Tactics Under Maresca

[Finnegan]

11 minutes ago, Lillehamring said:

It's always difficult at a new club - some players will just blast in from day 1, others feel the need to try to, i don't know, fit in   he'll be banging them in by xmas!

 

11 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

The angle tightened on him after the 2nd touch. It’s almost like a slightly heavier first touch would have left him a slightly better position. I’ve seen many players slice those badly on their weaker foot. 
 

Let’s hope we see more and more chances like this. I’m sure he will put plenty away. 

 

I'm a big fan of his already, I've got massive faith in him. Think he'll be a great signing. 

 

But it was honking. 

[StriderHiryu]

21 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

It's just such a brain fart from Mavididi. You can see what he's trying to do being unselfish but he's scored already this year off his left foot and he's done so plenty of times for Montpellier. Just wanted him to back himself. 

 

Heart breaking because it's exactly the sort of chance he's there for and KDH finally picks him out. 

The team have not been good at 1 on 1 finishing. Hope we spend time in training on them, because we will be making a lot of these type of chances.

 

Just a note but Ndidi I think it is who is top of the picture steps off the gas a bit too, which is also bad. Because if our players are crap at 1 on 1's, in this system they can square it to someone else to finish, or that player can get the second ball if the keeper makes a save.

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, LVFox said:

Thanks for the clip. This thread is great to read after a match.

 

Just a point of how Ndidi shows that the CM role is way more box to box than purely attacking. Good run tracking and then calm on the ball. 

Winks is way, way, way better than anyone thought he would be. I wished we had him last season, I think we would have stayed up. He lacks the long shots of Tielemans and is maybe a bit less ambitious / creative with his passes. But he has a good engine, always shows for the ball, and seems a bit more press resistant than Youri. If you are a defender you KNOW you always have two outlets in Winks and Ricardo, and you can trust them to look after it. That breeds confidence.

 

A friend of mine supports Tottenham and after one of the goals said "I notice Winks passing it sideways again!" But then I showed him this clip and he was slightly surprised because he wasn't instructed to do that at Tottenham. They all have fond feelings of him and wish him the best, which I think speaks highly of him as a professional. A very real concern would be what we do if he gets injured...

 

 

 

Edited 27 August 2023 by StriderHiryu

[Number 6]

1 hour ago, StriderHiryu said:

Winks is way, way, way better than anyone thought he would be. I wished we had him last season, I think we would have stayed up. He lacks the long shots of Tielemans and is maybe a bit less ambitious / creative with his passes. But he has a good engine, always shows for the ball, and seems a bit more press resistant than Youri. If you are a defender you KNOW you always have two outlets in Winks and Ricardo, and you can trust them to look after it. That breeds confidence.

 

A friend of mine supports Tottenham and after one of the goals said "I notice Winks passing it sideways again!" But then I showed him this clip and he was slightly surprised because he wasn't instructed to do that at Tottenham. They all have fond feelings of him and wish him the best, which I think speaks highly of him as a professional. A very real concern would be what we do if he gets injured...

 

 

 

I'm amazed we managed to get him when yesterday a team as savvy as Brighton are starting Billy Gilmour.

[Dan LCFC]

On 26/08/2023 at 23:46, StriderHiryu said:

 

"We could play a little bit more for me." Not scathing but good he's not just Brendan style buttering his own bread.

 

He was beaming when asked about Kasey McAteer. That's nice to see!

I can see why he's so highly regarded. 5 wins from 5 and all it's about is improvement - plenty could easily laud it but he knows there's loads of room for improvement. It should be pretty standard stuff but it hadn't been here in the last couple of years.

[Tom12345]

Well and good to play Maresca tactics but with the players we have (a few levels above Rotherham at least) and his supposed positive football, we really need to see us just going for it, every single minute until the end no matter whether we are winning, losing or drawing. The fact that we stopped playing as soon as we went 2-1 up reminds me very much of Rodgers and his loser mentality. I commented on it at the time but I was laughed at (I am sure some one will do the same this time). In the end, we not only choked we choked so much we sleep walked into relegation under Rodgers. We are in the Championship guys - don’t be afraid. Just play.

 

We need to play like this guy wants:

 

 

Edited 28 August 2023 by Tom12345

[RumbleFox]

19 hours ago, KFS said:

Pure filth. Wish he’d finished that chance 

Imagine prime Vardy latching onto that. Fvck. 

