Fans are worrying too much about which formation Chelsea uses

Go to almost any Chelsea forum and you won’t have to go far before someone starts talking about four at the back. With this signing or that one, the club will be able to return to 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, or some other four at the back that will supposedly solve all of the club’s issues next season.

It’s an understandable idea but one that is a bit backwards. After all, Thomas Tuchel’s switch to 3-4-3 made the Blues much more defensively solid at the expense of attack. It follows that four at the back makes the team more offensive at the expense of defense.

Of course, none of it really matters. Formations are more like guidelines that hint at the types of players used. Chelsea fans are worrying too much about how the Blues set up.

Take, for example, the regular back three of Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, and Cesar Azpilicueta. If that right wingback is a winger like Callum Hudson-Odoi, one need only squint a bit to make the formation for at the back. What will most likely happen is, regardless of formation, Chelsea adjusts to attack in a 3-2-5 shape and defends in a 5-4-1 shape. Of course, there may be times that Tuchel wants to defend with a 4-4-2 or even attack with a 2-3-5. The goal is not to find players that can only do one of those things. The goal is to find players that can do all of those things in accordance to the game in front of them.

It’s not an easy thing to do and one Chelsea didn’t have time to master last season. The few times the Blues did use a four at the back, they followed the notion of creating more and being more open the other way. It is possible to have cake and eat it too but it will take a lot more training than the Blues had last season.

Of course, that’s what preseason is for and Tuchel’s supposedly already dabbled in the 4-2-2-2. Now, if there is one thing a 4-3-3 advocate hates more than three at the back, it’s two up top. But again, the line is easily blurred. If it is Kai Havertz and Tino Werner up top together, then how long does it look like a two up top?

The main reason why a set “main” formation might be needed is to uncomplicate squad depth, but that can be figured out in other ways. Tuchel tends to prefer his attack to have a reference point, a runner, and a creator. He likes to have a player that can stretch things left and another that stretches right. He wants a centerback (or two) that feel comfortable getting into midfield in heavy possession spells. And he wants a midfield pair that is solid and connected. So, instead of looking for a right wingback, he’d look for a wide right player and build the squad so he has everything he needs.

That midfield pair is really the only constant that everything else revolves around. Imagine everyone else like a rope being dragged along and moving the players in the line in tandem. That’s eight players that are either moving as one whole unit or at least two and sometimes three units. It’s a flexible approach to adapt to any opponent.

Many want to see signings that put Chelsea into a four at the back next season. Others are content with the current 3-4-3. The reality is Chelsea wants to be able to do all of them and make formations more of a guideline that a practice.