Ehm actually, Erik ten Hag doesn’t like 4-3-3

Or: why Mourinho is more Cruyffian than you think

Wait, let me explain that headline.

There seems to be some semantic confusion surrounding the concepts of ‘4-3-3’ and ‘4-2-3-1’. A lot of this seems to stem from differences in footballing culture.  

Dutch managers always say they play 4-3-3, even if they don’t. It’s what the fans, who were raised in a footballing culture based on the ideas of Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, expect of their managers. 

As Cruyff has explained, however, there are variations to the 4-3-3 formation. You can either play with the point facing backwards, or with the point facing forwards.

A 4-3-3 with the point facing backwards is pretty close to what is known as 4-3-3 in England. It means one defensive midfielder, with two more advanced guys right in front of him. Mourinho employed this variation during his first spell at Chelsea, with Claude Makelele in the Makelele role (the destroyer) and Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack or Michael Essien as central midfielders.

However, a 4-3-3 with the point facing forwards is a lot closer to what they call 4-2-3-1 in England. It employs two more defensively minded midfielders, and a true nr. 10. It’s basically what Manchester United used in recent years: Fred and McTominay with Fernandes in front of them.

At Ajax, Ten Hag almost exclusively used a similar formation. In the nr. 10 position, he used players like Donny van de Beek, Hakim Ziyech and Steven Berghuis. Behind that nr. 10 were players like Frenkie de Jong, Lasse Schöne, Ryan Gravenberch and/or Edson Alvarez.

4-2-3-1, they would say in England. 4-3-3 with the point facing forwards, they would say in the Netherlands. 

However, it would be reductive to say that the two guys Ten Hag put behind his nr 10s were ‘destroyers’ or even ‘defensively minded’. 

Frenkie de Jong, for example, was one of the two ‘defensive midfielders’ behind Van de Beek, but he played a crucial role in Ajax’s transitions. Whenever he got the ball, he moved it forwards, often by beating his man first. Thus, De Jong was not truly a defensive midfielder. I would actually sooner call him ‘offensively minded’. 

In his last season at Ajax, Ten Hag gave Ryan Gravenberch (who has now moved to Bayern Munich) a similar role, with Edson Alvarez (who started his Ajax career as a centre back) right next to him. Call it a nr. 6 and a nr. 8 pairing if you want, but in a formation that looks like a 4-2-3-1 (in other words: a 4-3-3 with the point facing forwards). 

In the end, United’s preferred formation might not change much under Ten Hag. He’ll probably use a 4-2-3-1, or put differently: a 4-3-3 with the point facing words. But if Ten Hag gets his way, and especially if De Jong is brought in from Barcelona, there ain’t gonna be no ‘double pivot’.

Fred and McTominay might be in trouble. 

Think like a Tukker

Articles and podcasts that might help you understand the mind of Ten Hag.

• This is an old video from Tifo, but it explains the whole ‘4-3-3 and/or 4-2-3-1 with the point facing forwards/backwards’ thing pretty well. Also: why Frenkie de Jong was crucial for Ajax in 2019.

• Did you catch that goodbye video Ajax made for Ten Hag, back in May? Even if you did, watch it again. It’s beautiful and any media department in world football should take notice. Especially Bayern Munich, whose Matthijs de Ligt welcome video was really lame.

• Or how about that time they put a camera on Ten Hag for 90 minutes? It was his final game for Ajax - and it was emotional.

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Life and Times

‘We normally get Yorkshire Tea,’ the neighbour said, as Erik put the PG Tips bag in the mug.

‘Yorkshire Tea?’ he asked. ‘Is that tea made in Yorkshire?’ 

The neighbour smiled. ‘It’s good quality,’ she said. ‘Quite strong, but we like it strong.’

Since arriving in England, Erik had learned you put the bag in first, then the boiled water, then the milk. Now he learned another important lesson: the fact that certain brands of tea are better than others.

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Ask Elko

Got a question for me? Send it to hagballmail@gmail.com

Dear Elko,

What’s a good book to read on holiday? 

• Nadine from London

A: I’m a Kafka guy, myself. The Metamorphosis would be a good long short story to start with. After that, try The Trial, or dig into his shorter short stories. The City Coat of Arms, The Bridge, the one from the perspective of an actual mole, or the one where two children play knock-a-door-run and are subsequently arrested, and possibly tortured. I don’t know, get his collected works or something.