Tactics Talk:

[StriderHiryu]

11 minutes ago, SO1 said:

Or how to beat a packed midfield?

This is a hard one to answer. Man City use exactly that tactic, but in a very unusual way. Their fullbacks step into central midfield rather than providing width, so Man CIty always have multiple passing triangles available to them at any point in time.

 

 

 

^ Look how many options Fernandinho has when he receives the ball to illustrate this system.

 

Which team has created the most chances in the Premier League this season? Man City

Which team averages the most amount of possession in the league this season? Man City

 

Guardiola's tactic is and always has been to strangle the opposition and choke them out of possession. It's like an MMA fighter keeping their rival in a choke hold for 90 minutes. How can the opponent score against you if they don't have the ball?

 

So how to beat that tactic? There are two ways:

 

1. Press them rabidly from minute 1 to 90. Their players are great at playing the ball out from the back, but if you press aggressively enough for long enough, they can be got at. Liverpool and Spurs in recent years have managed to do it, though it should be noted in Liverpool's recent win they were very fortunate as Man City played much better football than Liverpool in the first half but conceded twice to great individual goals.

 

2. Sit back and soak up their pressure with a defensive low block, with players with searing pace operating down the channels. Wolves and Man United have beaten Man City this way this season. Even the mighty Barcelona team of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets lost games like this too, e.g. against Inter Milan in 2010 when Etoo was the out ball.

 

Personally in terms of pure tactics and playing away from home, I'd go for option 2, but if you go behind early you have to completely adapt your game plan.

 

 

Edited 8 December 2019 by StriderHiryu

[Guest SO1]

6 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

This is a hard one to answer. Man City use exactly that tactic, but in a very unusual way. Their fullbacks step into central midfield rather than providing width, so Man CIty always have multiple passing triangles available to them at any point in time.

 

 

 

^ Look how many options Fernandinho has when he receives the ball to illustrate this system.

 

Which team has created the most chances in the Premier League this season? Man City

Which team averages the most amount of possession in the league this season? Man City

 

Guardiola's tactic is and always has been to strangle the opposition and choke them out of possession. It's like an MMA fighter keeping their rival in a choke hold for 90 minutes. How can the opponent score against you if they don't have the ball?

 

So how to beat that tactic? There are two ways:

 

1. Press them rabidly from minute 1 to 90. Their players are great at playing the ball out from the back, but if you press aggressively enough for long enough, they can be got at. Liverpool and Spurs in recent years have managed to do it, though it should be noted in Liverpool's recent win they were very fortunate as Man City played much better football than Liverpool in the first half but conceded twice to great individual goals.

2. Sit back and soak up their pressure with a defensive low block, with players with searing pace operating down the channels. Wolves and Man United have beaten Man City this way this season. Even the mighty Barcelona team of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets lost games like this too, e.g. against Inter Milan in 2010 when Etoo was the out ball.

 

Personally in terms of pure tactics and playing away from home, I'd go for option 2, but if you go behind early you have to completely adapt your game plan.

Your a Football Tactics monster.

[Deeg67]

51 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

This is a hard one to answer. Man City use exactly that tactic, but in a very unusual way. Their fullbacks step into central midfield rather than providing width, so Man CIty always have multiple passing triangles available to them at any point in time.

 

 

 

^ Look how many options Fernandinho has when he receives the ball to illustrate this system.

 

Which team has created the most chances in the Premier League this season? Man City

Which team averages the most amount of possession in the league this season? Man City

 

Guardiola's tactic is and always has been to strangle the opposition and choke them out of possession. It's like an MMA fighter keeping their rival in a choke hold for 90 minutes. How can the opponent score against you if they don't have the ball?

 

So how to beat that tactic? There are two ways:

 

1. Press them rabidly from minute 1 to 90. Their players are great at playing the ball out from the back, but if you press aggressively enough for long enough, they can be got at. Liverpool and Spurs in recent years have managed to do it, though it should be noted in Liverpool's recent win they were very fortunate as Man City played much better football than Liverpool in the first half but conceded twice to great individual goals.

