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/

3-5-2 - It's strengths and weaknesses

The Football Front’s tactical expert Itsaballnotabomb evaluates the 3-5-2 system and its strengths and weaknesses.

This formation is the exact opposite of the first famous formation, the 2-5-3. The 3-5-2 represents a complete turnaround in football philosophy since its beginning and it’s realisation was one of the main reasons for Jonathon Wilson’s book; Inverting the Pyramid, which you should really fucking read.

In defence, the three players provide excellent coverage against a two man attack. This is because it allows the side to have a free player, who, if one of the other defenders gets beaten they can cover for them.

Another common aspect of a three man defence is to have at least one defender who is confident enough on the ball to be able to bring it out and pick passes. These types of players can be rare these days but a converted midfielder can also be deployed there. This player used to be highly common and was used as a playmaker, who brought the ball out of defence, joined the midfield for the attack and then dropped deep to pick up any passes over the top. The role was called the libero, or the “free one”. However, the defence can be exposed. Firstly, if the teams midfield is caught high up the pitch it can lead the 3 man defence to be easily opened up. Secondly, a three man defence can encounter severe problems if it comes up against a three striker set up by the opposition.

The midfield is fairly similar to the 4-3-3 midfield, which I explained here. The extra man in the centre of the park when up against a 4-4-2 can be very useful at keeping the ball, whilst allowing one of the midfielders to find space so that they can create an opportunity for the two strikers.

A key component on the 3-5-2 is the wide midfielders. The wide midfielders need to provide width and defensive stability on the wings. They can be deployed further back, leading to a 5-3-2 formation. This role is probably the most physically demanding one in the formation because of the area in which both of the wide players need to cover.

Up front, the two strikers combine in much the same way as talked about previously when I discussed the 4-4-2 here. One of them may drop deep whilst the other plays on the shoulder of the opposition defence, or one of them may pull wide to provide width until the wide players get forward.

It all depends on the type of players which make up the squad and their individual traits.

The 3-5-2 is still commonly used in Serie A with both Udinese and Napoli using it. Both of these sides have overachieved in recent years as well showing how useful the formation can be.

Indeed, the use of 4-4-2 is still very prominent in Italy and this formation is one of the most effective against the 3-5-2 system.

The 3-5-2 is an underused formation in modern football. Although its a very useful formation when played against formations with less than three forwards. However, if the other side has three forwards though, it will be easier for them to score than it is in a brothel.

This article was written by Itsaballnotabomb, you can follow him on Twitter at - @ballnotabomb

You can find more of his work on his blog – itsaballnotabomb.wordpress.com

Do Manchester City have a genuine 'Group of Death' to navigate?

In his debut article for The Football Front, Brett Curtis takes a look at this season's Champions League group A teams.

Every time World Cup groups are drawn, one of the first things many observers enjoy, whilst scanning through the illustrious names, is selecting a ‘Group of Death’.

The name, while overly dramatic, generally speaks for itself: it is the group that every other side looks upon breaking a sigh of relief, with the sides within it cursing that they will have no easy match in attempting to reach the knock-out stage.

In the Champions League, however, this generally hasn’t been the case. The expansion from 24 to 32 teams in the group stages over a decade ago has clearly made Europe’s elite competition a bigger spectacle, but quality was slightly sacrificed for quantity as a result. The group stages, then, arguably became a lucrative ‘warm up’ -- listen closely and I’m sure you will hear Graeme Souness utter “this competition begins in the knock-out stages” at some point in the next few months – especially for the big clubs and UEFA alike. Moreover, Platini’s recent alterations to the qualifying format have allowed champions and/or runners-up from ‘lesser’ nations an easier route in qualifying, with those finishing 3rd or 4^th (depending on coefficients) in more competitive leagues suffering as a result, meaning the Champions League ‘proper’ has witnessed more debutants, in terms of clubs and nations, than before, with many limply exiting at the first major hurdle.

