Tactics Under Maresca

[fuchsntf]

On 05/07/2023 at 14:57, StriderHiryu said:

 

Summoning @Steve Earle! The point you make here is something a few coaches are starting to say, which is that formations aren't even a thing anymore, teams actually play a variety of structures and shapes and change between them mid-match. 

 

That said, with Stones, most people call Pep's formation a 3241, so he's a CDM there, not an RB. So you are correct!

That’s why I am always amused,by fans who are bombastic,about players only suitable for this or that position….That ideology went out years ago…& how & where did all these modern tactics come from….From coaches & managers recognising

individual players talent  & potential being utilised elsewhere…

And sometimes on occasions slotting them back into their old positions…

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/five-enzo-maresca-tactics-leicester-8592383

 

Five Enzo Maresca tactics in Leicester City friendly with Harry Winks and Conor Coady crucial
A closer look at how Leicester City played in their 2-1 friendly defeat to Peterborough on Tuesday afternoon, with Ricardo Pereira getting the goal for Maresca's men

ByJordan Blackwell
17:48, 11 JUL 2023
 

A behind-closed-doors exercise against Peterborough on Tuesday provided a first-hand opportunity to see Enzo Maresca’s plans for his Leicester City team. Here’s a closer look at some of the tactics deployed by the Italian manager in the 2-1 defeat at Seagrave.

 

Back to the future with Ricardo role

Rewind 12 months and you may remember Brendan Rodgers’ grand plan for giving City a fresh feel: inverted full-backs. Now, in Maresca’s first outing against opposition, the same tactic was on show.

Lining up in a 4-3-3 when out of possession, right-back Ricardo Pereira would move inside to sit next to Harry Winks in the deep-lying midfield area when City had the ball. The remaining defenders – Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, and Victor Kristiansen – would then stretch out into a back three, with midfielders Dennis Praet and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and wingers Patson Daka and Wanya Marcal-Madivadua providing support to Jamie Vardy.

When it worked, it provided an extra man in the midfield for City to move the ball quickly in triangles, Winks and Ricardo popping first-time passes to each other or into the midfielders. That helped City get out of tight situations and onto the front foot.

It was also a factor in the goal they scored, with Ricardo able to find space in an inside right position, with Peterborough players confused as to who should pick him up. With time to shift the ball inside, he found the bottom corner from 20 yards.

But there were issues, Peterborough’s early goal came when they moved the ball from right to left, finding Kwame Poku in space in the area, with Ricardo caught higher up the pitch. With Vestergaard on the right of the back three, he was the man tasked with managing the space left by Ricardo’s advances, and the Dane didn’t always have the mobility to cover the area.

 

Winks at the heart of City’s play

In 45 minutes it was evident how important Winks would be to City’s play. Operating at the base of the midfield, pretty much every City move went through him.

While he may have Youri Tielemans’ number eight, he is not going to play in the same way. His style is more akin to Papy Mendy, but perhaps with a little more adventure when in possession.

He took the ball to feet regularly and always looked to turn to face up the pitch, spreading the ball left and right. There were some very nice one-touch passes around the corner too.

 

Captain Coady (without the armband)

It will not be a surprise to anybody that followed Coady’s career with Wolves, but he was the loudest man on the pitch in the first half. It may have been Vardy that had the armband, but it was Coady doing the organising, instructing and encouraging.

City did play with a high press and it seemed like it was Coady’s job to give the go-ahead for that. Usually when the ball was played wide to a Peterborough full-back, he would shout up the pitch, telling his team-mates to hunt in packs and try to regain possession.

Plus, Coady provided variety to City’s play. In the moves that didn’t go through Winks, he would loft balls over the top to try to find Praet’s darts into the box.

 

Justin shows another way

The tactic of the first half was tweaked slightly for the second, when all 11 players were changed. Again, City lined up in a 4-3-3 shape, and when in possession, the right-back, this time James Justin, ventured forward. However, he stuck to the touchline, rather than coming inside, with Kasey McAteer drifting infield to get closer to striker Kelechi Iheanacho.