 

2. Sit back and soak up their pressure with a defensive low block, with players with searing pace operating down the channels. Wolves and Man United have beaten Man City this way this season. Even the mighty Barcelona team of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets lost games like this too, e.g. against Inter Milan in 2010 when Etoo was the out ball.

 

Personally in terms of pure tactics and playing away from home, I'd go for option 2, but if you go behind early you have to completely adapt your game plan.

 

 

If you're going to use tack 2, Gray and Barnes on the wings makes a lot of sense.  Or even going to a back 3, giving Chillwell and Ricardo more opportunity to hurt MC with their pace.

 

For us, I actually like option one - and I'd go with the same diamond we used against Villa.  Kelechi was terrific on the press and you know he and Vardy and rapid enough to hurt them on the counter.  Praet's calm and composure on the ball in midfield would be a must.

 

But my goodness - let's worry about Norwich first.  No walkovers in this league.

Edited 9 December 2019 by Deeg67

[Wolfox]

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Live footage of Farke from the Carrow Road training camp:

So tempted to send this on to my Norwich supporting mate

 

However…

 

”Hello fate, please come in and make yourself comfy…. Please do help yourself to one of these delicious cakes” 

[Deeg67]

I like Norwich.  In terms of talent they're easily the weakest team in the PL, but they fight like rabid dogs for every point.  Unless we totally look past them and zombie this game we should defeat them easily, but I hope they buck the odds and stay up for one more season.

[Nicolo Barella]

5 hours ago, Deeg67 said:

I actually thought Tielemans was really good yesterday, it was just overshadowed because we had so many flashy performances.  He played a couple of stunning through balls and tracked back defensively in the first half when he needed to, possibly saving a goal on one occasion.

The first ten minutes were the worst ten minutes I've seen him play but after that I can't remember any major errors and he played really well. As you said he was surpassing good defensively.

[Nicolo Barella]

So what should Rodgers amaze us with next? 3-3-4? 

 

Barnes Vardy Iheanacho Ricardo

Maddison Ndidi Praet

Chilwell Soyuncu Evans

[Shane]

Not a fan of the diamond but you have to admit it worked well against Villa. However they did get into some good positions in the first half, but lacked the quality. So I wouldn’t want to use this formation against stronger teams.

 

If we can sign a quality CB we’ll have tactical flexibility between 3 formations, 4-1-4-1, the diamond and 3-5-2. Would like us to stick to 4-1-4-1 the majority of the time, but it doesn’t hurt being able to switch things up. 

[Woof]

12 hours ago, Nicolo Barella said:

So what should Rodgers amaze us with next? 3-3-4? 

 

Barnes Vardy Iheanacho Ricardo

Maddison Ndidi Praet

Chilwell Soyuncu Evans

Nah - he'll go back to the 1950's with 2-3-5 

[StriderHiryu]

To give some credit to the BBC, Darren Fletcher did some awesome analysis of the Diamond Formation on MOTD2 last night. They've also made an article about it here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50708185

 

It wasn't quite as in depth as my post, but compared to the usual analysis Leicester get from Sky and BT, it was honestly very good. Talking about how this system makes us a bit weaker defensively, but a lot stronger offensively against a team that pushes its fullbacks forward as much as Villa. 

[st albans fox]

i can see BR using this formation against teams he believes we will win an open game against.  more likely away from home as these teams wont open up at the KP 

[Chester Dontlie]

Again, top shelf stuff Strider 

Every time I read one of your TA posts it makes me wonder about all those commentators and pundits on Sky, BT, NBC etc stealing a living doing their post match routines and coming up with enlightening statements like: "when you play with such passion, the games can't come soon enough", "they're playing to their strengths", "their manager is getting the best out of every individual", "they are so fast", "they are ruthless in front of goal", "you can't leave Vardy this much space, it will cost you" and so on, every week I'll keep my fingers crossed for your future FA / UEFA licences

[sdb]

Cool stuff. I thought we looked vulnerable down the flanks for the first 30 mins yesterday, but guess that's the main risk with this set up?