[Simmo86]

3 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

Well and good to play Maresca tactics but with the players we have (a few levels above Rotherham at least) and his supposed positive football, we really need to see us just going for it, every single minute until the end no matter whether we are winning, losing or drawing. The fact that we stopped playing as soon as we went 2-1 up reminds me very much of Rodgers and his loser mentality. I commented on it at the time but I was laughed at (I am sure some one will do the same this time). In the end, we not only choked we choked so much we sleep walked into relegation under Rodgers. We are in the Championship guys - don’t be afraid. Just play.

 

We need to play like this guy wants:

 

 

Stopped playing after we went 2-1up? Was literally our best period of the game, we completely controlled it and didn’t give them a sniff of getting back in it.

[Chelmofox]

3 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

The fact that we stopped playing as soon as we went 2-1 up reminds me very much of Rodgers and his loser mentality. 

It was nothing like Rodgers mentality. We had complete control and wound the clock down cleverly, which is something you never saw from our Rodgers team. It was clear to me on Saturday that the team had had some coaching on ways to see out the game. Its good to get this embedded on the team now, so it becomes second nature when its really called on.

[Lesta2014]

21 hours ago, StanSP said:

How can you not enjoy this?! 

 

 

When mcateer hits that we have 5 players in the box. So good to see instead of the 1 or 2 we’d have in there over previous seasons. 

[Jimbo]

14 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

Well and good to play Maresca tactics but with the players we have (a few levels above Rotherham at least) and his supposed positive football, we really need to see us just going for it, every single minute until the end no matter whether we are winning, losing or drawing. The fact that we stopped playing as soon as we went 2-1 up reminds me very much of Rodgers and his loser mentality. I commented on it at the time but I was laughed at (I am sure some one will do the same this time). In the end, we not only choked we choked so much we sleep walked into relegation under Rodgers. We are in the Championship guys - don’t be afraid. Just play.

 

We need to play like this guy wants:

 

 

A team is at their most vulnerable after they've just scored. It's important to keep control of the game, and the ball after you've scored. Settle down and don't let the other team back in. 

 

With so little time in the game left after we scored, we most certainly didn't stop playing, we completely bossed the final minutes.

 

It was polar opposite what we saw under Rodgers. Firstly, we were hardly ever ahead I a game last season, but when we scored it seemed apparent that Rodgers was more bothered about shape than he was gaining control of the football. Enzo has us gaining control of the ball, and keeping it, so that we settle back into our game and has the opposition chasing shadows. It's called game management. What's the point in going for it when you're 2-1 up with 5 minutes left and the opposition can just as easily catch you out with a hopeful ball over the top? The only sure fire way to make sure you don't concede is to not let them have the ball. And at the end of the day, the only stat that truly matters is points on the board. 

Edited 28 August 2023 by Jimbo

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-citys-magic-formula-pays-8708856

 

Leicester City's magic formula pays off after silent assist and ruthless Enzo Maresca decision
Analysis from Leicester City's 2-1 win over Rotherham as Kasey McAteer scored twice to send his side to the top of the Championship and keep up the only 100 per cent record in the EFL

ByJordan Blackwell
18:46, 27 AUG 2023

The more Leicester City win, the more adamant Enzo Maresca becomes that they will lose. As City keep rising, their manager tries harder to pull them down to earth. They’re now top of the table and the only club in the EFL with a 100 per cent record.

“Straight back up, straight back up, Leicester City!” chant the supporters, riding the high of the late winners. They won’t find Maresca joining in.

“To be honest, there are 42 games left,” he said. “We are going to lose games. We need to be mentally strong. For sure we are going to lose games. In this moment, I don’t care (about being top). The season is so long.

“It’s important that the fans are close to the team. They can sing anything they want. But as a team, we cannot think that this will be easy. Absolutely not. It will be complicated.”

Statistically, there is a good reason to not getting carried away with four wins from four. The last two teams to do it were Reading and Bristol City in 2020. Reading finished seventh, and so didn’t make the play-offs. Bristol City finished 19th, three places above relegation.

But watching City, it’s hard not to feel they have found a magic formula. Each of their four matches has so far followed a very similar pattern: play pretty well in the first half, with Maresca’s gameplan on show; switch off for half-an-hour after half-time and concede chances; come on strong in the final 20 minutes and grab a late winner.

