StriderHiryu

As the old cliché goes, 3-0 is the most dangerous lead to have in football

I hope not, but that kind of was what was happening against Birmingham. If you look back at the extended highlights, I'm not sure how we didn't score at least 4 more goals! Leeds look great against teams that play front foot football. Their fans will tell you they have struggled badly against teams that park the bus, which is why they've dropped a lot of points. The team that is best at playing against low blocks is Leicester, which is why we are top. But it has to be said that teams that have a go at us do cause us trouble.

I think you're being harsh here. Their playing out from the back has been really impressive. They have been able at times to build from the back and advance up the pitch in one of the most hostile away grounds in the division. This game reminds me a lot of Leeds' performance against us. Kamara and Ampadu have been outstanding, Kamara especially, who has turned it over in dangerous positions many times. For Ipswich Sam Morsey is one of their most important players when building, he's the player most similar to Harry Winks in the division, but Leeds have done a job on him at the right times. It does feel like Ipswich know it's a big game though and have folded in the face of pressure. That second goal was awful from Davis who has been one of the best players in the league this season. If I was a betting man, I'd say Leeds will score more goals though. They have this game exactly where they want it and James and Summerville have the freedom of Elland Road.

Yeah that's kind of the match in a nutshell. Ipswich play a really intense high press and are willing to be a lot more direct than us our Southampton in their approach. However, this means that if you beat their press there are a lot of gaps in their side when in transition as sometimes they commit both fullback forwards at the same time. They will be at home on Boxing Day and will really take the game to us. Birmingham tried to press us high but did it naively, whereas so far we struggled pretty badly against Sunderland and Leeds. However, as we are away from home it may suit us, see our counter attacking against Southampton and Birmingham. To me so far in this game, Ipswich have had more control and possession but have been killed in transition. It's a good game to watch to be fair!

No doubt he will be back on the bench tomorrow. I'd love to see more academy players get chances, even if it's just 20 minutes at the end of the game during a comfortable win. Seeing the rise of Kasey McAteer has been a real highlight of the season so far.

This is my favourite tactics based channel. Yes it's about Villa, but it also talks about the 3-2-5 shape that we use, and that Arsenal are currently using too. Also a nod to the 442 defensive block Ranieri used so well in 15/16.

Yep it was also used in the 30's by Herbert Chapman at Arsenal: https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/wm-formation-football-tactics-explained-tuchel-guardiola-chapman/ So it's kind of cool that something that was discovered so early on became relevant again. It's because of all the passing triangles the system produces all over the pitch. The big differences being that the game has sped up massively, so the formation is way more dynamic and the passing at light speed compared to back then.

Ultimately, until we saw him play in our team after a run of games, there's no way of telling. Hs overall defensive contribution is weak, too many times I've seen him lose the ball or give it away and not bother to track back or attempt to win it back. Against Birmingham, Stephy Mavididi scored two goals but also made 6 tackles in the game, the highest of any player on the pitch. Maybe Chair could learn that side of the game, but add to that his short stature and his slightly podgy build and it doesn't make for a good recipe for what we are looking for. Fatawu and Mavididi are both physically imposing and that helps the team when it comes to switched long balls, and set pieces for both the offensive and defensive sides of the game. The player he is most similar to in our squad is Yunus Akgun, who to be fair has impressed me and many others every time he's played. But unlike Callum Doyle or Abdul Fatawu, he hasn't yet been able to nail down a starting role, though admittedly he's been hindered by injuries. I will also say in Chair's favour that since the new QPR coach came in, he's been one of their better players since they've shifted back to more of a front-foot approach in games. So maybe there is a player in there and he could contribute, but I think his workrate would have to increase massively. As it stands, he strikes me as a good player for the Championship who might also do well for a lower 5 team in the Premier League. That's why I don't think we were in for him, as I think we are aiming higher. I also don't think QPR would sell in January because they are in big trouble of going down.

Great screenshot because it shows off the box midfield Enzo uses. KDH is totally free because their 6 has made the jump, so Winks is going to play it to Ndidi who can pop it sideways to KDH who has the freedom of the stadium. What is Dembele for Birmingham doing? He's not man-marking anyone, nor blocking the passing lane to any player, and he's caught on his haunches meaning that any play near him he will be slow to react to. Off the ball work is as important, if not more important than work on it!

