Tactics Under Maresca

[Foxoffice]

Playing Puel tactics, with a superior squad, in a reallly poor league with no plan B is a hard watch!

[It'sblueupnorth]

38 minutes ago, Blanchflower78 said:

We get lucky far too often. Promotion would kill us.

You think today was a lucky result?

[Lesta2014]

No international breaks until March now. Uninterrupted time together, we have 3/4 months to really gel and take it up a level now. Hopefully we see us getting early goals as one improvement! 

[Blanchflower78]

Just now, It'sblueupnorth said:

You think today was a lucky result?

I think it was incredibly hard work against a very very poor side. 

It was anything but enjoyable and is reminiscent of many games this year.

 

We're you on the edge of your seat? 

[It'sblueupnorth]

13 minutes ago, Blanchflower78 said:

I think it was incredibly hard work against a very very poor side. 

It was anything but enjoyable and is reminiscent of many games this year.

 

We're you on the edge of your seat? 

What does being on the edge of my seat have to do with anything? We battered them, nothing lucky about it. If anything we were unlucky not to win by a far bigger margin

[Blanchflower78]

1 minute ago, It'sblueupnorth said:

What does being on the edge of my seat have to do with anything? We battered them, nothing lucky about it. If anything we were unlucky not to win by a far bigger margin

Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[davieG]

As much as I’m ok with this approach the first half had nothing enjoyable about it we were awful, lacking any sort of coordinated play, intensity and very little to bring a smile to your face or get you out of your seat. An absolute yawn fest.

 

[CloudFox]

2 hours ago, Kierzz said:

Was definitely a tweak in the formation and strategy today. Justin played a lot higher up which suited his game more (would like to see his average position) and provided another outlet for the early ball we rarely play.

 

Also hermanson stepped in to CB with Vesty for the build up and Faes pushed to right back.

Ask nicely, and thou shalt receive! 😉

 

 

Basically, you're bang on about him being higher up the pitch today. Definitely plays to his strengths.

[Lillehamring]

3 hours ago, jv1 said:

This is absolutely the thing - last season was an abomination and we had a squad of absolute charlatans and rodgers was the most untrustworthy horrible man iv ever had to see - the biggest and best thing about this season is we have managed to absolutely banish all of that - Enzo needs massive congrats for that - the performances are decent if not remarkable- it’s a very interesting way to play - we are absolutely 💯 sound in this league and we will win it comfortably - take the bloody positives- will it work next year - who cares right now - enjoy the hours and the days and the weeks - it’s absolutely lovely at the minute and he is doing a superb job to pick a completely wrecked fan base off our bums and make us winners again - it will always be about levels but it’s also so much about enjoying it as fans and if your not enjoying this your bonkers - screw next year - screw last year - let’s enjoy this one - up the foxes 🦊 

And yet, read the match day/post match threads and people aren't enjoying it!  God knows what they expect or dream of but, as you say, compared to what we witnessed last year, this is just wonderful.  I can't remember the last time i was this relaxed watching us play.

[Lillehamring]

2 hours ago, Blanchflower78 said:

We get lucky far too often. Promotion would kill us.

Jesus - can't you at least leave your misanthropy in the post-match thread? Do you really need to drag it into a tactics thread, with out even bothering to explain your negativity from a tactical perspective?

[Lillehamring]

53 minutes ago, davieG said:

As much as I’m ok with this approach the first half had nothing enjoyable about it we were awful, lacking any sort of coordinated play, intensity and very little to bring a smile to your face or get you out of your seat. An absolute yawn fest.

 

But you have to remember what we're up against - like most teams we've played (especially at home), these teams are simply standing off us - they're not trying to get the ball of us, so we're left in a situation where we're trying to draw them out, but they're not budging, as such it inevitably means that we have to try to find a way through and the only way to do that is to be patient and keep moving around until we get that chance.

 

It's like a boxer - he'll prod and jab, he'll move around the ring, looking for the moment his opponent lets his guard down.