On the balance of chances, it doesn’t seem sustainable. Take off the blue-tinted glasses, and it feels like there’s going to be a game where City will concede two goals after the interval, or they’ll be thwarted by a late wonder-save.

But then again, four matches is a fair amount of evidence. For how shoddy City were at the start of the second period at Rotherham, there were not too many chances given up besides Fred Onyedinma’s equaliser. And it’s still clear City are tiring out their opponents, allowing them to find bigger gaps to exploit late on.

That is the biggest positive of the first month under Maresca. It’s not only the case that City are fit enough to cause problems late on, but that they are patient and calm enough too. In the whole of last season, City scored four goals after the 80th minute, the fewest in the Premier League. They’ve already got three in the Championship.

No club can match them. Their record in the final 20 minutes of games now reads 5-0. The next best records in the division belong to Southampton and Swansea at 3-1.

Maresca has practically got everything right as City manager so far, so it’s safe to assume his insistence that a defeat is around the corner will prove true too. But that’s not for fans to worry about right now.

After last season’s soul-sapping relegation, they should be allowed to believe that Maresca’s magic formula will never run dry, and should keep leaning forward in anticipation as soon as the clock hits 70.

 

What McAteer proves about Akgun
Before Saturday’s game, Kasey McAteer had scored one goal in 33 senior appearances. Two in the space of 90 minutes to win a match for the club he has represented since age eight means it will be an afternoon he never forgets.

It was his name being chanted by supporters at the New York Stadium and with good reason. As with the week before with Wanya Marcal, it will never not be a thrill to see an academy player score their first goals for the club.

But the news that came out hours after City’s win provides further excitement in the wake of McAteer’s brace. A double for the 21-year-old means that City are up to nine goals in all competitions this season, with the wingers now tied for the lead with the
That particular nugget should mean there is confidence in new man Yunus Akgun being able to get on the scoresheet too. If an inexperienced up-and-comer like McAteer can get goals from wide, a current international who has played Champions League football certainly should.

McAteer showed Akgun the way on Saturday. It is finding space that is most crucial to getting shots in. Being in the right place at the right time can be an overlooked attribute but McAteer proved its worth.

Because there should be areas for City’s wide-men to exploit when they have big-name strikers on the pitch. Kelechi Iheanacho attracts the ball and so attracts markers too, while Jamie Vardy’s reputation sees him the centre of attention when he’s on the pitch.

It won’t matter to Maresca if his strikers are only having one shot between them across 90 minutes if it means they are creating space for the wingers to cause havoc. If Akgun is alert and makes the movements McAteer did, he should have no trouble making an impact.

 

Casadei's silent assist should help his cause
Also helping to create space for McAteer’s winner was Cesare Casadei, whose silent assist adds weight to the idea he should start the next game.

Just as Callum Doyle was lining up a switch of play, Casadei made a dart into the box. He was out of Tyler Blackett’s eyeline, so Rotherham left-back Cohen Bramall had to shuffle across. That meant he could neither leap high enough to head away the cross-field pass, nor was he close enough to McAteer when he brought it down. So while the assist will go to Doyle – and it was a superb pass – Casadei had just as big a hand in setting up the goal.

But it’s not just the off-the-ball runs. Casadei is getting into position to receive it to feet often too. With injury time, he was on the pitch for about half-an-hour, less than half the time Ndidi had in the game, and yet the young Italian only received seven fewer passes, 22 to 29.

While the argument that City were better in the final 20 minutes because Rotherham were tired holds true, it could also be said that they had greater control on the game because of Casadei.

It’s not to say the Ndidi experiment won’t work, but even though he is six years older than Casadei, he is far less experienced in this particular type of midfield role. It feels like it won’t be long until Casadei is in the starting line-up.

 

Doyle showing he is Maresca's main man
Speaking of Doyle, no City player plays Maresca’s game like he does. That shouldn’t be a surprise given he is the only member of the squad to have worked with the Italian before, but hopefully his performances give a glimpse of how City could look in the future when everybody has adjusted as well as he has.

For a teenage defender, his passing is exceptional. He has the ability to make clean passes to feet, but understanding Maresca’s gameplan means he also knows who to play to and when.

His switch to McAteer for the second goal was one of four passes he played into the box, the most by a City player in a single game this season. He leads City in that statistic across the campaign too, and has played more progressive passes than any of his team-mates.

