Like most of you who will read this article; I’m just a fan – not a tactician or coach.
What I do want, is to understand what I’m seeing on a matchday from my seat in The Holte End Upper. I want to understand the philosophy of Gerrard’s tactical shape, to find out what’s going wrong, and whether it will evolve in the final run of the season.
Right, lets dive in!
This is how we line-up:
Basic Philosophy
So what are we trying to do? This is how I see it:
Chance creation – Gerrard wants his full-backs to be aggressive in attack, support the front three, and whip balls in from deep. If that early cross is not on, then the full-backs look for a passing sequence with the 8 and 10, working the ball to the by-line for a low cross.
The other route of attack has been attempting to play through the lines directly into the front three where they can interchange in triangles between one another in an attempt to fashion an opening on goal.
Defensively – The front three narrow press and force the opposition to play wide. The number 8 (depending on which side of the pitch) then moves to press the opposition player in the wide position, forcing them to playback and blocking off the through lines.
The midfield three should protect the transition if an attacking move breaks down between the front five (front three and full-backs) – covering the space vacated by the full-backs.
The Winter Break
Before the winter break, it was a successful start for Steven Gerrard, recording 4 wins and a draw in his opening 10 games, narrow defeats coming against the current top three – Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, with a slip-up against Brentford the only blemish.
Progress was being made; signing off for the break with a 0-1 win away against Everton.
Mini Pre-Season
A 16-day stretch between victory at Everton and the clash with Leeds United at Villa Park gave Steven Gerrard a priceless amount of time with the squad. We envisaged this a great opportunity for him to embed his ideas and philosophy – the first prolonged period he had to spend with his players to work on such things.
“We’ll use this time as a mini pre-season which, hopefully, will benefit us in the short term and will have us ready for the remaining fixtures.
“Our plan is quite clear: we want to finish as strong as we can. The next two weeks are a very important time for the team and the group.”
Leeds, Newcastle and Watford.
Excitement grew in this period, with Villa fans eager to see a fresh and refocused squad, especially with favourable fixtures on the horizon against relegation-threatened opponents. Two friendly wins during the break period also raised expectation.
It’s been a mare!
Leeds United (H) 3-3 – An exciting game with individual mistakes proving costly.
Although, it was the pockets of space Leeds exploited that raised huge concern!
Newcastle 0-1 – A lacklustre performance. Poor.
Again – gaping holes all over the pitch, no control, and a non-existent midfield?
Watford 0-1 – We saw it coming.
Midfield space between the full-backs and centre backs completely exposed and punished!
Where has it wrong post-winter break?
I am witnessing the same, reoccurring issues cropping up since the break. The high positioning of the full-backs and the space behind them is being exposed, paired with a confused central midfield and a team low on confidence.
Full-backs
Villa’s 2-1 win against Leicester City in December; Gerrard’s third win in four games. The image(s) below shows the player’s average positions for the fixture. See how the full-backs are just shy of the halfway line.
Now, let’s compare against the defeat against Watford.
The full-backs are far more advanced in comparison, receiving the ball in high areas. The problem is that they’ve become isolated in attack. They avoid cutting inside onto their weaker foot; making it easy for the opposition full-back to defend against, and the cut-back has become unavailable as the 8’s are too deep covering the space vacated by the full-backs advanced position. Example below.
On both flanks, the quality of the deliveries into the box has been sub-standard, often over-hit or failing to beat the first man. As a result, the opposition’s transitions are increasingly dangerous, exploiting the space behind and effectively ripping the midfield apart.
The full-backs play a key role in the system, and they’re designed to get forward. Gerrard clearly wants them to get forward, however without the support of the centre midfield, the moves are breaking down.
The Midfield Three
Again, using the game against Leicester City as an example, note the protection Marvelous Nakamba is offering the central defending pair; almost a back-three. The two number 8’s average positions are on the halfway line, with their spacing between the 6, the two 10’s and the full-backs, symmetrical.
Compare that midfield shape to the Leeds and Watford game.
That symmetrical and balanced midfield has collapsed, and the loss of Nakamba’s disciplined positioning in the 6 role is being felt. Additionally, the 8’s are having an identity crisis – are they box-to-box midfielders or false full-backs. If you look at the below examples, you can see the space between Cash and McGinn in the attack; the latter unnaturally sitting back to cover. Before the break, McGinn would have been up with Cash offering support to work triangles; a passage of play that worked so well on the left-hand side in the build-up to John McGinn’s goal at Crystal Palace.
The positional confusion is opening up exposed areas, all of which can be and are being exploited on the transition.
During the last fixture, Watford made three counter-attacking plays, all resulting in a shot on target; one being the goal. Below is a example of one of the moves.
Luiz comes way out of position in the 6 role. If he is going to come out that far, by hook or crook he must deal with that ball. He didn’t.
McGinn, originally undertaking the false full-back position naturally gets drawn to play, and disappointingly so does Matty Cash, leaving a simple through ball as Watford forced Emi Martinez to pull off a huge save.
The pressure to perform is piling up
The collapse of the midfield is naturally affecting both the defence and attack. In the Leeds game, for example, the lack of protection placed huge pressure on the two central defenders. Mings made three individual mistakes, all of which were punished, while usually-ice-cold Konsa lost his cool, collecting two yellow cards and a subsequent two-game suspension.
In attack, Watkins has become isolated and disillusioned as we rely on a driving run from Ramsey or a moment of magic from Coutinho to threaten the opposition’s goal.
From the bench, with the structure severely fractured, it’s a tough environment for the likes of Chukwuemeka and the returning Bailey to make an impact on the game.
Did it get too complicated over the break, and can it be fixed?
Yes to both.
It feels like Gerrard has accelerated the evolution of his tactic too soon. Villa’s playing style has quickly turned from a balanced, disciplined and rigid structure, to a more expansive and fluid version in the space of a 16-day break. The players are struggling to execute and adjust to this change, being positioned in unnatural roles, and potentially losing faith in themselves. I back Gerrard to rectify these weaknesses in the full-back and central midfield positions – starting away at Brighton on Saturday.
I still believe the system and philosophy can work, but it is going to take time to embed. This will require further investment in the summer, and fans need to remain patient. For that patience to remain, it is going to require the players to turn up with 100% effort every game – exactly like we were doing prior to the winter break.
Thank you for reading.
Ryan. UTV.
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