The Old Lady Speaks Podcast, Episode 76: Max makes the switch to a 4-2-3-1

Max Allegri finally made the kind of move that we had been hoping for.

Unfortunately it came after a pair of bad losses in the Champions League and then domestically against a direct rival for a top four finish, but Max made his move.

At least for the time being since we can’t predict the future.

Out with the 4-4-2 and Adrien Rabiot playing as a makeshift winger, and in with the 4-2-3-1 that actually makes so much sense for a team flush with wingers and not all that great in midfield. Allegri’s switch to a new formation came in light of a loss at home to Atalanta, and it has since resulted in wins over Salernitana and Genoa. Yes, as we know, those are two of the worst teams in the league that are currently sitting in the relegation zone, but this soft spot in the schedule provided such an opportunity.

And so far ... pretty good!

With the new formation providing some things we haven’t seen much of this season, Juventus didn’t drop points against the kind of team(s) they’ve dropped points against the last couple of years. A win in Salerno, a win over Genoa on Sunday and now Allegri and Juve are up to fifth place in the league table.

Yeah, let’s talk some 4-2-3-1, folks.

On this week’s episode of The Old Lady Speaks, we discuss:

• Takeaways from the week — most notably a mention or two of the switch to the 4-2-3-1.
• Delving deeper into Max Allegri’s switch into the 4-2-3-1 and what it means for Juventus’ attack both this past week and potentially going forward.
• How the switch to the 4-2-3-1 impacts Paulo Dybala.
• Holy crap that Juan Cuadrado goal against Genoa.
• Luca Pellegrini is actually playing pretty well since getting an uptick in minutes.
• Twitter questions, including a couple of Max Allegri’s job performance so far this season and if our idea of Andrea Pirlo has changed at all after watching the Amazon Prime doc.

You can listen to Episode 76 of The Old Lady Speaks here:

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Look for the latest episode of The Old Lady Speaks to drop every Monday.