Sheffield Wednesday trail Sheffield United by 11 points.
After four defeats from five, changes are required at Sheffield Wednesday. To the frustration of many, however, Carlos Carvalhal looks set to remain in place.
If not Carvalhal, then it has to be his system – which most resembles a flat 4-4-2. His defence is porous, midfield featherweight and there is next to no pace out wide – all things you would expect a man with a manual on tactics to have realised before now.
Though reverting to the 4-1-4-1 formation that served them so well in Carvalhal’s first season could help to shore things up centrally, that would involve the sacrifice of a striker, of which Wednesday have six with everyone fit, while the pairing of Steven Fletcher and Gary Hooper has delivered 20 goals from its last 21 starts.
There is, however, another way in which the Owls can make themselves more compact and still keep two up front, as Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and, whisper it quietly, but yes, even Sheffield United are showing. That is by going 3-5-2.
Adopting football’s in vogue formation (which could potentially look as shown below) would certainly make sense from a practical point of view.
As well as keeping the one functioning part of the team together (goalkeeper aside), it would offer additional protection at the back, free up two predominantly attacking full-backs to focus primarily on going forward, and keep the team’s best central midfielders central, as opposed to being shoehorned out wide.
Perhaps most significantly, it’s a system that is ready-made for Fernando Forestieri upon his return from injury, having previously expressed a desire to play through the middle, with Kieran Lee capable of occupying a deeper role beside Barry Bannan.
Over to you, Carlos – it might just save your job.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
