Tactics Under Maresca

[brucey]

 

[cityfanlee23]

Fantastic, what a great all-round performance. 
First half we were offensively aggressive and had a great balance between long through balls and short controlling passes, defensively fragile. 
Second half we turned on the taps and buried the game. 
Full credit to Plymouth for going for it, they played well and probably felt unlucky in the first half. 

Onto the analysis.
Today in the context of how we have played this season was almost Anti-Enzoball, direct, fast, and flowing football, not needlessly holding possession. Now obviously part of that equation is that Plymouth allowed us more space than other teams have this season, BUT I personally have been saying for a long time that part of the reason we encounter the low block so often is because of the total control we approach many games, especially in the first halves of matches. 
Leeds are a perfect example of a team that are as good as us in terms of offensive players on paper, but they very rarely get stuck in front of a low block because of their aggressive nature, there is no magic reason why we often come up against the low block, for me it's because we play often slow possession football that results in low blocks rather than the slow possession football being a symptom of the opposition employing it, but that's very much a chicken and egg situation. 

So for me, I'd be more than happy if we found a balance between today's game and the possession style we often employ, it's about turning up the dial a bit more frequently, the constant low blocks we face are often a symptom of the way we play, and not the other way around. (obviously, I'd prefer to play this way every week but a balance would be fine)
Today was a fantastic shift in approach and performance and I hope in a few days when we play Millwall (who are less likely to go for it) we can still pass the ball around as confidently as we did today and really go for it.

Daka was immense, he needs minutes, I hope he can continue to aggressively approach games in this way to allow him to pull defences apart like he did today, one of his best performances for us and we saw the Salzburg Daka today.  

[StriderHiryu]

For me we were more direct with our attacking today. Not just the ball over the top for Daka, but Mavididi driving at his man and carrying it into the box, the 8's attacking the box with more gusto, more of a willingness to try and make something happen rather than being overly patient and trying to score the "perfect" goal.

 

First half we made a lot of sloppy mistakes from passing out from the back. But if not for that, we were good all game and deservedly scored a lot. 

 

I'll do more of a write-up later another time, but we chatted about the game here:

 

 

 

[The_77]

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, @Ric Flair? 

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Fantastic, what a great all-round performance. 
First half we were offensively aggressive and had a great balance between long through balls and short controlling passes, defensively fragile. 
Second half we turned on the taps and buried the game. 
Full credit to Plymouth for going for it, they played well and probably felt unlucky in the first half. 

Onto the analysis.
Today in the context of how we have played this season was almost Anti-Enzoball, direct, fast, and flowing football, not needlessly holding possession. Now obviously part of that equation is that Plymouth allowed us more space than other teams have this season, BUT I personally have been saying for a long time that part of the reason we encounter the low block so often is because of the total control we approach many games, especially in the first halves of matches. 
Leeds are a perfect example of a team that are as good as us in terms of offensive players on paper, but they very rarely get stuck in front of a low block because of their aggressive nature, there is no magic reason why we often come up against the low block, for me it's because we play often slow possession football that results in low blocks rather than the slow possession football being a symptom of the opposition employing it, but that's very much a chicken and egg situation. 

So for me, I'd be more than happy if we found a balance between today's game and the possession style we often employ, it's about turning up the dial a bit more frequently, the constant low blocks we face are often a symptom of the way we play, and not the other way around. (obviously, I'd prefer to play this way every week but a balance would be fine)
Today was a fantastic shift in approach and performance and I hope in a few days when we play Millwall (who are less likely to go for it) we can still pass the ball around as confidently as we did today and really go for it.

Daka was immense, he needs minutes, I hope he can continue to aggressively approach games in this way to allow him to pull defences apart like he did today, one of his best performances for us and we saw the Salzburg Daka today.  

 

It's unfair to say that was "Anti-Enzoball" but I definitely agree with the "not needlessly holding possession" statement. That was the big difference by FAR in this game compared to any other. There were still passages of play where we kept it for ages, but then we would explode into a great move. For that cross that Fatawu put in at about 8 minutes, we kept it for ages, feeling like weren't going to do anything, and then almost out of nowhere, bang, bang, bang, the ball goes from back to front in seconds via great passing into a really dangerous cross.

