Chelsea must step towards the future with a 3-4-1-2, not revert to 3-4-3

Chelsea should not heed the recent calls for them to abandon the 3-5-2 and return to the 3-4-3. Their future lies in a different tactical formation.

Chelsea are not good in the 3-5-2.  Part of that is down to the players that are in the system, and some of that is simply because they have only played it a handful of times. Few of the current players had any experience in the 3-5-2 earlier in their careers, and it is very different from anything many of them have played before.

Last season’s 3-4-3 is similar enough to a 4-3-3 – a more common formation – that it is a simple transition. The 3-5-2, however, is a hybrid system and a difficult tactical style to master.

The first thing that Chelsea need to do is be patient. The formation worked at Juventus with aplomb under Antonio Conte, in large part because they had better plays. The Paul Pogba – Andrea Pirlo – Claudio Marchisio or Arturo Vidal combination is one of the most talented midfields in recent times. Chelsea’s midfield boasts but one player of that quality: N’Golo Kante. The rest are hardly world class. Don’t kid yourself.

Antonio Conte, therefore, bears the blame for forcing players into a position they are not capable of executing. But it would be reckless to think he is not stirring up something new in his off time. If the casual spectator can see the Chelsea engine rarely moving out of first gear – let alone second – in the 3-5-2, then it is certainly not lost on the Italian genius.

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Rather than simply sticking our heads in the ground and reverting to the past, Chelsea should revisit the 3-4-1-2. It is a classic, old Italian formation that Conte has clearly pondered.

Perhaps the best known recent use of this formation was the championship-winning AS Roma team of Fabio Capello in 2000/01. Seventeen years ago is not very recent, but they were a marvelous example.

Chelsea’s team is not built with a lot of nuance. And that’s OK – it’s not necessarily a criticism, it is simply the truth. The 3-4-1-2 provides a far more obvious set of rules and guidelines for the players and structure to the team.

In this formation Chelsea would be best suited keeping the back three as they are, then playing with the two wing-backs and N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater. Tiemoue Bakayoko should take the opportunity to take an honest and good look at himself. He has simply been unacceptable this season. Watching Ruben Loftus-Cheek play at Crystal Palace every week and then seeing Bakayoko in his place at Chelsea is a heartbreaking and depressing sight.

Part of the reason Chelsea are in the position they are this year is because Bakayoko has been so unreliable. His tactical acuity and positional awareness is startlingly poor. He is drawn to the ball like a moth to a flame, and has rarely if ever actually followed the run of a man without the ball.

The Kante and Drinkwater partnership can provide the pistons in the engine. In front of them Chelsea can switch now between Ross Barkley and Willian. Barkley is a good shooter and physical specimen to play in this position. When on-form he is a class midfielder who can threaten from distance, while providing the necessary legs for the high press and ability to hold on to the ball.

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If not Barkley then Chelsea should let Willian be Willian for the first time in a long time. At Shaktar Donetsk, when he was playing the best football of his life, Willian played as a No. 10 or in conjunction with Douglas Costa in a central role. That Donetsk team was remarkable.

Up front are Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata. The partnership between these two is too valuable to simply throw away. They have one of the best striker relationships in Europe. Unfortunately the 3-5-2 lacks support for it with the current Chelsea squad. It relies on Eden Hazard producing magic time and time again, which then becomes predictable and easy for teams to mark out.

The 3-4-1-2 provides extra creative impetus in the central attacking midfielder while giving Chelsea width through the wing backs. The two central midfielders have their job more readily defined. They protect the defense and play as complete midfielders who can create when the opportunity arrives naturally, but they are not forced to do so. At the same time, they provide enough protection for the wing-backs who can initiate the high press with confidence.

Cesc Fabregas can be squeezed in further back as he does not have the pace for the forward midfield position except against weaker opposition. He is becoming more and more like Juan Roman Riquelme, and should be treated as such in all regards.

Ultimately the 3-4-3 is an incomplete formation that offers too little structure. Without Diego Costa to help dominate the midfield by dropping back deep on defence, it simply will not work the same way as last season. Costa, for all his issues, was a massive aid to the midfield given his natural inclination to join the fight. This allowed Eden Hazard to play far further forward than Costa in the formation.

After last season the 3-4-3 is now simply too predictable. Teams have figured it out and that is why Chelsea do not play it against the best clubs. The partnership between Hazard and Morata is something they need to preserve. Hazard as a support striker is the best role for him, and what is best for him is best for Chelsea.

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The 3-4-1-2 preserves Chelsea’s strengths while protecting against their weaknesses. They shoule towards it this season before restructuring in the summer transfer window.