Tactics Under Maresca

[HitchinFox]

On 20/10/2023 at 09:29, StriderHiryu said:

I went on a massive rant in another thread where someone was claiming that he wasn't being used properly. Too many fans just don't watch our games properly! He's been consistently great throughout the season.

 

Players like Xavi, Iniesta and Kroos rarely get more than 5 G+A over the course of an entire season, yet are some of the best players to ever play the game. There are many battles all over the pitch in football, but the football war in every game is won or lost in midfield.

You'll find that a huge majority of football fans (not just ours) don't watch football through a tactics lens, purely because they don't really understand any of it. They know the rules of football, but literally don't know what they are looking at. 

Some of the comments/shouts these fans make during games are the equivalent of someone standing up and shouting "you need to play much louder and faster, use an electric guitar" in the middle of a Brahms Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall.

 

[sacreblueits442]

2 minutes ago, dmayne7 said:

I see it completely differently. The goals and assists might not have come but I think that's because he's too conservative and not taking risks. However, his quality in terms of deliver is generally excellent. He's got quite a unique technique and able to dig out a 15 yard cross with some dip and bend

...he does wrap his foot around the ball and that should give him better control!!!

The whip and pace may look good but are ineffective in how he implements them, he struggles due to his decision-making. If you can remember Ipswich under Burley in the Premier League, any balls played into the box were on the floor, you only needed one touch to move the ball around, keeping the ball on the floor takes away the 50/50 element, and you are still in possession. The amount of goals they scored in the last minute, just because they were brave enough to play the same way inside the box as they would outside the box.

[Scotch]

I thought Mavididi and Fatawu were very good today. Their final ball wasn't always there but they definitely seemed more dangerous. I don't think it's coincidental that Enzo mentioned them both as players he worked closely with during the break and they all of a sudden seemed to improve. 

 

More signs of his competence as a man manager. 

[Koke]

It's lovely to watch us just steamroll teams. We're simply much better than anyone else. I do however have concerns because some of the defensive errors we are making. We made a few yesterday that we got away with because Swansea are a run of the mill championship side. Vestergaard got outpaced so easily I actually laughed.  Got bailed out by Hermansen. Another time Ricardo (I think) just gave the ball away at the D of our box and they nearly scored. 

 

We'll get promoted easily, no problem. I hope Enzo have plans to upgrade a number of positions next season because average Premier League strikers will bury us with the way we defend so poorly at times.

[MGLCFC]

2 hours ago, Koke said:

We'll get promoted easily, no problem. I hope Enzo have plans to upgrade a number of positions next season because average Premier League strikers will bury us with the way we defend so poorly at times.

I'm sure there will be upgrades next season and I do agree Premier League strikers would do much better against our defence. We do however have the best defence in the League regarding goals conceded. This suggests that other teams aren't as good as us at defending against the same poor standard of strikers.

[AmarteyAndChill]

28 minutes ago, MGLCFC said:

I'm sure there will be upgrades next season and I do agree Premier League strikers would do much better against our defence. We do however have the best defence in the League regarding goals conceded. This suggests that other teams aren't as good as us at defending against the same poor standard of strikers.

Tbf every team we’ve played strikers are just absolutely gash, you could put them through 1 v 1 5 times and they’d probably only score 2 

[MGLCFC]

7 minutes ago, AmarteyAndChill said:

Tbf every team we’ve played strikers are just absolutely gash, you could put them through 1 v 1 5 times and they’d probably only score 2 

Yes, that what I'm trying to say. These gash strikers are scoring more against our opponents defences, so by that metric our defence is the best in the league, but I agree, not good enough for the Prem.

[StriderHiryu]

Can David Nugent outdo StiderHiryu?! Let's find out!

