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Some fixtures just don’t sound right. Perhaps it’s almost imaginable that, had things gone slightly differently in the 1970s, Malcolm Allison could have been coaching their team beyond the Soviet Bloc for a crack at Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s tactical masterminds, but Dynamo Kyiv against Crystal Palace is still a fixture that provokes a double-take. It seems like a mismatch: how can those teams possibly be in the identical competition?

However this is the contemporary era. The nation is fighting invasion, its teams diminished. The Premier League is incredibly wealthy. And Crystal Palace are coached by one of the emerging talents of the continental game. They not only face off on Thursday, but Palace triumphed with a notable ease. It was their third consecutive win, their 19th consecutive game without loss.

Coaching Speculation and Future Moves

And so, because no team of their stature can even just be permitted to enjoy a good run, all the discussion is of where the Austrian manager could go next. His contract expires at the conclusion of the campaign and he has refused to sign an extension. He is 51; if he is planning to lead a top club with the chance of an long tenure in charge, he doesn’t have a huge amount of time to make a move. Could he then be the solution for Manchester United? He does, after all, utilize the same formation as Ruben Amorim, just significantly more effectively.

Tactical Formation and Historical Background

Which raises the issue of why a approach that has attracted so much doubt at Old Trafford functions so well at Selhurst Park. But it’s never just about the formation, nor is it the case – within reason – that one formation is intrinsically better than a different one. Rather specific tactical shapes, in combination with the style they are implemented, emphasize certain aspects of play. It is, at the very least, intriguing that since the manager’s Everton claimed the championship in the 1962-63 season with a W-M formation, only one side has secured the English league title playing with a back three: Antonio Conte’s Blues in 2016-17.

Antonio Conte’s team won the championship in that season with a back three and in practice two attacking midfielders.

Even that was something of a rare occurrence. The London club that campaign had no continental commitments, keeping them fresher than their competitors, and they had squad members who suited the system almost freakishly perfectly.

N’Golo Kanté, with his endurance and understanding of the play, is almost two players, and he was operating at the base of the engine room alongside either calming influence of Cesc Fàbregas or Nemanja Matic, one of the most penetrating passers the division has seen. That provided the platform for the two No 10s: Eden Hazard, who thrived in his unrestricted position, and Pedro, a expert of the run into the penalty area. Every one of those players was enhanced by their combination with the others.

Systemic Factors and Strategic Difficulties

To an extent, the relative lack of titles for the three-man defense, at least in terms of claiming titles, is systemic. Not many sides have secured the title playing a back three because not many sides have played a three-at-the-back system. The global tournament victory in the 1960s cemented in the national mindset the effectiveness of defensive organization with a four defenders.

That remained the default, nearly without question, for the two decades that followed. But there could additionally be more specific strategic explanations. A back three derives its breadth from the wide players; it could be that the intense hard-running nature of the British game makes the requirement on those players too great to be undertaken consistently.

But the 3-4-2-1 poses particular difficulties. It is solid, providing the compact defensive shape – three center-backs protected by two holders – that is widely acknowledged as the most efficient way to defend against rival counterattacks. But that is only one phase of the game. If they push too far from the protection of the triple centre‑backs, given the common use of formations with a midfield triangle, a pair of midfield players will often be outnumbered without support from other areas – except if a single player has the exceptional gifts of Kanté.

The striker rejoices after scoring his side’s additional strike against Dynamo Kyiv.

Advantages and Weaknesses of the Approach

The very solidity of that compact defensive shape, meanwhile, although an benefit for a side looking to withstand pressure, becomes a possible drawback for a side that aim to go on the offensive to the opposition. Its biggest asset is also its greatest weakness. The blockish structure of the formation, the way the midfield is divided into defensive players and attack-minded players – exclusively defensive mids and No 10s in modern terminology, with zero No 8s – means that without a individual to step across bands there is a danger of predictability; again, Chelsea had the perfect player to fill that role, the Brazilian defender frequently advancing forward from the back three to become an additional central presence.

Contrasting Styles at Selhurst and Old Trafford

Palace don’t care about possession. They have the second-lowest possession of all teams in the top division. It’s not at all their job to have the possession. And that’s the main explanation why a direct comparison with Manchester United’s difficulties is challenging. United, by tradition and by demand, can not be the side with the second-lowest possession in the Premier League.

Although they opted to play on the break against opposing elite sides, the majority of their matches will be against rivals who sit deep and would be content enough with a tie. In the bulk of fixtures there is an onus on them to control the play.

Maybe a attacking-minded team can play a three-at-the-back system but it requires extremely specific personnel – as the Italian coach had at Chelsea. Glasner’s achievement with it has arrived at Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, where he has been able to have his team defend compactly and break at pace.

They have defeated Aston Villa and West Ham, because the majority of teams do at the present, frustrated the Blues, and ripped the Reds apart on the counter. But they’ve also drawn at home to Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest, and struggled to overcome Fredrikstad. Sit deep against them and they struggle for creativity.

Adaptation and Future Scenarios

Would Glasner adjust if he moved