Saw that, it was exactly the point I was making though. I don't agree that we've often changed from 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1 mid-half before. We've altered at half time, and maybe have made subtle tweaks, and the 4-2-3-1 has always had Dier dropping in to the middle of the 3 when he's played in midfield, but what I saw was different. It was subtle, but we very obviously shifted Toby along, put Dier on the right side, and had Eriksen dropping in. It lasted for about 5 minutes when I first mentioned it, at the point when Redknapp was discussing our formation as 4 at the back.
We don't disagree on anything here really - I've been hoping for a while that we get to a point of fluidity that means we can switch formation before the opposition can figure us out. A lot of our bad CL performances this year, and our run of draws including away at Bournemouth, were when our 4-2-3-1 had become way too predictable and easy to figure out. The patterns of play were obvious and easy to shut down. Now, we're at a point where we can ostensibly start with a 4-2-3-1 against a 3-4-3 (which should be tougher for us as the 3-4-3 has a space advantage over the 4-2-3-1) but because of our confidence in all areas we can still make it work.
The only thing that would give me more confidence is getting Wanyama trained as a capable right sided centre back in the 3. Otherwise we are too reliant on Dier staying fit in order to have the flexibility which is a key advantage.