 

Today, like a lot of these games, that's how we approached the first half - and i get that it's slow, that it seems like we're not doing anything, but we had 11 shots in the first half - so it does work, tactically speaking - so i disagree that we were awful, at least in our approach play - the problem was that due to poor finishing there was never any end product - no KO - and so it leaves the impression that we didn't do anything.

 

At the end of the day, we can only play in a way that gets results against the tactics of our opponents.

[Lillehamring]

57 minutes ago, CloudFox said:

Ask nicely, and thou shalt receive! 😉

 

 

Basically, you're bang on about him being higher up the pitch today. Definitely plays to his strengths.

And yet, apart from his quick thinking on that free quick, far too much of his play, even from that red zone, was back to vestergaard.

[westernpark]

Not enjoyable football at all. Appreciate Maresca encouraging the players to engage with the crowd at the end. 

[5waller5]

2 hours ago, Foxoffice said:

Playing Puel tactics, with a superior squad, in a reallly poor league with no plan B is a hard watch!

If you misunderstand football so totally that this is your opinion, why waste money watching LCFC… just got to your local park and watch a game there?

[StriderHiryu]

5 hours ago, Matt said:

"We're born in this style, we'll die in this style" were along the lines of Enzo's comments after todays game.

 

I didn't see where a winner was coming from today, duly, we got one, two, fair play, whilst we are doing that he can afford the attitude of his comment.

 

Our losses have shown shortcomings, concerns and ask a few questions. He has a philosophy, which is fair enough, but what's wrong with throwing the kitchen sink at Leeds and Middlesbrough towards the latter stages - certainly the Middlesbrough game.

 

Listen, I'm enjoying the season and i'm not going to use that a stick to batter him with - I was actually trying to spin those losses into positives, hoping those games would be used to highlight what we could and need to do better.

 

Likewise i'm enjoying this season and not looking too far ahead to next season, because I "get it" in this league, against this opposition. 

 

I just feel playing this way next season we'll be a world of pain, certainly with the "We're born in this style, we'll die in this style" attitude, you only have to look at Burnley and listen to their fans, lauding their cultured change in style, being so successful last season, now the concerns and complaints of "tippy tappy" football are raising their head and being chucked at Burnley/Kompany.

 

I agree with you Matt!

 

Here are some of my takes today:

 

 

 

This isn't my channel, so I don't feel bad blatantly upselling it on here .

 

TL:DR

 

• Watford went man for man, but noticeably stood off us and were happy for us to have the ball until we passed a certain point on the pitch.
• The first half was very slow and patient. IMO way too slow and way too patient.
  • There was a point in the game where Kasey McAteer made a superb challenge to win the ball and the break was on, but after he passed it the ball went backwards when we had superiority in transition.
  • However, in the last 5-10 minutes we turned up the pressure massively. McAteer header, KDH chance, Mavididi causing chaos, etc. Half-time came at a good time for Watford who were hanging on.
• Second half was much better:
  • Making subs at 55 instead of 60 I liked. Gave us more time to find the "solution" as Enzo likes to say.
  • Our bench was absolutely frightening today. No one in the division can come close to the options we can bring on.
  • We missed tons of chances, KDH off the post, Mavididi's shot almost snuck in, Vardy missing sitters. But even when all of these happened, I looked at the clock, and it read "65:00." Even though we hadn't scored in 4 hours of play, I felt like there was no way we weren't scoring today.
• After we scored, we didn't manage the game too well, a pattern that we've surprisingly seen quite a bit. Watford should have scored, and we get away with things like this in this division.
  • The frustrating thing is these chances aren't coming from great play, but falling asleep. This wasn't like the wonderful freekick Boro scored, this was just not keeping care of the ball.
• Many supporters, myself included, would like us to play a bit more aggressively earlier in games, when we clearly wait until later on.
  • When it gets chaotic in the opposition box, this is what usually results in us scoring.
  • So instead of trying to walk it into the back of the net like we try in the first half, perhaps we should go for more 50/50s, as with our quality we will win a lot of these.
  • Controlling the game makes a lot of sense, but I feel like this same performance in the Premier League would see us go a goal down and then be desperate to score. Look at Burnley who lost again today.
• Overall we controlled the game, thoroughly deserved to win and this was much like we've seen all season. Tire out the opposition in the first 60 and then kill them in the final 30 of the game.

