Tactics Under Maresca

[Lillehamring]

19 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

Burnley went into their opening game with 9 new signings made - to our 4 (I'll say 5 as Mavididi surely is in by then) I actually think with the correct recruitment and the budget should in theory have we could go even better than them - but that required swift action this summer and unless there's a bit of a miracle, that isn't going to be happening.

 

We have the tools yet not enough people at the club who can operate them. Exactly as I feared.

 

I also think the league looks tougher this year than last. On the flip side, annoyingly, I think the bottom 6-8 of the Premier League looks appalling, the worst in absolutely years and we'd have probably survived even if we'd chosen this year to coast rather than last. Dross like Everton and Forest will end up surviving even more comfortably.

I'm sure someone elsewhere broke down these signings, and most of them weren't that significant; whereas ours, but for coady's injury, are likely to all be starters on day 1.

[StriderHiryu]

Mavididi will make a big difference. Against Northampton WMM got the ball in promising areas a lot of the time but you could tell he was nervous / desperate to impress. A fast and skilful player on either side causes huge problems, especially on the fast transition as these players will find space, get to the ball and find themselves 1 on 1 frequently. In turn that will mean more space for the attacking 8’s, the striker and the winger on the other side. 
 

So that’s what’s missing for me, the left footed winger on the right hand side, which makes the whole system even more deadly. I know many also want to see us sign an attacking number 8, and such a signing would make me happy too. But in this league, we probably already have enough against anyone but the top 6. Strength in depth is course an issue too but we’ve got till the end of August to sort that out. For me there’s definitely one starting spot that must be filled first, whereas for the first month I think we can let Praet, Ndidi, McAteer and Hamza battle it out for the right sided 8 role. 
 

Let’s see how badly these words come back to haunt me one month from now!

[Lillehamring]

18 hours ago, sacreblueits442 said:

...Klopp did make substitutions but that was in the second half when we we were already 3 - 0 down!!!

  We actually did better (according to the scoreline) in the second half, with these supposedly exhausted players.

  We are so drilled into the need to pass our way around the pitch that common sense goes out the window. KDH attempted to keep us from falling completely apart,  by holding on to the ball and not making a pass because he feels that is what Maresca needs him to do. It was last season again, the weakness of the individual players came back to the fore and we can see no one seems to want to take on any responsibility when in possession, except for KDH.

  Ricardo has constantly received plaudits for the role that he is playing but I do not see the benefit he brings going into the middle. He may help a midfielder to go higher up the pitch when he drops in beside Winks,  but we need someone who is more ready to receive the ball off the backline,  on the half turn, as opposed to constantly playing, facing his own goal. 

Enzo was impressed with the first half hour and, whilst we didn't conceded so many after the changes, liverpool dominated the game through the second half - so i don't think enzo would agree that we played better second half.  i'm sure the tiredness in the legs, in that heat, made a difference.

 

I think it's still early and there are lots of things still to work on, but i think it's only fair to understand that we were testing a new system against a really good pressing team, which limited what we could do, but we still showed great promise and can only improve with more time and new players.

[Lillehamring]

14 hours ago, funkyrobot said:

The ongoing selection of Vestergaard over Souttar and the continued unwarranted trust in Castagne and Ndidi (tho I appreciate he has less alternatives to Wilf) are worrying aspects of Maresca’s pre season. Has he explained the omission of Faes, VK and Praet from yesterday’s squad too? 

No, he hasn't.  I think the vesty inclusion is simply down to the fact that he is better on the ball than souttar - at times he looked ok against a very good liverpool press, other times less so.  Not sure how long he'll be around, but given our first few opponents, i think he'll provide perfectly decent cover until coady returns.

[Lillehamring]

11 hours ago, trooky said:

Based on yesterday's first 25 minutes we created several chances for Ndidi.

 

He's not an ideal No. 8 and not good enough technically to play the Winks role so we have to hope we can move him on and get a natural 8 before the window shuts.

 

It will be interesting to see if he starts next week or is replaced by Praet.

 

The team is still in the early stages of the rebuild and I just hope we can sell Ndidi and Castagne soon.

 

I'm not so sure why they've feature so much if we've transfer listed them, unless it's to keep them integrated in the squad if we can't shift them.

Just because he failed to take a chance against Liverpool after playing only a couple of half games in the position, doesn't mean he won't be ok against EFL teams.  I do think he'll go, but if he doesn't i think he'll be decent cover, or good to bring on late in games where we are leading.

