As part of his regular Q&A, Phil Smith assesses the draw with Preston and whether we'll see the new formation used again
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00:00Michael says, does this game prove why we don't use 4-4-2? Yes, we beat Chef United with it, but I've not been convinced with it.
00:07Preston and Plymouth games spring to mind. While we were still very poor for the standards we set, we had slightly more control when we shifted back to 4-3-3, in my opinion.
00:16And on that note, we also have a comment from David Boyle. He says, does that mark the end of 4-4-2 for the squad?
00:22Really miss the additional man in the middle and seem to just encourage session forces to lump it in, honestly, hoping for Mienda or Wilson to capitalise on a mistake rather than working an opportunity.
00:32Yeah, I largely agree. I think last night showed why, by and large, Debris prefers 4-3-3.
00:37I think that sometimes it can be a bit frustrating when, you know, someone's playing against a low block and you think, come on, we can afford another striker on the pitch.
00:43And it'll help us when teams are defending deep and sort of packing their box.
00:47But I think what you also see is when you lose that extra man in the middle, it's much harder to control possession and that just gives the opposition a foothold in the game.
00:55It helps them play on the counter-attack, but what it also does is it means that they can keep the ball a lot better.
01:01And that makes it really hard for someone to build pressure and to build momentum and to push the team back and sort of generate that feeling that a goal's coming.
01:09So I do think last night was a great example. I thought, you know, as I mentioned at the start, the irony was someone actually conceded after they went to 4-3-3.
01:16But I thought they looked much, much better. So I do think that we saw why Lebris prefers 4-3-3 in the main.
01:23I think I agree with your point, Michael, in that I think the Sheffield United game was probably the best example of how 4-4-2 can work.
01:30But I'm not sure the reality has always really been like that when Sunder have played it.
01:33As you mentioned, the Plymouth and Preston games, unconvincing.
01:36We did beat Portsmouth at home playing 4-4-2 when obviously Miandra and Wilson combined really nicely.
01:41But actually, I don't think Sunder played very well that day.
01:43Again, we beat Derby playing 4-4-2. But again, I thought the performance wasn't great.
01:49And we saw many of the similar problems we saw last night in that game.
01:52So I think you see why 4-3-3 is the best solution for the squad.
01:55I don't think 4-4-2 is a bad option.
01:57I still think within games, it's really, really, really effective, especially when games are opening up later on to have Isidoro and Miandra coming on fresh.
02:06I think it gives the other one a lift.
02:08I think it's really difficult for tyre and defenders to deal with that.
02:11And I think when games naturally break open a little bit and are swinging from end to end, it's a real weapon for Sunder.
02:16So I love the 4-4-2.
02:18I think it's a great option.
02:19I think it's really good that Sunder have got this kind of extra tool in their box.
02:23I think it could be really effective.
02:25But personally, I much prefer using it as an impact thing rather than from the start on the evidence that I've seen so far.
02:30And on that note, I thought Rigg had an impact again coming off the bench, really tied.
02:36He brought Patrick Robertson to the game.
02:37I think it's so noticeable when Rigg comes over to join up with him and how much more Roberts gets in the game, how much more of a threat he is.
02:43So I think that was something that I'm definitely taking as a positive.
02:46Rigg looked much more like back to his best.
02:48So that's something I think we can take away with that.