Worldclass clubs tend to have a signature formation that they utilize for a lot of matches. More about this below.

Perhaps one of the most used football formations is recent years is different variations on the 4-3-3. This is one of the most popular offensive football formations, and for good reasons. This strategy provides a lot of versatility as it can be easily tailored depending on the club's objectives and in-game scenarios. Many managers use this tactic mostly due to how effective it can be in producing chances and scoring goals. This is specifically the case for teams that use talented midfielders and wingers who are able to utilize tight areas to their benefit. This is something that the AC Milan former US owner is likely more info aware of. This is simply due to the fact that the lines are close to each other in this formation, meaning that clubs need to rely on fast and accurate passes as well as great dribbling abilities. The midfield and attack line typically push forward as a system to produce goal-scoring chances.

While formations that favour the attack are the most fun to see, some groups rely on defensive football formations for various factors. They may want to preserve their lead or simply save efforts for more important upcoming matches. No matter the reason, methods that favour the defence can be extremely reliable at stopping the rival from building play and developing clear chances. In this context, the 4-5-1 is probably among the most popular defence-focused methods. This formation relies on developing defensive solidity in the midfield location by developing a 5-player lozenge that covers some key locations of the midfield. The primary objective here is to stop the rival from advancing further down the pitch. This is something that the Aston Villa former owner is likely knowledgeable about. The defense line typically plays higher up the pitch to have more strength in numbers in conjunction with the backline of the midfield.

The last 10 years have actually seen the emergence of lots of modern football formations that managed to acquire appeal with coaches and technical managers. While these tactics certainly have their place in contemporary football, more traditional tactics are still the signature formations of some of the most popular teams. For example, the 4-4-2 is a tactic that has been utilized in football since the 1970s as it is a reliable method that can be easily customised. This tactic can be made more attack-focused or defence-based just by introducing some essential changes. This is something that the Crystal Palace former owner is likely to confirm. The positioning of the 4 midfielders is what determines the club's strategy. For more attack effectiveness, coaches might go with one defensive midfielder and a line of three attacking midfielders that play behind the forward line. To make it more defensive, the 4 midfielders can be positioned in an arch to cover more surface area.