The Spectator - Two’s Company

Two’s company, three’s a crowd, as they say. Nowhere is this statement more valid than in the centre of midfield. The traditionalist might argue that it’s more valid in the field of human relationships, but The Spectator, old romantic that he is, would argue that it’s more difficult to have three central midfielders in a football ‘relationship’ than three participants in a non-football relationship. Recent seasons have seen the withdrawal of the second striker into midfield, with the 2006 World Cup particularly memorable for its lack of front men. At the top level a five-man-midfield can open up the possibility of cleverly utilising possession in the middle. Which is all well and good when you’re pinging the ball around midfield like Arsenal at home to Kildare County Ladies, but is quite another thing when you’re away to Bray on a patch of mud.
The modern vogue for five-man-midfields is pretty evident in the current Airtricity League. Of three games witnessed by The Spectator at the time of writing (an uncommonly prompt and punctual Friday afternoon fully seven days before tonight’s match, if you must ask) every team involved played at least a large chunk of the match with five across the middle. The mathematicians among you will quickly realise that that equates to ten men in the middle of the park for the most part. It would be fair to say that cattle have more room to express themselves in veal crates.
So why is the five-man-midfield the new black? Well playing any formation other than 4-4-2 makes it look like a manager has some sort of idea in his head... an uncommon trait in the league. While the five-man-midfield may have evolved from a need for increased fluidity, one five-man-midfield against another five-man-midfield leads to all the fluidity of a sumo wrestler sitting in a skip full of syrup. The usual solution to this, in Ireland at least, is the time honoured system of bypassing midfield entirely. This usually results in the delightful sight of a single forward attempting to gain and retain possession, against a back four, while waiting for his midfield to arrive from somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland. So in an attempt to make it look like his tactics extend beyond 4-4-2 the average League of Ireland manager is instead clogging up midfield, stifling the opponent and preventing any hope of a game of football breaking out during a match. Bravo!
Our visitors’ interpretation of the five-man-midfield (or rather The Spectator’s ill-informed interpretation of our visitor’s interpretation of the five-man-midfield) as displayed against Shamrock Rovers showed some level of originality. With Stuey Byrne and Dave Mulcahy primarily sitting in front of the defence Ryan Guy, David McAllister and Vinny Faherty provided fluid movement and ample support for out-and-out striker Alex Williams. The five-man-midfield employed by Dundalk against Bray and Drogheda is another beast altogether. Combined with a swashbuckling back three Dundalk’s five-man-midfield allows for the unheard of luxury of two, count ‘em, TWO, up front! Though there have been teething problems Ian Foster’s novel approach has its merits. A back three should be able to cope with the league’s default 4-5-1 formation. While Dundalk’s 3-5-2 might not be everybody’s cup of tea, when operated correctly against suitable opposition it should offer us an option, a variation. If nothing else Dundalk’s 3-5-2 should be gloried in for not being the ubiquitous 4-5-blooming-1.


This article originally appeared in the Dundalk v St Patrick's Athletic Matchday Magazine, 26 Mar 2010