4-5-1? 4-4-2? 4-3-3?

The title above is not the combination number to some old Safe, but the usual football language of tactics.

4-5-1 normally means a pack midfield which sometimes can change to 4-1-4-1-, with an anchorman in midfield.

4-4-2 is a traditional format for most English teams, with 2 Central Midfield powering the team, supported by 2 wingers. 

4-3-3 is a format preferred by Jose Mourinho when he was in charge of Chelsea, where he will play 3 central midfield, and one Striker who will be supported by 2 Wing Forwards. This is a very potent combination and very fluid but require calibre players to carry this out.

What is best for Everton? 

On Sunday, we beat Spurs using the 4-5-1 tactic, which changed to 4-1-4-1 in the 2nd Half. Surprisingly, Arteta was in the anchorman role whilst Cahill & Fellaini were free to roam the midfield. Pienaar & Osman were the wingers. Though we lost Yakubu and later Saha; but the team kept its shape and perform far better than that awful display against Wigan. 

It was one of our best performance this season. We showed resilience, toughness and discipline throughout the game. Man of the Match - Jagielka

Perhaps we can discuss this in this Blog.