The Re-Emergence of the 'Dying Breed'

Call it 'Football's Evolution' if you will. It is clear that we are witnessing a tactical shake-up this season and this time is it in terms of forward play. This blog spoke of the extinction of 'poachers' and this article now looks at the 'dying breed' which is making a comeback. And it's not just in England, this tactical development is emerging across Europe. The question is, why are coaches now looking to deploy the strike partnership. The Whitehouse Address investigates.

There is a clear divide in England right now. Call it the North/South divide if you will, yet this is not about socio-economic factors or politics but regarding football and centre forwards. Down south in London there is the big three who are deploying a single forward formation; with Torres/Eto'o, Soldado and Giroud the key forwards at the top of their respective XI's. 

In the North West we are seeing the Manchester clubs and Liverpool opting to play the 'unorthodox' two man forward pairing. Suarez/Sturridge, Rooney/Van Persie and Aguero/Negredo have all impressed with their combination and clinical finishing. It has led many to point towards the 'return of a dying breed'. We are seeing the renaissance of the classic strike partnership.

It is evident that a new approach to forward play and a changes in formations will continue to evolve while coaches are trying new and innovative ways to counter the opposition and bring success. And as we know the answers often lie in the past.

The classic front two

The classic strike partnership has been one of the most consistent facets of football for decades. The best partnerships which England have seen came from Dalglish and Rush, Andy Cole and Yorke and Shearer and Sutton. The 80's and 90's brought the need for a strike partnership, it was the time when the 4-4-2 was very much the formation of English sides and therefore using two forwards was necessary. It brought some mixed football; some sides used the big man/little man combination whereas others played it with more flair and quality.

Across Europe at that time there was the more commonly used trequartista who played behind a goalscorer. This was where Del Piero, Zidane and Baggio excelled. It was a partnership yet not in the English way of viewing it. The '10' was not valued or necessary for many English sides, although players Beardsley and Gascoigne could be seen in this way. Cantana had shown what this type of 'forward' could do in England and these three put down a blueprint to where English football would go. Yet it was not till players like Berkgamp and Zola arrived that the 10 became valued so highly. They excelled to high levels because English football offered these players such space and time.

Of course it was the arrival of continental coaches who would see the need to move away from the 4-4-2 of England to a more balanced and midfield dominated formation. However although Wenger is credited with being a key vehicle for change in England he did not deviate from the 4-4-2 in terms of the set-up yet worked the system to suit the needs of his players. Berkgamp and Henry excelled and took Arsenal to great heights. It was one of the greatest 'partnerships' England had witnessed and perhaps the final top quality partnership since this season.

A changing game leads to a dying breed

Since the turn of the century English football became very European and the game changed markedly. The 4-2-3-1 became the formation of choice for most top coaches and success was forthcoming because of it. Coaches could not allow two forwards to play up top, they would lose the midfield dominance which teams required. Benitez would prove the value in using one forward with Valencia and then Liverpool, as too would Mourinho in his 4-3-3 come 4-5-1 style at Porto and Chelsea. 

It was only Carlo Ancelotti in 2005 who would continue with a two man striker formation, using a 4-4-2 diamond where he would deploy Kaka behind a strike force of Crespo and Shevchenko, a quite staggering attacking line up. In that Champions League Milan tore apart Liverpool with this system and looked set to produce one of the best wins in the competition. And yet they ended up throwing it away and with that Ancelotti seemingly lost faith in the two forward formation. In 2007 the classic poacher Inzaghi was deployed ahead of Kaka and more more solidified midfield. It was not as expansive yet it provided the result.

What is interesting is that at this time Shevchenko had moved to Chelsea and simply caused problems for Mourinho. In Drogba Mourinho had the perfect lone forward, capable of playing isolated and dominating games. It allowed Mourinho to have more in his defensive midfield block and provide more cover defensively. Having to accommodate Shevchenko ruined his balanced formation and any thought of a strike partnership was soon dismissed. Mourinho knew that a two forward system was 'dead'.

United were playing a 4-2-3-1 formation and achieved success from their fluid rotations. It was by no means the 'classic' English style of before. What was happening was that United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were dominating Europe with one forward formations.

The era of inside forwards

The rise of Barca pointed towards a 'new' type of partnership; the inside forward link with the striker; such as Ronaldinho and Eto'o. United had something similar in Ronaldo and Rooney and this is where the game looked to be going. The emergence of Messi and the tactical genius which is Guardiola opened up new tactical variations of the centre forward in order to create more space and cause defences more problems and decisions. It proved revolutionary, for a while. 

Guardiola sought to evolve his style with the signing of Zlatan. Yet it is little surprise that Zlatan did not work at Barca as he used the space that Messi liked to exploit and drive into. Any thoughts of a partnership were soon extinguished and a forward two was quickly abandoned. 

