Good organisation at Swindon

[Bergen Blade]

Listening to both Adkins and McEveley's interviews after yesterday's game, they spoke about our game plan, and how they had worked very hard in training on keeping a good defensive shape with the right distance between players.

Having watched the game on BP it seemed to me we carried out the game plan very well, as we prevented Swindon space to play.

All of us remember the defensive problems we had with Swindon the last time we met, even with the defensive minded Nigel Clough in charge. They found a lot of space, ran at our full backs and got lots of dangerous crosses in, while we also couldn't get near them in midfield. Our game plan that day was to keep it tight for the first 20 minutes, but when they had passed we were 3-0 down!

Yesterday we were in control for most of the time, even when playing 4-4-2, and even playing JCR and Adams as wide players. How do we do it?


Three factors:

• 
  
  
  • Defending deep

We varied our pressure, occasionally pushing up, but for most of the game we defended deep, minimising space between the departments and behind the defence. The image below shows us having all players 15 yards behind the half way line, as Swindon build an attack.
​

• 
  
  
  • Defending from the front

Notice that also Sammon and Sharp drops deep behind the ball, actively closing down their players, but also covering space and even tracking some midfielders' runs. Their doing their bit is of immense help to the midfield.
​

• 
  
  
  • Concentrating

Not thinking of mental focus, rather our (narrow) width when we defend. Notice that Adams has tucked in fairly central, although there's a right back on the near side just outside the photo.

JCR on the far side has just closed down a player, but then gets back and pulls in centrally (arrow). Both JCR and Freeman turn their back on their unmarked left winger (blue circle), prioritising to keep a compact shape with little room centrally, and relying on quickly moving over if the ball is hit diagonally over to that side.



​

Swindon failed to figure us out and just couldn't find a way through us. Basham and Reed did well. The latter in particular made a number of interceptions, showing good reading of the game as he nipped in front of players, got a toe on the ball and also made some good tackles.

I liked the celebration for Collins' goal (and the story behind it) and thought the move for our second was excellent. But the key in this match was our defensive organisation.

​

 

[Rodley]

Great post as always.

 

[Silent Blade]

• • Defending from the front

Notice that also Sammon and Sharp drops deep behind the ball, actively closing down their players


​

Didnt think that Sammon or Sharp have the ability to close down the defenders who were playing square balls at the back because they dont have quick reactions like Matt Done for example. You may recall that at one occasion in the 2nd half when the Swindon keeper got too hesitant with the ball at his feet at the right edge of the box but Sammon wasnt quick enough to capitalise on it. I said to my son that Done would easily have got the ball off the keeper to get himself an open goal. I thought Reed did more defending from the front than either Sharp or Sammon did

 

[UnitedBlade]

Wasn't Clough's criticism of Collins at Swindon last year about defending too deep ?

I'm interested in this space between players, you don't often hear managers discuss that. It sounds like the midfield was very disciplined and the forwards worked their socks off again.

Good stuff, UTB

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Didnt think that Sammon or Sharp have the ability to close down the defenders who were playing square balls at the back because they dont have quick reactions like Matt Done for example. You may recall that at one occasion in the 2nd half when the Swindon keeper got too hesitant with the ball at his feet at the right edge of the box but Sammon wasnt quick enough to capitalise on it. I said to my son that Done would easily have got the ball off the keeper to get himself an open goal.

The way I see it Closing Down and Regaining Possession are two different aspects of the game.

If the front two are closing down then they are just making life uncomfortable for the defence: they are not allowing them to settle and pick the pass they want; the defence are hurried into decisions, those decisions are unlikely to be calamitous (though you never know) but they are not the decisions they would make given time.

It's a matter of constantly and consistently applying pressure, keeping the opponent off balance, till something gives.

I think our second is a good example of this: it's a very good move but Swindon look ragged, especially the last defender who misses Woolford's pass through to Sharp.

That raggedness comes from constant pressure, either from being chased down by the front two, or being pulled about as the opposition play the dreaded sideways and backwards passes, constantly (and if they're doing it well, quickly) changing the angle of attack.

It may be that Done because of how lively he is would apply even more pressure but Sammon and Sharp are doing this job for the team very well.

(Adams is also beginning to learn this side of the game as well. Which I imagine is not focussed on so much at amateur level.)

 

[Silent Blade]

It's a matter of constantly and consistently applying pressure, keeping the opponent off balance, till something gives.

I think our second is a good example of this: it's a very good move but Swindon look ragged, especially the last defender who misses Woolford's pass through to Sharp.

That raggedness comes from constant pressure, either from being chased down by the front two, or being pulled about as the opposition play the dreaded sideways and backwards passes, constantly (and if they're doing it well, quickly) changing the angle of attack.

It may be that Done because of how lively he is would apply even more pressure but Sammon and Sharp are doing this job for the team very well.

