The best counter attacking defensive formation

During my first year in the premier league with Portsmouth i began the season on a horrible winless run and did not win my first game until the second half of the season. I attributed this problem to my formation and eventually changed from a standard 442 to a narrow diamond 442 with two CM in between an advanced CAM and deep lying CDM (anchor man).

I had Piquonne and Kanu up front, Boateng as the CAM, yebda and Brown in the middle and Mokoena as the anchor man with hreidarsonn, ben haim wilson and finnan in the back.

My team suddenly started churning out results because of my defensive style but it was a little too late. I was relegated and fired by the new chairman that had taken over the club.

I was wondering if anyone else uses a defensive counterattacking formation for a smaller club that is really effective and gets the best out of your team?

i suggest 4-2-3-1 (deep) - ie with two DMCs (one of them being a deep playmaker. i use it in a big team but i find it to be very effective for counterattack which i use against smaller teams that won't open spaces or against big teams playing away with much success. besides its a very versatile formation you can easily attack as well by having one of the DMC's support the attack or training them to "go forward whenever possible".

you will need fast forwards and wingers though.

i suggest 4-2-3-1 (deep) - ie with two DMCs (one of them being a deep playmaker. i use it in a big team but i find it to be very effective for counterattack which i use against smaller teams that won't open spaces or against big teams playing away with much success. besides its a very versatile formation you can easily attack as well by having one of the DMC's support the attack or training them to "go forward whenever possible".

you will need fast forwards and wingers though.

i agree i used that formation also but i found it easer with small clubs to play a direct game with two strikers. I played that formation with Man City and it worked very well because de jong protected barry while i had wright phillips and johnson bursting down the wing and cutting inside.