As we close in on Ange’s first full season, what are people’s thoughts on his system / formation?
Like most people, I love how attacking it is. But as time goes on, I find it a bit weird how it’s so focused on getting the full-backs into no. 10 areas. Wouldn’t we rather have the likes of Maddison in those areas? At the moment it feels like Maddison comes deep and Udogie fills that space, more often than not. I was hoping the system would be a bit more dynamic, with the opposition never knowing whether full-backs will be overlapping, dropping deep, or getting into no.10 spaces - rather than almost always doing the latter.
Looking at City by comparison, they seem to want to get a front five like we do, but they do it with the likes of De Bruyne being in the hole rather than Udogie, and their full-backs staying as defenders or central midfielders.
And City has the same open problem we do, they get away with it (most times) by having Rodri (WC player) provide cover.
Look, real top sides today have a few general principles
- Maintain possession, if you can't blow your opponent away, you will eventually exhaust them
- Control the midfield
- Create overloads, get players into opposition box
- Break lines by passing/carrying ball through
This is different from the brick ETH does (or Conte did with us) where you give up either possession or control of midfield
The question is how does Ange do it?
4-3-3 out of possession, that moves to effectively 2-3-5 in attack (that's how we create the overloads and players in box)
We are way more fluid than City (not saying better), because players are told to go wherever the space is (they swap?)
Our main attacks are either wide player getting to byline and crossing (either cut back or across the goal) with opposite side wide player coming in at back post, or decisive pass strait through the middle.
Team is built generally around players that have speed, physical and technical attributes, we are also very good on counter/transition (something most top teams are)
Flaws and counters
- Any overcommit model is subject to counter, we manage that by this 2-3-5 shape being reasonably congested in center (counter has to go wide, longer route) and having VDV plus both FBs being reasonably quick
- We concede less changes but often higher quality, hence Vicario is also critical
- Another counter is to mark us 1:1 (kills the fluidity and spaces that having players go into unusual positions for their roles creates) and lots of bricky little fouls (to break up our possession/rhythm game)
I think people generally have the weirdest sense of what it takes in football at the top level
- Spurs are currently on pace for best season in the last 4 years
- 11 points off the top, 11 points ahead of the 6th place team
- The top 3 teams have all had their manager for 4+ years, are extremely well drilled, have had 8+ windows of buying player to fit their system, have all spent way above their income levels.
- Spurs have new manager, ~7 new first team players and the worst injury season I've ever seen
- From day 1, we have been told that Ange's game is going to fall apart at times and we will get thumped? we have had very few really bad games (I can think of 3), none of which I'd consider a thumping/thrashing
Ange may still have things to do with us, but expecting anything more from this season?