 

 

 

[StriderHiryu]

Swansea City 1 - 3 Leicester City Post Match

 

 

 

• Swansea lined up 4231 as predicted.
  • Swansea were pretty impressive IMO, they played out from the back, and the technical duo of Grimes and Patino meant they didn't just needlessly give it away.
  • Jerry Yates and Jamal Lowe also posed a threat that not that many teams in the league have, some decent pace that can try to exploit the turnover on the transition.
  • Yates was an interesting one to see given he was linked with us. He took up some good positions and found space effectively, but lacked a clinical edge and for me didn't link up play too well with the other Swansea players. He seems to be the type that is better off in a two up top than as the lone striker, though he can learn that role over time.
• Right from the off, our attack looked like it went up a level, this was the most creative we've looked maybe all season.
  • Mavididi and Fatawu simplified their game with fewer touches, or waiting to beat just one man before playing the pass. This made them a lot more effective.
  • Passing felt a lot more crisp and accurate than usual. To be expected as the team gets more used to playing with one another and having more time on the training ground.
  • That said we were wasteful, we made the right final pass a few times and still left the goal gaping!
• 2 new patterns of play that we are seeing more of are:
  • Vardy dropping really deep to pick up the ball, almost playing like a third pivot player when teams try to pick up Winks and Ricardo.
  • Ricardo pushing up into midfield during the transition and marauding forward to take up the spaces that the attacking 8's vacate in behind. The 3rd goal a great example of that.
• This was the most sloppy we've been in defence for a while. The goal could have been defended better, Ricardo's brain fart that almost let to Lowe scoring, etc. But all these chances came from poor Leicester play as opposed to getting cut open.

The extended highlights are well worth a rewatch, we were really good going forwards in this one:

 

 

 

 

[Lcfc-1992]

Was Justin pushing up more? Seemed to join in with attacks more often, even ended up in their box a few times.

[Koke]

Watched the game back. We did get away with one or two at the back but going forward we should have had 5 or 6. 

[Jimbo]

7 hours ago, MGLCFC said:

I'm sure there will be upgrades next season and I do agree Premier League strikers would do much better against our defence. We do however have the best defence in the League regarding goals conceded. This suggests that other teams aren't as good as us at defending against the same poor standard of strikers.

We're better defensively because we starve the opposition of possession and run them ragged. I saw some stat earlier in the last 30 minutes of our games we've outscored the opposition 15-0. We tire them out because they've all set up, bar Southampton, to sit in against us and chase shadows. 

 

In essence we're the best defence in the league because we have the best, and certainly most talented, attack and it scares teams into changing their game before a ball has even been kicked. In our 12 games so far this season I'd guess at an average of 2-3 dangerous attacks against us per game

[Paninistickers]

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Vardy dropping really deep to pick up the ball, almost

Very noticeable. Though if that's to be a permanent feature, kels is better at dong that 

 

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Passing felt a lot more crisp and accurate than usual

Agree. Tho that may have been helped by Swansea. We repeatedly had space in midfield for once, rather than 11 men ahead of them 

 

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Ricardo's brain fart

He has at least one a game and)or gets robbed in midfield at least once per game. I'm still yet to be convinced of his role and still wonder if Hamza might actually play it better 

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, Lcfc-1992 said:

Was Justin pushing up more? Seemed to join in with attacks more often, even ended up in their box a few times.

Doyle did this too when he was in the team. 

[moore_94]

37 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

He has at least one a game and)or gets robbed in midfield at least once per game. I'm still yet to be convinced of his role and still wonder if Hamza might actually play it better 

Can't see Hamza being able to do the creative side of the role like Ricardo is able to do unfortunately

[Spiritwalker]

Some of our play was sublime, I thought we were a bit more physical than usual and outmuscled 

them on several occasions.

[HarryDee8]

Good analysis this, touching on the Enzo way, by Nuge

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 October 2023 by HarryDee8

[surrifox]

Nuge is a fan 

Edited 23 October 2023 by surrifox

[StriderHiryu]

Leicester City vs Sunderland Pre-Match Preview

 

 

 

 

Sunderland are one of the more interesting teams to watch in the Championship, and I've had my eye on them all season given they made it to the play-offs last time round, losing to eventual winners Luton. They have a very interesting philosophy at the club, almost using our model but in a Championship version. IE lots of really promising up and comers who they develop and sell on for a lot of money, with an astute and experienced manager in Tony Mowbray. This makes them both exciting and prone to collapse in equal measure, they play good stuff but are really inconsistent.

