Walking down Richmond Road last Friday towards a sold-out Tolka Park to watch Shelbourne vs St Patrick’s Athletic was a brilliant buzz. There was a palpable sense of anticipation for the season ahead from both sets of supporters.
Inside the ground, Damien Duff kicked off his senior management career with the home side playing a 3-4-2-1 system. It’s the same set up that Shamrock Rovers have used to generate so much on-field success in the last two years with Stephen Bradley being a strong advocate of its benefits.
Vera Pauw We’ve also seen three at the back become the staple formation for our senior international teams, both men and women, with Stephen Kenny abandoning the 4-3-3 which brought him so much success at Dundalk. Kenny now favours the newer formation while Vera Pauw has also used it to positive effect in Ireland’s current world cup qualifying campaign.
In the last couple of weeks, we also saw Chelsea use the 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 to good effect at the Fifa Club World Cup and although their manager Thomas Tuchel is not averse to using a back four, there is no denying it is his favoured playing system.
Having played with four against Crystal Palace las …
- February 25, 2022
