Talking Tactics: Question and answer session with LankyGuy Blog

Today, The Football Front speaks to Jonny Mullins the creator of Lanky Guy Blog, who is one of the brightest young and upcoming football analysts in the blogsphere.

 Hi Jonny, thanks for coming on,

Let’s start off with the Champions, Man City, in your eyes did they deserve to win the Premier League? 

Yeah I think so. They had the best team, the best squad and they were determined even to the last second.

Did you feel tactically, Roberto Mancini got the best out of his players?

Well they won the league so he did pretty well! They certainly progressed in 2011/12, especially in attack. They had a good mix with the work rate of players like Milner and Barry in midfield and the mobility in attack of Silva, Aguero, Tevez and Nasri as well as Toure when he played between the lines. I think Mancini did well with the players available though I think they have weaknesses defensively.

Why do you think Man City struggled in the Champions League? 

Small details really. I don’t buy that they weren’t suited to the Champions League style. They just had problems defensively especially against Napoli’s 3-4-3 shape. In both games they struggled with the way Napoli counter attacked with their three forwards in the space City left and that eventually cost them.

Man City, Swansea, Arsenal and Fulham all played some of the most fluid passing football in the Premier League, do you expect more teams to adopt a more progressive passing game as the years go by in England?

I think England has adapted really well over the years. There’s more and more teams playing more of a passing game as you said and in fact the Premier League made more passes overall than La Liga last year so there has clearly been a progression in style. I don’t know whether we’ll see lots of proactive ‘passing’ sides in the league but I think teams are trying to be more progressive and adapt without losing the directness and speed that is associated with the Premier League.

One man who has been appointed to instil a passing philosophy at a big club is Brendan Rodgers, how long do you think it will realistically take him to implement a successful passing game at Anfield?

It’s noticeable already that Rodgers has got them building out from defence, with the centre backs opening up, one midfielder dropping deep to pick the ball up and the full backs pushing up. However it will take time to try and get it working. There will be matches where the team may lack penetration or where they’ll concede goals by giving possession away at the back. I watched the friendly against Roma and there was a number of sideways passes given away which put them under pressure, especially with the space between defenders. I don’t think there are quite the players available to make it work as well as Rodgers probably wants it too so it will take time.

Andre Villas -Boas pointed out a few months ago that implementing a passing game in the Barcelona mould is not possible in the Premier League, because of the tempo, the aggression and tenacity of the English game, would you agree with this view?

I think so. The Barcelona style is different to anyone else’s because of the way they carry it out. They try to have as much control over a game as possible and that can be difficult against opposition who are aggressive and play at a high tempo. I’m not sure whether it’s impossible – if you have the right quality of players then maybe you can. But if you look at Barcelona’s game - the slow transitions from defence to attack, the continuous switches of play, often playing into pressure etc - then that is clearly very difficult to carry out in general and certainly in England.

Speaking of Villas-Boas, although he had immense success at Porto, his system didn’t exactly work out at Chelsea, do you feel his methods can work at in the Premier League and more specifically at Spurs?

I’m sure he can do well, given time. He has the tactical knowledge, he knows all the small details from his experiences as a scout and manager so he’ll know exactly what he wants. Maybe he made some mistakes at Chelsea with the players but if he can learn from it then he can make Tottenham into title contenders.

One system I saw grow in prominence last season, was the system of playing three at the back, so many sides adopted it from Wigan to Barcelona. Do you feel next season and even further into the future, more sides will adopt a three at the back system?

It’s definitely a possibility. The way 3-4-3 shapes up numerically against your usual 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or even 4-3-3 can cause problems for teams. When Man City faced Napoli was a good example. When Man City got their full backs forward, Napoli often left their front three high and let the wing backs close them down which meant that on the counter attack, Napoli often had numerical equality with their forwards. That can be very difficult to play against. Wigan’s shape was also very good to watch because their wing backs were allowed to move very high and wide, especially with the cover of a back three so when they had possession, they were able to stretch the opponent with switches of play and open up space in the middle for the front three moving inside. And if you look at some 4-3-3s, they often move the holding player back into a back three when they have the ball so a three at the back (or five depending on if you wait and play counter attack) is a logical progression.

