'The High Press'

[Moksky]

I can tell you why he changed it, basically with losing Kante and the club failing to sign any younger centre halves, he felt our ageing slower pairing of Morgan and Huth would become too exposed and are getting slower particularly turning. He asked the team  to become more compact and not push up the pitch too high. Hence Vardy and co were asked not too press to high up. His big regret was the club failed to sign Michael Keane. 

 

The players did not like this new tweaked style, we created less chances. 

[09bballer]

Do you agree Schmeichel was kicking much straighter last night too? Less balls going to an opposition throw in.

[orangecity23]

31 minutes ago, Moksky said:

I can tell you why he changed it, basically with losing Kante and the club failing to sign any younger centre halves, he felt our ageing slower pairing of Morgan and Huth would become too exposed and are getting slower particularly turning. He asked the team  to become more compact and not push up the pitch too high. Hence Vardy and co were asked not too press to high up. His big regret was the club failed to sign Michael Keane. 

 

The players did not like this new tweaked style, we created less chances. 

I always thought it was interesting that the high press actually reappeared in the second half against Brugge at home, we played some good stuff and had them on the ropes, but ended up conceding a goal on the counter, then we never really used it again. Almost as if Ranieri tried it, saw it catch us out and got spooked out of ever doing it again.

 

It's a shame, because pressing high early in the game and getting the first goal is what got us the win last night. Once you've got a lead, it forces the other team to push up their defence and attack to get back in the game, which opens up space to use our dangerous counter attacks to extend a lead. Whereas when we start compact and defensive, mess up an concede a goal, then struggle to create as the other team has no reason to ever push their centre backs up. Like we've intentionally blunted our most dangerous weapon because we were so paranoid about exposing our weakness, but then still falling to the same weakness anyway.

[Cadno'r Cymoedd]

I think Claudio in part was looking for a problem thinking that sides would drop back and deciding he needed to change it rather than wait for the side to tweak it. It still worked at the end of last season even though teams defended deeper. In other words he played a system that was predicated on other sides rather than our strengths. 

[lee7]

The way Ranieri had us playing meant that we were basically creating no chances in a lot of games.

Last season we were so successful due to the high press/forcing mistakes and playing on the shoulder of defenders. That's why Vardy was so successful and we seen it again last night with the first goal! A mistake by their midfielder and Albrighton plays Vardy straight in behind.

Though for whatever reason Ranieri chose not to play like that this year.

[Moksky]

25 minutes ago, lee7 said:

The way Ranieri had us playing meant that we were basically creating no chances in a lot of games.

Last season we were so successful due to the high press/forcing mistakes and playing on the shoulder of defenders. That's why Vardy was so successful and we seen it again last night with the first goal! A mistake by their midfielder and Albrighton plays Vardy straight in behind.

Though for whatever reason Ranieri chose not to play like that this year.

As I Said he chose to play this way because his fear of the ageing centre halves and loss of Kante. 

[sm1]

21 minutes ago, Cadno'r Cymoedd said:

I think Claudio in part was looking for a problem thinking that sides would drop back and deciding he needed to change it rather than wait for the side to tweak it. It still worked at the end of last season even though teams defended deeper. In other words he played a system that was predicated on other sides rather than our strengths. 

Yeah it was paralysis by analysis. Claudio over analysed creating a situation where the players seemed paralysed, they neither pressed or stayed compact. In most games there was so much room in our midfield, the opposition just waltzed there way right in to our penalty area without a challenge being made.

[lee7]

Just now, Moksky said:

As I Said he chose to play this way because his fear of the ageing centre halves and loss of Kante. 

It's a shame because it's ultimately cost him his job. The fact he persisted with it too rather than reverting back to last seasons tactics is pretty astonishing.

 

[NotTheMarketLeader]

5 hours ago, Leeds Fox said:

Last night, as everybody on here is saying, we reverted to the previously successful tactic widely known as 'the high press'. Defending from the front and constantly putting the opposition on the back foot. Offensively this has its obvious advantages, allowing Vardy and Okazaki to pressure the defenders into mistakes and for them to force the ball forwards more quickly and directly than they would do otherwise. It allows Drinkwater to release the ball forward quickly over the top, into the channels or switch play to the wingers. It allows N'Didi to nip in and challenge the oppositions CM's first touch, something that made Kante's game so effective (maybe we'd see a different Mendy playing like this?). These points are obviously massive advantages to the way we play and it's essentially the way we won the league last year. 

 

The main difference is however, it allows Morgan, Huth, Simpson and Fuchs to defend extremely effectively. Just how they did last season. Winning headers from long balls which the opposition were forced into. Defending touch tight and winning balls into the forwards feet. The way we played for the majority of the season was like putting our back 5(good defenders/average footballers)  in a game of 5-a-side against Premiership quality forwards. It was painful to watch and was never going to work. Even when the ball was won, the shape of the team didn't allow us to use it effectively or attack with any impetus. 

 

All in all, the high press style of football suits all of our squad. The small cogs started turning again last night and the powerful machine started moving again. 

 

Shakespeare knows this, the players know this and hopefully the owners can see it! 

Nailed it. 

 

I was ever ever fearful of the Plan B that was been talked about in pre season, to allegedly counteract the fact that we had been 'worked out'. 

 

It was always bullshit because of our players' skill set and the fact that nobody could stop is last season despite knowing how we played.