City were more threatening in the second period, in part because McAteer was able to double up with Hamza Choudhury in the press, meaning City more regularly won it back high up the pitch. Interceptions and tackles in the final third helped create plenty of chances, but City’s finishing let them down.

 

Choudhury let loose

If Winks is to be the key player at the base of the midfield, it may seem like there may not be many opportunities for Choudhury, given his profile is very different to the summer signing. With the amount of possession Maresca is planning for City to have, they are not going to need a defensive-minded player in front of the back four.

But where there may be a role for him is further forward. If City want to be more aggressive in their press, then Choudhury’s speed and tenacity may be an asset for them.

 

[420Hashish]

#MarescaOut 

 

0% win percentage unacceptable. 

[StriderHiryu]

Thanks for that @davieG!

 

This kind of system is going to take time to implement and I can see there being quite a few games early doors where we dominate possession but either draw or lose by the odd goal. Our fans hate this style of play so I see Maresca getting a lot of stick when this happens. It’s already happening today!
 

As it stands we are also really lacking wide forwards. Man City and Liverpool have 4 top class wide forwards for a reason. Beating a man is the best way to break defensive blocks and force them to move out of position. But wide players blow hot and cold so you need rotation to do it. 

I’m looking forward to it though. Roll on the weekend!

[kenny]

21 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Thanks for that @davieG!

 

This kind of system is going to take time to implement and I can see there being quite a few games early doors where we dominate possession but either draw or lose by the odd goal. Our fans hate this style of play so I see Maresca getting a lot of stick when this happens. It’s already happening today!
 

As it stands we are also really lacking wide forwards. Man City and Liverpool have 4 top class wide forwards for a reason. Beating a man is the best way to break defensive blocks and force them to move out of position. But wide players blow hot and cold so you need rotation to do it. 

I’m looking forward to it though. Roll on the weekend!

I can see us struggling through the first 10 games and we will hear cries of stop pissing about at the back, and play it over the top.

 

Hopefully it will come good at some point. It's hard to see vestergard getting many more chances to 'cover space' when fullbacks go forward. Sounds like a car crash.

[kingfox]

Extremely interesting to see us go with a back four today, with Doyle on the brink of signing you would have thought a back three would be our go to. If 4-3-3 does end up being our main formation, then a lot of change is still needed.

 

Surely Faes will either be sold or loaned out, hopefully we can get Vestergaard out the door too. That would leave us with Coady, Souttar & Doyle, one more centre back would then be needed.

 

Our midfield still needs a serious revamp if our idea is to play with two 8’s. A starting 8 would be needed, personally I think we’re crying out for someone like Adem Zorgane. A midfield three of Winks - Zorgane - KDH would be perfectly ideal. Hopefully that would lead to Ndidi & Soumare both leaving. That would leave us needing another two midfielders, preferably a back up to Winks as I can’t see Choudhury in that role, then another player as competition for the “8” spots. 
 

With today’s formation, plus links to the likes of Mavididi, 3 maybe 4 wingers depending on Albrighton’s situation would then be needed. 
 

Then if Nacho or Daka end up leaving, then 1 or 2 strikers would also be needed. 
 

So realistically we still need about 10 more signings 

[gurru991]

13 minutes ago, kenny said:

I can see us struggling through the first 10 games and we will hear cries of stop pissing about at the back, and play it over the top.

 

Hopefully it will come good at some point. It's hard to see vestergard getting many more chances to 'cover space' when fullbacks go forward. Sounds like a car crash.

I would imagine that City would listen to any offer that would get Vestergard off the books. 

[kenny]

14 minutes ago, gurru991 said:

I would imagine that City would listen to any offer that would get Vestergard off the books. 

It's like he has been tried in his worst possible position just to double check.

[kingfox]

19 minutes ago, kenny said:

I can see us struggling through the first 10 games and we will hear cries of stop pissing about at the back, and play it over the top.

 

Hopefully it will come good at some point. It's hard to see vestergard getting many more chances to 'cover space' when fullbacks go forward. Sounds like a car crash.

This would give me concern, regardless of Vestergaard’s situation, no way he stays imo.

