How Brendan Rodgers can use Celtic experience to take Leicester to next level - starting with Watford

[davieG]

Too complex to copy and paste but interesting tactics analysis.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/03/01/brendan-rodgers-will-use-celtic-experience-take-leicester-next/

[mancunianfox]

Really good article, enjoyed reading that. I was quite surprised by this about the supporters newest scapegoat. Perhaps we should cut him some slack...

 

Quote

James Maddison - who has created the most chances (75) and has the fourth highest Expected Assists (6.08)

 

[fox_up_north]

Really good article. 

 

In a way, it sort of suggested we're soft in the middle and that we never really filled the Kante void (but who would???) But can use strength of overlapping fullbacks to attack Watford if they play narrow?

 

Rogers goes 433 with some protection deep in midfield to spot danger?

[Scotch]

7 minutes ago, mancunianfox said:

Really good article, enjoyed reading that. I was quite surprised by this about the supporters newest scapegoat. Perhaps we should cut him some slack...

 

 

That's what stood out for me too. 

[urban.spaceman]

57 minutes ago, davieG said:

Too complex to copy and paste but interesting tactics analysis.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/03/01/brendan-rodgers-will-use-celtic-experience-take-leicester-next/

How Brendan Rodgers can use Celtic experience to take Leicester to next level - starting with Watford

• JJ Bull

Can Brendan Rodgers mirror his Celtic success in the east Midlands?

• Telegraph Sport uses WyScout, the professional platform for football analysis

Celtic are a few games away from winning a treble treble. In 2016/17 they went an entire season unbeaten in domestic competition. Brendan Rodgers knows what he's doing.

Swansea were transformed, Liverpool very nearly won the Premier League, Celtic were invincible. Have Leciester snagged a coach at the top of his game? Or is his possession-based approach too similar to the departed Claude Puel?

Leicester have a young team and Rodgers has a great track record of improving youngsters. He brought through Raheem Sterling at Liverpool, continued Philippe Coutinho's ascent, turned Swansea's Scott Sinclair into a player wanted, then signed by Man City and took Joe Allen further than many thought possible.

At Celtic, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney have developed into superb players under his coaching. 

 

Claude Puel was trying to do something similar with Leicester's current crop of wonderkids but failed to get the balance right. James Maddison, Wilfred Ndidi, Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans, Hamza Choudhury, Harvey Barnes and Demarai Gray are all 22 or younger and (except perhaps Choudhury) key members of the first team squad.

How Rodgers uses and improves that crop of players will be crucial in his return to English football. Especially because Rodgers' track record in the market isn't great.

This is a man who paid over £10million for Fabio Borini, who got rid of the Celtic scouting network that identified Virgil Van Dijk and Victor Wanyama and replaced it with one that appears to have the board questioning whether it was wise to grant him funds to spend at all. 

Follow your club now for first access to all our news, views and analysis

What Leicester can depend on is Rodgers' ability to coach attractive football. There are some doubts over his suitability to Leicester's in-house style, built in that Premier League-winning run of 2015/16.

The compact shape, solid defending, rapid transition, counter-attack style that secured the title wasn't too dissimilar to Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd teams of the past. Swapping it for mediocre possession football is a bad deal.

The challenge for Rodgers is to build a team capable of his own possession-style football which can mix it up with the new-traditional Leicester approach of high-intensity vertical play. 

How Rodgers' teams play

Under Rodgers, possession is king. Pass and move, structured shape, buildup from the back, engage high up the pitch and counter-press. It's a very modern, continental style of football and one which gives teams an extra dimension against less adventurous, meat-and-tatties sides (Burnley, Cardiff, Motherwell etc).

At Celtic his teams were either a 3-1-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. The first of these shapes suited Celtic because they were always the team expected to control the game, and three defenders rather than four allows for an extra attacker. Defending sides would sit back and try to score on a scarcely attended counter-attack or from a set piece - three centre-backs gives added protection when defending aerial balls.

The key to making that work is having the left or right-sided centre-back comfortable carrying the ball out into midfield. Kristoffer Ajer, a centre-back, has made 3.98 progressive runs per 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership this season - more than any other player.

Whether in a defensive two or three, he would often take Celtic into the opposition half to overload their midfield.

Kristoffer Ajer progressive run vs Motherwell in 4-1 win

It's an important part of Rodgers' style of buildup play. When playing against a team sat deep waiting to pounce on the counter, having an extra player in the midfield can draw out opposition defenders and free up a pass, thus ensuring the ball keeps moving forward rather than sideways where it can be intercepted.

 

Dedryck Boyata likes to take the ball into midfield too, Filip Benkovic (who spent the season on loan from Leicester) is also a ball-playing centre-back. At Leicester he can pick the very capable Harry Maguire, or Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan - this might not work. But Maguire and Benkovic either side sounds promising.

