Pushing Against the Flow

Sooooo... since the Leicester game we have had some great detailed analysis from Ben Garner and Kev Ellis, and here’s just a couple of little bits from me to throw into the mix, after watching the game back.

We have discussed numerous times on here about Ipswich having set plays and patterns, to play out from the back, depending on how the opposition is set-up and pressing.

At kick-off, you will always see Kieran McKenna carrying out his checks on the opposition team’s initial set-up to see if it is what is expected or if there are any surprises. On Monday he obviously spotted straight away that, surprisingly, Choudhury was playing at left back so he immediately pulled Wes Burns over to talk to him about it and he subsequently went over to his teammates to pass on some information and instructions.

As they obviously go into detailed preparation into what to expect each game, there is always a point in the opening exchanges where the players are scanning around the pitch (primarily Hladky & the centre backs) to see which scenario they are faced with and which ‘page(s) of the play book’ to go to.

When we’ve played against a man for man high press previously, one of the options that we go to is split our two highest forwards (usually the number 9 and right winger) really wide, to try and isolate defenders for a one-v-one or ‘clear’ the centre of the pitch for runners from deep (usually the left sided number 10).

In the first half on Monday we saw this set-up on several occasions but as the camera is usually focussed on the ball, they didn’t show the excellent runs that were made primarily by Burns and Harness (even Luongo on one occasion) or the excellent cover defending that was done by the Leicester back four and in particular, their defensive midfielder Harry Winks.

We’ve seen similar plays against such high intensity, high pressing teams such as Leeds and Birmingham recently but from my recollections, the first time we used these patterns against this style of press was away at Burton, at the beginning of last season. That was the game where Jackson came in for Burns on the right wing (for the first time, if I remember correctly) and Freddie Ladapo pulled out to wide left, to ‘clear’ the centre for Harness to run into the space (from outside to in), with Walton picking him out.

If anyone has a VHS tape of that game then I would love to go through it again, to see how many of current patterns and plays are still recognisable!

There was a point in the first half, with one of the aforementioned scenarios, where Hladky tried to pick Harness out in the middle of the pitch, but he was immediately surrounded by two Leicester players. The turnover resulted in Woolfenden blocking a shot out for a corner and he then went straight over to Hladky, to ‘explain’ to him that he had made the wrong decision. He was clearly pointing out that the spare man on this occasion was Edmundson (as McAteer had jumped from him, to Hladky, in the press) so the bounce pass into Travis (then out to Edmundson) was the pattern on this occasion.

Presumably, one part of the first half analysis was to see where there was any ‘weaknesses’ in the Leicester system, so that they could exploit it by being ‘braver’ in the second half. My guess is that they potentially identified Mavividi as the least likely one to concentrate on his defensive duties and track his runner. As such, we saw Clarke bursting forward on numerous occasions but also, as shown in this still, Burns coming more central (dragging his marker, Hamza Choudhury, with him, as Wout Faes went with Chaplin) to leave space for Clarke to attack.

You can also see Clarke recognising this and frantically waving his arms to get Hladky’s attention, prior to receiving that pass.

Finally, one half-time nugget that I picked up from Mr. Morsy was about Town ‘looking to go against the flow’. We’ve mentioned this numerous times in here, where we look to:

• Go in the opposition direction of a high press

• Especially when the opposition press is try to ‘pin’ us in a corner of the pitch

• Work a zig-zag counter attack, when the opposition are all running back towards their goal in straight lines

• Cut the ball back to the edge of the penalty area, when the defenders are heading back towards their own goal (as this is deemed their most immediate danger)

In all these instances, it appears to be the Kieran McKenna principle to ‘go against the flow’ or the opposite of what the other team are trying to force you to do.

It’s also a phrase that you will hear from coaches like Roberto De Zerbi and Pep Guardiola in their coaching webinars and talks.

One more that I have left off the list, is one that I have been looking at and trying to find the time to put something together, is the inward diagonal ball carrying runs by our full backs (on both sides) away from pressure. The Increasing use of it seems to confirm the type of profile that they are looking for in those positions and potentially, why some of the current squad may not have a future.