 

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There have been games where we really turn up the attack and go for it, but I feel like we could be doing this way, way sooner. Tiring out the opposition, I do get that, but you can also blitz a team and bury them in the first 15-20 minutes. It's OK sometimes to go for more chaotic attacks where you try and win the 50/50's. I am not the biggest Gary Neville fan, but something he says about Man City is that the current version is his favourite version of them because with Haaland (and now to some extent with Doku) they play the percentage ball sometimes, because they have a world class striker that will bury chances. Vardy may not be what he once was, but Ihenacho and Vardy are in a different stratosphere to any other strikers in this division.

Basically my worry is that with his style we aren't creating enough chances as we will need in the top flight. However, we should give him the benefit of the doubt, we are top of the table, have the best defence and are scoring goals. Let's get promoted and see what kind of team we have by the time September rolls around next season.

[Dr The Singh]

Still not a fan of Marasca ball

[Guest nathan.]

To be fair to Enzo he obviously told the players to up the tempo second half.

 

Hes a top coach and i believe he will find the balance 

[coolhandfox]

I think some people are over egging the attacking tools his has at his disposal. Whilst we have a good squad it really we are light in creative attacking midfield talent.

 

Fatawu and Mcateer have limited experience at this level or any level with less then 50 apps between them. Casadei is in the same boat.

 

Ndidi is a DM playing as a creative 8, Praet has been unavailable and Yunus is finding his feet in a new league.

 

Which put a lot of pressure on Mavididi and KDH to create.

 

We still have massive rebuilding job on our hands.

[Jimmy]

The players still need to play what’s in front of them, both wingers made several really gun inside runs when Nacho was at cb and the ball from Hermansen never came, Stefy for sure turned and had a go at the keeper

[iancognito]

3 hours ago, Blanchflower78 said:

I think it was incredibly hard work against a very very poor side. 

It was anything but enjoyable and is reminiscent of many games this year.

 

We're you on the edge of your seat? 

It's not about being on the edge of your seat, it's about winning. The brief this season is promotion, that's it. It's not going to be thrill-a-minute when the likes of Watford, Preston, Cardiff and the rest park the bus and barely get out their own half.

[TrentFox]

Just reading the volley of comments over the last few hours - so responding to a broad range of perspectives.  Can only speak for myself, but I’m loving the results, but not really the football. I accept that those two things are inextricably linked. But it means when we aren’t looking like getting a result, it’s doubly frustrating as there isn’t huge enjoyment in this style, for me. Said weeks ago, we just need to increase our attacking risk-taking in the opposition’s third by about 20% - to just dare to look forwards, first, rather than backwards. It might add that extra level of pace to our game. I get the point someone made about feeling ‘relaxed’ watching us dominate possession, but I don’t watch football to be relaxed - I watch it to be entertained and excited. I also share a point someone made that we are over-exaggerating the abilities of this squad. That Enzo is getting such results from them, whilst embedding a totally new footballing philosophy, is extremely impressive and he deserves huge credit for that. It just isn’t a philosophy that excites me, when we play the cautious version of it - which we seem to do too often. On the few occasions we’ve played the faster version it’s been excellent. As someone pointed out, that’s often driven by the opposition and how they set-up ….. but not always. Assuming he achieves the goal of promotion, and is given significant funds for next season, it will be interesting to see who he adds and how he tweaks it. 

[Foxoffice]

7 hours ago, 5waller5 said:

If you misunderstand football so totally that this is your opinion, why waste money watching LCFC… just got to your local park and watch a game there?

No misunderstanding! I’ve been a season ticket holder for over 30 years, I’m purely making a comparison not to dissimilar to the Puel days, unfortunately back then we played better opposition who could actually score.

[The Year Of The Fox]

7 hours ago, Dr The Singh said:

Still not a fan of Marasca ball

It’s a hideous watch 

 

First time I’ve seen us this season. (Whether that be inside the stadium or on TV) but that sort of football is awful.