Rodgers doesn't have a rigid system and tends to adjust the team shape to suit the players he has depending on the opposition. Sterling played as a 10 in a midfield diamond behind Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez during Liverpool's push for the title - a shape that hadn't been seen in the Premier League for quite some time. Now it's common - Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and Man Utd are just four examples of clubs to have utilised it this season.

How to make possession-based football fun

Puel's football was, frankly, boring. A 50 per cent average possession, tackles, interceptions and shots per game somewhere in the mid-table, no bite, no aggression, occasionally decent. If it were a colour it would be medium grey.

Possession without penetration leads to the attacking team over-committing, making a mistake and being punished on the counter - Leicester did exactly this in their 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea have been guilty of it this season too and became easy to read and nullify until little tweaks in games against Man City and Tottenham helped produce impressive performances (and a crucial win over the latter).

Celtic have an average possession of 67.9 per cent this season but are never dull. Rodgers mixed young players with experienced (and aggressive) heads like Scott Brown, putting drive in the centre of the pitch, composure at the back and creativity in the forward areas. It sounds incredibly simple.

Leicester don't have the comparative might of Celtic in the Premier League so can't expect to dominate games in the same way, and it will take time to learn the positional play that Rodgers will surely introduce meaning we won't see the real deal until next season. Instead, expect something like a conventional 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, with a slightly more cautious approach and quick vertical passing against strong teams, and a more adventurous setup against weaker ones. The tactics might not even appear that different from Puel's. The aggression shown must be.

How to approach game against Watford

Liverpool tore Watford apart in midweek by focusing play down their right wing, pressing them high up the pitch and outnumbering them everywhere.

Liverpool attacking thirds vs Watford in 5-0 win

Javi Gracia likes a 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 shape and Liverpool's 4-3-3 allowed a numerical advantage in midfield with the wide forwards and full-backs stretching the pitch to create space between Watford's lines of defending players.

Average positions for Liverpool vs Watford

Watford are the home team on Sunday and will be fired up as a result of the pounding they took at Anfield but Rodgers can take inspiration from what his former club were able to achieve. Daryl Janmaat struggled against Mohamed Salah (to be fair, who doesn't?), a player able to dribble at pace and flanked by an overlapping full-back. Ricardo Pereira is perfect for this advanced full-back role, Demarai Gray can do a budget version of Salah's running.

Divock Origi stayed wide left during the match rather than in the centre-forward slot, something that could be replicated by Jamie Vardy. His best position is through the centre chasing balls hit into space but another of Rodgers' previous star strikers was similar - Luis Suarez was often deployed in a starting wide left position at Liverpool, attacking central space left vacant by a false nine. James Maddison - who has created the most chances (75) and has the fourth highest Expected Assists (6.08) of any player in the league - could conceivably pull this off. 

Leicester's problem against Crystal Palace, as it has been against many an opponent this season, is stretching the pitch too wide, too quickly and leaving themselves open to counter-attacks through the middle of the pitch. 

Leicester average positions vs Crystal Palace in 4-1 defeat

Rodgers needs to address the balance and ensure players take defensive responsibility.

Too often against Palace in Puel's final game one of Maddison, Gray, Barnes or Ndidi let midfielders wander past them or float in space behind them. Michy Batshuayi's goal came from precisely this situation.

Leicester are in a 4-5-1 defensive shape, Pereira stays tight to Zaha, Maddison has taken Ndidi's position as the anchor in the midfield.

Leicester vs Crystal Palace

McArthur floats past Maddison like a ghost, Luka Milivojevic can play one straight pass and beat the entire midfield.

Milivojevic passes to McArthur

McArthur turns, shoots and Batshuayi deflects the ball into the goal. This was not a fault of Puel's tactics but of his players not recognising and addressing danger. Rodgers needs to find players who don't allow this or coach that mentality into them, something which he has proven able to do at Celtic with McGregor and Ryan Christie two players to have improved drastically under his guidance.

Rodgers has taken on a job with high expectations but with a group of players who could go onto achieve something special and at a club with ample resources. This is the chance he was waiting for, now is the time to take it.

[Crispin LA]

Good read, Telegraph used Wyscout in helping them analyse the football 

[Guest Papasmurf]

1 hour ago, mancunianfox said:

I was quite surprised by this about the supporters newest scapegoat. Perhaps we should cut him some slack...

 

 

Nonsense. We must have a scapegoat at ALL times.

 

Puel has gone and Rudkin is now the messiah for appointing Rodgers. It's time to get on somebody else's back starting on Sunday.

