Formation Review #2: 4-3-3

Didn't mean to write an essay but too late now.

We come now to the challengers, starting with 4-3-3. The obvious difference is an additional player up front and all midfielders playing a central role. This has the advantage of boosting the engine room (central midfield), and having more attacking presence. It does leave room on the flanks in the midfield and good communication is required to maintain formation. Against opposition 4-4-2's this will definitely not be about beating your opposite number as there won't be so many individual battles. Instead zonal play and being aware of one's position on the pitch is crucial.

For a breakdown of how those paid to play do it see here

Defence
The image hopefully illustrates the defensive zones for individual positions. The points to note here is the overlap between wide defenders (LB & RB's) and the wingers in regards to dealing with wide midfielders. Wingers are responsible until about halfway when they hand over to the fullbacks. Fullbacks need to be comfortable with 2v1 situations where they may be against a CM and wide midfielder. In those instances the fullbacks need to position themselves between ball and goal - regardless of where the wide midfielder is. The last defensive point is the DCM role. Note their defensive zone (see diagram). They have no direct player to mark and should remain central. Their role is to intercept midfield passes, and provide cover when needed.

Attack
On attack the various roles are: Striker - target man. Looks for ball to feet. Their runs will be lateral and looking to drag the CB's out of position to create space for the wingers or ACM to exploit.
Wingers - positioned wide and forward. Runs looking to catch the fullbacks off guard. If the striker is successful at dragging the CB's away the most devasting run will be inside the fullback looking to get the ball on the corner of the penalty box.
ACM - Sits just behind the striker also looking for ball to feet. Support person for the striker to pass to. When in possession short penetrative passes or shot.
CM - roaming role. Similar to the role of a CM in a 4-4-2
DCM - Always looking to receive pass to feet. Most passes to them will be very short (5-10 metres). Accuracy of distribution is very important in this position. Will rarely get in the opposition's penalty box.

Pro's
With essentially 4 players being designated as attack minded (Str, 2 wingers, ACM) the 4-3-3 is a much more aggressive formation. Additionally 3 central midfielders also strengthens the all important engine room. Finally with a more zonal approach there is less requirement for all players to get behind the ball when defending. In a 4-3-3 the only box-to-box player is the CM and theoretically with a DCM passes to the opposition strikers should be intercepted resulting in possession being regained higher up the field.
Con's
More complicated and requires good positional play from a number of players. The DCM role is potentially very difficult as they must always maintain a central position. If things go wrong there is less cover, especially for the defence. As all defenders will likely have responsibility for an opposition player they must continually make a decision whether to mark their man or cover a zone. A wrong decision will leave a gaping hole in the centre.

Personnel
DCM must have good situational awareness, knowing their place on the field. Good distributor and good control on the ball, always being available for the pass.
The 3 front players need to be active - looking to create space fby losing their marker. The amount of trouble those 3 players make will determine whether there are any opposition midfielders available to break forward if they do win the ball.
The defence, especially fullbacks, need to be comfortable with zonal marking. Position is all important - close enough to pressure their man should they get the ball but also with an eye on what is going on with the other defenders to provide support if needed.