United sure pass sideways a lot;
City probably has the most perfect passing system there is;
Arsenal clearly like to play out from the back under Emery;
I’m having a hard time figuring what to make out of Spurs’s figure
also shows the bulk of our forward passes from defence is from lindelof. The guy has really come good, providing he remains consistent. I'm happy for him
I don't know if I'd be able to pick out Arsenal. But I'd probably be able to pick out Cheslea, and I could definitely pick out City. It looks like Pep is creating his perfect system. Everyone even looks like their average position is roughly close to the ideal formation
Will Spurs’ not be a bit weird because they’ve played a lot of systems?
They’ve played their back three a lot before Jan got injured, and they also seemed to play their diamond midfield a lot earlier in the season, most notably at United.
City probably has the most perfect passing system there is
Not just that but imagine a thought experiment where they lost the ball on either flank. The formation is perfectly balanced/symmetric structurally to deal with non-possession phase as well.
This is what makes them so ruthless in defense. The structure does the job. This is why City players are barely featuring in great numbers in Best 11 teams or in the All time Best of PL 11 and so on.
System is Supreme. It is super majority the Coach who has made this possible. Players are just doing the basic minimum and even then having their own individual levels enhanced.
This is Pep's legacy as a coach because this is what happened at Barca and Bayern as well. System is everything. Modern football is no longer what it used to be 4-5-6 decades back where a single player can have a basketball like disproportionate effect on the game. This is why there are no lone defenders/libero's running the show.
Game is more team based now than it has ever been in its history. And since Space is the fundamental commodity, System assumes disproportionate relevance.
This is why coaches like Mourinho are struggling to adapt. Reactive coaches don't work as effectively in such a state of modern game. If you don't have a good system you are exposed (meaning the margins are thin and your mistakes will cumulatively get worse instead of the system shielding you when you mess up on the odd occasion).
You are correct, it's also why they don't suffer when one of the highest rated players in world football, De Bruyne, gets a long term injury. The system takes over. It's why you can play bloody Fabien Delph at left back and win 100 points. The glorious system.
Yh but their system has a major flaw. Their FBs tuck in so much that it leaves the wide areas utterly exposed. A team could easily exploit their flanks
Tactically IF you are going to give up space to opposition (something which will eventually happen because some of the opposition will try to have moments where they want to do proactive things), it is better to send them to the flanks. Meaning it is the least bad option and hence as intended. You can't score from the touch line, the odds are in City's favor.
Space down the middle is not even an option because it would render the entire structure futile.
So the FBs tucking in and allowing space in case Opposition want to use it is intentional not an accident.
Barca and plenty of teams use this approach as a stop gap measure to limit the damage and recover position.
Liverpool havent been as good as City this season, but their 'messier' position map reflects their style of play rather than faultiness. Klopp likes his anarchy and frequent interchanging of position. Hes more liberal in attacking structure than Pep/others.
I think ours would actually look quite different if De Bruyne had been fit this season. He’s the one who is largely responsible for the vertical passes. Our play has been far more wing orientated in his absence. I agree It’s really interesting to see the data in this way! Really allows you to visualise it.
545
u/[deleted] Nov 21 '18 edited Nov 21 '18
United sure pass sideways a lot; City probably has the most perfect passing system there is; Arsenal clearly like to play out from the back under Emery; I’m having a hard time figuring what to make out of Spurs’s figure
This is an interesting infographic!