After a hectic start to this Premier League season, the first international break is upon us and managers are sweating over the fitness of their players on international duty, training grounds are much quieter than normal with only eight or nine players working in the week and clubs are analysing their opening three games in terms of their own performances but also the trends of other clubs that they are competing with.

Last year Chelsea won the title based on Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system which allowed players such as Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian the freedom to cause damage in key areas high up the pitch and I’ve found it fascinating how many teams are adapting their own systems – often on a game-by-game process – from four at the back to three central defenders.

When it comes to tactical systems and ways of playing it’s intriguing how these formations come in and out of fashion and often when a team is successful playing a certain way – like Chelsea were last term – other teams then try to take what they’ve done and incorporate it into their own game.

In the opening three games of the season Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Swansea, Everton, Spurs and Manchester City have adapted from a back four to a back three to try to gain a tactical advantage with varying degrees of success.

Deploying three centre-backs is not revolutionary. It’s a system that has been around for years and I remember Glenn Hoddle’s England side being successful playing in a traditional 3-5-2 at the World Cup in France in 1998. The reason it was effective was because it suited the players that Hoddle had at his disposal, with the likes of Darren Anderton and Graeme Le Saux pushed up as wing‑backs, while Alan Shearer and a young world beater Michael Owen as a front pairing were effective without the unit losing the numerical battle in midfield.

Look at the comparison with the Chelsea side of last year: the system created an environment where Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso excelled in a 3-4-3 that brought the best out of their physical and technical abilities and made them better players in the process.

When they perfected it, Antonio Conte’s side made it purr but watching some teams attempt to play the system this year I’ve seen players being asked to fit into roles that don’t suit their individual qualities and in turn have a detrimental effect on the team performance. Others have been shuffled around in terms of system game by game, which means that the team dynamic has become disjointed and players are trying to perform tactical duties that have not been worked on for the amount of time needed to make them competitive.

At that point, you need to ask what is the foundation of a team’s tactical setup? Is it based on getting the best out of their own players’ strengths or is it being used to counteract the opposition? If you look at teams who consistently gain results they all seem to have a clear, defined way of playing based on a tactical system that best suits the players at that team’s disposal. It’s not only Chelsea’s 3-4-3 of last season but teams like Atlético Madrid and Leicester’s title-winning side playing a standard 4-4-2 or Real Madrid playing a 4-3-3. All systems differ but all incorporate players that are 100% suited to the system of play.

This season we’ve seen full-backs playing at centre-half or attacking midfielders as wing-backs but trust me, there is nothing worse than being on a football pitch trying to perform at your very best when you’re not comfortable carrying out the duties asked of you.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Huddersfield fans celebrate during the 3-0 win at Crystal Palace. David Wagner has stayed true to the philosophy that won promotion. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Even though we’re very much at the start of this Premier League campaign, there’s evidence of teams who are applying tactical changes with very different results. Look at Huddersfield Town, a team with a strong, expansive 4-2-3-1 system which gave them huge success in the Championship; their manager, David Wagner, has stayed true to his philosophy, which in turn has meant that continuity has given them a fantastic start to their season. It will be interesting to see how many times they change system this year and how their performances and results pan out.

At the lower end of the table we’ve seen Crystal Palace attempt a change of system and identity which has encountered problems in terms of performance. The transition from a solid, high-percentage Sam Allardyce 4-3-3 to Frank de Boer’s expansive, possession-based 3-4-3 is as big a change as you will find and hopefully the Dutchman will be given time to see his way of playing through.

So do players make systems or systems make players? I suspect the way this Premier League season evolves will give us a fascinating insight into answering that very question.