If he accepts a 2 year deal then yes. A good question for everyone out there, who do you sign as his replacement?! CBs to play his position are few and far between. The best in the league at the moment is Lewis Dunk for Brighton in terms of a like-for-like comparison, and we won't be able to sign him. I'm sure we can find a player good enough to do what Vestergaard is doing but who is also good defensively, but it will take them time to get used to our style of play. Vestergaard has gotten better and better as the season has gone on, and that's why he's cemented his position in the team. So for that reason I think we have to keep Jannik and then try and get his understudy / rotation option into the club. We thought Coady would be the one to play this role as he was the one that started out that way in the first ever friendly we saw on TV. But Coady himself was suspect in the Premier League and hasn't been as good on the ball as Vestergaard yet. So it might be that we sign another CB anyway, even if Jannik stays on.

Beware of the Chair! I've been to see QPR play a few times over the last 2 seasons as a mate has season tickets there, and personally I think he's really overrated. Technically he is very good, he has a brilliant first touch and strikes the ball beautifully both for passing and shooting. But I just don't see someone who has the engine or workrate to play in a modern day Premier League team. I think a good comparison to him is Anthony Knockaert who was great in the Championship but could never do it in the Premier League. EDIT: Just to add, I got to see Ebrechi Eze play for QPR a few times before he went to Palace, and he looked phenomenal. A player I was disappointed we didn't sign TBH! Comparatively, Chair is nowhere near that standard. Their best player that I have seen since then is probably Chris Willock, but he's not a Premier League player for me either.

Alright apology accepted. I want to stress now and forever more that I am NOT some kind of font of wisdom. In the tactics thread, I really encourage people to participate in a friendly yet constructive manner. One of the things they teach in the courses I have taken so far is to have the mindset of always wanting to improve, to learn how to listen, and how to think critically. I personally have learnt a lot from others on here, with names like @Lillehamring , @SecretProand @Aleksz coming to mind, but I know there are others too! It's actually refreshing when someone provides a different viewpoint of the game / play / tactics but presents them with facts and / or a well-reasoned argument. There is no total solution in football, and the unpredictability of it is one reason why we love it so much. I am really interested in football and am seriously considering a career switch into it. Right now I'm part of a start-up that I co-founded, but one way or another that will end (either in glory or dismal failure) so this is on my mind. Check out the High Performance podcast with an interview with Will Still who is manager at Reims in France, his story is inspirational as he started out as a video analyst at a lower league Belgian Club, working for free for 6 months. That's why I am trying to get my name out there, because you can reference these things and people are watching. Believe it or not, one of the posts on here I made in the past about the 442 Diamond I used as a reference on an application to get into the course and during the interview they asked me about that system referencing that post! Back on topic, as it's the Paston Daka thread - you have to give the guy his dues. I think he has adapted to the system surprisingly well. He got given pelters for his performance yesterday, but if you look at the game in depth, I think his work off the ball was superb. He has also proven to be a far better link man than many ever gave him credit for (including me). The third goal, he helps out with a cute backheel to play it to Mavididi. In terms of tactics, I feel like when we are on the ball and move to our "back to front" phase of play, his burst of pace can be deadly and it feels like our attack is faster and more clinical when he's been in the team. For me his areas to improve are: Overall decision-making in the final third Needs a bit more composure when finishing. He tends to prefer to lash them in, whereas I think he needs to add some finesse to his game. I don't see Daka attempting the sort of finish Mavididi made for his first goal yesterday for example. Improving his overall awareness when he has his back to goal. (But I must note that his positioning, lay-offs and link-ups have improved massively in this mini 3 game spell he's had).

I have a UEFA B coaching licence. Whilst I have zero experienced managing or working at a top level club, I have attended and even ran training sessions for clubs lower down the league pyramid such as Enfield Town and Barnet FC who are local to me. I'm writing a lot of stuff this season is to try and get my name out there to move higher up the queue for enrolment when the time is right, and to do prep work for the content material for that qualification. To take a quote directly from the Official FA site: The UEFA A Licence is the highest practical coaching award available and builds on the technical and tactical content covered within UEFA B Licence. Creating better developers of individual players within units and for 11v11 football by improving your understanding of modern trends in the game, strategies and tactics, systems of play in todays game and the England DNA principles. You could easily have made the point above without mentioning my name, but you have done, and it's not the first time you've done it either. I don't know what your problem is.

Vestergaard in this system is seriously underrated by all of our fans. Statistically he’s outrageous and is a genuine contender for the Championship player of the season. I wouldn’t go that far but he’s making more passes in games than some entire teams, making key passes, scoring goals and we still have comfortably the best defence in the division. In this position it seems like you need a skill set closer to a deep lying playmaker rather than a CB. Jannik started his career as a CDM but got moved back. We know he’s slow and immobile so playing with your back to goal in tight spaces was an issue for him whereas it’s not for say Harry Winks. However, when the game is in front of him, his ability to read the game, understand the flow and game state is top notch. Honestly I would struggle to think of many CBs even in the Premier League with that skill set so that’s why he’ll easily be Enzo’s preferred option. Defensively Vestergaard has issues. Yesterday the most concerning one was getting beaten in the air by Bielik for me. But our team is similar to Man City where players like Ake, Stones and Akanji have defensive frailties but are so good on the ball that overall they are worth their weight in gold.