 

All fans want to see more of that style of play, that's for sure! And yeah I agree with you in that by having such total control, it encourages teams to drop back into the deeper block. That might be exactly what Enzo is trying to achieve, but with where our team is at right now, it suits us for the game to be a bit messy and open to some degree.

[Lillehamring]

48 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

 

It's unfair to say that was "Anti-Enzoball" but I definitely agree with the "not needlessly holding possession" statement. That was the big difference by FAR in this game compared to any other. There were still passages of play where we kept it for ages, but then we would explode into a great move. For that cross that Fatawu put in at about 8 minutes, we kept it for ages, feeling like weren't going to do anything, and then almost out of nowhere, bang, bang, bang, the ball goes from back to front in seconds via great passing into a really dangerous cross.

 

All fans want to see more of that style of play, that's for sure! And yeah I agree with you in that by having such total control, it encourages teams to drop back into the deeper block. That might be exactly what Enzo is trying to achieve, but with where our team is at right now, it suits us for the game to be a bit messy and open to some degree.

It's not entirely impossible to believe that this is the way he's coached them to play but the first real opportunity they've had to do so.

 

The holding of possession nobody really believed that this was his masterplan, that he didn't have a more direct element to his system - did they?

[sbfox]

3 hours ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Fantastic, what a great all-round performance. 
First half we were offensively aggressive and had a great balance between long through balls and short controlling passes, defensively fragile. 
Second half we turned on the taps and buried the game. 
Full credit to Plymouth for going for it, they played well and probably felt unlucky in the first half. 

Onto the analysis.
Today in the context of how we have played this season was almost Anti-Enzoball, direct, fast, and flowing football, not needlessly holding possession. Now obviously part of that equation is that Plymouth allowed us more space than other teams have this season, BUT I personally have been saying for a long time that part of the reason we encounter the low block so often is because of the total control we approach many games, especially in the first halves of matches. 
Leeds are a perfect example of a team that are as good as us in terms of offensive players on paper, but they very rarely get stuck in front of a low block because of their aggressive nature, there is no magic reason why we often come up against the low block, for me it's because we play often slow possession football that results in low blocks rather than the slow possession football being a symptom of the opposition employing it, but that's very much a chicken and egg situation. 

So for me, I'd be more than happy if we found a balance between today's game and the possession style we often employ, it's about turning up the dial a bit more frequently, the constant low blocks we face are often a symptom of the way we play, and not the other way around. (obviously, I'd prefer to play this way every week but a balance would be fine)
Today was a fantastic shift in approach and performance and I hope in a few days when we play Millwall (who are less likely to go for it) we can still pass the ball around as confidently as we did today and really go for it.

Daka was immense, he needs minutes, I hope he can continue to aggressively approach games in this way to allow him to pull defences apart like he did today, one of his best performances for us and we saw the Salzburg Daka today.  

Isn't this exactly what Enzoball is? Control possession, lure teams on and then strike quickly? We played just like we always do, but Plymouth were tactically naive and/or thought their system could dominate ours. 

[StriderHiryu]

18 minutes ago, sbfox said:

Isn't this exactly what Enzoball is? Control possession, lure teams on and then strike quickly? We played just like we always do, but Plymouth were tactically naive and/or thought their system could dominate ours. 

It felt like we consciously moved it forwards a lot faster. We didn't turn back and start again nearly as many times today as we have done in previous games. When we made subs, some of the players that came on, like Ben Nelson, did to that, which makes sense given he's not a regular in the team and was making his debut. For me it didn't seem so much that they were naive, but we were better at finding the right player at the right time.

 

In his post match, Enzo says some interesting things:

• At half-time changed his pressing triggers so they pressed the right players. It was notable that we turned the ball over high up the pitch way more often in the second half.
• Says the way Plymouth moved the ball surprised him. They did make a weird selection for their starting line-up with a lot of their players that had previously done well starting on the bench.

 

 

 

[UniFox21]

We seemed to really utilise and mix up the give and go, or the decoy run today. 

