Bruno Lage went with a five-man backline once again for Wolves’ final pre-season friendly against Celta Vigo.
That was Nuno Espirito Santo’s preferred system but when he left, it might have been expected that a four-man defence would take precedence.
Instead, Lage has persisted with it, using it at various times, including the 1-1 draw with Stoke last weekend.
That is a hot topic for the fans, some of whom see it as overly defensive and just want a change.
But club legend Steve Bull told the Express and Star that he thinks it is the best formation for Wolves to use.
“Formations are always a talking point but for me, when we play with three at the back we have outlets on the left and right side where Conor Coady can spray the ball 40 yards,” he said
“We seemed to be a bit lost at the back when we played 4-4-2 and there was no wing-backs flying forward for the defence to pick out.
“I prefer three at the back because they can look after two strikers all day long and the others can be further up the field.”
A five-man defensive system doesn’t need to be negative if the full-backs are flying forward and there’s enough creativity in attack.
If Lage can improve Wolves in that way, he can create a more entertaining team with five defenders in it.
It’s fair to say that there might not be as much patience from the fans with his methods of he keeps cracking away with the 5-4-1 formation as there would be using 4-4-2.
Either way, the onus is on him to make Wolves more threatening and we’ll see how well he’s managed that when the Premier League season starts.
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