 

If we go 4-3-3 with the idea of playing our right back as an inverted full back, whether that be Ricardo or Justin, then anytime the RCB has to ‘cover space’ as the shape becomes a back three, lack of pace would be a major problem, as you fully expect Coady or Souttar to be the one to push out as the RCB, I can see many teams targeting that side as a potential weak point. 

[whoareyaaa]

24 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Extremely interesting to see us go with a back four today, with Doyle on the brink of signing you would have thought a back three would be our go to. If 4-3-3 does end up being our main formation, then a lot of change is still needed.

 

Surely Faes will either be sold or loaned out, hopefully we can get Vestergaard out the door too. That would leave us with Coady, Souttar & Doyle, one more centre back would then be needed.

 

Our midfield still needs a serious revamp if our idea is to play with two 8’s. A starting 8 would be needed, personally I think we’re crying out for someone like Adem Zorgane. A midfield three of Winks - Zorgane - KDH would be perfectly ideal. Hopefully that would lead to Ndidi & Soumare both leaving. That would leave us needing another two midfielders, preferably a back up to Winks as I can’t see Choudhury in that role, then another player as competition for the “8” spots. 
 

With today’s formation, plus links to the likes of Mavididi, 3 maybe 4 wingers depending on Albrighton’s situation would then be needed. 
 

Then if Nacho or Daka end up leaving, then 1 or 2 strikers would also be needed. 
 

So realistically we still need about 10 more signings 

I think we will be keeping Faes we are going to need 4 CBs and that's what we have, whether we play a 4 or 3 at the back we are covered.

[StriderHiryu]

3 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Extremely interesting to see us go with a back four today, with Doyle on the brink of signing you would have thought a back three would be our go to. If 4-3-3 does end up being our main formation, then a lot of change is still needed.

 

Surely Faes will either be sold or loaned out, hopefully we can get Vestergaard out the door too. That would leave us with Coady, Souttar & Doyle, one more centre back would then be needed.

 

Our midfield still needs a serious revamp if our idea is to play with two 8’s. A starting 8 would be needed, personally I think we’re crying out for someone like Adem Zorgane. A midfield three of Winks - Zorgane - KDH would be perfectly ideal. Hopefully that would lead to Ndidi & Soumare both leaving. That would leave us needing another two midfielders, preferably a back up to Winks as I can’t see Choudhury in that role, then another player as competition for the “8” spots. 
 

With today’s formation, plus links to the likes of Mavididi, 3 maybe 4 wingers depending on Albrighton’s situation would then be needed. 
 

Then if Nacho or Daka end up leaving, then 1 or 2 strikers would also be needed. 
 

So realistically we still need about 10 more signings 

Great post!

 

I get where you're coming from, but in this Guardiola-like system, aren't 3 at the back and 4 at the back kind of the same thing? 3 at the back when in possession, 4 at the back when out of it, same as Man City. Really it's just the players that matter, we could put three traditional CBs in the back 4, it's just whoever the inverted player is, they happen to play as a CDM when we have the ball. Man City over the years used Zinhcneko, Cancelo, Rico Lewis and John Stones in that role. Though the current version seems to play way more of the game with the Ake / Dias / Akanji back 3 with Stones rarely back, mainly because they have the ball so much.

 

Who would you want in that position? Someone who is technically very good, a great short passer and someone who reads the game extremely well both from an offensive and defensive standpoint. Today it was Ricardo in the 1st half and McAteer (!) in the second. Ricardo makes sense, he's got a great football brain and personally I think Coady could do it as well, but think he will be asked to be more like Ake and Akanji for Man City whose best attributes are also passing and not so much their defensive skills. What I am trying to say is; we shouldn't get so fixated on what position a player is under Maresca, because what they end up doing on the pitch could be very, very different. It's why it takes even top players time to adapt, see Grealish's 1st and 2nd seasons for Man City.

 

 

^ For Man City Stones plays some games starting at RB and moving in, and some games as a traditional CB and moving in.

 

We will need more signings, for me we are lacking players who can beat a man. There's a reason why Pep brought players like Sane, Mahrez, Sterling, Grealish over the years, these players open up holes in the opposition, which their positional superiority from their system exploits. Even if we keep Barnes, he's not the best at beating a man in a tight space, as he needs room to use his pace and power.