Last season, I recall a moment at St. James’ Park where Man City took off Samir Nasri in the 61^st minute and Mancini put on De Jong. The decision was met by despair by most fans, who could not understand it, as Man City were drawing and needed to win.  Mancini ended up making the right decision in putting De Jong in, as Yaya Toure played in a more attacking role and got the winner. Do you feel fans sometimes don’t understand tactics as much as they should?

Maybe not about understanding but I do think sometimes fans can be too quick to criticise without actually asking themselves why a manager has made a particular decision. Managers aren’t stupid, they make decisions because they think it’s for the best. There’s always room for people to question things like substitutions but it’s always much better to analyse first what they’re doing and then if necessary criticise after.

Was there any manager whose side you enjoyed watching tactically last season?

Outside of the Premier League, I thought Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund were superb. They played with such great intensity, pressed and attacked really well. The way they beat Bayern Munich in the German Cup Final was fantastic, they didn’t give them any time or space to play.

Did any manager positively surprise you in the past year?

Rodgers was definitely one of them. Swansea were a great side to watch and had a solid foundation. I was also impressed with Fulham and the way Martin Jol got them playing was great.

Dream Team

So, what would be your dream XI? (of present players)

Casillas; Alves, Thiago Silva, Kompany, Lahm; Alonso, Xavi, Di Maria, Ronaldo, Iniesta, Messi

Who would be the manager of this team?

It might be cheating because he’s not managing anymore but I would make Arrigo Sacchi the manager of this team because he created one of the best club sides ever to play the game in the AC Milan of the late eighties and I’d love to see what he’d create here.

What league would you play in? 

I’d love to see them try and carry out their style Premier League.

What stadium would you play in? 

Wembley

Finally, what would you name your team?

Sacchi’s spectacular selection of brilliance.

Thanks for taking part!

You can follow Jonny on Twitter: @lankyguyblog

Make sure you check out his site too: http://lankyguyblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Chelsea: The Impossible Job?

So, another one bites the dust. Chelsea sack yet another manager. Another Chelsea manager was quickly ushered in and before you know it, he is hastily ushered out. The uncompromising trigger of Roman Abramovic has been pulled yet again.

Chelsea’s have had all sorts of managers under Roman Abramovich reign of the club. The Blues have had Champions League winners, mediocre unknown managers, a World Cup Winner, then an international manager, then back to Champions League Winners, and then to a young, up and coming manager, Andre Villas Boas.

So many have arrived at Chelsea, yet so many managers have failed to deal with huge expectations of the Chelsea owner.

There is a beautiful irony surrounding Chelsea. On one hand you have a selection of fine players, some of whom are arguably world class. While on the other, Chelsea have huge transfer funds, meaning the club can attract the finest players around the globe.

But there is a sting at Chelsea which has caught so many managers out.

There are three elements to this ‘sting’ which make Chelsea the impossible job in club football.

1) The players mentality – (especially the senior players at Chelsea) - It seems the players feel so secure at the club that they feel it is their way or the highway for the manager.

2) Roman Abramovic – The Russian’s susceptibility to pull the trigger when the going gets tough make the job impossible for Chelsea managers to make a real impact on the club.

3) Jose Mourinho (Chelsea’s most successful manager) and his shadow – Whoever comes in at Chelsea will be compared to the great Jose Mourinho. Not only this, people will compare the rapport the new manager has with the players in comparison to the rapport Mourinho had with the Chelsea players.

The Chelsea players should be embarrassed with their application towards Andre Villas Boas. Some of the players put their own interests ahead of the club and the Chelsea fans. The likes of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole made their frustration very clear to the press. How a legend like Frank Lampard thinks informing the press of his frosty relationship with Villas –Boas is in the interests of Chelsea Football Club is beyond me. These unneeded comments by an experienced international only poured more fuel and cranked up the pressure on Chelsea and Villas –Boas.

Lampard’s unhappiness at being dropped for various Chelsea games lead to him publicly questioning Andre Villas-Boas’ management. But the reality is Frank Lampard is 33. He is no longer the future of Chelsea.

