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

The Spectator – New Season, New Attitude

So the FAI have finally grown a pair and got tough. ‘Quelle surprise!’ as they say in Abbotstown... and Turner’s Cross and the Brandywell. Derry City’s dual contracts issue was clearly a breach of the rules but considering how finances work in the League of Ireland (players double jobbing as coaches, officials and bar men, enforced pay cuts, creative dismissals, Bohemian bookkeeping, etc) it still seemed rather harsh for the Candystripes to be demoted on the back of a bit of financial jiggery-pokery. The situation at Cork City seemed to be simpler. The club has been criminally mismanaged for several years. The club has ridden roughshod over its players, creditors and supporters, yet it took a legal winding-up a fortnight before the season for the FAI and the Independent Licensing Committee to take action. This was partly due to the fact that it was slightly difficult to nail down and prove actual breaches of the rules (unlike Derry), but seemed to be influenced more by an insanely zealous belief in the necessity of Premier football in Cork.
So with Derry and Cork banished and (nearly) all remaining clubs forced to face financial realities and a level playing pitch, this League of Ireland business promises to be a walk in the park in 2010. Sure haven’t Dundalk won seven and drawn one of eight games so far? That’s if you count pre-season friendlies and the Leinster Senior Cup. And when were winning, we’ll count them. With the sending of Derry and Cork to the naughty step that is the Discover Ireland Division we were, theoretically, the third best team in the country last season. And now we’re storming through pre-season with an exciting squadful of players and a dynamic young manager- how difficult can it be?
Dundalk started the season last week with a trip to Cork City. Scratch that, a trip to Bray Wanderers, the only team The Spectator knows of to have been relegated twice in one season and still end up in the top flight. It was not an ideal situation for Bray. They had prepared a First Division squad for a First Division season only to be offered Cork’s place in the Premier at the last. Still the choice of a slogging it with Bohs, Rovers and Dundalk in the Premier was infinitely preferable to toiling across eleven counties in the First Division. Eddie Gormley managed a couple of decent last-minute signings in Richie Baker and Robbie Doyle to bolster their squad but a long hard season looks likely at the Carlisle Grounds.
Not that Wanderers looked any less prepared for the season than Dundalk last week. The good thing about last week’s performance in Bray, and possibly the only good thing about it, was that it left a whole lot of room for improvement. Dare The Spectator suggest that a back three doesn’t work very well against a pacy attack? Dare The Spectator suggest that a five-man midfield could have done more with the ball? Ian Foster has stated that he will be flexible in formation and tactics, a welcome statement and a concept that has been alien to Dundalk FC in recent years. Adaptability will be key if we are to successfully experiment with formations, take on a range of challenges and go on to add the League of Ireland trophy, the FAI Cup, EA Sports League Cup, Leinster Senior Cup and Europa League to the Jim Malone Trophy which already resides in Oriel.

This article originally appeared in the Dundalk v Drogheda United Matchday Magazine, 14 Mar 2010