That’s not to say he shies away from his defensive duties. He is aggressive in the way he faces up to opposition attackers, and has made more tackles and interceptions than anybody in the squad as well.

But being 19 means he is far from a complete player and a weakness was exploited at Rotherham. A fortnight before, one of Huddersfield’s best second-half chances came when Terriers striker Danny Ward got between Doyle and Jannik Vestergaard to win a header. Onyedinma made the same run on Saturday and was rewarded for it, catching Doyle on his heels.

It’s not a worrying issue for now, and hopefully he will recognise the need to improve in that regard. If he makes strides there and in other areas of the game, he will be a terrific player.

Maresca's ruthless decision is message to squad
McAteer, only back in training for a couple of days after injury, may not have even been in the team if Maresca hadn’t made the ruthless decision to drop Marcal from the squad.

While Marcal travelled with the group to Rotherham, he was not included by the time the team was announced, the weight of the manager’s decision made clear when he again included two goalkeepers on the bench instead of the winger, even just a week after his first goal for the club.

Maresca’s post-match explanation that young players “need to earn things every day in the training sessions and work hard” felt like a point being made. But the idea that Marcal would be getting ideas above his station feels out of step with a 20-year-old who is quiet, humble, and dedicated, and not at all egotistical.

In any case, while Maresca was making his point about young players, it’s perhaps a message that should be heeded by all of the squad. The results may be rosy right now but complacency cannot be allowed to creep in, and Maresca is making that clear in his squad selection. Otherwise, those defeats the manager is predicting will come around sooner than anybody hopes they will.

[leicesterlad1989]

4 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

Well and good to play Maresca tactics but with the players we have (a few levels above Rotherham at least) and his supposed positive football, we really need to see us just going for it, every single minute until the end no matter whether we are winning, losing or drawing. The fact that we stopped playing as soon as we went 2-1 up reminds me very much of Rodgers and his loser mentality. I commented on it at the time but I was laughed at (I am sure some one will do the same this time). In the end, we not only choked we choked so much we sleep walked into relegation under Rodgers. We are in the Championship guys - don’t be afraid. Just play.

 

We need to play like this guy wants:

 

 

I'm echoing what others have said but we certainly didn't stop playing. We dominated after we scored. Completely controlling possession and the tempo of the game. 

 

We are playing the ENZO way.

[KFS]

4 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

We are in the Championship guys - don’t be afraid. Just play.

 

We need to play like this guy wants:

 

 

The love-in is getting a bit ridiculous. Shouting ‘play’ is hardly ground breaking stuff  

[norwichfox]

Not sure of the best place to put this...we should keep an eye on this bloke, he may be available at £9million soon...

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66630555

[Chelmofox]

1 minute ago, norwichfox said:

Not sure of the best place to put this...we should keep an eye on this bloke, he may be available at £9million soon...

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66630555

Be careful with that one. He's not a magician. 

[Guest Col city fan]

I wrote a couple of matches in that it looks like Maresca knows what he’s doing.

We aren’t pretty, but what we are is fit, solid and well organised.

We look hard to beat and are conceding relatively few goals.

We’ve made some sensible signings and selling the right players.

However, we have had a VERY kind start to the season, fixtures wise and I believe we’ve missed a trick by not signing that striker from Swansea.

All in all though, this could have gone two ways. Luckily, and with good thinking, it’s gone the right way so far.

[KFS]

11 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

I wrote a couple of matches in that it looks like Maresca knows what he’s doing.

We aren’t pretty, but what we are is fit, solid and well organised.

We look hard to beat and are conceding relatively few goals.

We’ve made some sensible signings and selling the right players.

However, we have had a VERY kind start to the season, fixtures wise and I believe we’ve missed a trick by not signing that striker from Swansea.

All in all though, this could have gone two ways. Luckily, and with good thinking, it’s gone the right way so far.

We’re basically in pre-season until the tough run of Southampton and Norwich. If we can come through those unscathed I’ll be very very excited 

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, KFS said:

We’re basically in pre-season until the tough run of Southampton and Norwich. If we can come through those unscathed I’ll be very very excited 

Same here. September is quite a difficult month for us. Starting with Hull in Saturday, back to back away games against Southampton and Norwich, Bristol City at home and finish the month with Blackburn away. And more annoyingly, certainly from a fans view point, non of those away games are on a Saturday. 