Two of these debutants this year are Manchester City and Napoli, who both finished 3^rd in the Premier League and Serie A respectively. Generally, that sort of form in a major league would cement a club as a favourite to finish at least second in a group. However, while the Champions League looks stronger in general (or on paper at least) this year, there is little doubt that the aforementioned two sides have been handed a genuine ‘Group of Death.’ Both sides will also face four-time European Cup winners Bayern Munich and the 2006 semi-finalists Villarreal. A group containing four sides from Europe’s top four leagues is quite incredible; but clearly it is as a result of Manchester City’s and Napoli’s lack of European success and experience in recent years. This is in stark contrast to their group rivals: Bayern Munich who were competing in the Champions League final a mere 16 months ago. While Villarreal reached the Europa League semi-final last season, beating a certain Napoli along the way.

The ‘Group of Death’ completed its first match day on Wednesday; though it is obviously early days in the group. There were some interesting points to take from the two matches’ patterns of play, and of course results. It is Bayern Munich that take the early initiative after a comfortable 2-0 win at Villarreal, prior to which the Spanish side hadn’t lost their last nine European home matches.

Tactically, a slight change from their standard 4-2-2-2 to a more defensive 4-3-1-2 system may well have been their downfall; though Bayern achieving 54% possession away from home, as well as attempting twice as many shots, would suggest this was well and truly an off-day for the El Submarino. Though I would not rule them out entirely, I do feel that they are currently the weakest side in this group; but I expect them to improve on this defeat nonetheless.

Manchester City and Napoli, meanwhile, gained a point each after an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium. After this impressive draw, those looking for a dark horse within this group should probably favour Napoli over Villarreal. Last season, despite finishing behind Inter, they were Milan’s closest title competitor throughout much of the season, before falling away towards the end of the season. Perhaps this was a result of the demands of their relatively unique 3-4-3 formation, which requires an intense pressing game and maximum effort from all of its components. However, it is certainly one that suits the majority of its players -- in stark contrast to their Serie A rivals Inter, who are currently implementing a very similar system, despite possessing an ageing back-line that, equally, isn’t blessed with the dynamism in forward areas that Napoli possess. Indeed, a front three of Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani is surely one of the more complete and threatening forward lines in Europe: in Marek Hamsik they have a player that, despite sometimes going missing in big games, has the potential to be the complete attacking midfielder. While Lavezzi and Cavani are two strikers that complement each other perfectly, with the Lavezzi’s ball-carrying skills and admirable work rate working off Cavani’s link-up play both provide a genuine goal-threat. On the counter-attack, the three of them, aided by wing-backs Zuniga and Maggio frightened Manchester City all match. Of course, every front-line needs a platform to succeed, and those defending the backdoor for Napoli certainly have that – Walter Gargano is the perfect example, he and Inler also illustrating the importance of holding midfielders as they stifled the likes of Silva, Nasri and Aguero between the lines; which is certainly no easy task, as shown by the trio wreaking havoc in the Premier League so far this season by their contemporary in-roads runs and devastating creativity.

Bayern Munich and Manchester City will remain favourites to reach the knock-out stages: the German side, though relatively youthful, should have enough European pedigree and nous to see them through, while Manchester City now have one of the best and biggest squads in Europe following their gigantic spending spree in recent seasons. It says a great deal about the strength of these two sides when a ‘Group of Death’ can have two evident favourites – but when they contain players such as Lahm, Kompany, Schweinsteiger, Silva, Robben and Aguero it’s perhaps a little surprise. Both teams should qualify, as expected, but both may well consider anything less than a semi-final appearance a disappointment.

However, they must first qualify from this undoubted ‘Group of Death’ – and with the likes of Nilmar, Cavani, Rossi and Lavezzi waiting to hurt them.

It would not be a major surprise to see one of them failing.

This article was written by Brett Curtis, you can follow him on Twitter here: @bcurtis92 .Brett is a regular contributor to Football Speak.