 

I think we will see a similar game to the one behind closed doors at the weekend actually! Leicester 75% possession but it ends 0-0.

 

 

 

 

 

[kingfox]

1 minute ago, whoareyaaa said:

I think we will be keeping Faes we are going to need 4 CBs and that's what we have, whether we play a 4 or 3 at the back we are covered.

Can’t see him sticking around as a back up option. 
 

In a two you fully expect the partnership to be Souttar - Coady or Coady - Doyle. 
 

If we go with a three then it already picks itself, Souttar - Coady - Doyle. Justin could easily be a RCB option, Kristiansen potentially a LCB option. 
 

Faes might as well go elsewhere.

[StriderHiryu]

Another good video about John Stones position at Man City. A good short one that explains why he went for Stones and not Kyle Walker, and also showing off some of the games where the tactic didn't work out so well.

 

 

[whoareyaaa]

5 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Can’t see him sticking around as a back up option. 
 

In a two you fully expect the partnership to be Souttar - Coady or Coady - Doyle. 
 

If we go with a three then it already picks itself, Souttar - Coady - Doyle. Justin could easily be a RCB option, Kristiansen potentially a LCB option. 
 

Faes might as well go elsewhere.

I guess it depends on the managers thoughts on Souttar over Faes and if one gets injured then we have an adequate back up

Edited 11 July 2023 by whoareyaaa

[Bluearmyfox28]

33 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Extremely interesting to see us go with a back four today, with Doyle on the brink of signing you would have thought a back three would be our go to. If 4-3-3 does end up being our main formation, then a lot of change is still needed.

 

Surely Faes will either be sold or loaned out, hopefully we can get Vestergaard out the door too. That would leave us with Coady, Souttar & Doyle, one more centre back would then be needed.

 

Our midfield still needs a serious revamp if our idea is to play with two 8’s. A starting 8 would be needed, personally I think we’re crying out for someone like Adem Zorgane. A midfield three of Winks - Zorgane - KDH would be perfectly ideal. Hopefully that would lead to Ndidi & Soumare both leaving. That would leave us needing another two midfielders, preferably a back up to Winks as I can’t see Choudhury in that role, then another player as competition for the “8” spots. 
 

With today’s formation, plus links to the likes of Mavididi, 3 maybe 4 wingers depending on Albrighton’s situation would then be needed. 
 

Then if Nacho or Daka end up leaving, then 1 or 2 strikers would also be needed. 
 

So realistically we still need about 10 more signings 

Personally don’t see neither Faes or Soumare leaving. I wouldn’t look too much into the formation on paper as it will be two completely different formations dependent on the phase of play we are in. 
 

Can the squad looking like:

GK - Steffen, Iversen or Stolarczyk, Smithies.

LB - Thomas, VK.

CB - Coady, Souttar, Faes, Doyle, Nelson.

RB - JJ, Ricardo.

CDM/DLP - Winks, Hamza, Braybooke.

CM - Soumare, KDH, 2x needed.

Wingers - 3x needed, Albrighton, academy lad.

ST - Vards, Daka, Piroe.

 

Including Doyle and Steffen which seem as close as done, I feel we will bring in around 8 more.

 

Hopefully/realistically selling:

Ward, Vesty, Castagne, Barnes, Wilf, Praet and sadly Kel.

[Bluearmyfox28]

38 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Great post!

 

I get where you're coming from, but in this Guardiola-like system, aren't 3 at the back and 4 at the back kind of the same thing? 3 at the back when in possession, 4 at the back when out of it, same as Man City. Really it's just the players that matter, we could put three traditional CBs in the back 4, it's just whoever the inverted player is, they happen to play as a CDM when we have the ball. Man City over the years used Zinhcneko, Cancelo, Rico Lewis and John Stones in that role. Though the current version seems to play way more of the game with the Ake / Dias / Akanji back 3 with Stones rarely back, mainly because they have the ball so much.