 

If we can pick up from every one of those games then I might get in board with this whole "straight back up" thing 

[sbfox]

1 hour ago, KFS said:

We’re basically in pre-season until the tough run of Southampton and Norwich. If we can come through those unscathed I’ll be very very excited 

I mean, not really. If we'd lost our league games so far, you wouldn't be claiming this was pre-season. 

[Tom12345]

6 hours ago, KFS said:

The love-in is getting a bit ridiculous. Shouting ‘play’ is hardly ground breaking stuff  

You obviously don’t watch how Ange’s teams play. That clip was just a representation of his game. His motto is never stop. Same as top managers like Klopp and Guardiola. They do not “game manage” that I see time and time again some FT fans here shout about: exactly the loser mentality I talked about.  There is a reason why you see Liverpool and Man City score 4-1; 3-0 wins. They don’t stop after leading thinking that they may get caught out.

 

Look, it is a process and I am not saying Enzo is bad. I like it so far. Just that I don’t like to instill “game manage” ie. loser mentality in our game. It is disheartening to see our player run to the corner flag, then lose the ball anyway, when he could have run towards goal and try to take a shot.

[Tom12345]

6 hours ago, leicesterlad1989 said:

I'm echoing what others have said but we certainly didn't stop playing. We dominated after we scored. Completely controlling possession and the tempo of the game. 

 

We are playing the ENZO way.

Just like how Rodgers started and how fans reacted, as I recall.

 

We stop playing for sure when we are not playing our game. When you run to the corner flag and then lose possession anyway instead of trying to take a shot, that is not playing our game. Game manage against Rotherham is not exactly confidence building. I don’t see Man City game manage normally - they continue to attack.

 

But it is a process, and I hope this is just a phase. After years of Rodgers, I just don’t want us to go back to that.

Edited 28 August 2023 by Tom12345

[nabb7]

45 minutes ago, Tom12345 said:

Just like how Rodgers started and how fans reacted, as I recall.

 

We stop playing for sure when we are not playing our game. When you run to the corner flag and then lose possession anyway instead of trying to take a shot, that is not playing our game. Game manage against Rotherham is not exactly confidence building. I don’t see Man City game manage normally - they continue to attack.

 

But it is a process, and I hope this is just a phase. After years of Rodgers, I just don’t want us to go back to that.

You're always gonna be disappointed if you expect us to play like Man City and Liverpool, and we're a long long way off competing with them again. Just enjoy winning games instead of picking holes 5 games into a manager's reign.

[KFS]

1 hour ago, Tom12345 said:

You obviously don’t watch how Ange’s teams play. That clip was just a representation of his game. His motto is never stop. Same as top managers like Klopp and Guardiola. They do not “game manage” that I see time and time again some FT fans here shout about: exactly the loser mentality I talked about.  There is a reason why you see Liverpool and Man City score 4-1; 3-0 wins. They don’t stop after leading thinking that they may get caught out.

 

Look, it is a process and I am not saying Enzo is bad. I like it so far. Just that I don’t like to instill “game manage” ie. loser mentality in our game. It is disheartening to see our player run to the corner flag, then lose the ball anyway, when he could have run towards goal and try to take a shot.

Mate I want to get out of this shithole league, I’d take 24 more 1-0s with Mavididi and KDH doing a corner flag rondo from the first minute

[Broof]

1 hour ago, Tom12345 said:

You obviously don’t watch how Ange’s teams play. That clip was just a representation of his game. His motto is never stop. Same as top managers like Klopp and Guardiola. They do not “game manage” that I see time and time again some FT fans here shout about: exactly the loser mentality I talked about.  There is a reason why you see Liverpool and Man City score 4-1; 3-0 wins. They don’t stop after leading thinking that they may get caught out.

 

Look, it is a process and I am not saying Enzo is bad. I like it so far. Just that I don’t like to instill “game manage” ie. loser mentality in our game. It is disheartening to see our player run to the corner flag, then lose the ball anyway, when he could have run towards goal and try to take a shot.

When Man City blow away a team they nearly always score most of their goals in the first half and then manage the game in the second.

 

Also going to the corner flag is straight out of Pep's playbook so it's difficult to understand where you're getting this "loser mentality" stuff from https://reddit.com/r/Football_Shithouse/s/GhSV8rMeGC