Bergen Blade
Well-Known Member
There seems to be a slight confusion regarding our most used formation this season. Some people seems to think we're playing 3-4-2-1, others see it as 3-5-2.
As an example, the predicted team by the SUW podcast suggests it's 3-4-2-1 with Berge and Ndiaye behind the main striker:
And even Hecky commented after the Hull game that they wanted Berge and Ndiaye to get on the ball behind Jebbo and cause problems. Doyle was also clearly operating deeper alongside Norwood, making himself available for the ball, like in this instance:
So while Berge has ran forward, Doyle is staying deep, helping Norwood and the centre halves to get moves going. So it must be 3-4-2-1 then?
BUT - formations are most commonly described as how players line up without the ball. Even then it can be hard to assess. For example, even off the ball, players break out of their department to press. Other players track back to mark, or chase a runner. When we're under pressure our strikers can also be seen helping out deep in our half. Gegenpressing sees a lot of players storm towards the opponent in possession, making the defensive shape difficult to categorise.
But there are occasions when the team concedes that they won't win back possession and then they surrender to a certain preplanned general shape that they want to keep as the opposition team builds an attack. This, to me, is the team's formation. Let's agree that we play with three centre backs and two wing backs. So let's try to look at how our midfield line up in a few situations vs Hull:
Berge's defensive position is the main thing to consider here. Unlike Ndiaye, when the opposition has possession Berge tries to get back in line with Norwood and Doyle. In terms of formation this means we're playing with a midfield three, in which Norwood is usually the deepest and most central. It means our formation is 3-5-2.
However when we're in possession we want Berge to get forward, while Doyle more often stays a little deeper.
Berge did receive quite mixed reviews after the Hull game. I think Roy summed it up well on BladesPod when he said he thought at the time Berge had a pretty ordinary game, but after watching the highlights, where Berge figured in a lot of our better moves, it seemed like he had a great game! Others have said recently that he's looked disinterested and a few wants him sold. I think it should be noted that Berge is being asked to do two roles which are quite demanding. He's got to get back in midfield when we defend, while he's also required to get forward and into the box when we attack. For a 96 kilo man it's a tough ask, but I think he's getting back to a good level of fitness. He has clearly struggled to fulfill the demands after that last injury of his.
As an example, the predicted team by the SUW podcast suggests it's 3-4-2-1 with Berge and Ndiaye behind the main striker:
And even Hecky commented after the Hull game that they wanted Berge and Ndiaye to get on the ball behind Jebbo and cause problems. Doyle was also clearly operating deeper alongside Norwood, making himself available for the ball, like in this instance:
So while Berge has ran forward, Doyle is staying deep, helping Norwood and the centre halves to get moves going. So it must be 3-4-2-1 then?
BUT - formations are most commonly described as how players line up without the ball. Even then it can be hard to assess. For example, even off the ball, players break out of their department to press. Other players track back to mark, or chase a runner. When we're under pressure our strikers can also be seen helping out deep in our half. Gegenpressing sees a lot of players storm towards the opponent in possession, making the defensive shape difficult to categorise.
But there are occasions when the team concedes that they won't win back possession and then they surrender to a certain preplanned general shape that they want to keep as the opposition team builds an attack. This, to me, is the team's formation. Let's agree that we play with three centre backs and two wing backs. So let's try to look at how our midfield line up in a few situations vs Hull:
Berge's defensive position is the main thing to consider here. Unlike Ndiaye, when the opposition has possession Berge tries to get back in line with Norwood and Doyle. In terms of formation this means we're playing with a midfield three, in which Norwood is usually the deepest and most central. It means our formation is 3-5-2.
However when we're in possession we want Berge to get forward, while Doyle more often stays a little deeper.
Berge did receive quite mixed reviews after the Hull game. I think Roy summed it up well on BladesPod when he said he thought at the time Berge had a pretty ordinary game, but after watching the highlights, where Berge figured in a lot of our better moves, it seemed like he had a great game! Others have said recently that he's looked disinterested and a few wants him sold. I think it should be noted that Berge is being asked to do two roles which are quite demanding. He's got to get back in midfield when we defend, while he's also required to get forward and into the box when we attack. For a 96 kilo man it's a tough ask, but I think he's getting back to a good level of fitness. He has clearly struggled to fulfill the demands after that last injury of his.