Frank Lampard should do his talking on the pitch, rather than vent his anger to the media. Lampard already has ammunition to do his talking on the pitch. Frank Lampard has created the second highest amount of chances for Chelsea (41). While the 33 year old is Chelsea’s top goal scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals. Lampard statistics prove his value to the Chelsea side. The stats show Lampard is contributing and does make a difference to the side.

One can’t deny Villas-Boas didn’t handle some of the senior players brilliantly. He seemed to alleinate and unsettle a number of them. However, did the Chelsea players really make an effort to warm or conform to the Portuguese manager’s philosophy? Perhaps we will never know. But it seemed the players were incredibly unwilling to conform to his ways.

But it seems the Chelsea players have this mentality whereby they know they will outlive their manager at the club. This poor mentality has unfortunately lead to some of the players being unwilling to adhere to the new managers style of management, if it doesn’t suit them. This is what’s sad about Chelsea. The mentality of some of the players typifies everything what’s wrong with player power in the modern game. As Chelsea’s player power hasn’t led to sustained success, it has led to hefty pay outs and abrupt seasons.

Whoever becomes the next full time manager at Chelsea, face the same the issues Carlo Ancelotti and Andre Villas-Boas faced. The same arrogant players control and dominate the dressing room. While restricting the new manager from being able to fully implement their own style and mentality on the club.

The problem at Chelsea is that the managers aren’t given time, and if they try to change things too quickly, it can lead to serious decline, as the team have to develop cohesion and understanding, without unsettling and alienating the existing players . Another crucial point, especially at Chelsea, is most players have been at the club longer than manager, meaning they will oppose the changes as it would be against their interests and their way of doing things. Perhaps this was Andre Villas-Boas mistake at Chelsea. Changing too much too quickly.

Andre Villas –Boas is a talented manager. He is a manager who will go onto achieve great things. The sad thing is it is reported Villas-Boas often slept at Chelsea’s training ground. Its regrettable, a man this committed, this passionate about his job was not given the time to see the job through. It’s also a shame that the former managers determination didn’t rub off with his players.

Chelsea is the impossible job in club football. The shadows of Jose Mourinho are still ever dominant, no matter whom the manager is.

Look at Carlo Ancelotti. In his first season, he won the double. While in his career overall, the guy has won four European cups. Yet he was shown the door for coming second. This demonstrates the sheer monstrosity of the job. It shows the magnitude of this gig. It shows how fine the line is between success and failure at Chelsea.

The impossible nature of the Chelsea job has and will continue to put off the finest managers across the globe. The likes of Pep Guaridola have quickly distanced themselves away from the job. While former Chelsea coach Brendan Rodgers when asked if he was interested in the Blues job, he said wisely he wanted to ‘build’ his career, rather than ‘destroy’ it. Rodgers comments superbly define the issues surrounding the Chelsea managers job. It doesn’t lead to great success, it leads to condemnation, it leads to humiliation and it leads to utter emotional pain.

For the Chelsea job to be viewed as possible, the culture surrounding the club’s hiring and firing policy must change. Changes have to be made at Chelsea. There is no other way around it. The Chelsea team needs fresh players, fresh ideas and a fresh mentality. At the moment, the old guard’s mentality is rife at the club and instead of improving the club, it is actually leading to the club’s decline.

What’s sad is Andre Villas-Boas often insisted Chelsea’s needed to be rid themselves of the club’s existing culture of sacking and the players controlling the dressing room. Villas Boas spoke of his desire to create a new cultural identity at the club.

Regrettably, the same culture Villas –Boas was looking to eradicate, ended up getting him the sack.

An Assessment of Chelsea..

In his debut article for The Football Front, Chinmay Pandya evaluates Chelsea’s tactics in the first half of the Premier League season.

Chelsea’s new year could not have been worse as the blues greet it with a yet another disastrous defeat at home. Critics will not fail to point out the frailties at the back or the impotency in the final third.

Firstly, why are Chelsea impotent in attack?

In the 4-3-3 system, Mata usually drifts inside during the build up which means Cole turns into the left winger and the whole defence has to shuffle accordingly and the DM has to cover for the missing defender and also ensure that the ball is spread around well (which is overburdening especially for someone like Romeu who’s still young). Meireles and Juan Mata’s threats are almost nullified because they’re blanketed by the opposition midfield. If the DM fails to do his job, and Chelsea are caught on the break gaping holes appear in the midfield which was evident against Villa. There were moments when Mata and Sturridge were seen next to each other and when the ball was played into the box, there was no one on the left hand side to receive it.