[Beechey]

 

Chilwell reckons we'll be "in and around" the top 6 over the next few years...

[mozartfox]

45 minutes ago, Beechey said:

 

Chilwell reckons we'll be "in and around" the top 6 over the next few years...

When Stringer says this, I will believe it.

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, Papasmurf said:

Nonsense. We must have a scapegoat at ALL times.

 

Puel has gone and Rudkin is now the messiah for appointing Rodgers. It's time to get on somebody else's back starting on Sunday.

That git Stowell

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

48 minutes ago, Beechey said:

 

Chilwell reckons we'll be "in and around" the top 6 over the next few years...

He didn't say which league though.

[davieG]

2 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

How Brendan Rodgers can use Celtic experience to take Leicester to next level - starting with Watford

• JJ Bull

Can Brendan Rodgers mirror his Celtic success in the east Midlands?

• Telegraph Sport uses WyScout, the professional platform for football analysis

Celtic are a few games away from winning a treble treble. In 2016/17 they went an entire season unbeaten in domestic competition. Brendan Rodgers knows what he's doing.

Swansea were transformed, Liverpool very nearly won the Premier League, Celtic were invincible. Have Leciester snagged a coach at the top of his game? Or is his possession-based approach too similar to the departed Claude Puel?

Leicester have a young team and Rodgers has a great track record of improving youngsters. He brought through Raheem Sterling at Liverpool, continued Philippe Coutinho's ascent, turned Swansea's Scott Sinclair into a player wanted, then signed by Man City and took Joe Allen further than many thought possible.

At Celtic, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney have developed into superb players under his coaching. 

 

Claude Puel was trying to do something similar with Leicester's current crop of wonderkids but failed to get the balance right. James Maddison, Wilfred Ndidi, Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans, Hamza Choudhury, Harvey Barnes and Demarai Gray are all 22 or younger and (except perhaps Choudhury) key members of the first team squad.

How Rodgers uses and improves that crop of players will be crucial in his return to English football. Especially because Rodgers' track record in the market isn't great.

This is a man who paid over £10million for Fabio Borini, who got rid of the Celtic scouting network that identified Virgil Van Dijk and Victor Wanyama and replaced it with one that appears to have the board questioning whether it was wise to grant him funds to spend at all. 

Follow your club now for first access to all our news, views and analysis

What Leicester can depend on is Rodgers' ability to coach attractive football. There are some doubts over his suitability to Leicester's in-house style, built in that Premier League-winning run of 2015/16.

The compact shape, solid defending, rapid transition, counter-attack style that secured the title wasn't too dissimilar to Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd teams of the past. Swapping it for mediocre possession football is a bad deal.

The challenge for Rodgers is to build a team capable of his own possession-style football which can mix it up with the new-traditional Leicester approach of high-intensity vertical play. 

How Rodgers' teams play

Under Rodgers, possession is king. Pass and move, structured shape, buildup from the back, engage high up the pitch and counter-press. It's a very modern, continental style of football and one which gives teams an extra dimension against less adventurous, meat-and-tatties sides (Burnley, Cardiff, Motherwell etc).

At Celtic his teams were either a 3-1-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. The first of these shapes suited Celtic because they were always the team expected to control the game, and three defenders rather than four allows for an extra attacker. Defending sides would sit back and try to score on a scarcely attended counter-attack or from a set piece - three centre-backs gives added protection when defending aerial balls.

The key to making that work is having the left or right-sided centre-back comfortable carrying the ball out into midfield. Kristoffer Ajer, a centre-back, has made 3.98 progressive runs per 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership this season - more than any other player.

Whether in a defensive two or three, he would often take Celtic into the opposition half to overload their midfield.

Kristoffer Ajer progressive run vs Motherwell in 4-1 win

It's an important part of Rodgers' style of buildup play. When playing against a team sat deep waiting to pounce on the counter, having an extra player in the midfield can draw out opposition defenders and free up a pass, thus ensuring the ball keeps moving forward rather than sideways where it can be intercepted.

 

Dedryck Boyata likes to take the ball into midfield too, Filip Benkovic (who spent the season on loan from Leicester) is also a ball-playing centre-back. At Leicester he can pick the very capable Harry Maguire, or Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan - this might not work. But Maguire and Benkovic either side sounds promising.

Rodgers doesn't have a rigid system and tends to adjust the team shape to suit the players he has depending on the opposition. Sterling played as a 10 in a midfield diamond behind Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez during Liverpool's push for the title - a shape that hadn't been seen in the Premier League for quite some time. Now it's common - Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and Man Utd are just four examples of clubs to have utilised it this season.

