a centre back as a fullback and Busquets as a centre half with Fabregas as a CF = total shit.
3-4-3 should only be used against bus parkers as a plan B. Our home record is so much better than our away record because teams usually have a more defensive approach in the Camp Nou. And if they sit back, yes, 3-4-3 will totally annihilate them. If we're playing away, teams have a go at us infront of their own fans and pressure exposes the 3-4-3. In 3-4-3 you get outpressed and outnumbered far far easier than playing 4-3-3. Our away record of 3 wins in 8 games with a goal difference of 11:9 this season doesn't have anything to do with the appearance of 3-4-3 this season?
Mourinho really got into Pep's head last season when he parked the bus with Pepe in the middle, changing from a 2 man midfield to a 3 man midfield. Now Pep thinks he must put one more player in the middle again so it is 3 vs. 4 = more midfield dominance again.
Some stats with 3-4-3 so far:
Against Real Madrid (1-3):
62 % possession
17 shots (!!!) for Real Madrid vs. 12 shots from Barcelona
two 100 % chances missed by Ronaldo
huge Xavi deflected goal
= lucky result
Against Milan (2-3):
59 % possession
Milan 13 shots vs. Barcelona 16 shots
result: 2-3 due to a lucky penalty
Against Espanyol (1-1):
61 % possession
Espanyol 14 shots vs. Barcelona 10 shots
result = lol, we beat them 5-1 at their place last season
Just as a comparison:
Last season:
Manchester United CL final:
68 % possession
13:1 attempts on target
3-1 end result (Rooney offside goal)
Real Madrid semi-final second leg (1-1):
65 % possession
Barca 11 shots vs. RM 3 shots
1-1 end result, not our best game result wise, but still only 3 shot allowed on our goal when they went all attack
Go to the comments section @ totalbarca after today's game and check how culés are fuming because of the 3-4-3:
http://www.totalbarca.com/2012/matches/the-result-fc-barcelona-4-2-real-betis/
Meta is a big advocate of a 3 man defense, he'll defend it to death. Whilst i'm no fan, i do however agree it offers us tactical versatility, a vital component in our quest for long-lasting dominance.
The 343 has both its pros and cons. And no i don't think we've mastered the system yet, to be able to control these games. Personally thought we didn't look too assuring in both the Milan and Madrid games and they could've gone either way if there wasn't the small matter of luck involved. We looked better in the sec half of El Clásico(post xavi goal), but any lead against our arch-rivals has always served as a morale-booster for us, and as we grew in confidence their squandered chances dented theirs.
As Meta has already noted the 343 is a highly demanding set-up, which means all your players need to be on their toe at all times. And to achieve it on a regular basis when your season is blighted by injuries, poor form, or lack of effort in some cases is a big ask. Hence, it hasn't produced the desired result.
But with players on better form and familiarization of the system over a season could potentially surprise the sceptics. (including moi
)
Be it 433 or 343, 2 stopper CBs can't work together. Piqué is a must.
I totally agree with every point you made.
