Considering a Tactical Adjustment: Could a Diamond Midfield Work for RBNY?
Another transfer window has come and is almost gone, and Red Bulls fans are left pining for that third designated player — or any meaningful signing whatsoever — that this team needs now or, more aptly, needed this past offseason. Given the long list of midseason acquisitions who failed to make an impact during the season of their arrival for the Red Bulls team — Tim Cahill, Dwayne De Rosario, Sebastian Le Toux, and even Bradley Wright-Phillips come to mind — perhaps it is best for the organization to wait until the offseason, once Henry’s contract situation has been sorted and, hopefully without delay, a new CBA has been agreed between the league and the players union, in order to make any transfer news. Like it or not, the Red Bulls will likely enter the CCL this September and possibly the MLS playoffs this November with more or less the group of players currently on its roster.
While a lack of transfer activity, lackluster performances, and a so-called “fatigue” have conspired to crush the hopes of fans, the reality remains that the Red Bulls play in a very weak Eastern Conference, which should give the team a good opportunity to qualify for the playoffs, get hot at the right time, and make a run to MLS Cup. It is worth remembering that for all of the stellar regular seasons that the Red Bulls have had in recent years, its only run to MLS Cup came in 2008 when the team finished in the eighth and final playoff spot.
That being said, while the season is far from lost, the team certainly appears to be given recent performances. Among the primary concerns has been a tactical rigidity that has failed to yield consistency or flexibility based on the opponent. In particular, last year’s team MVP Tim Cahill — who flourished as a target striker at the World Cup — has not fulfilled his potential playing alongside or just ahead of Dax McCarty in a basic 4-4-2.
Although tactical rethinks — especially those recommended by outside observers — are often unwise midseason, the Red Bulls clearly need to try something new if it is to make something of what has thus far been a rather mediocre season. The following seeks not to arrogantly and ambitiously declare that a new system should be implemented, but rather attempts to explore the pros and cons of a move to a new formation. Thus without furthering adieu:
4-1-2-1-2 (diamond midfield)
The diamond midfield has become the posh formation for several teams in MLS and around the world. Although the diamond largely went out of use once Italy, Chelsea, and AC Milan stopped using that shape in the mid-to-late 2000's, Brendan Rodgers brought it back into style with Liverpool this past season. MLS fans have long been familiar with the diamond midfield as a favorite of the now-head-coach-of-the-team-who-shall-not-be-named Jason Kreis during his time at Real Salt Lake. If the Red Bulls were to experiment with a diamond midfield, it would almost certainly bear a much closer resemblance to RSL than to Liverpool. Liverpool’s diamond allowed Raheem Sterling to contribute to the attack and to initiate counterattacks, while giving Steven Gerrard a deeper, regista-type role as the anchor (a la Pirlo with Italy and AC Milan). Sterling’s tendency to drift out to the right hand flank along with Luis Suarez’s ability to play on the left-wing meant that Liverpool’s shape transitioned seemlessly from a diamond to a 4-3-3. Real Salt Lake on the other hand play with a traditional number 10, Javier Morales, at the point of their diamond, and a more hard-nosed defensive option, USMNT veteran Kyle Beckerman, as the anchor.
In a potential diamond, Thierry Henry (or Peguy Luyindula) would be best suited to play as the playmaker, while Dax McCarty would occupy the anchor role. Such a switch would have the benefit of putting Tim Cahill up top in his best position, without having to bench either BWP or Henry. Additionally, having Tim Cahill up top gives the Red Bulls an extra dimension to their play; if playing through the orchestrator, Henry, is unsuccessful, lobbing in crosses for Cahill to head in or to knock down for another attacker is a pretty good plan B to fall back on. In this way, this midfield diamond is extremely similar to the approach used by RSL in the past few years. Salt Lake attempt to play through the skillful Javier Morales, although it can play crosses into target striker Alvaro Saborio while the other striker, Robbie Findley, stretches the defense (a la Wright-Phillips).
Moreover, a midfield diamond puts more players in the center of the park, an area where the Red Bulls have particularly struggled this year. For a player like Eric Alexander — who lacks the ability to control the game at center midfield and who has quality but not enough pace to be an effective winger — a position as a carillero (shuttler) may just be the perfect fit, and may also provide Dax McCarty with the help in central midfield that has so often been missing this year.