How to make possession-based football fun

Puel's football was, frankly, boring. A 50 per cent average possession, tackles, interceptions and shots per game somewhere in the mid-table, no bite, no aggression, occasionally decent. If it were a colour it would be medium grey.

Possession without penetration leads to the attacking team over-committing, making a mistake and being punished on the counter - Leicester did exactly this in their 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea have been guilty of it this season too and became easy to read and nullify until little tweaks in games against Man City and Tottenham helped produce impressive performances (and a crucial win over the latter).

Celtic have an average possession of 67.9 per cent this season but are never dull. Rodgers mixed young players with experienced (and aggressive) heads like Scott Brown, putting drive in the centre of the pitch, composure at the back and creativity in the forward areas. It sounds incredibly simple.

Leicester don't have the comparative might of Celtic in the Premier League so can't expect to dominate games in the same way, and it will take time to learn the positional play that Rodgers will surely introduce meaning we won't see the real deal until next season. Instead, expect something like a conventional 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, with a slightly more cautious approach and quick vertical passing against strong teams, and a more adventurous setup against weaker ones. The tactics might not even appear that different from Puel's. The aggression shown must be.

How to approach game against Watford

Liverpool tore Watford apart in midweek by focusing play down their right wing, pressing them high up the pitch and outnumbering them everywhere.

Liverpool attacking thirds vs Watford in 5-0 win

Javi Gracia likes a 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 shape and Liverpool's 4-3-3 allowed a numerical advantage in midfield with the wide forwards and full-backs stretching the pitch to create space between Watford's lines of defending players.

Average positions for Liverpool vs Watford

Watford are the home team on Sunday and will be fired up as a result of the pounding they took at Anfield but Rodgers can take inspiration from what his former club were able to achieve. Daryl Janmaat struggled against Mohamed Salah (to be fair, who doesn't?), a player able to dribble at pace and flanked by an overlapping full-back. Ricardo Pereira is perfect for this advanced full-back role, Demarai Gray can do a budget version of Salah's running.

Divock Origi stayed wide left during the match rather than in the centre-forward slot, something that could be replicated by Jamie Vardy. His best position is through the centre chasing balls hit into space but another of Rodgers' previous star strikers was similar - Luis Suarez was often deployed in a starting wide left position at Liverpool, attacking central space left vacant by a false nine. James Maddison - who has created the most chances (75) and has the fourth highest Expected Assists (6.08) of any player in the league - could conceivably pull this off. 

Leicester's problem against Crystal Palace, as it has been against many an opponent this season, is stretching the pitch too wide, too quickly and leaving themselves open to counter-attacks through the middle of the pitch. 

Leicester average positions vs Crystal Palace in 4-1 defeat

Rodgers needs to address the balance and ensure players take defensive responsibility.

Too often against Palace in Puel's final game one of Maddison, Gray, Barnes or Ndidi let midfielders wander past them or float in space behind them. Michy Batshuayi's goal came from precisely this situation.

Leicester are in a 4-5-1 defensive shape, Pereira stays tight to Zaha, Maddison has taken Ndidi's position as the anchor in the midfield.

Leicester vs Crystal Palace

McArthur floats past Maddison like a ghost, Luka Milivojevic can play one straight pass and beat the entire midfield.

Milivojevic passes to McArthur

McArthur turns, shoots and Batshuayi deflects the ball into the goal. This was not a fault of Puel's tactics but of his players not recognising and addressing danger. Rodgers needs to find players who don't allow this or coach that mentality into them, something which he has proven able to do at Celtic with McGregor and Ryan Christie two players to have improved drastically under his guidance.

Rodgers has taken on a job with high expectations but with a group of players who could go onto achieve something special and at a club with ample resources. This is the chance he was waiting for, now is the time to take it.

I could have done that but it messes people's phones.

[urban.spaceman]

1 minute ago, davieG said:

I could have done that but it messes people's phones.

I know, that’s why I did it cos I’m a cynical bastard.

 

[urban.spaceman]

Quote

Rodgers has taken on a job with high expectations but with a group of players who could go onto achieve something special and at a club with ample resources. This is the chance he was waiting for, now is the time to take it.

Sums up pretty much how I feel about the appointment and why I’m very excited. 

[Foxxed]

I'm game for defecting the city to Scotland. Isn't their health care better?

[foxes_rule1978]

Enjoyed seeing him in training with the biggest smile, he has inherited a very good young team 

[ozleicester]

22 hours ago, davieG said:

I could have done that but it messes people's phones.

even more so when you quote the whole fkin thing

[Analysethis]

Nice read.

 

I wont expect too much too early but Rodgers seems to improve players and lets face it, he has some amazing tools to be working with. If he can make these youngsters kick on we will be in that top 7 mix no doubt. Loads of work ahead!