Tactics Under Maresca

[Lillehamring]

46 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

 

Really positive article, feels weird saying that. Sounds like we've been doing a shit tonne of work on the training pitch. 

 

Cynic in me thinks all these come from the murmurs from us being under prepped etc. 

There isn't much substance to the 'undercooked' theory - most of it seemed to come following the cancelled spurs game.  The reality is they were doing double training sessions, and most of the team got 90 minutes against liverpool, with all but doyle playing 70+ minutes.

 

Whatever happens, i don't think fitness should be a major concern.

[Pliskin]

40 minutes ago, davieG said:

Random

 

Willy has the legs of a 90 year old. Scary. 

[LinekersLugs]

3 hours ago, UniFox21 said:

 

Really positive article, feels weird saying that. Sounds like we've been doing a shit tonne of work on the training pitch. 

 

Cynic in me thinks all these come from the murmurs from us being under prepped etc. 

read it again and know this 

 

the journalist thinks Enzo is captain Manering

 

that will give you a 100% different slant on the article

 

 

 

 

[LinekersLugs]

2 hours ago, Lillehamring said:

There isn't much substance to the 'undercooked' theory - most of it seemed to come following the cancelled spurs game.  The reality is they were doing double training sessions, and most of the team got 90 minutes against liverpool, with all but doyle playing 70+ minutes.

 

Whatever happens, i don't think fitness should be a major concern.

I can get a horse fit … but if he doesn’t want to race his fitness is pointless 

[UniFox21]

3 minutes ago, LinekersLugs said:

read it again and know this 

 

the journalist thinks Enzo is captain Manering

 

that will give you a 100% different slant on the article

 

 

 

 

Is the journalist Pike or the Warden 

 

 

But I'm assuming Collomose thinks Enzo is just another Pep wannabe and assumes he'll fail..

[Gazza M]

Talking of tactics, Rodgers appears to have changed none of his philosophy watching a re-run of Celtics match now. 

Death by football bla bla yadda yadda.

[LinekersLugs]

25 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Is the journalist Pike or the Warden 

 

 

But I'm assuming Collomose thinks Enzo is just another Pep wannabe and assumes he'll fail..

Correct 

[Lillehamring]

33 minutes ago, LinekersLugs said:

I can get a horse fit … but if he doesn’t want to race his fitness is pointless 

Sure, but we're talking about whether the horse is fit or not, not what the horse's inclinations are?

[MPH]

3 hours ago, Pliskin said:

Willy has the legs of a 90 year old. Scary. 

 

looks like he has blockages in his GSV and SSV..

[sacreblueits442]

7 hours ago, Lillehamring said:

I assume that you say this with a certain degree of insight. In which case, what interests me is, if this is known within the sport, how are we still able to attract Maresca - or do you think he is here in spite of this alleged 'virus'?

...just imagine if the virus was Rudkin, Maresca would perceive that it would not be difficult to quarantine and isolate the problem!!!

Over a period of time, he could believe he would eradicate and bring the patient back to good health

[fuchsntf]

I actually didn’t like Enzo last interview.. It seemed he was elsewhere and not want to be forthcoming or even friendly with people asking the questions , 

 

This had nothing to do with his English..that seems more than adequate. For the official Friday talk it seemed disjointed and

somewhat unprepared…Even tired or jet lagged…

 

It even seemed he was taken back by the Souttar question..I don’t even think he concentrated and blurted something out that just didn’t fit..He seems he has some apathy towards the  squad and possible moves,for wished remainers are not being sorted quick enough..

Now I am surmising so nobody should make anything of it..He just seemed that he had come out of someone’s office and had not an agreeable debate that gave him anything to be happy about…Maybe the Coady result and nothing more to say probably pissed him off  from orders that he wasn’t  allowed  to give more away. Not being straight with press & fans on the last big interview before the W,E games…just didn’t sit right for me…

 Maybe I was well off track..Probably I had myself hung on the drip too long…

 

we had seen for us dumb fans 2-3 classy interviews…Then when it first mattered,little clarity  & a smooth collections of interviews that  seemed also to piss him off..I thought he was going to stand up & leave..

 

Edited 6 August 2023 by fuchsntf

[Leeds Fox]

One of the lads I play football with is a physio at Man City. 
 

He says that emphasis is having full backs who are able to play inside (joining CMs) is absolutely integral to them being successful, which I know is covered in the media a lot. 
 

Luckily for us, we have some quality at full back and it should be enough to see Maresca’s plan come to fruition. 

[shen]

49 minutes ago, Leeds Fox said:

One of the lads I play football with is a physio at Man City. 
 

