1-4-3-3. The new vogue. Solution to all of life’s problems. Key to the universe. The answer to the meaning of life.

So Craig Foster and most self-proclaimed analysts would have you believe...

...and quite frankly, they are most likely true, as much as it is difficult to take anything Craig Foster says even remotely seriously (Face it, he's a comical figure and not a pioneer... he has "Foz" as a nick-name, FFS).

The underlying feeling yours truly gets when he hears the formation uttered in the brand-spanking new world of "new football" is that a lot of the people who talk about it don't appear to fully grasp the concept.

Sure, sure, they can always back themselves up by loosely referring to Spain's Euro 2008 victory and Chelsea's Mourinho, Wayne Rooney at United and the current Catalonian mob.

But all that serves to do is to add to the riddle that is the 4-3-3; there appear to be so many variations and interpretations of the formation that there can be no definitive answer as to the question of what exactly it means.

Having read the tactical bible that is Jonathan Wilson's "Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics" I can only say that my understanding of the system - and of tactics generally - is embryonic.

What became apparent after reading it - and I plan to go back shortly and re-read it, so I'm not caught out by tactically-savvy everyday Australians chatting about the latest marking system employed by Europe's leading clubs at the local Milk Bar (Yes, they still exist where I live) - is that tactics are essentially a product of the entire game's history.

They cannot simply be reduced to a week-long discussion or the rambling ideology of one individual if they are too be truly understood and appreciated.

A little while back I interviewed Han Berger about what the implementation of the 4-3-3 at a national level meant for the Australian game.

His response?

"There are many shapes and variations of the 4-3-3 and my experience is that many people are a little bit afraid because they don't understand how it works and as soon as they understand it becomes easier.

"If teams like Chelsea playing in the Semi-Final [of the UEFA Champions League], Manchester United in the Semi-Final and Barcelona are all playing 4-3-3 - if these top teams play this system, it probably is not so bad I should think."

Straight from the horse's mouth, with some typically dry Dutch humour giving it the authenticity that it so lacks when spoken about by a non-European.

Indeed Mr. Berger, Chelsea aren't the most aesthetically pleasing team going around; from memory, Mourinho's famed 4-3-3 was more direct and functional than anything else.

In the "wrong hands", could the same fate befall our rising Socceroos? Is it necessarily a bad thing that they be exposed at times to a more direct style of football? Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could adapt to a variety of football styles rather than become a shadow of some other nation?

And give the fans some credit - is it really necessary to pronounce 4-3-3 with the "1" before it? As if we didn't know there was a goalkeeper behind the back four...