Liverpool 2-1 Everton – 9 Point Tactical Deconstruction

1. Teams & Formations

With the exception of Agger the team’s formation and personnel lined up exactly as EB predicted on Thursday evening with Carroll starting through the middle with Suarez in a 4-4-2 setup with the Blues sticking with their usual 4-4-1-1.

2. Flank woes

Moyes selection for the game was dubious. Yes, Magaye set up Jelavic’s goal in the Quarter Final and yes he was influential last week against the same opposition but in terms of the team his selection was wrong for me. Our attacking setup is focused on our key asset Leighton Baines and Gueye’s selection for me compromised this. In our setup you need a ‘righty’ playing there who can dart inside, create space by dragging his marker and enable Baines the freedom of the flank.

Magaye is very much a ‘leftie’ and thus hugs the line and inhibits the space for Baines to manoeuvre, i.e Magaye is the opposite to Pienaar. With Drenthe out due to disciplinary issues & SP cup tied there were limited options though. Perhaps the closest fit to Pienaar was Osman on the left cutting inside on his right foot and Coleman on the right flank which Moyes eventually reverted to in the second period.

3.Suarez v Distin

Liverpool – like many teams have done against us – targeted our offensive left flank and Suarez who usually focuses his runs down the left channel appeared to be under instruction to focus his runs down the right channel in the  space in behind Baines. This put him basically in a personal duel with Distin leading to the Frenchman’s booking and the eventual gaff which led to the equaliser. The Uruguayan’s incessant movement makes him incredibly difficult to mark – post match Martin Keown comically compared him to a rat – and given that you can’t get too tight due to his ability to buy fouls it resulted in Distin having to stand off him which can be just as dangerous.

4. Malnurished Jellyfish

Our service to Jelavic was pretty much anaemic all afternoon.  Whilst the hitman opened the scoring after capitalising on some comedy defending with a cool finish he was forced to feed off scraps for the most part. All 5 of the Croatian’s goals prior to Wembley had been plundered from crosses from wide areas and its no secret we  attack down the flanks more than any side in the top flight (75%). Liverpool also attack via the flanks rather than though the middle, making more crosses (30) per game than any side in the league yet whereas Liverpool were potent from wide areas we rarely got into decent crossing situations, being out crossed by 21 to 13. The below image is an example of how limited the support was to Jelavich when on a rare second half foray into the opposition half he is outnumbered 3 v 1 with Liverpool’s supporting players also outnumbering us 4 v 2.

5. Sitting on the lead

Our share of the ball and retention of it both dwindled as the game went on, with our share dropping to 42% in the second period with just 69% of passes completed. In context this is way down on our average (and comparable in the top flight with Stoke City). This was nothing new though. The recently deserved wins against Man City, Chelsea, Spurs & Swansea were achieved with an average possession of just 35%. For me, the game plan was similar as the home wins in this sequence, i.e. score and then ‘what we have we hold’. As mentioned many times before, Moyes is a defensive minded, reactive manager and won’t necessarily worry if we are spending more time off the ball given that our strengths lie in having good defensive shape and endurance to withstand such pressure. The ball retention stats though were key as when we did get on the ball possession was lost too cheaply putting constant pressure on an overworked defensive unit.

6. Creative Spark

A key factor in our upsurge in form since January has been the creative talents on the flanks whether that be Donovan, Pienaar  or even Royston who have been able to supplement the hard work and endeavour with some flair and incision to carve out an opening. Statistically the 3 make the most dribbles and win the most fouls in our squad.  Without their incision and ability to win fouls or prolong play in the opposition half we are just far too ordinary; we are one of the lowest scorers in the division with just 38 league goals. Donovan, Pienaar and Drenthe have contributed 18 assists from the combined 26 starts they have made. With non available we pitched in Osman (who always looks uncomfortable wide right as opposed to centrally or even left side) who has 1 assist this season, the unproven Gueye who has started just 3 league games and Coleman who has just 2 assists from 50 games playing in an offensive midfield position.

7. Make a change Moyes

Moyes response was to replace the completely ineffectual Gueye with Coleman meaning Osman moved across to the left flank. Sadly, the Irishman’s contribution was in keeping with his season – abject. As was the case in the Sunderland quarter final at Goodison, on the hour Fellaini switched roles with Cahill to make us more of a 4-4-2 which led to a more direct approach. The switch had minimal impact however due to Liverpool having decent aerial coverage with Agger, Carragher & Skrtel in their defence.

8. Mistakes

Despite having most of the ball Liverpool had created little and it was looking like we were going to close the game out before 2 huge mistakes turned the game on its head. First the usually reliable Distin’s back pass was way too short and enabled Suarez a gimme goal. With the game heading towards extra time Seamus Coleman’s ill judged lunge gave Liverpool another crossing opportunity via a free kick which Carroll dispatched.  The Irishman’s 20 minute cameo featured numerous calamitous fouls, the second of which could have seen him sent off  moments after his slip had enabled Carroll another opportunity which he dragged past Howard’s left hand post.