Defending from the front is only important when we are needing to score (i.e. if we are level in scores or losing) and that the opposition like to pass the ball at the back keeping possession. The second goal is irrelevant to this debate because Swindon had abandoned their slow possession style and pressed high.

You think Sammon and Sharp are defending from the front very well but I wouldnt have them as a pair regularly if we are in the Championship division because they arent lively enough. Dont you agree that we should have seized on Swindon keeper's hesitation with the ball at his feet when Sammon was near him in the 2nd half incident I was talking about?

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Defending from the front is only important when we are needing to score (i.e. if we are level in scores or losing) and that the opposition like to pass the ball at the back keeping possession.

It's important in this situation but I can't agree that it is only important in this situation. (In fact that would be a Negative Nigel approach wouldn't it? Positive Nigel keeps the pressure on even when we are ahead.) As I said one major aim of the pressure that Sammon and Sharp apply is to unbalance the opposition; keep them on their toes, not let them settle into their game. It's like a boxer jabbing away at an opponent in the early rounds which sets up a knockout in the later rounds, an opening batsman wearing down the fast bowlers in the morning so the middle order can score heavily against a tiring attack in the afternoon and evening etc.

The second goal is irrelevant to this debate because Swindon had abandoned their slow possession style and pressed high.

I wasn't at the game but as I said the goal seems to be a product of the previous 75 minutes work not just the five or six passes that led up to it. The last defender looked tired. That sort of goal is very unusual early on in the game. Sharp has worn his opponent down with jabs, now he knocks him out.

You think Sammon and Sharp are defending from the front very well but I wouldnt have them as a pair regularly if we are in the Championship division because they arent lively enough.

It's a 10k race, not a sprint. Done, for instance would find it very hard to press at his Duracell Bunny pace for the 70-75 minutes of the game leading up to the goal. He would bring other things to the game, but Sharp and Sammon were applying constant attritional pressure, eventually the opposition cracked.

Dont you agree that we should have seized on Swindon keeper's hesitation with the ball at his feet when Sammon was near him in the 2nd half incident I was talking about?

Again I wasn't at the game, but it does sound like a situation where Done could have nipped in but he would have had to be fresh and alert.

(Fwiw I think Clough misused him last season and his chasing of lost causes left him offside as the opposition cleared long, we got the ball but couldn't play it quickly forwards Done was often (under instruction) 20 or 30 yards offside.)

 

[Bergen Blade]

Didnt think that Sammon or Sharp have the ability to close down the defenders who were playing square balls at the back because they dont have quick reactions like Matt Done for example. You may recall that at one occasion in the 2nd half when the Swindon keeper got too hesitant with the ball at his feet at the right edge of the box but Sammon wasnt quick enough to capitalise on it. I said to my son that Done would easily have got the ball off the keeper to get himself an open goal. I thought Reed did more defending from the front than either Sharp or Sammon did

It was more that they got back and gave Swindon another extra department to get through on their way towards our goal. In this respect, defending from the front is more about denying them space to play in and run into, than chasing aggressively or actually winning the ball.

When JCR and Adams closed down their full backs they always tried to make them pass the ball centrally, where it became very congested, and this made them struggle to find space and rhythm to their passing.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Listening to both Adkins and McEveley's interviews after yesterday's game, they spoke about our game plan, and how they had worked very hard in training on keeping a good defensive shape with the right distance between players.

Having watched the game on BP it seemed to me we carried out the game plan very well, as we prevented Swindon space to play.

All of us remember the defensive problems we had with Swindon the last time we met, even with the defensive minded Nigel Clough in charge. They found a lot of space, ran at our full backs and got lots of dangerous crosses in, while we also couldn't get near them in midfield. Our game plan that day was to keep it tight for the first 20 minutes, but when they had passed we were 3-0 down!

Yesterday we were in control for most of the time, even when playing 4-4-2, and even playing JCR and Adams as wide players. How do we do it?


Three factors:

• 
  
  
  • Defending deep

We varied our pressure, occasionally pushing up, but for most of the game we defended deep, minimising space between the departments and behind the defence. The image below shows us having all players 15 yards behind the half way line, as Swindon build an attack.
​

• 
  
  
  • Defending from the front

Notice that also Sammon and Sharp drops deep behind the ball, actively closing down their players, but also covering space and even tracking some midfielders' runs. Their doing their bit is of immense help to the midfield.
​

• 
  
  
  • Concentrating

Not thinking of mental focus, rather our (narrow) width when we defend. Notice that Adams has tucked in fairly central, although there's a right back on the near side just outside the photo.

JCR on the far side has just closed down a player, but then gets back and pulls in centrally (arrow). Both JCR and Freeman turn their back on their unmarked left winger (blue circle), prioritising to keep a compact shape with little room centrally, and relying on quickly moving over if the ball is hit diagonally over to that side.