Of course, the diamond midfield has its fair share of drawbacks. For one, the formation notably decreases a team’s width. While for several teams, the diamond midfield encourages free-flowing attacking play, for many others — e.g. the Colorado Rapids during their experiment with the diamond this year — it creates congestion in the middle of the field, encourages narrowness, and stifles the creation of space in attacking areas. In order to create space and exploit wide areas, teams that use the diamond have to come up with alternate solutions. With Kreis’ RSL, the team accomplished this task mainly by encouraging its fullbacks Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert to overlap and by giving Javier Morales the positional liberty to roam into wide areas. Such dynamic movement requires the rest of the players to be tactically aware and able to rotate into the space vacated by other players. At RSL, if Javier Morales drifted wide, one of the carilleros, especially Luis Gil or Sebastian Velasquez, would often cycle centrally in order to provide balance and a conduit for the attack. Other teams, such as the United States men’s national team at times, have played with a less compact diamond, meaning the shuttlers have occupied positions in wider areas. While this option opens up the game, it can have its negative consequences as well. In the US’ pre-World Cup friendly against Turkey, shuttlers Graham Zusi and Brad Davis played very wide for most of the game, leaving the team exposed through the middle of the field and causing Jurgen Klinsmann to adjust to a more narrow diamond, with Kyle Beckerman coming into the team and Jermaine Jones taking up a more narrow position than Davis on the left side.
The Red Bulls have the potential to make the diamond work, although of course there are several obstacles the team may have to deal with in order to do so effectively. First off, as with any change of system, a shift to a diamond midfield would require loads of practice and an understanding of midfield rotations, developments that the Red Bulls may not be able to afford if the growing pains during the adjustment period cause the team to lose more precious points down the stretch or to start off the CCL on the wrong foot. Moreover, a new formation, while it may put certain players into ideal positions — Tim Cahill, Eric Alexander, and Bradley Wright-Phillips in particular — thrusts new responsibilities on the shoulders of some players and may destroy some the chemistry the team has worked so hard to build over the past two seasons. Although Henry has certainly dropped deeper this year in pursuit of the ball, putting him in a trequartista role may bring him too far away from goal, or prevent him from combining with Wright-Phillips as effectively as he has throughout this year.
Furthermore, while Lloyd Sam has been superb wide right this year, he may not fit into a carillero role that would require him to play narrower and with greater tactical discipline. Although some teams that have played with the diamond (e.g. Chelsea, pictured right, or even the US with Jones narrow and Bedoya or Zusi drifting wide) have played with one shuttler tucked in and another who runs into wide areas in attack, this proposition requires the trequartista to take on more defensive responsibilities, something that Lampard at Chelsea and Bradley with the US were more apt for than Henry would be with the Red Bulls. Hence, Sam may make for a better option coming off the bench, reprising his super-sub role from last year, while a player like Bobby Convey — if he can get his act together — or a younger player such as Michael Bustamante or even Connor Lade may make more sense as a starter. Perhaps playing Roy Miller — who has experience playing centrally with the Costa Rica national team — as a shuttler and starting the impressive-but-raw Ambrose Oyongo would be an option at Petke’s disposal.
Other questions abound when it comes to the diamond; can Dax raise his level of play and take on the enormous task of being the anchor of the midfield? Is Henry mobile enough to find space in wide areas in order to prevent congestion in the center of the pitch? Will dropping Henry deeper diminish the efficacy of his partnership with Wright-Phillips? Will Wright-Phillips be able to play off of a target striker like Cahill? Can the Red Bulls rely on their fullbacks to push push up into attacking wide areas?
These questions bring up valid concerns about a diamond midfield that may make another formation — whether it be a reversion to the 4-4-2 or a different approach such as a 4-3-3 or even a 5-3-2 — preferable. However, the diamond puts the Red Bulls’ three best players in positions where they can thrive, gives the team multiple plans of attack, and shores up the central midfield zone where the team has been so weak this season. The diamond may not be the ultimate solution to the Red Bulls’ problems, but, given the failures of the current system and inactivity in the transfer market, it is a worthwhile tactical experiment for Mike Petke and his staff to consider in order to make a run at the CCL and the MLS Cup.
