In this edition of fm I find it very difficult to implement a balanced 4321 or 4231. I've found, however, that if you just drop the wingers to wide mid positions everything works as intended.
So basically I play 4231 with a 4411 formation and 4321 with a 4141 ( it's more realistic anyway).
However why do you think you have to play counter with a 4411? It's basically a 4231 formation, you can very easily go for aggression. I use a high tempo control 4141 with great success : it allows the wingers to storm up the field while leaving less empty space behind.