For the opposition it makes it painfully easy to defend against, as any space Sturridge may create would be killed by Mata who brings more defenders over to him. To sum up, the tactics were quite narrow because of the tendency of the wide men to cut inside and congest the midfield forcing Chelsea to build attacks from the wings. Opposition usually know that's it's only the full backs to worry about in the wide areas.

So this makes it obvious that the 4-2-3-1 system fares better with a left winger in Malouda and with Mata playing through the center which also increases supply to the striker. Even the frailties at the back will reduce because of the balance that is created. Indeed, there may be a lot of theories to describe the impotency in attack, the one described above is just one of them.

As far as the frailties at the back are considered, the whole system goes together. Chelsea have averaged 0.21 clean sheets per match in the premier league and have conceded 1.6 goals per match at home. Which is staggering and but a lot better compared to the 0.89 goals conceded away from home this season. The mere difference being the counter attacking system preferred away from home, is that it is more defensively focused and Chelsea adopt a deeper defensive line. And the opposite system which is used at home is far more attacking and Chelsea play a higher defensive line. The effectiveness of the two tactics are evident in Chelsea’s home and away record in the Premier League this season.

	Home	Away
Played	10	10
Won	6	5
Draws	1	3
Defeats	3	2
Goals scored	23	16
Goals conceded	16	9
Points	19	18

If Chelsea struggle to develop a consistent system and strategy, it will inevitably lead to Chelsea failing to make it into the top 4 this season.

Furthermore, financial difficulties could arise and with the Financial Fair Play rules coming into play from next season, one asks the question could all of this add up and create a recipe for the perfect disaster at Chelsea? We’ll have to wait and see.

AVB is a talented manager to find the solutions to Chelsea’s problems. But the biggest question is will he be given time?

This article was written by Chinmay Pandya, you can find his work at http://nimblefootwork.blog.com/ and you can follow him on Twitter: @_thesoccerist

Six things Andre Villas-Boas must do at Chelsea – in roughly chronological order.

1. Break the association with Mourinho

Even The Special One, with all of his pomp and arrogance, was referred to as “The Translator” when things didn’t go to plan. Mourinho’s stint at Barcelona was variously described as anything from Bobby Robson’s translator, to assistant manager. The fact that Villas-Boas was Mourinho’s assistant at Porto, Chelsea and Inter. It will weigh heavy on people’s minds, and Villas-Boas will need to mark his boundaries quickly. Many of Mourinho’s signings remain at Stamford Bridge, and others that were favourites of his. Players such as Drogba, Terry, Lampard, and Kalou will remember him from Mourinho days, and he will either have to immediately command their respect, or else there will be a problem with player power. Mourinho combated player power by ensuring that no ego was bigger than his own. His “Special One” press conference is rightly legendary. Villas-Boas has already sought to distance himself and differentiate himself from Mourinho. He achieved this by opting for a far lower-key initial press statement of “don’t expect something from one man”. Unfortunately, that is exactly why Abramovich has paid £13.3 million to buy out his contract at Porto. Abramovic expects Villas-Boas to deliver. The national press is already full of comparison pieces about Villas-Boas and Mourinho. The comparisons even go down to the way that both managers foster close relationships with their players.

2. Find replacements for Terry, Lampard and Drogba

John Terry is only 30, but he is showing signs of creakiness already. He was never one to rely on pace, admittedly. But when the little pace he has goes, he needs to be moved on. Most central defenders would be hitting their peak at his age, but John Terry seems to be past his.

However, more to the point, he’s a disruptive influence in the dressing room. Having publically stated that he would welcome the appointment of Guus Hiddink, Terry has let it known that Villas-Boas was not his first choice.

Drogba is also one of the most outspoken players in the dressing room. His powers have waned over the last two seasons, he’s no longer the force he was on the pitch. At 33, he’s in the twilight of his career, and may want to return to the French League for a swansong of sorts. One player already linked with Chelsea is Columbian 25 year old Radamel Falcao, who has scored 73 goals in 85 appearances for Porto in the last two seasons – including a record 18 in 15 in the Europa League.

Lampard is another who’s powers are on the wane. Replacing Lampard is less of a political issue than it is in the case of Drogba and Terry. Frank Lampard undoubtedly has a huge influence on the dressing room, but is also known to be a highly intelligent professional. Lampard in his prime never missed a game, and could guarantee 20 goals a season. His replacement is more of a tactical renewal, with another of Villas-Boas’ Porto stars Moutinho touted as his successor. The Portuguese midfielder is more versatile than Lampard. He also shares with Frank Lampard an apparent imperviousness to injury.

Villas-Boas will no doubt wish to bring players in, and will be backed in the transfer market by Roman Abramovich. My guess is that he’ll look to replace the aging spine of the team, and with that he’ll ensure that the biggest voices in the dressing room are his men, not Mourinho’s. He needs to get his buys during the summer, so that they can gel with the existing players.

3. Hit the ground running

Managing a top side in the Premier League is not an easy thing to do. Managing Chelsea in particular is turning into somewhat of a poisoned chalice. Just ask World Cup winning manager Big Phil Scolari, he was ousted before completing a season. With a billionaire owner who appears to be becoming increasingly restless and ruthless, and has proven that he’s prepared to fork out the money required to get rid of people before their contract runs down.

4. Win over the media

Sorry to mention him again, but Mourinho is the man with whom the parallels are being drawn. The media’s obsession with Villas-Boas being a “Mini-Mourinho” will not satisfy itself until he proves otherwise, or implodes under pressure. Mourinho had the press pack hanging off his every word and Villas-Boas will do well to avoid trying to be him. And he seems to be doing this already. An interview with Chelsea TV quotes him as saying “Don’t expect something from one man”, and he comes across as very quietly self-confident. But, pressure in England is far higher than in Portugal. The scrutiny of the media has often proved too much for some managers of big clubs, some are merely perplexed by it all.

Villas- Boas is young, good looking, stylish and intelligent – I hope for his sake that he’s given some time to establish himself.

5. Entertain

Porto’s unbeaten league campaign of 2010/11 produced 73 goals from 30 games. They conceded only 16, giving them a goal difference 27 higher than second placed Benfica. This is where Villas-Boas can really show his form, and step out from Mourinho’s shadow. His favoured formation at Porto was an attacking 4-3-3, and the players are there at Chelsea to be able to play any formation the manager asks them to – they certainly get paid enough to anyway! Villas-Boas will want to play the game his way, and that should make for exciting times at Chelsea. Villas-boas is famed for his meticulous approach to the game. Nothing is left to chance, and he develops game plans to exploit the opposition’s weaknesses.

6. Win everything

That means everything.

With an aging squad, a club might be expected to go through a transitional period of a season and a half, before the manager brings in enough of his own players and staff to get things running the way he wants.

However, this is not the case with Chelsea.

Abramovich will want to see returns this season. Some of Villas-Boas predecessors have been fired for not winning silverware in a season. Avram Grant was sacked for almost delivering. A League Cup final defeat by Tottenham, a Champions League Final defeat in the most agonising of circumstances, and a second place in the league wasn’t good enough.

Abramovich has only given the Villas-Boas a three year contract, so I’d expect that he’d want to see the Premier League title back at Chelsea within the first two years, along with the Champions League that has so far evaded him.

There is absolutely no doubt, Roman Abramovich cares about reputations. He’s brought the most hotly tipped managerial talent to Chelsea. But as he’s proven time and time again, he’s got no qualms about destroying reputations if he doesn’t get what he wants – and that’s a success in Europe.

This piece was written by Thomas Nash, you can follow him on Twitter - @MrThomasNash

Things you may like to read

The Eternal Struggle - http://tiny.cc/1hl0v

The Quest for the Holy Grail taken to a new level - http://tiny.cc/0cxnu

Andre Villas - Boas Scouting report v Newcastle 2005 - http://tiny.cc/yktki

Andre Villas - Boas Scouting report v Newcastle 2005

This is incredible. Below is a scouting report from the new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas. The report is highly in-depth and is intriguing to read.

This document really gives you an insight to the level of preparation and the high degree of tactical scouting which is done in professional football. Not only this, the document also shows the sharp tactical acumen of Villas-Boas.

