Nice post! Diamond 4-4-2 has largely been pushed out I feel, in the favour of 3-5-2 and I can understand why: with winger backs further forward, and 3 defenders instead of a deeper defensive midfielder, it feels like it can be more flexible in moving across the field (as you called it, morphing). That said, it probably requires a little more strategic understanding from both the coach and players to actually properly execute a 3 defender strategy.

That said, I remember when I was younger, diamond 4-4-2 was a pretty big development in football strategy.

!1UP