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A lot of people always like to remind you about how "Anthony Barry isn't a defensive coach" but that's because these people have no clue what a "defensive transition" is.
First you need to understand that offensive shape = defensive transition shape. Let me explain: https://twitter.com/Regista23_/status/1331117978335719426
First you need to understand that offensive shape = defensive transition shape. Let me explain: https://twitter.com/Regista23_/status/1331117978335719426
How a team is organized in possession dictates how they can react once they lose the ball. Chelsea more or less play a similar identity to last season but unless you watch football on a FM stereo you'd know how diabolical we were immediately we lost the ball. Jorginho tax?
Last season was pretty much 4231; buildup through DM then vertical ball into striker/runners inbehind. High press off the ball. Initially this wasn't a big issue (except for the backline playing too deep) because we forced errors & won the ball higher up(Mount)
But we shipped in too many goals & decided to drop the highpress & fallback into a mid-block but maintain vertical play to striker(because Identity) This brought forth a different conundrum; Tammy can't holdup, him & Mount struggled to carry the ball(linkup) for 40+ yards.
This season instead of playing direct into Tammy we play into Reece James (I've explained some of the dynamics of this including the role & positioning of Silva especially why he switches between LCB/RCB in some games) so playing into James frees up Tammy, plus there's Havertz.
Now the presence of Mount & Kai as high 8s means Chelsea have two men on the 2nd line(behind striker) as immediate defensive cover incase of loss of possession = gegenpress. Essentially the center is somewhat overloaded because if the opponent passes through Mount, Kante is next.
This is better than playing a flat 433, because when you beat a midfielder in a flat midfield-3 you're only left with one last line, the back-4. 4141 means you have 2 more lines to beat & the 2nd last line is don Ngolo.
Nothing is perfect in football but good staggering delays the opponent & allows the team time to run back & cover before they get to the last line(Silva)
Contrast this to last season, even though it was 4231(4 lines) Mount was practically playing on the same line as Tammy.
Contrast this to last season, even though it was 4231(4 lines) Mount was practically playing on the same line as Tammy.
And as soon as the opponent played through Chelsea's makeshift counterpress only Jorgi was left in midfield (backline watching from the stands) Chelsea were simply not prepared to defend in transition last season but that's not the end,
Because we've cut down the distance between striker & back-4, it means that even if a good opponent can still play between our lines we can close up quickly & make it difficult for them(press traps) so instead the opponent is forced to play through the wings for a cross. Zouma>>
Press traps are crucial, the less time the opponent has on the ball means you force them into early decisions & that is the definition of "proactive" football because the man on the ball is forced to react. So the team without the ball dictates where the opponent plays next.
Last season there was no pressure on the ball, the opponent had a lot of time on the ball to cross in dangerous areas or switch play to a player in space on the other side of the pitch. Also we allowed too many 1v1s against our fullbacks(no support from midfield). Sheffield 2-2:
What am trying to say is that the idea is the same(last season & this season) but the implementation is more profound & last I checked there's only been one appointment in the coaching department. This doesn't in any way make less of Lampard because the vision & identity is him.
And like I always say, the best managers don't always have to be the best trainers. Ferguson, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Klopp etc rely heavily in the expertise of different individuals in specialty fields.