Yes I personally think this has been the case too. But I don't think it's a "change" or adjustment that the manager has made, but more the result of hard work on the training ground. Here is a quote from Vincent Kompany taken from earlier this year about his Burnley team when they started to rip up the Championship: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/vincent-kompany-burnley-premier-league-alan-pace-b2389383.html He says it will take 120 training sessions and 100 meetings for the players to fully understand his methods How many training sessions have we had with our full squad? Then what about games after that learning period where they actually improve on it? Man City spank teams on a regular basis, there's no reason to think we aren't trying to do the same. Here's a great blog article going into depth about the chance creation methods Man City use: https://spielverlagerung.com/2020/09/21/analysing-manchester-citys-attack-chance-creation-methods/ A lot of these methods you will have seen tonight! As the saying goes, practice makes perfect...

I did indeed, and on the post match reaction we said we didn't think Ndidi was quite up to the standard he had set himself in previous games, with his decision making in the final third not as good. In that front 5, it's rare that all of them will be on it. I thought he was better than KDh in the last game, but in this one KDH was much better. Both wingers were electric. So chalk that down to not his best day in the office and move on. Overall, I have still been very impressed with his transition into a new role this season. To come this far in such a short space of time is really impressive. For me the thing I want to see him improve on is changes went put through on goal, like the goal KDH scored. Wilf has got in 3/4 times already this season from what I can remember. He's way better than anyone could predict so who knows how far he might go? Regardless, I expect us to sign someone for that position in the summer anyway as Praet will leave, Casadei is here on loan and even Wilf himself might go. Wouldn't be suprised to see James McAtee play here in that role for us this time next year...

That's the Stephy Mavididi I had hoped we signed! Take a bow son!

Check out some of the Beyond the 90 videos on YouTube where we talk about this in more detail. For me, I was at times mesmerized by our play today! The point of this style is to control the game and then when one of the opposing players "jumps" from their usual rest defence position to try to win the ball or hunt down the spare man, we play the ball quickly and incisively through the gaps that have appeared at speed to generate high quality chances. The highlights will not do today's game justice, because our best moves didn't end in a goal, but on Sky the number of times the commentator said "Leicester have 4 on 3 here!" is by design, not by chance. For those who think we are deliberately playing counter-attack, we are not! This is how the system was designed to work from day one. But the big difference is now that we have had 20+ games to bed the system in and get used to the patterns of play, the structure, where each other will be on the pitch, it is so much more deadly. I think Patson Daka is a big hit in this system. Ironically, today his link-up was great, but his finishing / decision-making in the box was not! But his pace and directness I feel adds a lot to our game, whereas maybe with Vardy and Ihenacho, our attack slows down a bit. In the last two games we have conceded two goals. That won't make Enzo happy at all, especially as a lot of the times they are so sloppy. But overall we've clearly gone up a gear. When we are the finished article, we should be beating teams 4 and 5-0, having total control of the game, and the opposition not being able to lay a glove on us. If we see it this season, we probably won't see it until the final 10 games, but I think we will get there. If we can keep the bulk of these players together, we could also have a good season in the Premier League too. More teams in the Premier League play on the transition than in this division, and finally we are starting to see that our style is BETTER against teams that try to press us than against teams that sit. Magnifico Enzo!

That's the next gear to go up. In the last few games the fluidity in our attack has clearly gone up a level. I am sure that the underlying data will support that our chance creation has increased a ton. Next gear is to turn all those chances into actual goals. Look at the Haaland effect at Man City. When you put a deadly player in form into a team that makes chances like this... you bury teams. Top gear Leicester under Maresca will be beating teams 4 and 5 every week, with the other team never laying a glove on us. If we see that sort of level it will be in the final few games of the run-in, if we see it at all. It might take a few seasons to really get to that level, and it will be much harder to do in the Premier League. But I am convinced we will get there. Brighton under De Zerbi have smashed teams by 4,5,6 goals. I think we can get to that level with this coach. This system is really great in full flow.

A NEW HERO IS BORN

That move just now... wow!

Selfie with the beer looking depressed, saying "the feeling when you realise Dembele is NOT as good as Mavididi?" Come on Daggers, you are the hero the people on this forum need!

Yeah it's not just his goals, look at his workrate and tackling. Top class!

@Daggers if there isn't some sort of Mavididi related meme at full time, I am going to demand you are removed from the forum. No pressure