Was it simply a case of the modern game not requiring a front two? Was a compact and overloaded more important than goal scorers? Or was it that wide players driving in from outside were new type of forward, able to exploit more space in wide areas.  What was clear was that team's could deploy a single forward or have a three pronged forward attack with wide forwards, yet a central two was not possible.

Some coaches sought to replicate Barca yet realised that what made it 'work' was the player, not the system itself. Messi was the key to its success. Other coaches sought to rebel against Barca, notably Mourinho, who was on his own personal crusade against the club (rejection does that to a man). 

2009 was a time when many wondered if the 'classic' centre forward was becoming a thing of the past, had football evolved and moved forward. Perhaps that's being harsh and unrealistic, the game did not lose centre forwards yet our attention became about Messi and this type of forward. 

However Diego Milito proved what his classic type of forward could do under the right coach (no surprise who that was). Inter winning the Champions League in 2010 was significant, it was a new decade ahead and that meant new developments and potential. 

The dominant centre forward

Yes Barca played a perfect game in 2010/11 yet 2012 proved what Drogba and Mario Gomez forwards could produce. Zlatan was dominating Italy, Van Persie was thriving as single forward for Arsenal and Lewandowski was on the rise in Dortmund. A stronger, dominant target man was becoming an essential part of team's success. Yet in all cases it was a single forward, bringing deep midfield runners in. 

Coaches saw that although Messi was excellent, the modern defenders were lacking in the skills necessary to deal with 'big' forwards. The game became one which valued defenders who can play more than they can actually defend and the quality of defending started to drop. Or should I say, the quality of the back line did, teams and forwards enhanced their defending capabilities. Incredibly the role of defending was reversed. It was now all about what happened from the front. 

Coaches would see this as something to take advantage of. If the game had become more about midfielders, more about small slight technical players, then surely a more physical approach and style would overpower these players and teams. These strong forwards therefore overpowered defenders whose priority was not 'defending'. 

Mourinho had proven this in his time in England versus Wenger and against Barca with Inter. Yet it was Bayern who really took this approach and made 'dominating' opponents such an art form  Putting more pressure on the opposition defence from wide areas and through the middle with Robben, Ribery and Muller behind a centre forward was so effective.

This cycle of change would have alerted coaches to the vulnerabilities of modern defences and the pointed towards the idea that perhaps another centre forward could cause even more damage. For a decade defences had learnt to deal with a single forward, yet what happened when another was introduced? It seems coaches this season have sought to ask this same question.

The renaissance of a dying breed

The return, the rise and the renaissance of the striker partnership is evident this season. The Aguero/Negredo partnership is almost as 'classic' as they come, yet these two both possess skill and intelligence and are arguably Europe's best partnership. Yet there are others who can rival them; perhaps none more intimidating than in Paris. A forward duo of Zlatan and Cavani must frighten defences. Both have been used as single targets for many years yet have shown an understanding and ability to move and create for others. In many ways they are playing like single forwards, yet moving and creating for each other with such understanding that they are proving to be a great duo.

In Italy Juventus signed Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente in the summer, with that pointing towards a clear strike partnership (which on paper looks impressive yet does need to be worked on). It is the classic big man/little man duo which can be seen also at Fiorentina with Gomez and Rossi. Could we be seeing the evolution of forwards taking place across Europe? It looks likely doesn't it. 

Atletico Madrid are playing some of the best football in Europe with the partnership of Villa and Costa proving to be clinical and ruthless. Is it 4-4-2? At times it looks like it, yet it is hard to show a definitive formation, especially in possession. And this is the difference between the old partnership and the one now. Yes there are teams using two forwards, yet they rotate, roam deep and wide and offer defenders many problems. The old classic forward two would stay between the 18 yard box and would play a predictable (yet often effective) game. The game has now evolved and with it coaches have sought to adapt and modernise.

The use of three forwards will probably cause problems defensively which makes the use of two a happy medium. Yet while tactical innovation can be a reason for the return of the partnership, the other argument is that coaches simply cannot afford to have such expensive talent on the side. Many top sides see the need to have 3 or 4 forwards in their squad yet their formation can only find a place for one? It makes little sense financially for clubs where the forward is often the 'star'.

The question is why should coaches feel restricted to using just one forward when they have two great ones to choose from? In some ways these coaches are going against the accepted norm by using two forwards. Somehow they are made out to look 'old fashioned' in their approach. 

Yet perhaps the return of a forward two is not old fashioned but a modern approach. Could we start to see more clubs using this approach? It is more than likely. Chelsea will more than likely add another forward next summer, Spurs look like they need to add another forward to play with Soldado and although Arsenal are playing well there is certainly a feeling of an over-reliance on Giroud. Could these sides adopt what others are seeing, the need for a strike partnership? If PSG or Atletico do achieve something special this season the strike partnership could well become football's new blueprint? 

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address


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