Daka pivotal to all of it - dropping deep and releasing the wingers (we've seen this before) but today we saw him drop deep for a pass and then turn and sprint for a long ball. Really liked the variety. 

[moore_94]

7 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

We seemed to really utilise and mix up the give and go, or the decoy run today. 

Daka pivotal to all of it - dropping deep and releasing the wingers (we've seen this before) but today we saw him drop deep for a pass and then turn and sprint for a long ball. Really liked the variety. 

I have just watched the highlights and was literally just coming on here to write about this

 

It isn't something we can do with Nacho or Vardy because they don't have the pace to make the turn and sprint like Daka was able to do today

 

Left the man covering him in the dust and was already level with Fatawu and their centre back when the ball had come down

 

Going to be very interesting to see if we utilise it more if Daka starts

[UniFox21]

5 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

I have just watched the highlights and was literally just coming on here to write about this

 

It isn't something we can do with Nacho or Vardy because they don't have the pace to make the turn and sprint like Daka was able to do today

 

Left the man covering him in the dust and was already level with Fatawu and their centre back when the ball had come down

 

Going to be very interesting to see if we utilise it more if Daka starts

Exactly. 

Vardy in particular, as much as it pains me to say, is there for his ability to be in the right place some of the time and his name itself drags some defenders away without physically doing anything. 

Nacho has the ability to be involved in play, but his touch is just so wayward most of the time. 

 

Daka is able to drop deep like Nacho, and then turn and run like Vardy. I'm really hopeful he gets more opportunities as it clearly suited the style that Enzo plays and has repeatedly said that he won't sway from.

 

 

[kyleolly]

I still don’t see the advantage of pissing about with it at the back I don’t think our defenders are good enough on the ball when Mads went long today we cut them open. 

[UniFox21]

5 minutes ago, kyleolly said:

I still don’t see the advantage of pissing about with it at the back I don’t think our defenders are good enough on the ball when Mads went long today we cut them open. 

Because we'd spent good portions pissing around at the back. Their midfield pushed up to press our defensive passing of the ball, Daka dropped deep to receive the ball. One give and go later, and the long ball is deployed over the entire backline.

 

But you can't play it too often otherwise they drop deep, and dropping deep let's us progress the ball from the back, moving them around with our passing and cutting gaps open.

To counter, they press our passing and leave gaps in the middle/back end of the pitch we can exploit. 

You see what I mean?

 

Yes we ride our luck at times, and that needs addressing. But it's effective.

[Dahnsouff]

Today was not business as usual and people will look to see things they want to see, like Enzo has learnt and we will play more directly from here on, which I don’t think is true at all. Plymouth went forward when it was arguably not wise to do so. That’s was what today was, no more.

[kyleolly]

26 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Because we'd spent good portions pissing around at the back. Their midfield pushed up to press our defensive passing of the ball, Daka dropped deep to receive the ball. One give and go later, and the long ball is deployed over the entire backline.

 

But you can't play it too often otherwise they drop deep, and dropping deep let's us progress the ball from the back, moving them around with our passing and cutting gaps open.

To counter, they press our passing and leave gaps in the middle/back end of the pitch we can exploit. 

You see what I mean?

 

Yes we ride our luck at times, and that needs addressing. But it's effective.

I could see the point if the passing was slicker and there were different options it just seems it’s mads to Janick back to Mads to winks back to Mads to Hamza back to Mads

[UniFox21]

3 minutes ago, kyleolly said:

I could see the point if the passing was slicker and there were different options it just seems it’s mads to Janick back to Mads to winks back to Mads to Hamza back to Mads

Condenses play and then whilst the opposition press those 4, Faes/JJ/Daka/KDH/wingers become free for a pass and all of a sudden we've bypassed the press and are into space. 

Now every opportunity doesn't lead to an actual chance, and we'll recycle the ball, but over the course of a game the constant pressing and resetting of the press absolutely shatters the opponent

[brucey]

https://medium.com/@dominic.wells24/marescas-masterclass-in-practice-41cf3bda3248

[kyleolly]

2 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Condenses play and then whilst the opposition press those 4, Faes/JJ/Daka/KDH/wingers become free for a pass and all of a sudden we've bypassed the press and are into space. 