View attachment 13106
​

Swindon failed to figure us out and just couldn't find a way through us. Basham and Reed did well. The latter in particular made a number of interceptions, showing good reading of the game as he nipped in front of players, got a toe on the ball and also made some good tackles.

I liked the celebration for Collins' goal (and the story behind it) and thought the move for our second was excellent. But the key in this match was our defensive organisation.

​

Perhaps the lesson to be learned for fans is that4-4-2 is a flexible system. Many fear that we will be overwhelmed in midfield if we don't play 5 there. Even with the "luxuries" of Ryce a nd Adams in the midfield 4 we can be solid with good prep and leadership.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Perhaps the lesson to be learned is that4-4-2 is a flexible system. Many fear that we will be overwhelmed in midfield if we don't play 5 there. Even with the "luxuries" of Ryce a nd Adams in the midfield 4 we can be solid with good prep and leadership.

This is something I've learned from Bergen's OP. The four in midfield are heavily supplemented by the 2 up front who are defending as well as attacking.

 

[Woodwardfan]

This is something I've learned from Bergen's OP. The four in midfield are heavily supplemented by the 2 up front who are defending as well as attacking.

Pleased for you WHF. Ground breaking stuff.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Wasn't Clough's criticism of Collins at Swindon last year about defending too deep ?

I'm interested in this space between players, you don't often hear managers discuss that. It sounds like the midfield was very disciplined and the forwards worked their socks off again.

Good stuff, UTB

At Swindon in the play off there was a big gap between the midfield and the back 4 which was hung out to dry.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

This sequence of play in the highlights really impressed me:

This is an excuse to play with the Snipping Tool but I thought it was worth posting



1) Their player (circled) breaks down the right. His run is tracked by Adams - which is good to see. (I reckon this is the side of his game he needs to work on most if he's going to develop as part of a professional team. Being with Adkins will do him the world do good in this regard.)



2) Adams throws himself to block the cross. (This cropped up in another thread and one poster said there's a reason defenders don't do this as much as they used to; I think we see it here: Adams is on his arse with wide open space in the box, we could be in trouble. In fact you could say his goose is cooked )



3) But McEvely and, I think Basham, have immediately raced to cover (look at the time - and think about the geese ). Their awareness and preparedness is really evident. Maybe these are honest hardworking professionals in action Instead of driving into the box the Swindon player has to play the ball back to the edge of the area, but there's a player there, the danger has not passed.



4) McEveley (what a player!) and to a lesser extent Collins close down that space as well.



5) The shot from distance comes in. The crowd go "Ooooh." But how dangerous was it really? Howard has it well covered, because of the work of all involved in those 5 or 6 seconds, yes, but also in the week leading up to the game. A great team effort.


UTMB

And thanks to Bergen Blade for the inspiration and education

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Pleased for you WHF. Ground breaking stuff.

I have mentioned on a number of occasions I know bugger all about defending. I'm learning.

 

[SUFC Guy]

What a fantastic thread

UTB

 

[Woodwardfan]

I have mentioned on a number of occasions I know bugger all about defending. I'm learning.

When the interviewer said to Adkin how brilliant Reed and Basham had defended he said he preferred to congratulate the full team for defending all over the pitch.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Didnt think that Sammon or Sharp have the ability to close down the defenders who were playing square balls at the back because they dont have quick reactions like Matt Done for example. You may recall that at one occasion in the 2nd half when the Swindon keeper got too hesitant with the ball at his feet at the right edge of the box but Sammon wasnt quick enough to capitalise on it. I said to my son that Done would easily have got the ball off the keeper to get himself an open goal. I thought Reed did more defending from the front than either Sharp or Sammon did

Louis Reed is a small player but he has a very big football brain both on and off the ball. Hope he gets a run in the team.

 

[Silent Blade]

I wasn't at the game

So you didnt see what I had noticed last Saturday!

 

[Silent Blade]

It was more that they got back and gave Swindon another extra department to get through on their way towards our goal. In this respect, defending from the front is more about denying them space to play in and run into, than chasing aggressively or actually winning the ball.

When JCR and Adams closed down their full backs they always tried to make them pass the ball centrally, where it became very congested, and this made them struggle to find space and rhythm to their passing.

JCR did well in closing down their LB and Swindon hardly created on the left. Adams showed his lack of experience in defending but tried hard as Swindon's right back (Stewart who was number 11) was quite active in attacking the right but McEveley had an excellent game in foiling the raids on the right. As for the centre, the CBs often gave the ball to their little number 7 (Traore) who played in a similar role as Reid but Sammon and Sharp found it difficult to get near to Traore who was Swindon's best player in the match.

As you saw the whole 90 mins on BP, dont you agree that Sammon could have seized on Swindon's keeper hesitancy just outside the right of the penalty box in the 2nd half?

Moving onto a different subject, the ref made a shocking decision just after we were 2 up when Swindon's keeper upended Sharp who was clean through but only gave the keeper a yellow card instead of red. Dont remember anyone in here mentioning this?

 

[Silent Blade]

If Collins header had been caught by the keeper instead of Swindon's defender flicking it over his keeper I think we would have been heading for a 0-0 draw (even though I thought we were the better side) as we didnt really hurt the Swindon defenders much apart from the set pieces (which is a lot better than in the last two seasons). We scored a second and could easily have scored more because Swindon had abandoned their "slow progressive" tactics and started to play higher up the pitch more in search of an equaliser

 

[Bergen Blade]

As you saw the whole 90 mins on BP, dont you agree that Sammon could have seized on Swindon's keeper hesitancy just outside the right of the penalty box in the 2nd half?

Moving onto a different subject, the ref made a shocking decision just after we were 2 up when Swindon's keeper upended Sharp who was clean through but only gave the keeper a yellow card instead of red. Dont remember anyone in here mentioning this?

I just saw that once, but I think Sammon was surprised that the goalkeeper tried a stepover, rather than just clearing it long. You're right that Done is very good at putting defenders and goalkeepers under pressure.

Sharp tried a Maradona, knocking the ball past the goalkeeper with his hand, just before he was upended. The ref didn't see that, and I agree that - what he blew for - was probably a red card offence.

 

[Silent Blade]

I just saw that once, but I think Sammon was surprised that the goalkeeper tried a stepover, rather than just clearing it long. You're right that Done is very good at putting defenders and goalkeepers under pressure.

Sharp tried a Maradona, knocking the ball past the goalkeeper with his hand, just before he was upended. The ref didn't see that, and I agree that - what he blew for - was probably a red card offence.

Didnt realise Sharp used his hand! I was quite near the incident and I didnt notice the handball (neither did my son)

 

[BushBlade]

This sequence of play in the highlights really impressed me:

This is an excuse to play with the Snipping Tool but I thought it was worth posting

View attachment 13113

1) Their player (circled) breaks down the right. His run is tracked by Adams - which is good to see. (I reckon this is the side of his game he needs to work on most if he's going to develop as part of a professional team. Being with Adkins will do him the world do good in this regard.)

View attachment 13110

2) Adams throws himself to block the cross. (This cropped up in another thread and one poster said there's a reason defenders don't do this as much as they used to; I think we see it here: Adams is on his arse with wide open space in the box, we could be in trouble. In fact you could say his goose is cooked )

View attachment 13111

3) But McEvely and, I think Basham, have immediately raced to cover (look at the time - and think about the geese ). Their awareness and preparedness is really evident. Maybe these are honest hardworking professionals in action Instead of driving into the box the Swindon player has to play the ball back to the edge of the area, but there's a player there, the danger has not passed.

View attachment 13112

4) McEveley (what a player!) and to a lesser extent Collins close down that space as well.

View attachment 13114

5) The shot from distance comes in. The crowd go "Ooooh." But how dangerous was it really? Howard has it well covered, because of the work of all involved in those 5 or 6 seconds, yes, but also in the week leading up to the game. A great team effort.


UTMB

And thanks to Bergen Blade for the inspiration and education

Couple of other things stood out in those pictures:

1. Two centre halfs close together marking the main threat whilst Basham faces up the man on the ball.
2. As soon as the ball is played wide Basham drops into a defensive position.
3. Che should have stayed on his feet but his tracking back and forcing the player to the bye-line instead of letting him cut in gives us the chance to get players back in numbers allowing Basham and McEv to close him down.

That is defending as a team in action. If Che hadn't tracked back properly, or Basham dropped back as quickly or taken the hiding route of going more central, McEv would have had to go out and meet him on his own. He'd have had McEv on toast and we'd be discussing how we need a new left back.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Couple of other things stood out in those pictures:

1. Two centre halfs close together marking the main threat whilst Basham faces up the man on the ball.
2. As soon as the ball is played wide Basham drops into a defensive position.
3. Che should have stayed on his feet but his tracking back and forcing the player to the bye-line instead of letting him cut in gives us the chance to get players back in numbers allowing Basham and McEv to close him down.

That is defending as a team in action. If Che hadn't tracked back properly, or Basham dropped back as quickly or taken the hiding route of going more central, McEv would have had to go out and meet him on his own. He'd have had McEv on toast and we'd be discussing how we need a new left back.

Yes. Adams ran about 40 yards to cover that player. I just hope he can keep improving when he's headed in the other direction too

 

[wizadry]

No matter what minute we scored our second goal, it was an absolutely stunning goal. If Arsenal had scored that sort of goal the pundits would be creaming over it for weeks on end. Brilliant goal.