 

Who would you want in that position? Someone who is technically very good, a great short passer and someone who reads the game extremely well both from an offensive and defensive standpoint. Today it was Ricardo in the 1st half and McAteer (!) in the second. Ricardo makes sense, he's got a great football brain and personally I think Coady could do it as well, but think he will be asked to be more like Ake and Akanji for Man City whose best attributes are also passing and not so much their defensive skills. What I am trying to say is; we shouldn't get so fixated on what position a player is under Maresca, because what they end up doing on the pitch could be very, very different. It's why it takes even top players time to adapt, see Grealish's 1st and 2nd seasons for Man City.

 

 

^ For Man City Stones plays some games starting at RB and moving in, and some games as a traditional CB and moving in.

 

We will need more signings, for me we are lacking players who can beat a man. There's a reason why Pep brought players like Sane, Mahrez, Sterling, Grealish over the years, these players open up holes in the opposition, which their positional superiority from their system exploits. Even if we keep Barnes, he's not the best at beating a man in a tight space, as he needs room to use his pace and power.

 

I think we will see a similar game to the one behind closed doors at the weekend actually! Leicester 75% possession but it ends 0-0.

 

 

 

 

 

100% huge emphasis on getting the creative players right whether that’ll be from the number 8’s or wingers.

 

If the recruitment in these area’s is poor, I can see Enzo being out of a job come Christmas. 

[whoareyaaa]

                  Daka/Vardy  Nacho
            
                    KDH         Winks
Kristensen         Nididi              Ricardo

 

           Doyle   Coady    Faes
 
            Iversen/Steffan

[Clever Fox]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/five-enzo-maresca-tactics-leicester-8592383

 

Five Enzo Maresca tactics in Leicester City friendly with Harry Winks and Conor Coady crucial
A closer look at how Leicester City played in their 2-1 friendly defeat to Peterborough on Tuesday afternoon, with Ricardo Pereira getting the goal for Maresca's men

ByJordan Blackwell
17:48, 11 JUL 2023
 

A behind-closed-doors exercise against Peterborough on Tuesday provided a first-hand opportunity to see Enzo Maresca’s plans for his Leicester City team. Here’s a closer look at some of the tactics deployed by the Italian manager in the 2-1 defeat at Seagrave.

 

Back to the future with Ricardo role

Rewind 12 months and you may remember Brendan Rodgers’ grand plan for giving City a fresh feel: inverted full-backs. Now, in Maresca’s first outing against opposition, the same tactic was on show.

Lining up in a 4-3-3 when out of possession, right-back Ricardo Pereira would move inside to sit next to Harry Winks in the deep-lying midfield area when City had the ball. The remaining defenders – Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, and Victor Kristiansen – would then stretch out into a back three, with midfielders Dennis Praet and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and wingers Patson Daka and Wanya Marcal-Madivadua providing support to Jamie Vardy.

When it worked, it provided an extra man in the midfield for City to move the ball quickly in triangles, Winks and Ricardo popping first-time passes to each other or into the midfielders. That helped City get out of tight situations and onto the front foot.

It was also a factor in the goal they scored, with Ricardo able to find space in an inside right position, with Peterborough players confused as to who should pick him up. With time to shift the ball inside, he found the bottom corner from 20 yards.

But there were issues, Peterborough’s early goal came when they moved the ball from right to left, finding Kwame Poku in space in the area, with Ricardo caught higher up the pitch. With Vestergaard on the right of the back three, he was the man tasked with managing the space left by Ricardo’s advances, and the Dane didn’t always have the mobility to cover the area.

 

Winks at the heart of City’s play

In 45 minutes it was evident how important Winks would be to City’s play. Operating at the base of the midfield, pretty much every City move went through him.

While he may have Youri Tielemans’ number eight, he is not going to play in the same way. His style is more akin to Papy Mendy, but perhaps with a little more adventure when in possession.

He took the ball to feet regularly and always looked to turn to face up the pitch, spreading the ball left and right. There were some very nice one-touch passes around the corner too.

 

Captain Coady (without the armband)

It will not be a surprise to anybody that followed Coady’s career with Wolves, but he was the loudest man on the pitch in the first half. It may have been Vardy that had the armband, but it was Coady doing the organising, instructing and encouraging.

