Dom

😔 Yes we’ve been on a very poor run of form considering results towards the end of last season but Michael Duff showcased top tactical displays when he first arrived at the club. Man to man pressing from opposition goal kicks, a compact 4-4-2 mid block off the ball protecting the centre of the pitch which could transition man to man higher up, the trigger being backwards passes in the opposition’s half. 4-3-3 deep build up with dropping movements from the 8’s to help us escape the first phase and keep the defensive and attacking lines connected. Positive in possession attacking dynamics etc etc. He for me was one of the best tactical managers in the league. This season we’ve seen a change of out of possession with us moving to much more of a zonal approach which I personally wasn’t a fan of, we now rarely transition man to man higher up and don’t get consistent pressure on the ball. At the start of the season the in possession dynamics weren’t as good as previously with there being less movement from the 8’s to drop and utilise bounce passes to find a spare man. However that improved in recent games. In the 1st half against MK Dons we stuck with this new zonal approach Duff wanted, and we were much more intelligent with our pressing, it seemed like the players had a far greater understanding and clarity of their roles out of possession. I do believe we were improving game upon game and we’re probably unfortunate not to be 2 wins in a row right now. Did he make mistakes? Yes, switching to a back 5 in certain games such as Bolton away leading to us getting pinned in and eventually conceding is something I personally didn’t agree with as I thought it was too conservative. But the overall tactical approach for 95% of our games was hugely positive, I do FIRMLY believe the only reason we didn’t get playoffs last season was due to injuries to key players. - Junior 🏥 - Fred 🏥 - Casey 🏥 - Hagelskjær 🏥 - Huggins 🏥 - Boyd Munce 🏥 All of the above were injured for the final run in, all were crucial players to Duff’s tactical system. The culture and mentality was something he struggled to change, the constant last minute goals conceded and not having the willpower to hold onto leads in tight games. We saw it this season with the 2nd half crumble against MK. Overall the fact he showcased many tactical qualities early on in his time here gave me hope, and I do still believe he would have turned it around if he was given more time. We were improving tactically every game. Not gonna lie this news has ruined my day. I personally don’t agree with this decision. It’s been a great journey and one which came to an unfair early ending in my eyes. 💙

Impressive performance today, an expansive 4-2-4 in deep build up often looking to draw the press on before going long and landing on 2nd balls with our narrow wingers and midfielders. Higher up we saw many structures, I saw a 3-2-5 with Grimmer tucked in and Harvie high and wide, a 3-1-6 with Scowen dropping into the defensive line allowing Grimmer to advance high into the defensive line, CBM as the temporary lone 6. Later on in the game when the Burton press became significantly more passive I saw a 2-1-7 as the 2 CB’s + Scowen were responsible for the build up and ball circulation, whilst both FB’s + Boyd Munce played higher up the pitch. Wingers on different vertical lines to the FB’s another positive. Some really nice attacking patterns of play, passing and moving, key zones occupied in the final 3rd, runs in behind, tidy combination play. I felt the wide triangles were sometimes too large but on the whole an impressive attacking display. Some patterns in deep build up on show too such as Harvie slightly inverting opening up the passing lane from Anders to Mothersille. Having a CB with the passing range of Anders is so damn important. He’s the best player in the squad in my opinion when fully up to match sharpness. Out of possession we pressed from Burton goal kicks in a diamond with Mothersille inverted onto their RCB alongside Wareham who would press their LCB. Often Woodrow split between the oppositions double pivot, he would then collapse onto the ball side 6 dependent on which side they played too. 4-1-4-1 high press in open play with Scowen in the 6, could become a 4-4-2 through 2 central jumps of Woodrow alongside Wareham and Scowen pushing into the midfield line. Lovely performance, controlled the tempo throughout the game. Nice.

This tweet got 1 Million views by the way 😂, only posted it for a laugh.

Leaked Ballon Do’r results. He was always going to win if we’re honest.

Short summary: Some very nice dynamics in possession, fluidity within our wide triangles, 3rd man runs, good balance between players coming to feet and stretching the oppositions backline vertically, direct wingers. Out of possession there’s a lot of work to be done especially in our high press. There’s frequent moments the press isn’t backed up and it allows us to be played through with relative ease.

I haven’t watched us at all recently, have we been playing a back 4 or a back 5 in the past 5-6 games ?

Fabio Wardley inside 6 🤞

Wishing him the very best.

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WHAT!!!

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Inside 10’s again, reliant on the wingbacks to get up and down the pitch to support attacks. I ain’t a fan of back 5’s but the one against Orient was implemented pretty well. Let’s wait and see.

This is mega!! Very important for changing the culture and environment back to what it used to be. Understands the club.

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Very pleased we saw that out, will do wonders for the morale and togetherness of the group getting the first 3 points of the season. Out of possession I criticise back 5’s a lot, but today we were compact and it seemed like the players had great clarity in the defensive idea. If anything the back 5 hindered us in possession more than out of possession with us at times lacking a wide passing option due to the wingbacks still travelling up the pitch. Well organised today. Very pleased with that.

Anders 😭😭.

5-3-2 off the ball which can also become a 4-4-2 through Fred jumping from the defensive line to the midfield line and Grimmer shifting across. In possession a 4-4-3/4-3-4 in deep build up with Hazard (GK) used as an extra CB allowing both WB’s to advance onwards. 3-1-6 higher up with nice distances between players making interchanging easier. Everyone on different vertical lines. Hazard is being direct too often, there’s moments Boyd Munce drops to receive and is pretty much completely free but Hazard still opts to go long to Wareham, it’s not like we have wingers who can invert to land on 2nd balls either with us playing with wingbacks. Seen a few examples of where I feel a back 5 is limited, we’ll land on a 2nd ball but due to us only having 1 wide man instead of 2 the distance they have to travel to get up and down the pitch is pretty large meaning there’s no wide option for the ball player to immediately pass too. Need to be stronger defending these set pieces, very rarely winning first contact.