[StriderHiryu]

28 minutes ago, sdb said:

Cool stuff. I thought we looked vulnerable down the flanks for the first 30 mins yesterday, but guess that's the main risk with this set up?

Yep the opponent can overload your fullbacks with a 2v1. In return you dominate the middle of the park and can setup 2v2 situations against their centre backs. Swings and roundabouts, but in this game it worked brilliantly. 

[Guest SO1]

19 hours ago, Wolfox said:

So tempted to send this on to my Norwich supporting mate

 

However…

 

”Hello fate, please come in and make yourself comfy…. Please do help yourself to one of these delicious cakes” 

smart man. In the eyes of karma you don't just speak for yourself. You speak for us all. No pressure.

[StriderHiryu]

Moved to the other tactics thread as it's not diamond related.

Edited 9 December 2019 by StriderHiryu

[LC/FC]

@StriderHiryu

Someone in this thread is talking Diamonds. Compared ours to Brighton's.

[StriderHiryu]

30 minutes ago, LC/FC said:

@StriderHiryu

Someone in this thread is talking Diamonds. Compared ours to Brighton's.

 

EDIT: That post is super good by the way, the author knows his stuff! His point is that Ndidi is similar to the differences between 442 Diamond with Liverpool and Leicester. At Liverpool Gerrard was a much better passer of the ball than Ndidi, but at Leicester it doesn't matter so much because Cags and Evans are very good passers of the ball, as is Kasper, so Ndidi has a more simplified role, and he's brilliant at what he does, and offers better protection. Also his passing has certainly come a long way this season.

Edited 10 December 2019 by StriderHiryu

[UniFox21]

On 08/12/2019 at 23:57, StriderHiryu said:

This is a hard one to answer. Man City use exactly that tactic, but in a very unusual way. Their fullbacks step into central midfield rather than providing width, so Man CIty always have multiple passing triangles available to them at any point in time.

 

 

 

^ Look how many options Fernandinho has when he receives the ball to illustrate this system.

 

Which team has created the most chances in the Premier League this season? Man City

Which team averages the most amount of possession in the league this season? Man City

 

Guardiola's tactic is and always has been to strangle the opposition and choke them out of possession. It's like an MMA fighter keeping their rival in a choke hold for 90 minutes. How can the opponent score against you if they don't have the ball?

 

So how to beat that tactic? There are two ways:

 

1. Press them rabidly from minute 1 to 90. Their players are great at playing the ball out from the back, but if you press aggressively enough for long enough, they can be got at. Liverpool and Spurs in recent years have managed to do it, though it should be noted in Liverpool's recent win they were very fortunate as Man City played much better football than Liverpool in the first half but conceded twice to great individual goals.

 

2. Sit back and soak up their pressure with a defensive low block, with players with searing pace operating down the channels. Wolves and Man United have beaten Man City this way this season. Even the mighty Barcelona team of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets lost games like this too, e.g. against Inter Milan in 2010 when Etoo was the out ball.

 

Personally in terms of pure tactics and playing away from home, I'd go for option 2, but if you go behind early you have to completely adapt your game plan.

 

 

Our biggest hope currently is that Fernandinho isn't able to be in that holding role he thrives in. Instead he's around 10/15 yards further back and Rodri, whilst an effective player, doesn't have the reading of the game or ball playing ability that Fernandinho does. 

Aguero is also out which leaves the perfectly capable deputy of Jesus, but he lacks the total quality of Aguero. 

 

That then brings me to their defensive line. Ederson is a monster, but Fernandinho and Otamendi can fully be got at.  Otamendi is rash, whereas Fernandinho is a decent cover, his game isn't suited fully to that position. Vardy can get at both with the correct ball. They lack that leader in the defence, and if we can hold them out our net we stand a great chance of either drawing or winning the game.

 

 

[NewEnglandFox]

If this is region blocked, i bet the sky link is the same interview.

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/leicester-city/11881092/match-zone-brendan-rodgers

[urban.spaceman]

https://thefootballfaithful.com/tactical-analysis-how-leicester-city-are-building-a-title-charge/

 

Tactical Analysis: How Leicester City are building a title charge

Vishnu Anandraj

While expectations were high coming into the 2019/20 season, Leicester City have shocked many with the quality of their performances and have cemented themselves as viable title contenders this season.