City did play with a high press and it seemed like it was Coady’s job to give the go-ahead for that. Usually when the ball was played wide to a Peterborough full-back, he would shout up the pitch, telling his team-mates to hunt in packs and try to regain possession.

Plus, Coady provided variety to City’s play. In the moves that didn’t go through Winks, he would loft balls over the top to try to find Praet’s darts into the box.

 

Justin shows another way

The tactic of the first half was tweaked slightly for the second, when all 11 players were changed. Again, City lined up in a 4-3-3 shape, and when in possession, the right-back, this time James Justin, ventured forward. However, he stuck to the touchline, rather than coming inside, with Kasey McAteer drifting infield to get closer to striker Kelechi Iheanacho.

City were more threatening in the second period, in part because McAteer was able to double up with Hamza Choudhury in the press, meaning City more regularly won it back high up the pitch. Interceptions and tackles in the final third helped create plenty of chances, but City’s finishing let them down.

 

Choudhury let loose

If Winks is to be the key player at the base of the midfield, it may seem like there may not be many opportunities for Choudhury, given his profile is very different to the summer signing. With the amount of possession Maresca is planning for City to have, they are not going to need a defensive-minded player in front of the back four.

But where there may be a role for him is further forward. If City want to be more aggressive in their press, then Choudhury’s speed and tenacity may be an asset for them.

 

I've seen Hamza play many times for the Dev squad a few years back. He's at his best hunting down the Ball and winning tackles high up the pitch.

I've advocated that BR should have used him in the same way instead of trying to stop teams on our Penalty area where there's no margin for error.

While he's not the long term answer, He could certain provide us time while Enzo drills his idea's into the Squad.

 

[Bluearmyfox28]

Out of curiosity how would everyone rank our current strikers under Maresca’s style of play?

 

1) Kel

2) Daka

3) Vards

 

No shade on Vards just think with the potential space that’ll be left open I’m banking on seeing the Daka we all got excited for.

[LinekersLugs]

I have a game plan …. Just win games …. 
 

top won’t be gun shy this time if the fella is a busted flush by November 

[filbertway]

5 minutes ago, LinekersLugs said:

I have a game plan …. Just win games …. 
 

top won’t be gun shy this time if the fella is a busted flush by November 

He let the last manager bring the club to its knees. Im pretty sure Enzo will get time 

[kingfox]

2 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

Great post!

 

I get where you're coming from, but in this Guardiola-like system, aren't 3 at the back and 4 at the back kind of the same thing? 3 at the back when in possession, 4 at the back when out of it, same as Man City. Really it's just the players that matter, we could put three traditional CBs in the back 4, it's just whoever the inverted player is, they happen to play as a CDM when we have the ball. Man City over the years used Zinhcneko, Cancelo, Rico Lewis and John Stones in that role. Though the current version seems to play way more of the game with the Ake / Dias / Akanji back 3 with Stones rarely back, mainly because they have the ball so much.

 

Who would you want in that position? Someone who is technically very good, a great short passer and someone who reads the game extremely well both from an offensive and defensive standpoint. Today it was Ricardo in the 1st half and McAteer (!) in the second. Ricardo makes sense, he's got a great football brain and personally I think Coady could do it as well, but think he will be asked to be more like Ake and Akanji for Man City whose best attributes are also passing and not so much their defensive skills. What I am trying to say is; we shouldn't get so fixated on what position a player is under Maresca, because what they end up doing on the pitch could be very, very different. It's why it takes even top players time to adapt, see Grealish's 1st and 2nd seasons for Man City.

 

 

^ For Man City Stones plays some games starting at RB and moving in, and some games as a traditional CB and moving in.

 

We will need more signings, for me we are lacking players who can beat a man. There's a reason why Pep brought players like Sane, Mahrez, Sterling, Grealish over the years, these players open up holes in the opposition, which their positional superiority from their system exploits. Even if we keep Barnes, he's not the best at beating a man in a tight space, as he needs room to use his pace and power.

 

I think we will see a similar game to the one behind closed doors at the weekend actually! Leicester 75% possession but it ends 0-0.