 

It seemed madness at the time to change what won is the league...and so it's may have proved.

[Guest ttfn]

2 hours ago, Moksky said:

I can tell you why he changed it, basically with losing Kante and the club failing to sign any younger centre halves, he felt our ageing slower pairing of Morgan and Huth would become too exposed and are getting slower particularly turning. He asked the team  to become more compact and not push up the pitch too high. Hence Vardy and co were asked not too press to high up. His big regret was the club failed to sign Michael Keane. 

 

The players did not like this new tweaked style, we created less chances. 

And I think it's a valid observation on our team. If we do press higher up in the last few games Ndidi is going to have to have an absolute monster of a run in.

 

The other solution is to put Amartey in at centre back.

[foxes1988]

I think the key thing to the high press is that we are much more likely to win the ball in the middle of the pitch. This means the oppositions defence is much higher up the pitch and we can play the defence splitting ball.

 

When we don't press we don't get the ball until our own third of the pitch by which time it takes us too long to play forward (hence teams can then regroup and sit deep) or we try a fast ball that has too be so long and accurate that defenders just mop it up.

 

It's no coincidence that after starting most games brightly we usually conceded after Ranieri's dropping off tactics were implemented (usually after about 20minutes)

 

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[4everfox]

8 hours ago, st albans fox said:

suspect he realised we couldn't play two consec seasons this way but why we didn't play some games on a high press (eg. yanited and Chelsea) baffles me. will be very interesting to see how we play/are able to play against hull saturday

Imagine if we had played the high press every two or three games all season, everyone would be sh!tting their pants and we'd be toying with them. 

[Leeds Fox]

13 hours ago, Moksky said:

As I Said he chose to play this way because his fear of the ageing centre halves and loss of Kante. 

 

If he was worried about our aging centre halves, why play a system that put more pressure on them than the previous one. This was the case two-fold as the team sat back and invited pressure. As well as this, when we regained possession, we couldn't retain effectively it as the shape didn't allow us to do this, which in turn invited the pressure back onto us. It was a vicious circle, we couldn't possibly win this way. 

 

The only time we went went back to the previous style of play was against Man City, and we tore apart one of the best teams in the league... 

 

 

[EGBFitness]

It's mental how effective our high pressing game was last season and how we have failed to use it to our advantage this season. 

 

Personally i don't think the players are as physically fit this season as they was last season - multiple reasons especially with the extra games/travelling, but with a bigger squad we should of still been able to play to our strengths. I don't think Vardy had anything left on Monday night, dare I say it, someone like Musa could of been good to come on and use the speed to chase balls/keep Liverpool defence pushed back. 

 

I still think the poor pre-season has had a knock on effect which has probably forced us to adapt our game slightly, with the poor results it has then spiralled into allow confidence etc 

 

Hull are going to sit back here, I think we should rest someone like Vardy to keep him fresh for Sevilla, probably would like to see Slim and Ulloa up top together and get balls into the box to cause problems. 

[Moksky]

13 minutes ago, Leeds Fox said:

 

If he was worried about our aging centre halves, why play a system that put more pressure on them than the previous one. This was the case two-fold as the team sat back and invited pressure. As well as this, when we regained possession, we couldn't retain effectively it as the shape didn't allow us to do this, which in turn invited the pressure back onto us. It was a vicious circle, we couldn't possibly win this way. 

 

The only time we went went back to the previous style of play was against Man City, and we tore apart one of the best teams in the league... 

 

 

Im in agreement. Truth is these are a few elements that concerned him.

[smr]

16 hours ago, MPH said:

We could actually beat Sevilla now couldnt we?

Yes,

 

All we have to do is play how we did the other night and it'd be a similar story. Infact radio 5live were talking about this very thing - play like we can and do, and did against Liverpool on Monday and we'd have a great chance of beating Sevilla. I think we're unplayable in that kind of pressing game which was so successful for us last season.

[Moksky]

1 minute ago, EGBFitness said:

It's mental how effective our high pressing game was last season and how we have failed to use it to our advantage this season. 

 

Personally i don't think the players are as physically fit this season as they was last season - multiple reasons especially with the extra games/travelling, but with a bigger squad we should of still been able to play to our strengths. I don't think Vardy had anything left on Monday night, dare I say it, someone like Musa could of been good to come on and use the speed to chase balls/keep Liverpool defence pushed back. 

 

I still think the poor pre-season has had a knock on effect which has probably forced us to adapt our game slightly, with the poor results it has then spiralled into allow confidence etc 

 

Hull are going to sit back here, I think we should rest someone like Vardy to keep him fresh for Sevilla, probably would like to see Slim and Ulloa up top together and get balls into the box to cause problems. 

We've got 9 days to recover, plus the fact honeslty speaking Hull will not play high line, so Vardy will more than likley not get the chance to run as much as he did on Monday. I would not tinker with the team, just use our subs wisely and bring on the target men when required.

[Leeds Fox]

1 minute ago, Moksky said:

Im in agreement. Truth is these are a few elements that concerned him.

 

I agree he probably wanted to protect the defence too, I just think he went the wrong way about it and changed it so suddenly. Then I reckon he thought we probably had enough points to protect our mid-table position and didn't want to play high risk football and would rather have played tight and compact, trying to nick points here and there. Unfortunately that didn't work either.