He says that emphasis is having full backs who are able to play inside (joining CMs) is absolutely integral to them being successful, which I know is covered in the media a lot. 
 

Luckily for us, we have some quality at full back and it should be enough to see Maresca’s plan come to fruition. 

We have injury-prone Ricardo. If (or rather when) Castagne leaves, we have Thomas, Kristiansen and Justin as backup. None are particularly renowned for their passing or frankly their positional sense either.

Not counting Doyle here although maybe you could.

I might be proven wrong, but I don't think were THAT strong in the inverted fullback position.

[Leeds Fox]

30 minutes ago, shen said:

We have injury-prone Ricardo. If (or rather when) Castagne leaves, we have Thomas, Kristiansen and Justin as backup. None are particularly renowned for their passing or frankly their positional sense either.

Not counting Doyle here although maybe you could.

I might be proven wrong, but I don't think were THAT strong in the inverted fullback position.

I was using our current options to be fair but agreed, that assumes Ricardo is fit (big if) and Castagne stays. 
 

Justin if fit could be the one who holds his position or just plays up and down the flank (similar to Walker), and the others do have the fitness to allow them to play a position that requires serious fitness to be able to get in and out of each position and remain effective.

 

Essentially, the lad who was talking about it seems to think it’s a tactic that is more effective due to the overload and extra passing option in a certain area rather than bringing a great passer into play, obviously Man City do have the talent to be able to provide both the fitness and technical ability into that area.

[Steve Earle]

Well that was interesting. Could just as easily have lost 3 or 4. Thankfully Cov couldn’t finish.

 

A promising start to the Maresca era though, with lots more still to work on. Our 3241 in possession was widely advertised, so Cov’s 523 out of possession made perfect sense for them: they could man mark our back 3 and Ricardo & Winks. But Hermansen joining in the play always gave us a 6-5 advantage and meant that usually we broke through the press effectively.

In theory that left 5 playing 5: our 4 plus the striker against their back 5. What I thought worked well in the first half was seeing Winks or Ricardo break through the lines instead of laying off to one of the 8s - that then gave us another 6-5 numerical advantage! Sadly we didn’t capitalise on that because our 8s weren’t creative enough and our wingers offered nothing.

 

After weathering the Cov storm for 20-25 mins in the second half, Praet’s introduction changed the game in our favour. Wilf had done surprisingly well as a box to box midfielder but lacks creativity & control. We resumed domination of the ball - not without giving chances away - and class eventually told.

 

In the last 20-25 KDH (poor in the first 45) & Madvidi (poor for the first 70) sparkled, as did Praet. Thought Winks was superb, even with the odd mistake. He looks the real deal in the ‘bumper’ role.

 

Just need upgrades on Vesty (Coady can’t come back too soon, tho Vesty wasn’t poor today), Wilf/Praet & McAteer now. And I’d like JJ to find a way into that back three for added pace and one to one ability. But all things considered a decent start.

 

Onwards & upwards! 🦊💙

[Lillehamring]

A lot of criticism about the period where we seemed to forget what Maresca had asked for, and focusing on the slowness of our back three, but i feel like Maresca is ok with that lack of pace (why recruit Coady, otherwise) - here's what isuggested in the post-match - thoughts?

 

Quote

 

I mentioned this elsewhere, but i'd be inclined to argue that they weren't caught OUT of position, but that they were caught IN position.  The way we play means that the back 3 are playing very high, that's the way it works - knowing this, it's the responsibility of the forwards and midfielders to protect the ball better and if we lose it, to recover the ball better - if they don't do that, no defender, even the super fast stand much chance, you don't want to have to defend running back towards your own goal - and this is what was happening, giving coventry the opportunities to hit those acres of space - much like we did against liverpool (for a bit).  

 

What maresca will need to do is to improve that element so we don't put our slow backline in these positions.  It worked for 45 minutes, so it can work for 90..

 

 

[StriderHiryu]

Well that result was never in doubt was it!

Here's what the manager himself had to say:
 

 

Tactical Setup

 

No real surprises from either team, we played 433 shifting into 3241, and Coventry their 532 which shifts into a 541 off the ball. Coventry didn't play some of their new signings from the start with Wright, Sakamoto and van Ewijk all coming on as substitutes and relying on his tried and trusted players instead, with Simms the like for like replacement for the departing Viktor Gyokeres.

 

For Leicester, it was Ndidi who started in midfield as I predicted he would, witht he surprise being that Kasey McAteer played as the right forward with debutant Mavididi playing left forward instead.

