TLDR: A long,tedious post where I try to find out how Woolwich players were finding so much space between the lines despite us sitting back with 10 men and presumably covering all the openings.
See, I sour on a manager when I see stuff like this. Because this has nothing to do with player quality, net spending etc. Woolwich are in a clear 3-2-3-2 shape where the 2 up front are actually wide players in Trossard and Saka (not on the screen). Meanwhile we're sticking with our 5-2-3 shape where 3 CBs are sitting idly since there's no central Woolwich player up front for any of them to mark.
Result? Zero pressure on their back 3 of Timber-Saliba-Hincapie and a straightforward 3v2 in the centre with Calafiori-Eze-Merino versus Bentancur-Palhinha.
Rice also drops back to make it a back 4, still zero pressure, yet the 3v2 still exists. You can also see Danso recognizing the issue and contemplating stepping up.
It's almost a back 5 now with Zubimendi dropping. Danso realizes he has to step up because otherwise no one will, but it also doesn't come natural to him to cover that much ground all the way to the halfway line. Romero and VdV are marking shadows due to the inexplicably low defensive line against a team that uses no strikers.
Danso decides to pull back because his centre back instincts prevail, and/or he's worried about the Trossard run in behind even though Spence is in a good position to cover that. Calafiori is wide open.
Woolwich keep moving the ball around their backline, not much to talk about here.
There are so many ways of achieving the breakthrough for Woolwich here. Zubimendi to Hincapie to Calafiori is one, seems straightforward to me.Rolling it to Rice and letting him decide between Eze and Calafiori is another. Zubimendi fancying himself to lob it straight to Calafiori is a third one. Zubimendi to slightly marked Merino to Calafiori or Eze could also work.
You could come up with even more I'm sure. The point is that allowing this many options for a forward pass to the opponent while sitting back with 10 men is criminal.
Woolwich actually miss the trick here, due to a combination of Zubimendi dwelling on the ball and Calafiori leaving his totally unmarked area to run in behind the defense where Danso is waiting him. Everybody seems marked, Eze is in fact double teamed momentarily due to a tentative move forward by Romero similar to Danso's earlier on. Again, instead of individual initiatives by CBs like this, wouldn't it be easier to simply push the defensive line up?
Zubimendi eventually gives it to Rice after all that dwelling on. However, despite having 10 men behind the ball in a routine set play, our shape is still lacking.
That 3v2 in the centre that I mentioned at the very beginning still exists, and only through Odobert sitting very narrow to cut the passing angle to Merino can we address that. Bentancur is on Eze, and Palhinha is on Calafiori. Sounds good.
Yet this creates another issue, namely that 2v1 on the right between Timber and Saka versus Udogie. Meanwhile we're still using 3 sweepers at the back for whatever reason.
Again, it's terrible how Woolwich can create such a significant advantage with little effort after missing out on all of those previous opportunities.
Rice finds Timber on the right who thankfully butchers a simple flick to Saka for a throw in.
Verdict: Why am I making such a big fuss over such an insignificant sequence? Well we conceded the first goal at the 35th minute, and this sequence was before that. It means that Frank sat there and watched this sort of blatant overloading of the midfield by Woolwich numerous times for over half an hour with zero adjustments.
Very concerning for a manager who was supposed to be very observant and flexible in his approach. Looked like he previously had never coached against a 4-6-0 with a false 9 before, crazy as it sounds.
See, I sour on a manager when I see stuff like this. Because this has nothing to do with player quality, net spending etc. Woolwich are in a clear 3-2-3-2 shape where the 2 up front are actually wide players in Trossard and Saka (not on the screen). Meanwhile we're sticking with our 5-2-3 shape where 3 CBs are sitting idly since there's no central Woolwich player up front for any of them to mark.
Result? Zero pressure on their back 3 of Timber-Saliba-Hincapie and a straightforward 3v2 in the centre with Calafiori-Eze-Merino versus Bentancur-Palhinha.
Rice also drops back to make it a back 4, still zero pressure, yet the 3v2 still exists. You can also see Danso recognizing the issue and contemplating stepping up.
It's almost a back 5 now with Zubimendi dropping. Danso realizes he has to step up because otherwise no one will, but it also doesn't come natural to him to cover that much ground all the way to the halfway line. Romero and VdV are marking shadows due to the inexplicably low defensive line against a team that uses no strikers.
Danso decides to pull back because his centre back instincts prevail, and/or he's worried about the Trossard run in behind even though Spence is in a good position to cover that. Calafiori is wide open.
Woolwich keep moving the ball around their backline, not much to talk about here.
There are so many ways of achieving the breakthrough for Woolwich here. Zubimendi to Hincapie to Calafiori is one, seems straightforward to me.Rolling it to Rice and letting him decide between Eze and Calafiori is another. Zubimendi fancying himself to lob it straight to Calafiori is a third one. Zubimendi to slightly marked Merino to Calafiori or Eze could also work.
You could come up with even more I'm sure. The point is that allowing this many options for a forward pass to the opponent while sitting back with 10 men is criminal.
Woolwich actually miss the trick here, due to a combination of Zubimendi dwelling on the ball and Calafiori leaving his totally unmarked area to run in behind the defense where Danso is waiting him. Everybody seems marked, Eze is in fact double teamed momentarily due to a tentative move forward by Romero similar to Danso's earlier on. Again, instead of individual initiatives by CBs like this, wouldn't it be easier to simply push the defensive line up?
Zubimendi eventually gives it to Rice after all that dwelling on. However, despite having 10 men behind the ball in a routine set play, our shape is still lacking.
That 3v2 in the centre that I mentioned at the very beginning still exists, and only through Odobert sitting very narrow to cut the passing angle to Merino can we address that. Bentancur is on Eze, and Palhinha is on Calafiori. Sounds good.
Yet this creates another issue, namely that 2v1 on the right between Timber and Saka versus Udogie. Meanwhile we're still using 3 sweepers at the back for whatever reason.
Again, it's terrible how Woolwich can create such a significant advantage with little effort after missing out on all of those previous opportunities.
Rice finds Timber on the right who thankfully butchers a simple flick to Saka for a throw in.
Verdict: Why am I making such a big fuss over such an insignificant sequence? Well we conceded the first goal at the 35th minute, and this sequence was before that. It means that Frank sat there and watched this sort of blatant overloading of the midfield by Woolwich numerous times for over half an hour with zero adjustments.
Very concerning for a manager who was supposed to be very observant and flexible in his approach. Looked like he previously had never coached against a 4-6-0 with a false 9 before, crazy as it sounds.
Last edited:
