Shadota
And the year is 1889
As I've mentioned elsewhere, last night was the first game I've attended in person this season. The last game I went to was Luton away last year, and the last home game I made it to was the double header of WBA & Preston, where we won't promotion under Hecky.
One of the unfortunate impacts of watching us play on TV (or a stream on my phone), is that due to the repeated cutting to replays/different camera angles etc., it is harder to get a proper understanding of the tactical battle that goes on during a match. Fortunately, my view from the top of the Kop allowed me to do just that last night. And I learned a few things that I had been blissfully ignorant of until now.
Now, the points I make here won't necessarily apply to the whole season. Some might have just been implemented for Coventry, some might be new things we've worked on since making signings in January. But I wanted to talk about them to give Wilder credit, as the way we played last night was far more intricate than what I had previously thought.
On a face value, the players we've been selecting this season (bar one or two occasions), have seemingly fitted into a conventional 4231 formation. However, we never really set up that way last night. Instead, what I saw, especially in the first half, was something that looked closer to a hybrid of a 442 diamond, and an asymmetrical 433 formation:
This was roughly the base that we worked from for much of the game. And the players all obviously had licence to drift around the pitch as needed.
Hamer would move out to the left to offer defensive support, especially when the Coventry full back attacked to double up on Burrows. Hamza would drift to RB, allowing Seriki to move forward. Peck would offer himself as an option infield, and BBD would threaten runs in behind.
An apparent lack of cover on the left was covered by Campbell, who made numerous runs down that side to offer penetration, and to stretch the backline.
Brewster in particular played a very interesting role. He would operate partly as a #10, and also as a second striker up with Campbell. He often would look for (and get) the ball in space just off of Campbell, look to play a forward pass, and then follow the attack forwards to be another body for the Coventry defence to worry about. This was attempted on several occasions, but is perfectly executed for the 3rd goal - positive pass into space for BBD, forward run to the edge of the box, receives the return pass to sweep the ball in.
In the 2nd half, Hamza dropped a little deeper, between the CBs, as has happened in other games recently. But I thought it worked quite well. It gave us a modicum of control when we wanted it, to try and play our way out of their press, and also another defender to handle them if they did win the ball back in an advanced position.
Aside from their consolation (which looking at the TV angles, should have been a foul on Cooper anyway), it was a quite perfect execution of tactics. Wilder and his staff deserve great praise for that display, as it was absolutely terrific to see us so thoroughly stifle a team that has been bang in form.
One of the unfortunate impacts of watching us play on TV (or a stream on my phone), is that due to the repeated cutting to replays/different camera angles etc., it is harder to get a proper understanding of the tactical battle that goes on during a match. Fortunately, my view from the top of the Kop allowed me to do just that last night. And I learned a few things that I had been blissfully ignorant of until now.
Now, the points I make here won't necessarily apply to the whole season. Some might have just been implemented for Coventry, some might be new things we've worked on since making signings in January. But I wanted to talk about them to give Wilder credit, as the way we played last night was far more intricate than what I had previously thought.
On a face value, the players we've been selecting this season (bar one or two occasions), have seemingly fitted into a conventional 4231 formation. However, we never really set up that way last night. Instead, what I saw, especially in the first half, was something that looked closer to a hybrid of a 442 diamond, and an asymmetrical 433 formation:
| Campbell | Brewster |
| BBD | ||||
| Hamer | Peck | |||
| Hamza | ||||
| Burrows | JLT | Anel | Seriki | |
| Cooper |
This was roughly the base that we worked from for much of the game. And the players all obviously had licence to drift around the pitch as needed.
Hamer would move out to the left to offer defensive support, especially when the Coventry full back attacked to double up on Burrows. Hamza would drift to RB, allowing Seriki to move forward. Peck would offer himself as an option infield, and BBD would threaten runs in behind.
An apparent lack of cover on the left was covered by Campbell, who made numerous runs down that side to offer penetration, and to stretch the backline.
Brewster in particular played a very interesting role. He would operate partly as a #10, and also as a second striker up with Campbell. He often would look for (and get) the ball in space just off of Campbell, look to play a forward pass, and then follow the attack forwards to be another body for the Coventry defence to worry about. This was attempted on several occasions, but is perfectly executed for the 3rd goal - positive pass into space for BBD, forward run to the edge of the box, receives the return pass to sweep the ball in.
In the 2nd half, Hamza dropped a little deeper, between the CBs, as has happened in other games recently. But I thought it worked quite well. It gave us a modicum of control when we wanted it, to try and play our way out of their press, and also another defender to handle them if they did win the ball back in an advanced position.
Aside from their consolation (which looking at the TV angles, should have been a foul on Cooper anyway), it was a quite perfect execution of tactics. Wilder and his staff deserve great praise for that display, as it was absolutely terrific to see us so thoroughly stifle a team that has been bang in form.