Now every opportunity doesn't lead to an actual chance, and we'll recycle the ball, but over the course of a game the constant pressing and resetting of the press absolutely shatters the opponent

Yeah I can see how it shatters the opponent I about fell asleep just watching the first half today 😂

[Lillehamring]

26 minutes ago, kyleolly said:

I could see the point if the passing was slicker and there were different options it just seems it’s mads to Janick back to Mads to winks back to Mads to Hamza back to Mads

Exactly and that's why it's a more dynamic way of playing - you're going forwards and backwards constantly.  The alternatives (rodgers' way) is to pass along the line, so whilst you aren't necessarily going backwards, equally you're not going forwards.

 

Playing this W shape (3 defenders/ 2 midfielders) means that when the spaces appear the progress is already facing up the pitch.  Playing laterally across the back means you have to start moving the ball in a completely new direction to go forwards.

 

It's subtle, but it changes the entire dynamic.  Not to mention the numerous other advantages gained from creating boxes (again, better then a single line).

[cityfanlee23]

2 hours ago, sbfox said:

Isn't this exactly what Enzoball is? Control possession, lure teams on and then strike quickly? We played just like we always do, but Plymouth were tactically naive and/or thought their system could dominate ours. 

Plenty of people argue that it is, but the majority of games we have over controlled the game and struggled to lure the teams to press us, ending with our midfielders having 80% sideways and backwards passing. We did not play like we always do by any stretch, there have been countless times this season where we have a chance to hit teams on the break but we get outside the box and pass it backwards, today we pulled the trigger and were in their box within 2-3 passes, usually our counter attacks break themselves down due to overplaying. 
Today was fantastic, because we focused on less passes between our defence and their box. 

[cityfanlee23]

1 hour ago, Dahnsouff said:

Today was not business as usual and people will look to see things they want to see, like Enzo has learnt and we will play more directly from here on, which I don’t think is true at all. Plymouth went forward when it was arguably not wise to do so. That’s was what today was, no more.

I'd argue that it was this + our willingness to actually counter teams rather than breaking down our own attacks as we often have in previous games. Obviously just an example but in most games this season our fast counter attacks have been 15-20 passes, ultimately with most of them breaking down. 
Today our counters were 4-5 passes and we were in their box. We need to do this more often. 

[kyleolly]

13 minutes ago, Lillehamring said:

Exactly and that's why it's a more dynamic way of playing - you're going forwards and backwards constantly.  The alternatives (rodgers' way) is to pass along the line, so whilst you aren't necessarily going backwards, equally you're not going forwards.

 

Playing this W shape (3 defenders/ 2 midfielders) means that when the spaces appear the progress is already facing up the pitch.  Playing laterally across the back means you have to start moving the ball in a completely new direction to go forwards.

 

It's subtle, but it changes the entire dynamic.  Not to mention the numerous other advantages gained from creating boxes (again, better then a single line).

That was my point it’s far from dynamic because I don’t think our defenders and midfield are dynamic it’s rather ponderous and we make a hell of a lot of mistakes.

[The Doctor]

1 hour ago, kyleolly said:

I still don’t see the advantage of pissing about with it at the back I don’t think our defenders are good enough on the ball when Mads went long today we cut them open. 

Because we'd kept it at the back and drawn them out enough for direct passes to have space to hit rather than just being dealt with by some 6'4" shithouse...

[foxfanazer]

Wait....are we good again?

[Lillehamring]

29 minutes ago, cityfanlee23 said:

I'd argue that it was this + our willingness to actually counter teams rather than breaking down our own attacks as we often have in previous games. Obviously just an example but in most games this season our fast counter attacks have been 15-20 passes, ultimately with most of them breaking down. 
Today our counters were 4-5 passes and we were in their box. We need to do this more often. 

We haven't been unwilling to counter attack, by and large we've simply been starved of opportunities to do so by teams endlessly sitting deep - and when we have had the chance, it's been with mixed success.

Even today,  the goals weren't from counter attacks - a penalty, a route 1 hoof, the third goal was something of a counter but even then they had 6 players back, and winning the ball with a high press.

The most obvious counter attack, we føkked up.