 

• They play a mixture of 4141 and 4231, but sometimes even go 442. They even played Jobe Bellingham as a false 9 against Southampton where they won 5-0, which they might well try again.
• They play good stuff, playing out from the back and having a good possession style, they rank 3rd in terms of possession in the division so far.
• They are an interesting case where they have the top scorer in the division in Jack Clarke (left wing), but none of their strikers have scored yet. So a bit like Leicester, they really rely on their wide forwards and midfield players.
• They typically play two hard-working box-to-box players in Bellingham and Ekwah with Dan Neil (who was suspended against Stoke) as the sitter.
  • I'll be interested to see what they do here, a lot of teams try to go man for man on Ricardo and Winks, but I feel like the youthful nature of their team might mean this could backfire, and we play could play around them.
  • Jobe Bellingham is pretty good IMO. Obviously hard not to compare him to his brother; he's not as good at the same age but he is good. Will for sure be a Premier League palyer one day. Hard-working, technical, good on the ball and a great engine.
• What they might do, which I have seen them do a few times, is to play 442 and try to kill the opposition on the transition. The biggest warning I would give about this team (and Leeds) is they have players that can exploit a turnover and getting in behind, like on the weekend where Hermansen saved us. Their players are young, full of energy and are fast, and they were ruthless against Southampton at doing this, where they could have won by more.

 

This is a team that I think could catch us on the break, but equally I think they won't be able to deal with 90 minutes of relentless pressure. With young players, they are more likely to lose concentration at the wrong moment and for it to cost them. So I think this will be another game where we have to work hard but eventually break them down.

 

I think this will be an enjoyable game and will feel more like a Premier League game rather than a Championship one. They might be a bit more like Brentford in the way they play, in terms of trying to kill us on the transition.

Edited 23 October 2023 by StriderHiryu

[Lillehamring]

Interesting game tonight (vs sunderland).

 

I posted this (i've refined it a little) in the post-match thread but feel it's something worth considering when we look at the way we played:

 

It's worth noting that we've only scored 7 of our 27 goals in the first half hour, and conceded 5 of our 7 - so this was the first game where we've had to defend a lead from such an early point, against a team that actually wanted to try and score (Neither Rotherham nor Stoke actively went looking for an equaliser) - so it's fair to say that we're still getting used to this type of match situation.  Personally, although  we were really sloppy in possession at times, which didn't help matters,  i thought we actually dealt with the situation really well - winks and KDH led the team in tackles (5 and 4) respectively,)  a total of 12 players registered at least 1 tackle; 7 players registered at least 1 clearance, and our use of strategic fouling was a masterclass (apart from Faes in the penalty area...). 

 

It felt like the instruction was not necessarily to press (though, there were times when we did) but to allow them to come on to us, to force them to find a way through us.  And even though they threw everything at us,  we dealt with it without it ever looking like they'd break us down.

 

My frustration is that when we play these teams that we expect will attack us, we seem to play nacho - tonight was set up for vardy or daka, as there was acres of space to counter into, which is perhaps why the route 1 option wasn't brilliantly successful.

[melrose]

On 23/10/2023 at 07:28, surrifox said:

Nuge is a fan 

He does seem to be .... He was great to watch as a player for us

He can be forgiven for saying "you know" in almost every sentence

[Aleksz]

Tonight was all about Sunderland stopping us playing with the best press we’ve seen at the King Power this season, not through a fault of our own. Didn’t see Ricardo find too much time to actually move inside. 
 

I did think he’d swap Ricardo and Justin for tonight so Justin could lock up Clarke - worked pretty well. 

 

Mowbray set them up fantastically. If Kel and Casadei take their chances it’s 3-0 on another day mind. 

[Shane]

 

 

 

 

 

[Gwyn]

8 minutes ago, Shane said:

 

 

 

 

 

Like when Liverpool groundsmen cleared the snow only from the half they were attacking on...

[ozleicester]

On 22/10/2023 at 05:33, HitchinFox said:

You'll find that a huge majority of football fans (not just ours) don't watch football through a tactics lens, purely because they don't really understand any of it. They know the rules of football, but literally don't know what they are looking at. 

Some of the comments/shouts these fans make during games are the equivalent of someone standing up and shouting "you need to play much louder and faster, use an electric guitar" in the middle of a Brahms Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall.

 

This is me... watched the game for 50+ years.. played at a few lveles for 35+... still have almost ni idea what our "tactics" are. I tend to be in the game. Obviously i can see us playing the ball rather than lumping it etc.. but i genuinely dont know if (or even what a 4,3,2,1 etc is when we play) we change our tactics