[An Sionnach]

11 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Mavididi will make a big difference. Against Northampton WMM got the ball in promising areas a lot of the time but you could tell he was nervous / desperate to impress. A fast and skilful player on either side causes huge problems, especially on the fast transition as these players will find space, get to the ball and find themselves 1 on 1 frequently. In turn that will mean more space for the attacking 8’s, the striker and the winger on the other side. 
 

So that’s what’s missing for me, the left footed winger on the right hand side, which makes the whole system even more deadly. I know many also want to see us sign an attacking number 8, and such a signing would make me happy too. But in this league, we probably already have enough against anyone but the top 6. Strength in depth is course an issue too but we’ve got till the end of August to sort that out. For me there’s definitely one starting spot that must be filled first, whereas for the first month I think we can let Praet, Ndidi, McAteer and Hamza battle it out for the right sided 8 role. 
 

Let’s see how badly these words come back to haunt me one month from now!

I very much doubt that anybody on here really knows what is going to happen. We should be among the stronger teams and that's about all you can say.

[Plastik Man]

19 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Mavididi will make a big difference. Against Northampton WMM got the ball in promising areas a lot of the time but you could tell he was nervous / desperate to impress. A fast and skilful player on either side causes huge problems, especially on the fast transition as these players will find space, get to the ball and find themselves 1 on 1 frequently. In turn that will mean more space for the attacking 8’s, the striker and the winger on the other side. 
 

So that’s what’s missing for me, the left footed winger on the right hand side, which makes the whole system even more deadly. I know many also want to see us sign an attacking number 8, and such a signing would make me happy too. But in this league, we probably already have enough against anyone but the top 6. Strength in depth is course an issue too but we’ve got till the end of August to sort that out. For me there’s definitely one starting spot that must be filled first, whereas for the first month I think we can let Praet, Ndidi, McAteer and Hamza battle it out for the right sided 8 role. 
 

Let’s see how badly these words come back to haunt me one month from now!

I agree that better wingers willake a massive difference in this formation.

 

McAteer has played in that advanced role in pre season, but interesting you mention him competing for the 8 role, as that's where I see a better fit for him.

 

He's not got pace or tricks but does seem quite strong. I was impressed with the interview with him someone shared on here a few weeks ago. He came across as having a good professional attitude.

[StriderHiryu]

2 hours ago, Plastik Man said:

I agree that better wingers willake a massive difference in this formation.

 

McAteer has played in that advanced role in pre season, but interesting you mention him competing for the 8 role, as that's where I see a better fit for him.

 

He's not got pace or tricks but does seem quite strong. I was impressed with the interview with him someone shared on here a few weeks ago. He came across as having a good professional attitude.

Actually I call them wingers, but really it's quite a sophisticated role as it involves being an attacking midfielder, an inside forward and even a central midfielder all in one. Look at how Man City over the years moved away from more traditional inside forwards like Sane, Sterling, Mahrez, etc, to more versatile players like Grealish, Bernardo, Foden, etc.

 

McAteer has already impressed me by playing in that sort of way. Albrighton and Castagne might be individually, but don't seem to play in quite that way. So it will be interesting to see if Mavididi is more of a hybrid player. I suspect he will be adapted into that, his stats shows he works hard off the ball, and he's played across the front 3 in his career.

[Plastik Man]

19 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Actually I call them wingers, but really it's quite a sophisticated role as it involves being an attacking midfielder, an inside forward and even a central midfielder all in one. Look at how Man City over the years moved away from more traditional inside forwards like Sane, Sterling, Mahrez, etc, to more versatile players like Grealish, Bernardo, Foden, etc.

 

McAteer has already impressed me by playing in that sort of way. Albrighton and Castagne might be individually, but don't seem to play in quite that way. So it will be interesting to see if Mavididi is more of a hybrid player. I suspect he will be adapted into that, his stats shows he works hard off the ball, and he's played across the front 3 in his career.

Yep, I hesitated before using the term winger, but it's easier to than trying to find another!

 

As a kid I played on the wing, but it was a long time ago and you were just kind of stuck out there, pacing the line.

 

The modern role is much more interesting and allows for skill and creativity.  Well it does if the player has any!

[Chrysalis]

15 hours ago, lcfcsnow said:

It just feels a bit Paulo Sousa, the idea behind the tactics is good but we don't have the tools. That second goal yesterday where Vestergaard plays a nice pass into midfield but its Ndidi receiving it, and it just bounces off him and Liverpool score from it. The same was happening with Daka.