Brendan Rodgers has implemented an exciting, attacking style of football that has maximized his young squad and given the club a sense of identity for the first time since their dramatic title-winning season.

During that season Leicester developed an infamous style of play, centred around the ball-winning ability of N’golo Kante, the long passing of Danny Drinkwater, and the pace and movement of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. From a compact, deep-sitting 4-4-2, Leicester would explode on the counter, devastating teams with the speed and directness of their attacks.

Yet in the absence of key players such as Kante, Drinkwater, and Mahrez, persisting with such a style made little sense for the club. Their player recruitment indicated that rather than seeking to recreate that title-winning team, the club would try and adopt a new tactical identity.

While Claude Puel attempted to conduct such a tactical transition, in Rodgers, Leicester have found a coach better suited to the squad and rooted in a clearer tactical philosophy. It has enabled the team to be successful once again, albeit in a very different way.

Rodgers sets his team up in a 4-1-4-1, a system that is both conducive to his preferred possession-based style of football and the specific qualities of his players.

In Wilfred Ndidi, Leicester have one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. He averages 4.6 tackles and 2.9 interceptions per 90, placing him among Europe’s elite in terms of ball-winning. When combined with his positional awareness, reading of the game, and physical attributes, Ndidi is no doubt one of the most well-rounded defensive midfielders in England.

His strengths are not limited to the defensive phase either. Ndidi plays a crucial role in build-up play, sitting ahead of the centre-backs to provide a passing option before moving the ball through short passes to the more advanced midfielders or fullbacks. His composure and accuracy with these passes enable the rest of the team to push further forward, thus making the team’s attacks more potent. Ndidi is tasked with tremendous responsibility as a single pivot in a 4-1-4-1, but luckily for Leicester, he has the necessary attributes to execute the role to great effect.

Sitting ahead of Ndidi in the 4-1-4-1 are Youri Tielemans and James Maddison, who have both shone for Leicester this season. With their defensive duties taken care of by Ndidi, they are free to take up positions in between the lines and dictate Leicesters attacks in the final third.

While both are effective creative presences, with Maddison and Tielemans averaging 2.5 and 1.6 key passes per game respectively, they are more than stereotypical playmakers. They both pose goal-scoring threats and are dangerous from range and Maddison, in particular, offers another string to the Foxes attacking bow with his superb dead-ball ability.

Despite nominally playing the same position, Tielemans and Maddison have significant differences in their playing style. Maddison’s 2.2 successful dribbles per game far eclipses Tielemans’ 0.6 and is just one indication of the Englishman’s tendency to attempt to create space for himself and others through his on-ball presence.

By contrast, Tielemans is more active off the ball and tends to look to make intelligent runs to drag opposition defenses out of shape in order to create space for teammates. Both are also active defensively, engaging in Leicester’s press and falling back into deeper positions when necessary. Their combination of dynamism, creativity, and work rate makes them an effective attacking midfield duo.

Perhaps the most pivotal role in Rodger’s 4-1-4-1 is the full-backs. In Ben Chilwell and Ricardo Pereira, Leicester have two excellent, well-rounded full-backs who are instrumental in their attacking productivity and defensive solidity.

Rodgers encourages his fullbacks to push high and wide whilst in possession in order to stretch the opposition defence, allowing the wingers to tuck inside, pose as an option for diagonal switch passes, and facilitate the creation of overloads out wide. These overloads enable Leicester to progress possession effectively as the quick interchanges of passing create space for attackers to exploit.

In Chilwell and Pereira, Rodgers has two excellent players who are capable of fulfilling these various responsibilities. Chilwell is an excellent passer, and his crossing, ability to switch the play, and delicate chipped or lofted passes make him a versatile attacking force for Leicester.

He averages 1.6 key passes per game, 1.6 chipped passes per game and 0.8 accurate crosses per game, indicating his all-around passing ability. Pereira is more adept at dribbling, averaging 2.3 successful dribbles per game in comparison to Chilwell’s 0.5.