 

 

 

 

 

Will all depend on personnel but from the Mercury article, it’s very easy to single out these points...

 

Lining up in a 4-3-3 when out of possession, right-back Ricardo Pereira would move inside to sit next to Harry Winks in the deep-lying midfield area when City had the ball. The remaining defenders – Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, and Victor Kristiansen – would then stretch out into a back three.

 

But there were issues, Peterborough’s early goal came when they moved the ball from right to left, finding Kwame Poku in space in the area, with Ricardo caught higher up the pitch. With Vestergaard on the right of the back three, he was the man tasked with managing the space left by Ricardo’s advances, and the Dane didn’t always have the mobility to cover the area.

 

Now it’s going to be extremely unlikely that Vestergaard sticks around; however if this is an intended tactic moving forward, depending on the personnel, you would fully expect one of Souttar or Coady to stretch out as the RCB, leaving the same case as seen with Vestergaard today, with a lack of pace on the right side of defence becoming an issue. Wolves fans on here have stated that Coady can struggle when up against pace, Souttar is more mobile but he certainly isn’t the quickest of centre backs. Very much like Poku’s goal today, if this ends up being an intended tactic in the Championship, I can see a lot of teams targeting our right side as a potential weakness. 
 

With Man City they have the luxury of being able to play with four centre half’s in a back four, Stones & Ake are very much comfortable in the RB & LB positions, as they’ve had history of playing there earlier in their careers. They’ve just tweaked Stones’ role slightly by using him as the inverted player in some games. 
 

Personally I can’t see us going with three or four CB’s in a back four, unless you do end up being right and Maresca uses Doyle as a LB, with him coming in as the LCB when the tactic switches, that would then still leave Souttar or Coady pushing out as the RCB as Ricardo or Justin are adopted as the inverted player. 
 

Personally I would rather our inverted player come from the left hand side, as you said McAteer adopted that position in the second half, but could you see Kristiansen or Thomas adopting that role? Unfortunately I can’t see it, meaning a new signing would need to be made. Also if the inverted player was to be our Left-Back, the remaining defenders to then stretch out in a back three could be Justin/Ricardo - Coady - Doyle. I’d be far more comfortable seeing that, as it has more natural balance to it.

 

Very intrigued to see if what we saw today, becomes regular tactics going forward. I think many on this forum, myself included, expected to see what he started out at Parma with, that being a 3-4-1-2. 
 

If 4-3-3 is our direction though, then as I stated in my other post, a lot of changes are still needed, depth in midfield and on the wings is going to be extremely important. 

[StriderHiryu]

Loving your posts @kingfox!

[blaaklint]

43 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Will all depend on personnel but from the Mercury article, it’s very easy to single out these points...

 

Lining up in a 4-3-3 when out of possession, right-back Ricardo Pereira would move inside to sit next to Harry Winks in the deep-lying midfield area when City had the ball. The remaining defenders – Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, and Victor Kristiansen – would then stretch out into a back three.

 

But there were issues, Peterborough’s early goal came when they moved the ball from right to left, finding Kwame Poku in space in the area, with Ricardo caught higher up the pitch. With Vestergaard on the right of the back three, he was the man tasked with managing the space left by Ricardo’s advances, and the Dane didn’t always have the mobility to cover the area.

 

Now it’s going to be extremely unlikely that Vestergaard sticks around; however if this is an intended tactic moving forward, depending on the personnel, you would fully expect one of Souttar or Coady to stretch out as the RCB, leaving the same case as seen with Vestergaard today, with a lack of pace on the right side of defence becoming an issue. Wolves fans on here have stated that Coady can struggle when up against pace, Souttar is more mobile but he certainly isn’t the quickest of centre backs. Very much like Poku’s goal today, if this ends up being an intended tactic in the Championship, I can see a lot of teams targeting our right side as a potential weakness. 
 

With Man City they have the luxury of being able to play with four centre half’s in a back four, Stones & Ake are very much comfortable in the RB & LB positions, as they’ve had history of playing there earlier in their careers. They’ve just tweaked Stones’ role slightly by using him as the inverted player in some games. 
 

