Possibly, but the more compact you are, the less space is available, so it's typically harder to possess. Staying compact is more of a defensive philosophy and being spread out is the attacking philosophy because extra space means better dribbling opportunities and passing angles.
Yeah, there are very few clever patterns of play, some of that is coaching and some of that is the lack of creativity and ability in the squad.
I was just speaking more generally, Im aware I can get a bit wordy and tend to find if I were to write a full tactical thesis - it would piss a bunch of people off, but also derail the thread massively.
In essence, if the team play closer together - they have more options and support. Probably compact wasnt the right word.
Im thinking about a little pass and move, people being close enough and available for passes - and not giant chasms between the front and back of the team.
And ultimately my point is the manager has what he has, and its up to him to get the best out of it - I think this team is capable of far more than we are seeing - even if that "extra" comes from shape and tactics etc rather than individual skill
You don't necessarily need coached attacking patterns to be successful, see Mourinho who basically just let extremely attacking players create on their own, but the level of players we have is not good enough for this.
He did, but - it was all within the framework of his ehtos still. They knew when they could go and when they had to defend, they knew roughly where they should be positioned etc...
...he just didnt go full automations like Conte does for example. Allowed them a certain freedom, not full freedom...
The team could certainly be coached and playing better, but at some point we have to stick with a manager. Frank hasn't given too much evidence it should be him, but we've been going backwards for a decade and it's going to be really hard to get back to where we were as a club.
I agree, Id love a long term plan.
Id be absolutely delighted if the club announced a structure, a bloody constitution even, as to what they want to be and what proper spurs looks like
Id love them to commit to it, get some continuity going, and get the right people in place
If progress is being made - absolutely settle in and stick with the manager. Honestly I think as a fanbase we are desperate for it.
For me though, Frank is not that guy