It has the potential for it for sure, some of the fan base (perhaps a large chunk of it) have become a bit attached to passing possession based football, we could see on here the dislike when we tried for a few games to revert back to a counter style, the owner clearly likes it which ultimately is what counts as he will employ managers based on that style.  When its done right it looks great to watch, but its so hard to get right and needs a high calibre of player.

[Dan]

I don't think it'll happen and I assume he'll move to the Premier League but Christ I'd love us to sign Gustavo Hamer. He'd genuinely get 15 goals from midfield in our side.

[The_77]

11 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I don't think it'll happen and I assume he'll move to the Premier League but Christ I'd love us to sign Gustavo Hamer. He'd genuinely get 15 goals from midfield in our side.

Don’t make me even consider this could be a possibility, it will make any other signing in that position feel like a letdown. 😂

[Dan]

4 hours ago, Lillehamring said:

I'm sure someone elsewhere broke down these signings, and most of them weren't that significant; whereas ours, but for coady's injury, are likely to all be starters on day 1.

Of the 9 signings made before their opening game:

 

Scott Twine - 14 appearances, can only assume he fell out of favour because he's actually their most expensive summer buy.

Luke McNally - loaned out to Coventry so fair enough, unimportant

CJ Egan-Riley - youngster, fair enough

Samuel Bastien - 18 appearances

Josh Cullen - key player

Arijanet Muric - key player

Vitinho - key player

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - key player

Ian Maatsen - key player

 

It's more than we'll have, a week earlier than our season started, with less of an actual squad overhaul needed than ours, with less money spent to do it. They also then went on to sign Benson, Churlinov, Zaroury on permanents, Tella, Beyer and Halil Dervisoglu on loan before the window shut - and then added Obafemi (loan), Hjalmar Ekdal and Lyle Foster in January too, as well as a few other youngsters.

 

I'm not saying we have to try and mimic everything Burnley do because it's never as simple as that, but I think we need work on us even more than they did given the astounding imbalance of the squad and I don't see how anybody can read that, from a club who had less to spend than us, with less time on their hands and think we're going to execute that level of overhaul when it is demonstrably possible. It won't happen here because we haven't got the same competence at board level.

 

Does anybody truly see us doing something like that? If I was to predict now, it's that we'll target another 5, and sign another 3 - leaving ourselves short in some areas and failing to cut some of the residue, choosing to keep these players who don't want to be here for the sake of not being undercut by a million here and there.

 

What business we have done, for the most part I think has been decent, but needed quantity as much as quality. Five signings by the first day, one of whom hasn't played a minute of pre-season - not good enough.

[Dan]

Just now, The_77 said:

Don’t make me even consider this could be a possibility, it will make any other signing in that position feel like a letdown. 😂

The longer it goes on without him making a move you do wonder if the opportunity could come up for us. We'd have to pay through the nose for him but his profile was so outstanding at this level that I'm quite confident of him being a £15mil+ player who could make the step up to the PL quite comfortably. I think we have too many other things to fix to drop that much on one player, but it would be nice, it would be a big boy move and it'd further rattle those idiots down the M69.

[Lillehamring]

10 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

Of the 9 signings made before their opening game:

 

Scott Twine - 14 appearances, can only assume he fell out of favour because he's actually their most expensive summer buy.

Luke McNally - loaned out to Coventry so fair enough, unimportant

CJ Egan-Riley - youngster, fair enough

Samuel Bastien - 18 appearances

Josh Cullen - key player

Arijanet Muric - key player

Vitinho - key player

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - key player

Ian Maatsen - key player

 

It's more than we'll have, a week earlier than our season started, with less of an actual squad overhaul needed than ours, with less money spent to do it. They also then went on to sign Benson, Churlinov, Zaroury on permanents, Tella, Beyer and Halil Dervisoglu on loan before the window shut - and then added Obafemi (loan), Hjalmar Ekdal and Lyle Foster in January too, as well as a few other youngsters.

 

I'm not saying we have to try and mimic everything Burnley do because it's never as simple as that, but I think we need work on us even more than they did given the astounding imbalance of the squad and I don't see how anybody can read that, from a club who had less to spend than us, with less time on their hands and think we're going to execute that level of overhaul when it is demonstrably possible. It won't happen here because we haven't got the same competence at board level.

 

Does anybody truly see us doing something like that? If I was to predict now, it's that we'll target another 5, and sign another 3 - leaving ourselves short in some areas and failing to cut some of the residue, choosing to keep these players who don't want to be here for the sake of not being undercut by a million here and there.

 

What business we have done, for the most part I think has been decent, but needed quantity as much as quality. Five signings by the first day, one of whom hasn't played a minute of pre-season - not good enough.

Ok - well, five key players - had coady not been injured that's the same as us.  Though i'd say we have recruited a higher calibre of player (i've never haerd of any of those burnley signings, bar Maatsen, and the man city loanees (but even then only through links to us this season)

I know it might not seem it after last year, but what remains of our PL squad is also superior to what remained of burnley's who came down on the back of a prolonged period of poor football.  So i'd argue that we started with a stronger bas than them (as it stands - we still have two belgian internationals in our squad, and one of the all time PL top scorers).

 

I'm not unhappy with our TF business, i think anything else now might be too late for the opener, but, given what we've spent i don't think the club are scared of investing in new players, so i suspect there's even more to come.  And i thin by the end of next summer, there won't be more than a couple of players who played under BR left at the club.

[CosbehFox]

Twine suffered a bad injury - would have played more and did score a very important goal last season. 

[StriderHiryu]

Copying this from another thread because it deserves to be here:

 

30 minutes ago, Lillehamring said:

As far as i can gather from what's been discussed regarding Maresca's system - i don't think we'll be anywhere near as reliant on an creative midfielder as we were under the previous regime, where we were dependant on maddison - it seems like the beauty of the system is to let the ball and the opponents do the work, to create large holes to play simple passes into - this is why so far we've seen ndidi getting into so many good positions, the chances have been coming from everywhere without there being a recognisable 'creative engine' - probablem for me seems to be the finishing.

 

Mavididi seems to be a good option because he has the pace to hit these spaces.

 

@StriderHiryu - am i reading this right?

Expand  

Yes and no. The players definitely do a lot of practice of pre-rehearsed routines, though Pep always used to give players specific spaces to attack rather than specific plays like someone like Conte. So that's why we are seeing Ndidi get into lots of good positions, but it's also why we seem him make not quite the right decision - yet. I would say then it's not so much about having a creative midfielder in the sense of Youri's raking through balls, but more having Maddison's presence of mind to keep his cool and make the right decision at the right time in the final third. 

 

Another video is coming out later this week but here are some previews. This was our best move in the match, great patient build up from the defence, with Hermansen showing us exactly why he was signed. Then KDH with a fantastic sliding pass that was Youri-esque, into Ndidi who should have pulled it back for Daka. This helps make part of your argument, KDH is not usually known for passes like this, but in this scenario he *knows* that a player will be attacking that space, so that's where he plays the ball, as fast as possible.

 

 

Here is a more simple example, which was pointed out in my last analysis. We compact play down one side of the pitch, meaning that a diagonal can find our opposite side winger in acres with a 1 on 1 situation. Castagne plays the ball here, another player not really famed for his raking passes, but he knows a player will be attacking that space.

 

 

In both examples, it's the decision-making in the final third that lets us down. McAteer should have pulled it back to KDH for this one.

 

However, in my mind I would be quite glowing about McAteer and Ndidi. Yes they have that last and most important but still to do, but they are consistently making the right runs, at the right times into the right positions across several games. I'd give them a few games to get used to it as they should be able to turn these chances into goals for the team.

 

24 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

You still have to have the technically gifted players to exploit the positions they take up?

Ndidi might be getting further forward, but, to date, we know he can’t pass for shit.

A large factor in how a striker ‘finishes’ is the quality of the pass into them. 
But we’ll see soon enough I guess

Col is along the right lines. It's not so much that Ndidi can't pass, but he's not making the right pass at the right time. The pass he has to make isn't that difficult from a technical perspective, but when you are running at full tilt, under pressure and need to make a decision in that moment, can he do it? History would suggest he can't. But we are talking often about making a six yard pass, which anyone, including us on the forum could do!

 

With Ndidi, I think if he plays the way he has been playing, he will do some serious damage in the Championship. He may spurn a lot of opportunities, but he is getting into and making those opportunities. So he could spurn 3 and we still score with him with the goal or assist. If we are having 60-70% possession, this will happen. But we see again from Fabrizio Romano that we want Casadei and it's kind of obvious as to why.

Ndidi also has a tendancy to lose the ball under pressure, which cost us a goal against Liverpool.

[Lillehamring]

Excellent - this is what i was hinting at - you see both those attacks and it doesn't come from a maddison, QB type player, both those attack came from wide men making key passes from inside our own half.  I think what i'm suggesting is rather than relying on one or two brilliant playmakers, we've made it easier for anyone with vision and the capacity to play an adequate pass to create an opportunity.

[StriderHiryu]

15 minutes ago, Lillehamring said:

Excellent - this is what i was hinting at - you see both those attacks and it doesn't come from a maddison, QB type player, both those attack came from wide men making key passes from inside our own half.  I think what i'm suggesting is rather than relying on one or two brilliant playmakers, we've made it easier for anyone with vision and the capacity to play an adequate pass to create an opportunity.

Yep I would say what we want are players (not just midfielders) who are technically strong, good under pressure, good understanding of the game and good decision-making at vital times. Some players that fit that description: Bernardo Silva, KDB, Grealish, Foden.

 

Dennis Praet I would say fits that description too, but Praet is nowhere near as strong physically as Ndidi. And there are other aspects to consider too, Coventry will often play the ball long into midfield and try to win the second ball to start their attacks as they play a box midfield themselves when they attack and look to use that extra man to help win those second balls. In fact I would say for that reason alone, against Cov it might be essential to play Ndidi, because his aerial win rate is impeccable, whereas Winks and Ricardo will get bullied in that department.

[Dan]

11 hours ago, Lillehamring said:

Ok - well, five key players - had coady not been injured that's the same as us.  Though i'd say we have recruited a higher calibre of player (i've never haerd of any of those burnley signings, bar Maatsen, and the man city loanees (but even then only through links to us this season)

I know it might not seem it after last year, but what remains of our PL squad is also superior to what remained of burnley's who came down on the back of a prolonged period of poor football.  So i'd argue that we started with a stronger bas than them (as it stands - we still have two belgian internationals in our squad, and one of the all time PL top scorers).

 

I'm not unhappy with our TF business, i think anything else now might be too late for the opener, but, given what we've spent i don't think the club are scared of investing in new players, so i suspect there's even more to come.  And i thin by the end of next summer, there won't be more than a couple of players who played under BR left at the club.

I don't think we're scared of investing money, I think we're incapable of getting a substantial amount of business done when the managerial appointment we made kind of demanded that would happen - something again I think you could compare to Burnley.

 

Now if they were to end the window with another five and have done it due to being able to clear more players out, then I will give them their dues, but I just don't think it's going to happen.

 

I quite rate how many Burnley bought in the £3-5mil sort of price range - something I thought we'd have done more of given we supposedly were heavily scouting Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands. So far only one player of that ilk has come in this window (of whom I think has the highest upside of all of our signings for what it's worth).

Edited 1 August 2023 by Dan LCFC

[Lillehamring]

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Yep I would say what we want are players (not just midfielders) who are technically strong, good under pressure, good understanding of the game and good decision-making at vital times. Some players that fit that description: Bernardo Silva, KDB, Grealish, Foden.

 

Dennis Praet I would say fits that description too, but Praet is nowhere near as strong physically as Ndidi. And there are other aspects to consider too, Coventry will often play the ball long into midfield and try to win the second ball to start their attacks as they play a box midfield themselves when they attack and look to use that extra man to help win those second balls. In fact I would say for that reason alone, against Cov it might be essential to play Ndidi, because his aerial win rate is impeccable, whereas Winks and Ricardo will get bullied in that department.

I think ndidi will start.  1. because of his experience.  2. as you say for his presence, also, there's no one you'd rather see tormenting coventry's rear guard.  3. because he's got to come good, i think most people have forgot he got a goal in preseason; he's a decent footballer, he's new to the position - if stones can be a killer medfielder, ndidi can be a half decent #8.  4. i think it still means more to him than it does to praet. 5. we don't really have anyone better.

[Lillehamring]

3 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I don't think we're scared of investing money, I think we're incapable of getting a substantial amount of business done when the managerial appointment we made kind of demanded that would happen - something again I think you could compare to Burnley.

 

Now if they were to end the window with another five and have done it due to being able to clear more players out, then I will give them their dues, but I just don't think it's going to happen.

 

I quite rate how many Burnley bought in the £3-5mil sort of price range - something I thought we'd have done more of given we supposedly were heavily scouting Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands. So far only one player of that ilk has come in this window (of whom I think has the highest upside of all of our signings for what it's worth).

Burnley clearly did a good job, but i think compared to most teams this season, we've done a decent amount of business - i think we've gone for quality not quantity, and i think we've thought about the long game rather than just getting quick fixes.

[Tanya]

9 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Copying this from another thread because it deserves to be here:

 

Yes and no. The players definitely do a lot of practice of pre-rehearsed routines, though Pep always used to give players specific spaces to attack rather than specific plays like someone like Conte. So that's why we are seeing Ndidi get into lots of good positions, but it's also why we seem him make not quite the right decision - yet. I would say then it's not so much about having a creative midfielder in the sense of Youri's raking through balls, but more having Maddison's presence of mind to keep his cool and make the right decision at the right time in the final third. 

 

Another video is coming out later this week but here are some previews. This was our best move in the match, great patient build up from the defence, with Hermansen showing us exactly why he was signed. Then KDH with a fantastic sliding pass that was Youri-esque, into Ndidi who should have pulled it back for Daka. This helps make part of your argument, KDH is not usually known for passes like this, but in this scenario he *knows* that a player will be attacking that space, so that's where he plays the ball, as fast as possible.

 

 

Here is a more simple example, which was pointed out in my last analysis. We compact play down one side of the pitch, meaning that a diagonal can find our opposite side winger in acres with a 1 on 1 situation. Castagne plays the ball here, another player not really famed for his raking passes, but he knows a player will be attacking that space.

 

 

In both examples, it's the decision-making in the final third that lets us down. McAteer should have pulled it back to KDH for this one.

 

However, in my mind I would be quite glowing about McAteer and Ndidi. Yes they have that last and most important but still to do, but they are consistently making the right runs, at the right times into the right positions across several games. I'd give them a few games to get used to it as they should be able to turn these chances into goals for the team.

 

Col is along the right lines. It's not so much that Ndidi can't pass, but he's not making the right pass at the right time. The pass he has to make isn't that difficult from a technical perspective, but when you are running at full tilt, under pressure and need to make a decision in that moment, can he do it? History would suggest he can't. But we are talking often about making a six yard pass, which anyone, including us on the forum could do!

 

With Ndidi, I think if he plays the way he has been playing, he will do some serious damage in the Championship. He may spurn a lot of opportunities, but he is getting into and making those opportunities. So he could spurn 3 and we still score with him with the goal or assist. If we are having 60-70% possession, this will happen. But we see again from Fabrizio Romano that we want Casadei and it's kind of obvious as to why.

Ndidi also has a tendancy to lose the ball under pressure, which cost us a goal against Liverpool.

Can I just say I really appreciate your even handed and astute posts. I always feel better informed after reading them. 

[leicesterseddon]

On 30/07/2023 at 17:37, Lillehamring said:

I think it's more that it's an entirely different way of playing it out from the back - Strider made the comparison earlier in the thread about how the set up of keeper and defence is totally different under maresca tro under rodgers.

 

I personally thought that, bar a few sloppy passes late on, vestergaard had possibly his best game in a leicester shirt -  i though he protected the ball well and played the long ball at the right time and recirculated the ball well (arguably better than winks, today)

Yes we need wingers, but i thought mcateer looked very bright, especially down the right, hopefully Mavididi can take the left wing spot - which, at least for the time being, could be adequate at this level.

I thought Castagne was the worst player on the field.

Fair enough. It does seem broadly the same to me, but I’m sure there are probably some tactical niceties going over my head! 

 

I do worry about the way he wants to play though, particularly if we don’t start the season well.
 

The whole thing seems to depend on players being high on confidence and presenting themselves for the ball. When that’s not the case it just falls apart, as we saw under Rodgers. 
 

I think fans will have to be patient in the early days.
 

But it’s a two-way street: Maresca has been hired to get us back up ultimately, so he needs to show this is actually going to work with the team we actually have. 

[Lillehamring]

10 hours ago, leicesterseddon said:

Fair enough. It does seem broadly the same to me, but I’m sure there are probably some tactical niceties going over my head! 

 

I do worry about the way he wants to play though, particularly if we don’t start the season well.
 

The whole thing seems to depend on players being high on confidence and presenting themselves for the ball. When that’s not the case it just falls apart, as we saw under Rodgers. 
 

I think fans will have to be patient in the early days.
 

But it’s a two-way street: Maresca has been hired to get us back up ultimately, so he needs to show this is actually going to work with the team we actually have. 

Any and every system will benefit from confidence and suffer from a lack of it.  For me, the key difference is that it does allow for variation - both in how we set up and by having a more direct element as a plan B.