Glasner emphasizes need for coherent basic tactics: "It's important to introduce consistency."
Speaking on record about the forthcoming round four Bundesliga encounter against Stuttgart on Sunday, Eintracht Frankfurt trainer Oliver Glasner seemed to express a preference for a 4-4-2 system.
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With the deadline day signing of Dutch striker Sam Lammers, Oliver Glasner has his much needed second top axis striker. The new SGE head-coach has gotten off to a rocky start in Germany's commercial capital.
An opening day shellacking away at Dortmund was followed up by two tepid draws in which the team looked far from convincing. Moreover, Glasner's tactical constellations failed to exhibit any consistency across three rounds.
If the 47-year-old Austrian gaffer's recent public remarks are any indication, Glasner desperately wishes to put a stop to it.
"It's important to introduce consistency," Glasner said on Monday, "It's not wise to change the system every week just to show how variable we are."
In explaining his switch from the inherited back-three to a back-four, Glasner hinted that the change was permanent.
"The role assignments are the easiest when we attack via a 4-4-2," he continued, "A back-three requires courage to place an opponent under pressure. The players moving out of the back need support. You have to rely on your teammates. If this trust, these automations are missing, it leads to hesitation an passive play. With a four-man back-line, the sequences are easier to train."
Glasner did leave open the possibility of trying out a 3-5-2, a tight midfield rotating diamond, or even a set of attacking eights in the longer term. He nevertheless gave every indication that he planned to deploy Lammers alongside Rafael Santos Borré; most likely in a 4-4-2.
"Rafael plays quite often on the right side of a 4-4-2 with the Colombian national team," Glasner pointed out.
Borré himself recently admitted that he thought a second striker "would be helpful" for him at his new club team. In post-match comments, the Colombian spoke of "compatibility with a classic nine."
Lammers fits the bill for this.