Personally I can’t see us going with three or four CB’s in a back four, unless you do end up being right and Maresca uses Doyle as a LB, with him coming in as the LCB when the tactic switches, that would then still leave Souttar or Coady pushing out as the RCB as Ricardo or Justin are adopted as the inverted player. 
 

Personally I would rather our inverted player come from the left hand side, as you said McAteer adopted that position in the second half, but could you see Kristiansen or Thomas adopting that role? Unfortunately I can’t see it, meaning a new signing would need to be made. Also if the inverted player was to be our Left-Back, the remaining defenders to then stretch out in a back three could be Justin/Ricardo - Coady - Doyle. I’d be far more comfortable seeing that, as it has more natural balance to it.

 

Very intrigued to see if what we saw today, becomes regular tactics going forward. I think many on this forum, myself included, expected to see what he started out at Parma with, that being a 3-4-1-2. 
 

If 4-3-3 is our direction though, then as I stated in my other post, a lot of changes are still needed, depth in midfield and on the wings is going to be extremely important. 

Justin makes most sense as the right centre-back surely. I also think Thomas could probably play the inverted role if push comes to shove - though obviously Maresca would prefer Ricardo.

 

Also by the sounds of it, Hamza is likely to end up fighting for the number 8 spot rather than DM. IMO that makes more sense, because he's at his best when he just presses and doesn't have to worry so much about the positional side of the game.

[Bluearmyfox28]

56 minutes ago, kingfox said:

Will all depend on personnel but from the Mercury article, it’s very easy to single out these points...

 

Lining up in a 4-3-3 when out of possession, right-back Ricardo Pereira would move inside to sit next to Harry Winks in the deep-lying midfield area when City had the ball. The remaining defenders – Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady, and Victor Kristiansen – would then stretch out into a back three.

 

But there were issues, Peterborough’s early goal came when they moved the ball from right to left, finding Kwame Poku in space in the area, with Ricardo caught higher up the pitch. With Vestergaard on the right of the back three, he was the man tasked with managing the space left by Ricardo’s advances, and the Dane didn’t always have the mobility to cover the area.

 

Now it’s going to be extremely unlikely that Vestergaard sticks around; however if this is an intended tactic moving forward, depending on the personnel, you would fully expect one of Souttar or Coady to stretch out as the RCB, leaving the same case as seen with Vestergaard today, with a lack of pace on the right side of defence becoming an issue. Wolves fans on here have stated that Coady can struggle when up against pace, Souttar is more mobile but he certainly isn’t the quickest of centre backs. Very much like Poku’s goal today, if this ends up being an intended tactic in the Championship, I can see a lot of teams targeting our right side as a potential weakness. 
 

With Man City they have the luxury of being able to play with four centre half’s in a back four, Stones & Ake are very much comfortable in the RB & LB positions, as they’ve had history of playing there earlier in their careers. They’ve just tweaked Stones’ role slightly by using him as the inverted player in some games. 
 

Personally I can’t see us going with three or four CB’s in a back four, unless you do end up being right and Maresca uses Doyle as a LB, with him coming in as the LCB when the tactic switches, that would then still leave Souttar or Coady pushing out as the RCB as Ricardo or Justin are adopted as the inverted player. 
 

Personally I would rather our inverted player come from the left hand side, as you said McAteer adopted that position in the second half, but could you see Kristiansen or Thomas adopting that role? Unfortunately I can’t see it, meaning a new signing would need to be made. Also if the inverted player was to be our Left-Back, the remaining defenders to then stretch out in a back three could be Justin/Ricardo - Coady - Doyle. I’d be far more comfortable seeing that, as it has more natural balance to it.

 

Very intrigued to see if what we saw today, becomes regular tactics going forward. I think many on this forum, myself included, expected to see what he started out at Parma with, that being a 3-4-1-2. 
 

If 4-3-3 is our direction though, then as I stated in my other post, a lot of changes are still needed, depth in midfield and on the wings is going to be extremely important. 

I do feel eventually JJ will be deployed as the RCB seemed comfortable there previously and gives the back 3 that desired pace.