 

First Half

 

Leicester got on top early and ruthlessly maintained control of the game. Coventry at times went long into midfield direct from goal, but they turned over the ball way too often because of this, with Ndidi playing a part by hunting the ball down and breaking it up. To give them credit, they switched to playing out from the back, but never really got a foothold in the game. Their star man Gustavo Hamer IMO was really poor in the first half, losing the ball a lot and getting harried off the ball. We had a ton of possession (70% in that first half would not surprise me), but we didn't do enough with that possession / control. Winks and Ricardo were running the show, but KDH too often played a bad pass forward or made the wrong choice, with Ndidi also being culpable here. I also felt that Mavididi and McAteer in the first half were a bit tentative in terms of trying to take their man on, with Eccles pocketing Mavididi pretty well. That said, right at the end of the half McAteer had a fantastic chance on goal and though he tested the keeper, I felt he should have struck it across the face of goal rather than straight down the throat of the keeper. In the video above Maresca was glowing about the first half, and I guess that's because although we didn't make too many chances, we were pretty dominant.

 

Second Half

 

Leicester made a terrible start to this half, which really upset me and I can only assume, the manager, too! We had kick off but gave the ball away almost immediately. Hermansen ends up playing the ball long, but this leads to Coventry winning the ball and Simms having an opportunity that would have been buried by a Premier League team. Then we decide to go long again, end up losing it easily again, and this leads to the corner and first goal. I was surprised Hemansen played it long twice, because all of our best moves came from playing out from the back. Maybe, maybe, we were told to go long a bit more often because we were winning the aerial duels in midfield so we thought we could exploit it, but it didn't work.

 

The goal changed the game completely, with Hamer going from invisible to being pivotal, speeding up the play from Coventry who looked to exploit the gaps in the back 3 as fast as possible on the turnover. For 15 minutes they totally battered us, and it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon. Hermansen saved our bacon multiple times in this half! After conceding I think certain players tried to force things too quickly, Faes going into headless chicken mode and it made the game super stretched and open.

 

The game changed again for me as a result of changes from both sides. Mark Robbins made a triple sub to freshen up his team, but he took of Hamer who was in the ascendancy and more importantly, Eccles. Praet came on for Ndidi and in general we started taking a lot more risks. Mavididi had the beating of van Ewijk and a great body roll put him free, to find Praet, who provided the quality Ndidi could not and found KDH with a great late run. The deep runs from our attacking mids is key to the Maresca system and this dynamic play I feel could take KDH to another level and more than just a shuttler.

 

The game remained stretched for the remainder of the game, Hermansen pulling off a world class save from Wright to keep it at 1-1, before the increasingly confident Mavididi played a one-two with KDH who buried it with a class strike. Iheanacho came on at this point and was way, way more effective than Vardy, holding up the ball and linking the play a lot better. In fact, I would say the team worked a lot better with Praet and Nacho on the pitch.

 

Right at the end we put on Hamza for McAteer, with Ricardo going to the wing, and us trying to see the game out, which fortunately we did!

 

Overall Thoughts

 

This was a really entertaining game, probably the most entertaining one I have been to since that Villa win last season. Our back to front play was really good in the first half, but we need more synergy between the front 5. Mavididi has only just arrived and another winger on the other side would transform the team. McAteer wasn't bad, but players in those positions have to be willing to take on their man at times, even if they lose it. As Mavididi got more confident, it forced Coventry back and they had to commit more men to stop him, making more space for everyone else.

 

Our defence was a big question mark, namely the lack of pace at the back. I think this is something teams will look to exploit because it's a clear weakness and something that concerns me. Even if Coady was playing, the issue would still be there as none of Doyle, Faes, Vestergaard, Souttar or Coady are quick. Imagine Soyuncu or Fofana in the same system? Well it's something we will never see. I did see someone namecheck James Justin and honestly that's not the worst idea in the world to me.

 

Overall I think we were very lucky to win this game. Coventry will feel hard done by the draw as they could easily have won it. That said, there chances by and large came from self-inflicted mistakes rather than cutting us open. I do think they deserve a lot of credit though, in the first half I thought they were poor and thought "if that's the best this division has to offer, we will coast it" but in the second they put us through the ringer. They used their physicality to bully us off the ball at times and started managing to rob the ball from Winks and Ricardo to spring the counter attack. And that remains the blue print to beat us, have someone fast up top, gamble and win the ball back from our pseudo double pivot and find that player ASAP.

 

However, all that said, this is a learning process. All of the things I have pointed out throughout this thread were there to see today, and I got to see it in the flesh. I was most impressed by the Winks / Ricardo combination. These two work very well together and Harry Winks could have been MOTM if it wasn't for KDH's goals. KDH also deserves a special mention. For years I have wanted to see one of our midfielders grab the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate proceedings. After scoring he was a man possesed and could have ended up with a hat-trick. Many people have predicted him to be the Championship POTS and on just a 30 minute hot streak, it's easy to see why.

