If you listened to the Hot Cast this week, I floated the idea of the Fire playing a diamond 4-4-2 to get the best of their personnel, especially if they want to play all four of their dynamic players simultaneously. But what would this mean for how the Fire would look on the field? What would change, what would get better, and what would the trade-offs be?
Let’s start with what the team looks like now. Here’s how they lined up in their4-2-3-1 against Atlanta.
It’s a fairly common starting tactic. A double pivot with two DM’s both playing a hybrid 6/8 style (a 6 is a classic defensive midfielder who disrupts opposing attacks and interrupts the opposition’s rhythm, and an 8 is a box-to-box midfielder who acts as the link from defense to attack).