 

Will we win the league? Easily. 
Would I enjoy myself going down the KP week in week out? Definitely not.

 

The excitement of that sort of football is as down there as Rodgers’ 

[Kinowe Soorie]

I’d like a slightly quicker tempo, but a win is a win. Up The Citeh!

[Iwebema]

7 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

I agree with you Matt!

 

Here are some of my takes today:

 

 

 

This isn't my channel, so I don't feel bad blatantly upselling it on here .

 

TL:DR

 

• Watford went man for man, but noticeably stood off us and were happy for us to have the ball until we passed a certain point on the pitch.
• The first half was very slow and patient. IMO way too slow and way too patient.
  • There was a point in the game where Kasey McAteer made a superb challenge to win the ball and the break was on, but after he passed it the ball went backwards when we had superiority in transition.
  • However, in the last 5-10 minutes we turned up the pressure massively. McAteer header, KDH chance, Mavididi causing chaos, etc. Half-time came at a good time for Watford who were hanging on.
• Second half was much better:
  • Making subs at 55 instead of 60 I liked. Gave us more time to find the "solution" as Enzo likes to say.
  • Our bench was absolutely frightening today. No one in the division can come close to the options we can bring on.
  • We missed tons of chances, KDH off the post, Mavididi's shot almost snuck in, Vardy missing sitters. But even when all of these happened, I looked at the clock, and it read "65:00." Even though we hadn't scored in 4 hours of play, I felt like there was no way we weren't scoring today.
• After we scored, we didn't manage the game too well, a pattern that we've surprisingly seen quite a bit. Watford should have scored, and we get away with things like this in this division.
  • The frustrating thing is these chances aren't coming from great play, but falling asleep. This wasn't like the wonderful freekick Boro scored, this was just not keeping care of the ball.
• Many supporters, myself included, would like us to play a bit more aggressively earlier in games, when we clearly wait until later on.
  • When it gets chaotic in the opposition box, this is what usually results in us scoring.
  • So instead of trying to walk it into the back of the net like we try in the first half, perhaps we should go for more 50/50s, as with our quality we will win a lot of these.
  • Controlling the game makes a lot of sense, but I feel like this same performance in the Premier League would see us go a goal down and then be desperate to score. Look at Burnley who lost again today.
• Overall we controlled the game, thoroughly deserved to win and this was much like we've seen all season. Tire out the opposition in the first 60 and then kill them in the final 30 of the game.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

There have been games where we really turn up the attack and go for it, but I feel like we could be doing this way, way sooner. Tiring out the opposition, I do get that, but you can also blitz a team and bury them in the first 15-20 minutes. It's OK sometimes to go for more chaotic attacks where you try and win the 50/50's. I am not the biggest Gary Neville fan, but something he says about Man City is that the current version is his favourite version of them because with Haaland (and now to some extent with Doku) they play the percentage ball sometimes, because they have a world class striker that will bury chances. Vardy may not be what he once was, but Ihenacho and Vardy are in a different stratosphere to any other strikers in this division.

Basically my worry is that with his style we aren't creating enough chances as we will need in the top flight. However, we should give him the benefit of the doubt, we are top of the table, have the best defence and are scoring goals. Let's get promoted and see what kind of team we have by the time September rolls around next season.

Good analysis as always 👍 

 

I think one thing to consider on the first half performance is we were coming off the back of 2 losses and an international break, a slow start felt almost inevitable as we tried to find some confidence. The quick subs by Enzo probably suggest he was also unhappy with the tempo though.

 

For what it's worth, I think we are a proper striker away from things really going up another level, iheanacho, for whatever reason, has been a disappointment and Vardy obviously isnt the player he was, its similar as you point out to man city pre and post Haaland. I think not having a proper striker who just leads the line instead of dropping in like an 8 is causing the lack of aggression that I think some want to see. 

 

Still I'm personally enjoying this season, it's not without its frustrations, but it feels like the building blocks of something good that needs a few transfer windows to absolutely nail. 

Edited 26 November 2023 by Iwebema