While we wait for kickoff of the Sunday evening fixtures, I wanted to voice an opinion of mine that I’ve carried for quite some time. And that is, “why don’t we change the current formation of 4-2-3-1 into something that better suits the strengths of this 2020 FC Ryukyu team?”
Higuchi has never once made a change to the starting formation during his time in charge and while it could be said that he has made some ‘in-game’ adjustments to the squad when required; it is usually a case of too little, too late. So, what can be done?
First, I think we are not leveraging the greatest asset of this team; the midfield talent. We have a very nice mix of youthful exuberance, and veteran wisdom, in this year’s squad and it is a difficult choice each week to select the starting 11. But this leads me to my second point.
Drop the 4-2-3-1 for a 3-4-3. Our recent opponents Ehime FC have done well at this, and this would allows us to pack the midfield with as much attacking talent as we can muster while providing brief periods of rest. I should reemphasize that we lost Shinji Ono for probably an extended period of time this week and that leaves no natural substitute for either Uesato or Koki Kazama in the CDM roles.
So why not drop one to keep them both fresh? My third point would be if we started Yong Jick, Suzuki and Chinen at CB, we could still keep Fukui in reserve to fill in, or start at CB as needed to create a better rotation for our back line.
Fourth, if we moved Numata, Torikai, Tavares, Tanaka, and possibly Yamaguchi into more of wing back role, we could keep players fresh while still creating massive amounts of thrust forward. Think that won’t work? Just look at how ex-FC Ryukyu RB, Taishi Nishioka is thriving at Ehime FC when he is used in both the traditional RB spot as well as that of RW.
Fifth, if we are dead set on using a lone striker up top, it is best to surround him with speed and talent. Since our mid field is loaded with talent, and once Kawai returns, you have numerous options in Yamaguchi, Koizumi, Yu, Ikeda, Koya, and Motegi. Not to mention that Uesato can still marshal the attack from his CDM role while not needing to worry about scrambling back to cover 2 CBs since 3 sit behind him.
Finally, as these fixtures begin to pile up, it is imperative we rotate the squad to keep players fresh so as too avoid fatigue and injuries. The current 4-2-3-1 is not working despite the loads of possession we may enjoy each week as we are lacking a bit of creativity near the 18-yard box to make it all count.
In that case, why not overwhelm the defense with more attacking players that quickly change the direction of the attack as well as create space for players to occupy?
Anyways, just my thoughts and rambles heading into next week’s match.
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