This ball-carrying capacity allows him to be in space to create cutbacks for onrushing midfielders or create space for Ayoze Perez, who usually partners him on the right-hand side. Defensively, both Chilwell and Pereira can be susceptible to being caught out due to the advanced positions they take up.

However, they tend to have the necessary pace to retrieve their position and the necessary defensive acumen to ensure they aren’t a liability. Chilwell wins 2.5 aerial duels per game as well as averaging 1.0 interceptions and 1.4 tackles per game, while Pereira wins a whopping 4.4 tackles per game along with 1.9 interceptions per game.

With diverse attacking abilities and well-rounded defensive skills, Chilwell and Pereira have been more than capable of fulfilling their multitude of responsibilities in the fullback role.

Upfront, Jamie Vardy has been perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Rodgers’s arrival. He’s scored 16 goals this season, five more than the next best Tammy Abraham in the Premier League. Rodgers recently revealed that he has instructed Vardy to play less of a role in Leicester press, perhaps an indication that Northern Irishman is aware that the 32-year old’s energy needs to be preserved as much as possible if he is to sustain his goal-scoring form.

However, Vardy is getting more touches in the box and crucially is scoring more goals under Rodgers than under Puel. His lethal combination of exceptional movement, clinical finishing, and searing pace continues to devastate Premier League defences.

He is often the benefactor of through-balls and well-worked crosses, both of which are key tenets of Rodger’s attacking play. With a dynamic attacking set up around him, Vardy is once again showing the Premier League that he is one of the most prolific and underrated strikers in the country.

Perhaps one of the most surprising elements of Leicester’s season thus far has been their defensive solidity. With the sale of Harry Maguire and the implementation of such an aggressive attacking style, one would think that Leicester may have struggled to keep goals out this season.

Yet the development of Caglar Soyuncu has been one of the most impressive and important aspects of Rodgers’ impact at the club. The Turkish international is both an excellent ball-player and a physical presence defensively, and with the composed and experienced Jonny Evans alongside him, he has matured into an excellent and complete centre-back.

With Ndidi shielding them and the reliable Kasper Schmeichel behind them, Soyuncu and Evans have been the spine that has served as the platform for Leicester’s attacks and the focal point of their defensive unit.

With the likes of Perez and Harvey Barnes excelling as tricky, pacy wingers, Rodgers has utilized a tactical system that maximizes the abilities of his players within the possession-based, attacking philosophy he has implemented. It speaks to his intelligence as a coach and the excellence of Leicester’s recruitment that the squad is so well-suited to Rodger’s ideology.

His track record of youth development has also made a clear impact on the squad, as he has been able to improve the performances of a previously talented yet inconsistent group of young players.

Along with instilling a clear philosophy that suits the team, Rodgers has also been able to give his side a level of strength and depth that they previously did not have by improving the performances of various members of the squad.

In Demarai Gray, Hamza Choudhury, James Justin, Christian Fuchs, and Kelechi Iheanacho, Rodgers has been able to extract high-level performances from players despite their lack of game time. It’s another testament to the phenomenal job Rodgers has done at the club, and it may prove vital if Leicester are able to maintain their unexpected title charge.

Full of flair, youth, and energy, Rodgers has created an exuberant attacking side that has maximized his talented squad and produced sensational and consistent results for his team. Perhaps most exciting of all, he has made it possible for Leicester City to dream of repeating their fairytale season once again.

[st albans fox]

he failed to mention Praet but he did mention JJ ……. a real Michael owen type error !

[car1os]

Another article looking at tactics during the game.  Quite like these as they’re a little more basic so is perfect for my level of understanding!!

 

https://footballbh.net/2019/12/11/premier-league-2019-20-aston-villa-vs-leicester-tactical-analysis-tactics/

[Foxxed]

Here's our average position for the 442D.

 

We're bunched up on the right but then again so were Villa.

 

 

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Well I'll be damned, this is a quite extraordinary post. Thanks so much for taking the time.

 

Remind me why you are not employed as a pundit or at least a football journalist for the Athletic?