Let's talk West Ham's formation, again!

After some sustained success, it’s time to talk about why West Ham are suddenly able to string together points. The credit for the recent success can be split between players stepping up and the manager getting the most out of them. Foundational in both of these is the new formation West Ham is using.

Pellegrini came to West Ham with a formation he has used in Spain, England, and China so it seemed likely that he would try to implement it here. Pellegrini’s 4-2-2-2 featured two holding midfielders, two attacking midfielders, and two strikers who were all supported by a back four that included overlapping fullbacks.

Ideally, Arnautovic and Chicharito would start up top, Lanzini and Anderson would fill out the attacking midfield, Wilshere and Rice would hold down the defensive midfield positions, and Masuaku and Fredericks would bring speed up the wings while Diop and Balbuena anchored the team.

With the Lanzini injury and early season dysfunction, this quickly turned to a 4-2-3-1 formation that stripped a striker for a winger, in this case, Antonio was brought in as a stop gap before Andriy Yarmolenko was ready. West Ham played the majority of their August with this formation: Arnautovic up top with Anderson, Snodgrass, Antonio beneath in attacking midfield, a rotation of Rice, Noble, Wilshere, Sanchez, and Obiang in defensive midfield, and an everchanging backline of four defenders.

This was not working. West Ham’s midfield was getting walked through and Arnuatovic was too isolated to instigate any sustained offensive pressure. The injury to Jack Wilshere compounded issues in West Ham’s midfield; something needed to change.

The Everton match at Goodison Park allowed an opportunity for Manuel Pellegrini; maximize the international break by installing a new formation for the team and drill the players on how to play within it. Pellegrini also got the go-ahead to start using Yarmolenko after he was fully fit and ready to start games which has proved massive in West Ham’s form.

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West Ham emerged from the tense international break in a 4-3-3 formation and seized three points away at Everton. The formation was unchanged except for an injury replacement at striker for Arnautovic with Antonio coming into the team ahead of the Chelsea clash. A hard-earned point was won against Chelsea which then led to an 8-0 win over Macclesfield Town, again in a 4-3-3. West Ham stuck with the formation again (with Arnautovic back) against Manchester United and dominated the match, and taking all three points.

As it was initially implemented and stands now, the formation is Arnautovic at striker, Anderson left-winger, Yarmolenko right-winger, Noble and Obiang in central midfield, Rice in holding midfield, Zabaleta and Masuaku at fullback, and Diop and Balbuena in at center back.

This formation works for West Ham for two main reasons: the players are in their natural positions, and the team is balanced across the pitch.

Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko as wingers gives Arnautovic options. Both do trackback deep into West Ham’s own end in defense but when committed forward they maximize their impact in different ways. Yarmolenko can act as a target man with his height but does seem to prefer the perimeter of the penalty area where he can find space for a left-footed strike. Anderson likes the quick link up passes between Masuaku and Arnautovic that create space out of nothing and allow him to creep into the box.

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In the midfield, central positions for Noble and Obiang allow for two way play between the players. Obiang is able to take his tackling skills up and down the pitch, while Noble can also chip in with extra pressure up high. Both look more comfortable here in this position over their previous uses in defensive midfield.

Rice now occupies that area and he’s been superb. It’s more natural from the once-center back to be in defensive midfield, as he can stick to his defensive-minded play while also using his legs more to move play up the pitch. Rice’s ability to read the game has been on display ever since he started at Everton, showing intuition and footballing IQ way beyond his age.

Zabaleta has seized the right back position over Fredericks for the time being. He doesn’t have the speed Frederick’s does but his experience and defensive play have him as a mainstay in the starting XI now. Masuaku has a long leash at left back because Cresswell has the yips, apparently. Masuaku is great going forward but has to improve defensively as the season continues.

At center back, Diop and Balbuena were always going to be the pair moving forward. Out of respect to Ogbonna for his stellar season last year he was given the chance to keep his starting position but there have been too many shaky performances with him in the lineup. Diop has the size and youth and Balbuena brings the physicality and discipline. Get used to these two, Hammers fans, they’ll be here for a while.

Over the entire pitch, there is a yin and yang to this West Ham team. Arnautovic has support from his wingers while also maintaining his responsibility to track back. The fullbacks have license to get up the pitch at will, but as a trade-off protect the back line on corner kicks while Diop and Balbuena look for aerial goals. Rice’s stalwart performances in defensive midfield allow Noble and Obiang to get adventurous up the pitch and step up in the attack.

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Nobody looks out of position, and no one is inviting questions about whether they would be better suited in a different position. It’s a little unorthodox for Pellegrini, but the 4-3-3 formation shows his willingness and ability to adapt on the fly. This formation isn’t solely to blame for the turn in form for West Ham but it has contributed to it massively, and for that both Pellegrini and the players deserve shared credit.

Let’s talk West Ham’s formation, again!

By Adam Smith | Oct 2, 2018

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