Tactical Analysis vs Swindon Town

[aussieowl87]

Some light reading to stimulate brain matter in the couple of hours prior to kick-off. Agree. Disagree. Discuss.

Starting formation/lineup: 4-4-2 - Weaver, Otsemobor, R Johnson, R Jones, Buxton, J Johnson, O'Connor, Potter, D Jones, Madine, Mellor

Defence - with ball: limited again, but central midfield weren't providing simple options. Opposition wingers played high up so limited our fullbacks' attacking threat.

without ball: opposition striker(s? couldn't work out whether Swindon were 4-5-1 or 4-4-2) comfortable with back to goal. Our back 4 countered this by pushing up and limiting the space their midfield had to move into when they received. Trouble started to come when we dropped off and allowed their midfield to run at us.

Midfield - with ball: Feed wingers early. Jones doesn't suit direct style, as he seems to prefer "stop. stepover, stepover, stepover." It took me til the 40th minute to see either central midfielder with the ball at their feet. Another note is that our second goal came from the first angled ball from deep I've seen in the last couple of weeks.

without ball: wingers pressing high - more dangerous fullbacks compared to last week. When the ball went out for a goal kick/throw in/etc for Swindon, our entire midfield dropped off to make two defensive lines. When possession was turned over to them, the midfield 2 had the job of delaying the break.

Strikers - with ball: Madine was dropping deeper than usual from the start. In theory (providing we kept possession from his layoff) this gave him more scope to attack the ball from deep while Mellor ran the channels and left their backline staggered. However, due to lack of midfield support, he was forced to look for flick-ons, often losing the ball in the process. It is worth noting that our first goal came from both strikers receiving at feet and laying off, and on the rare occasion that we did get a ball or a chance to get a ball into the box, they weren't making similar runs.

without ball: 1 press, 1 drop.

Overall - Tactical: 10 back on corners, but not having a fast man up for the break. Madine I believe stayed up and when he received from the half clearances, he had no other option but to hold the ball up and wait for support. It's a lot to ask from our midfield.

Positives: 2nd defender much more obvious from the outset this week, particularly in the centre of the park. However as commented before, this severely limited out attacking threat.

Negatives: On the ball our central midfielders are the obvious weakness so far. I didn't see either offer for the ball when our back 4 or our front 2 had the ball. The only contribution came from the goal. This may have been due to Megson instructing them to drop in order to muffle their midfield 3 (the more I look, the more I'm convinced it was a 4-5-1).

Main Recommendations - with ball: if the central midfielders aren't required to show to our defenders because of the direct style of play, one should be up supporting our front 2 looking for the second ball or half clearance. With one of them pushing higher up the park, it will also see them closer to the opposition and assist in delaying their fast break. As the first half wore on, because both midfielders were sitting so deep, it allowed Swindon space to move into before being closed down.

without ball: leave JJ up when we're defending corners. Let him run with it on the break. I don't particularly care if he goes into blind alleys, he still makes opposition defenders panic. Also, keep on at the back 4 to push up, it'll force our midfield line to play higher up the pitch as well.

[Guest BoomTownOwls]

Get a bird FFS.

[aussieowl87]

Get a bird FFS.

she was cooking my tea while i watched the match. next question?

[aussieowl87]

bump/double post in sheer desperation.

[HOOTIE AND THE SHIT TU]

Some light reading to stimulate brain matter in the couple of hours prior to kick-off. Agree. Disagree. Discuss.

Starting formation/lineup: 4-4-2 - Weaver, Otsemobor, R Johnson, R Jones, Buxton, J Johnson, O'Connor, Potter, D Jones, Madine, Mellor

Defence - with ball: limited again, but central midfield weren't providing simple options. Opposition wingers played high up so limited our fullbacks' attacking threat.

without ball: opposition striker(s? couldn't work out whether Swindon were 4-5-1 or 4-4-2) comfortable with back to goal. Our back 4 countered this by pushing up and limiting the space their midfield had to move into when they received. Trouble started to come when we dropped off and allowed their midfield to run at us.

Midfield - with ball: Feed wingers early. Jones doesn't suit direct style, as he seems to prefer "stop. stepover, stepover, stepover." It took me til the 40th minute to see either central midfielder with the ball at their feet. Another note is that our second goal came from the first angled ball from deep I've seen in the last couple of weeks.

without ball: wingers pressing high - more dangerous fullbacks compared to last week. When the ball went out for a goal kick/throw in/etc for Swindon, our entire midfield dropped off to make two defensive lines. When possession was turned over to them, the midfield 2 had the job of delaying the break.

Strikers - with ball: Madine was dropping deeper than usual from the start. In theory (providing we kept possession from his layoff) this gave him more scope to attack the ball from deep while Mellor ran the channels and left their backline staggered. However, due to lack of midfield support, he was forced to look for flick-ons, often losing the ball in the process. It is worth noting that our first goal came from both strikers receiving at feet and laying off, and on the rare occasion that we did get a ball or a chance to get a ball into the box, they weren't making similar runs.

without ball: 1 press, 1 drop.

Overall - Tactical: 10 back on corners, but not having a fast man up for the break. Madine I believe stayed up and when he received from the half clearances, he had no other option but to hold the ball up and wait for support. It's a lot to ask from our midfield.

Positives: 2nd defender much more obvious from the outset this week, particularly in the centre of the park. However as commented before, this severely limited out attacking threat.

Negatives: On the ball our central midfielders are the obvious weakness so far. I didn't see either offer for the ball when our back 4 or our front 2 had the ball. The only contribution came from the goal. This may have been due to Megson instructing them to drop in order to muffle their midfield 3 (the more I look, the more I'm convinced it was a 4-5-1).

Main Recommendations - with ball: if the central midfielders aren't required to show to our defenders because of the direct style of play, one should be up supporting our front 2 looking for the second ball or half clearance. With one of them pushing higher up the park, it will also see them closer to the opposition and assist in delaying their fast break. As the first half wore on, because both midfielders were sitting so deep, it allowed Swindon space to move into before being closed down.

without ball: leave JJ up when we're defending corners. Let him run with it on the break. I don't particularly care if he goes into blind alleys, he still makes opposition defenders panic. Also, keep on at the back 4 to push up, it'll force our midfield line to play higher up the pitch as well.

I may be wrong because it's not fresh in the memory now, but I thought that Swindon were pushing both fullbacks into midfield whenever they had the ball. It looked to me when Swindon had the ball they just had the two centre backs, with the fullbacks pushing on making it more of a 2-5-3 formation, especially second half when they were chasing the game. One Swindon midield player (Prutton?) was dropping really deep to receive the ball and instigate attacks, so maybe it was more of a 2-1-4-3.

Another great read though Aussie.

[dorian gray]

she was cooking my tea while i watched the match. next question?

get a tidy bit on the side, or two if possible...