The downfall of the 5-3-2

Whether it be Chris Wilder's Sheffield United, Conte's Chelsea or the Chelsea of pretty much every manager that proceeded him, the once so innovative and successful 5-3-2/ 3-5-2 formation seems to have recently been exposed.

Former Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo is credited as the inventor of the more attacking 3-5-2 having won the 1986 World Cup, with teams adapting the formation into a more defensive 5-3-2 during the early 2000's.

A once innovative and adaptive formation seems to have recently fallen out of favour.

We all remember Chris Wilder's Sheffield United and their meteoric rise up the leagues, however their fall was just as surprising.

Wilder's blades finished 9th in their first Premier League season as a result of a stubborn defence featuring the likes of Chris Basham and John Egan.

However, their once formidable defence crumbled in their second season with Chris Wilder leaving the club bottom of the league with 10 games remaining.

An influx of signings was not enough for the blades with Wilder blaming defensive mistakes for their undoing and strongly defending his system that seemed to the neutral to have been uncovered. 

The holes in the Wilder system were once again uncovered in his spell at Middlesbrough.

An initial exciting season at Boro featured an incredible cup run and the team just missing out on the Play-Offs.

After an exciting first season on Teesside, fans were optimistic.

Yet, after speculation that the boro boss may leave for Burnley things turned sour.

A poor start to the season and a reluctance to change the system left the reds physically exposed and defensively fragile on the wings.

Wilder is reflective of a style of play that can show many inconsistencies that draws similarities to Conte's ability to compete with the best in his spell at Chelsea in contrast to his struggles against the big six at Spurs.

Having won just two games against the big six during his tenure, Spurs' biggest issue was their inability to compete with the very best.

Their defensive approach to these games left Kane and Son largely starved of service and once again often left the defence exposed to an oppositions attacking overload in their own box.

Admittedly, Conte performed well with a Spurs side that were prone to mistakes and proved vulnerable but their inability to compete with the best was something completely unheard of when it comes to Antonio Conte.