If you're interested, Chelsea won the game Villas-Boas was scouting by 3 goals to nil.

Boas leaked report

View more presentations from 03akkasi.

Here is a larger version

Things you may like to read

The Eternal Struggle - http://tiny.cc/1hl0v

Why Chelsea must drop Fernando Torres if they are to have any chance of success this season - http://tiny.cc/a3o11

Jose Mourinho. The ultimate manager or the ultimate journey man? - http://tiny.cc/ii8te

The Quest for the Holy Grail taken to a new level

Apart from the joy of football, every club in the world has one thing in common – to be successful.

To have their name in bright lights, carved into the history books for the rest of the world to see. People will do almost anything to achieve success, whether it is by buying the best players or hiring the best managers. What do people want after taking their first bite out of the success cake? They want even more success.

However, what follows is greed, jealousy and lust. But there are some people who relish and crave all of that. Namely Mr. Roman Abramovich.

Abramovich took over Chelsea Football Club 8 years ago and has been the sole reason as to why The Blues have been so successful. The Russian businessman has continuously plunged money by the lorry load into the club, and they have gone on to win 8 major trophies since his tenure started.

However, all 8 of the major trophies have come in England. 3 league titles, 2 FA Cups and 2 League Cups to be precise. Despite spending approximately £600 million on Chelsea since his arrival, they have yet to win a competition in Europe. Their sole aim to win the Champions League hasn’t been accomplished yet.

It’s the one box that remains un-ticked.

Mr Abramovich has tried everything. He brought in Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, who have both won the Champions League with previous clubs. But both managers ultimately failed in bringing the Champions League to Chelsea. In between these two was, Luiz Felipe Scolari – a World Cup winning coach. Scolari was appointed, and sacked after 6 months. With the exception of Mourinho, who left by mutual consent, the other two were sacked for not winning anything, or not being in a quick fix position to challenge for anything. The price of failure is ridiculously costly.

Roman Abramovich is well known for being quick to pull the trigger to sack his managers. However, he’s also quick to pull the cheque book out to sign players, strikers in particular. Here are a few to reel off: Anelka £15 million. Drogba £24 million. Shevchenko £30 million. Torres £50 million. On these four alone, that’s £119 million pounds. £119 million pounds on four human beings!

Yet, that still didn’t get him what he wanted.

Notably, the fact Chelsea lost the 2008 Champions League final. It simply couldn’t have been made up. The final was being held in Moscow, a place Abramovich calls home and it was the trophy he has craved ever since he bought Chelsea. Furthermore, Abramovich had his ‘yes man’ manager in Avram Grant. Chelsea were also against their arch rivals, Manchester United. It was supposed to be Chelsea’s day, yet no one sent Cristiano Ronaldo or Edwin Van der Sar the script.

Chelsea haven’t been back to a Champions League final since.

The failure in the Champions League or in other campaigns have not stopped Abramovich from splashing the cash. Torres was bought for £50 million in January, but has only mustered a meagre one goal in 14 league games. This has led Abramovich to completely reform the Chelsea staff, both coaching and playing. Tottenham’s Luka Modric has been pinpointed as the man to get Torres to score again. Romelu Lukaku and Neymar have also been linked, and guess what positions these two play? Striker! Of these two, Lukaku seems a more viable acquisition, and the club are in talks with him.

News has broken out that Andre Villas-Boas has been appointed, at the cost of about €15 million (£13.2 million) and the expectation levels will be even higher for him following another seemingly huge shopping trip. What adds to the pressure is whether or not he can match or better what the last bloke who went from Porto to Chelsea. You know; that guy who wears a scarf and a beautiful coat – goes by the name of Jose?

Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal sends a clear message. The message reads - win the lot or be sacked.

The quest for the Holy Grail has been taken to a whole new level.

This piece was written by Christian Brown, you can follow him on his Twitter - @Chris78901, Chris also writes for Football Speak too. All of Chris' work is on his blog, 1-chris78901.

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The Eternal Struggle - http://tiny.cc/1hl0v

Why Chelsea must drop Fernando Torres if they are to have any chance of success this season - http://tiny.cc/a3o11

An odd Champions League statistic - http://tiny.cc/dquw9