Country: England
My armchair manager analysis would be to make the guys who can run hard, run hard and rotate them if necessary. I’d tell Auba to track back if he feels the team needs him to but if he doesn’t then I want to see him providing an option if we do win the ball.
Elneny has an engine, let’s use him as a crap version of Ramsey and get bodies in the box we don’t need him hanging back all the time, he’s got the legs to truly play box to box.
Let Partey cover the forward runs of Bellerin and Tierney but we need to get them running up and down and they both can from what I know of them.
Get Willian coming in off the left or starting in the midfield and playing triangles with Pepe and Bellerin on the right, Auba and a midfielder in the middle or Saka and Tierney on the left. Long story short, just get our attackers closer together.
The biggest one for me is for the on ball players to take more risks in possession and the off ball players to make better runs.
First I would promise Auba, Saka, Pepe, Bellerin and Tierney that if they make high intensity runs in behind and someone doesn’t try to find them at least half of the time then they’re within their rights to give their teammates a bollocking. At the same time I’d tell my midfielders to demand that same movement from the front line and the fullbacks.
If I see us camped around their box and we go ten passes without someone making a run in behind then they’re not doing what is required and I’d scream at them. Besides that I’d be quiet for the most part, only speaking to remind them of the general game plan.
I’d tell Auba, Laca and Pepe to shoot from anywhere in the box whenever they want and if anyone has a problem with that then they come to me and I’ll slap em.
I’d tell Pepe, Nelson etc. to take on their man as many times as you want, I’d encourage it even but on the condition that you take them on with conviction and make an effort to win it back if you do lose it.
We’ve played with such defensive structure that I think we can start to take some of the above risks and hope that Partey + our back line can protect us.
Elneny has an engine, let’s use him as a crap version of Ramsey and get bodies in the box we don’t need him hanging back all the time, he’s got the legs to truly play box to box.
Let Partey cover the forward runs of Bellerin and Tierney but we need to get them running up and down and they both can from what I know of them.
Get Willian coming in off the left or starting in the midfield and playing triangles with Pepe and Bellerin on the right, Auba and a midfielder in the middle or Saka and Tierney on the left. Long story short, just get our attackers closer together.
The biggest one for me is for the on ball players to take more risks in possession and the off ball players to make better runs.
First I would promise Auba, Saka, Pepe, Bellerin and Tierney that if they make high intensity runs in behind and someone doesn’t try to find them at least half of the time then they’re within their rights to give their teammates a bollocking. At the same time I’d tell my midfielders to demand that same movement from the front line and the fullbacks.
If I see us camped around their box and we go ten passes without someone making a run in behind then they’re not doing what is required and I’d scream at them. Besides that I’d be quiet for the most part, only speaking to remind them of the general game plan.
I’d tell Auba, Laca and Pepe to shoot from anywhere in the box whenever they want and if anyone has a problem with that then they come to me and I’ll slap em.
I’d tell Pepe, Nelson etc. to take on their man as many times as you want, I’d encourage it even but on the condition that you take them on with conviction and make an effort to win it back if you do lose it.
We’ve played with such defensive structure that I think we can start to take some of the above risks and hope that Partey + our back line can protect us.