 

Onto the next one, that was a fun one!

 

[Arriba Los Zorros]

1 hour ago, Steve Earle said:

Well that was interesting. Could just as easily have lost 3 or 4. Thankfully Cov couldn’t finish.

 

A promising start to the Maresca era though, with lots more still to work on. Our 3241 in possession was widely advertised, so Cov’s 523 out of possession made perfect sense for them: they could man mark our back 3 and Ricardo & Winks. But Hermansen joining in the play always gave us a 6-5 advantage and meant that usually we broke through the press effectively.

In theory that left 5 playing 5: our 4 plus the striker against their back 5. What I thought worked well in the first half was seeing Winks or Ricardo break through the lines instead of laying off to one of the 8s - that then gave us another 6-5 numerical advantage! Sadly we didn’t capitalise on that because our 8s weren’t creative enough and our wingers offered nothing.

 

After weathering the Cov storm for 20-25 mins in the second half, Praet’s introduction changed the game in our favour. Wilf had done surprisingly well as a box to box midfielder but lacks creativity & control. We resumed domination of the ball - not without giving chances away - and class eventually told.

 

In the last 20-25 KDH (poor in the first 45) & Madvidi (poor for the first 70) sparkled, as did Praet. Thought Winks was superb, even with the odd mistake. He looks the real deal in the ‘bumper’ role.

 

Just need upgrades on Vesty (Coady can’t come back too soon, tho Vesty wasn’t poor today), Wilf/Praet & McAteer now. And I’d like JJ to find a way into that back three for added pace and one to one ability. But all things considered a decent start.

 

Onwards & upwards! 🦊💙

Good analysis this thought I was reading a post by @StriderHiryuthank you

[Tielemans63]

 

Interesting that, while the constant passing can be a bit frustrating to watch at times, Robins felt it took it out of his team physically. Seems he hadn't planned to take off Hamer and Palmer but they were both knackered. Well done Enzo.

Edited 6 August 2023 by Tielemans63

[Lambert09]

The six: 

 

Wilf 

Vestergarde 

ricardo 

praet 

nacho 

faes

 

Anyone else that makes more sense? 

[LFox99]

18 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Our defence was a big question mark, namely the lack of pace at the back. I think this is something teams will look to exploit because it's a clear weakness and something that concerns me. Even if Coady was playing, the issue would still be there as none of Doyle, Faes, Vestergaard, Souttar or Coady are quick. Imagine Soyuncu or Fofana in the same system? Well it's something we will never see. I did see someone namecheck James Justin and honestly that's not the worst idea in the world to me.

Or could we "relegate" Doyle to play as an actual CB and put Kristiansen in the role of LCB? He's got the frame for it, he's quick, he can defend.

Also wouldn't be against using JJ as right winger/ RM

[Steve Earle]

18 minutes ago, Arriba Los Zorros said:

Good analysis this thought I was reading a post by @StriderHiryuthank you

Far too generous, but thank you!

[BenTheFox]

One thing that pops out to me is that when we are playing the ball into midfield from defence, we are passing the ball into an area for players to make a run into rather than passing it to feet. These moves are obviously planned. There is much more emphasis on off the ball movement in the middle third. It's as though it's a choreographed set piece move. 

[StriderHiryu]

9 minutes ago, LFox99 said:

Or could we "relegate" Doyle to play as an actual CB and put Kristiansen in the role of LCB? He's got the frame for it, he's quick, he can defend.

Also wouldn't be against using JJ as right winger/ RM

Yeah I was thinking about that too. It could definitely be done, but Doyle didn't look that quick to me either. He was the best of the 3 CBs though, and he made some nice progressive passes to Mavididi in the second half. Actually, seeing how they combined after just a few days was quite exciting. Definitely a possibility though!

 

I think people in the match thread were being a bit over critical of Vestergaard. If he had never played for us before and that was his debut, he'd probably be considered OK. But it doesn't change the fact that his weakness is that faster players will put him on toast and the way we play makes that a big possibility. In the Championship maybe it doesn't matter as much, but unless someone back there has pace, it strikes me as being a limitation to the way we play. @Lillehamring makes a good point though, which is that it's not entirely on him if the turnover happens further up the pitch and it's played behind him. The press is supposed to win the ball back fast to stop things like that happening.

 

Did you notice how much harder players are going in for tackles? That's deliberate because the idea is to win the ball back, not just defend. And also if we commit a foul it's sometimes not the worst thing as it gives us time to get back into shape.

[Pliskin]

What I love, is he’s cultured, and wears a tracksuit. ****ing don.