Patrick Viera's W-M Against Orlando

Patrick Viera has met a wonky roster with an equally wonky formation. Given a squad with approximately 56 attacking midfielders and exactly zero defensives ones (until he secured Federico Bravo on loan) Viera didn’t try and fit square pegs into round holes. Instead, he took advantage of Yankee Stadium’s comically small field and abundance of attackers. For all intents and purposes, Viera employed the old school W-M formation popularized in the 1920s and seems he will continue using it as his default home formation.

Viera’s W-M - Applying the “number” system of naming formations doesn’t exactly apply here but the W-M could be classified loosely as a 3-2-2-3 or a 3-4-3 but neither tell the whole story. Preferring slow, possession-based play, NYCFC looked to build attacks Mix Diskerud and Tommy McNamara took turns dropping deep to receive passes from Pirlo. From there, the central attackers would either look to play give-and-gos with the wide attackers (Tony Taylor and Khiry Shelton) or look for David Villa to help make plays.

Taylor and Shelton (or Steven Mendoza in the second half) operated as sort-of wingbacks throughout the game. Either player was equally liable to attempt a dribble into the box or track back and form and act as a de facto outside back.

Offense - In attack, this set up clearly excels. Mix Diskerud - whose best position on the USMNT and last year’s NYCFC squad has been a huge question mark - in particular has thrived in his new role as a right-sided attacking midfielder. He combined well with the other attackers in the right half space and Orlando had trouble tracking his runs into the box. Here’s one example of Mix’s movement causing problems for Orlando’s defense:

Darwin Ceren is late to pick up Mix’s run because he starts in a deeper midfield position. Shelton then delivers a perfectly weighted pass which allows Mix a good chance at goal.

David Villa, who complained last season about feeling isolated as a lone striker, has far more passing options in this new set up. Though he’s still the only center forward on the field, the bevy of other attackers provide ample outlets to combine with around the box. The Spanish striker may have only taken one shot against Orlando but created several good chances for his teammates.

Defense - While NYCFC’s attack looks strong the defensive side of the equation presents a problem for Viera. Early in the first half, Orlando were frequently able to easily break through NYCFC’s initial press, leaving the “M” part of the W-M exposed. Here’s an example of uncoordinated pressing from NYCFC’s attackers:

Orlando’s high pressure forces a turnover from Khiry Shelton. Though Orlando looks to play quickly off that turnover, initial pressing from NYCFC forces Rafael Ramos to play the ball back to his centerbacks. This should give New York enough time to organize its lines prepare to defend. Instead Shelton and Bravo both scramble to pressure Ceren while McNamara marks nobody. This leaves Higuita free to receive a pass, turn up field and initiate an attack. It’s not yet clear if this is a strictly systemic issue or if this is miscommunication among midfielders that can be improved with repetition and better chemistry. Until then, however, opposing team will certainly try and exploit this lack of cohesion.

Additionally, all five attackers pushing high up the field leave NCFC vulnerable to counterattacks. In the second half, Orlando largely sat back and sought to close the game out with their 1-0 lead intact. Adrian Heath was happy to leave Cyle Larin on an island upfield in order to retain defensive stability. Still, Orlando managed to create several dangerous chances while committing minimal numbers forward. For home games, the damage can be somewhat mitigated by Yankee Stadium’s miniscule field since attackers can more easily track back and provide defensive cover. For larger away fields, however, this presents a serious problem.

Away games - We won’t find out for another couple weeks whether Viera intends to use this formation away from the Bronx. On wider fields, opposing teams could surely stretch NYCFC’s back three, opening wide gaps for attackers to move into. Longer fields would also put Viera’s squad at even greater risk of counter attacks as their attackers couldn’t as easily track back.

What formation does Viera turn to then? The 4-3-3 he deployed in Chicago was a disaster defensively. The backline messed up countless offside traps and the central midfield couldn’t track any runners deep. Bravo’s presence in the central midfield, who would likely replace either Diskerud or McNamara in the lineup, would probably help shore up some of the defensive leakages but the back four would still remain shaky. Any opposing forward with a decent amount pace presents a constant threat to a line as high and unorganized as NYCFC’s. Unless they can learn to sucessfully play the offside trap, Viera will have to settle for a more practical away tactic that involves playing in a much lower block.

Even though Patrick Viera’s revival of the W-M requires a little more tinkering, the former French international has introduced the kind of interesting tactical wrinkle rarely seen in MLS. NYCFC's biggest question for the rest of the season is whether they can juggle two distinct systems for their home and away games. If they can solidify their defense in their home W-M and settle on a more practical away tactic, they have a strong chance at making the playoffs in their sophomore season. Otherwise 2016 may see some of the same weakness - namely, a porous defense - that caused them to miss the postseason and ultimately cost Jason Kreis his job.