Romanian First League: the 4-3-3 DM Wide rules and wins the most points

The 4-3-3 DM Wide is the shape that works. Used 97 times already, 40 per cent of all team sheets, it earns 1.44 points a game. No other common system comes close.

The 4-2-3-1 DM AM Wide, the old favourite, sits second on 1.39 from 64 games. The 4-4-2, trotted out 42 times, manages 1.4. But the 4-3-3 DM Wide's volume is the story: eight clubs call it their usual system, from ACSM Politehnica Iaşi to Fotbal Club FCSB. Only five stick with the 4-2-3-1 DM AM Wide, and just one, FC Voluntari, prefers the 4-4-2.

The rarer shapes are losing ground. The 5-2-1-2 DM AM has 17 outings and 1.18 points a game. The 4-1-2-1-2 DM AM Narrow has nine, and the 5-3-2 DM WB seven. Nobody wins much with those.

So the league has voted with its team sheets. The 4-3-3 DM Wide is not just common; it is productive. At 1.44 points a game, over a 30-game season, that is 43 points. The 4-2-3-1 DM AM Wide would earn 42. The difference is not huge, but the shape is the same one that wins matches, and it is the one the table is built on.

The 4-3-3 DM Wide has become the default. And the default is winning.