9. Final thought

This was clearly a massive opportunity missed against our local rivals and one that was predominantly of our own making. Recriminations and the finger of blame have been pointed at everyone from Moyes to Drenthe but the problems faced at Wembley were  self inflicted in terms of selection and silly mistakes against an ordinary looking Liverpool side who were there for the taking. Moyes has taken stick for his cautious strategy and this is a legitimate gripe but it’s the same approach which has beaten a lot of the top sides in the league this season and arguably with the lack of creative talent available he probably thought at 1-0 that containment was his best chance of success in this match.

In terms of perspective we aren’t in bad shape in the league and have arguably solved the biggest conundrum of the last 2-3 years with Jelavic clearly an ace buy and the 20 goal a season man we have craved. Major surgery may not be required but senior pro’s like Neville and Cahill -whilst great servants to the club –  had the look of players who have little more to give at this level. Replacing them and securing the services of an incisive player such as Pienaar will be a step in the right direction for sure.

Norwich 2-2 Everton – 5 Point Tactical Deconstruction

1. Selection and Formations

Both sides opened up in 4-4-1-1 systems with the Blues making 3 changes to last weeks win over WBA with Osman, Heitinga and Fellaini dropping out and Gueye, Neville and Distin coming in. Norwich started with Howson playing off Holt with wide support coming from Bennett on the right and Hoolahan on the left.

2. Blues Approach

The Blues began in the first half playing more down the right side than the left as the heatmaps show. The maps are based on average position and touches off the ball…as you can see Hibbert was our most prominent player in the opening 45mins however the fullback isn’t particularly comfortable on the ball which limits our options in the final third;  his average pass completion was 59% yesterday which is poor at this level.

 

As the maps show our more potent left sided Bainaar axis grew in prominence as the game went on and was again the source of our most incisive attacking work with both goals coming from the left side.

One aspect of our play which wasn’t fluid yesterday was Howard’s kicking which was both poor and excessive. The American usually makes 11 long kick outs per game but made 31 yesterday, with an accuracy of just 22%.  Granted, Holt and Howson played high up and worked hard to press angles but often the long kick was chosen when a shorter pass was available.

3. Jelavic and the Cutting Edge

Our new forward Nikica Jelavic now has four goals from just eight shots on target in the league and looks like another shrewd Moyes purchase. His first goal yesterday was from signature Bainaar movement down the left flank which released Jagielka in the box whose cross was deliciously flicked home by the Croatian. His ability to hold up the ball up makes him ideal for the role of the lone forward and he won 4 aerial duels yesterday which combined with his chest control enabled us to get midfielders forward and build attacks.

In total yesterday Jelavic had 3 shots, all 3 of which were on target and his second goal was another tidy finish after more good work from the tireless Pienaar. The South African weaved his way through the Norwich defence before teeing up  Jelavic who again found space and finished effortlessly first time. We worked the ball more fluidly into the box than our hosts with 71% of our shots from inside Norwich’s 18 yard box compared to our hosts 43% in our area. The Croat provides a great target for the naturally unselfish Pienaar who yesterday provided 5 successful through balls, 4 of which went to Jelavic. Put in context, we average 1 successful through ball per game this season.

4. Lambert’s Diamond

Norwich were also looking to attack down the flanks and get balls in and around our box for their talisman Grant Holt .Whether you love or hate the big forward you couldn’t doubt his impact – yesterday he was the most fouled player on the pitch and also committed the most fouls and his knack of winning free kicks in and around opponent’s 18 yard boxes is a strength Norwich exploit to the max.

After being second best in the first half Lambert decided to make changes when we went 2-1 up early in the second half. As noted in Friday’s preview, Lambert’s substitutions have won Norwich 10 extra points this season and he has arguably the fittest side in the top flight if you judge it by distance covered. Both factors were crucial to Norwich storming the last 30 minutes and leaving us quite happy to hear the final whistle. The crucial change was to abandon 4-4-1-1 and add an additional striker in Aaron Wilbraham and re-shape the midfield into a narrow diamond and play through the middle.

Above shows Norwich’s opening 4-4-1-1 shape with the 5 midfields circled as a flat 4 and then Howson in front. Lambert’s switch to a diamond enabled Hoolahan the space between our midfield and defensive lines (below) in the build up to Norwich’s second equaliser with Felli & Gibson (blue lines) quite flat shape wise.

Lambert’s switch was to instigate more options going forward and to reign in Pienaar’s darts from the left into the hole between Norwich’s defensive and midfield lines. Howson moved back to anchor the diamond with Hoolahan at the sharp end behind the substitute Wilbraham who formed a strike duo with Holt. The move was to pay dividends as Hoolahan – who also assisted the first goal – had acres of space to play a nice through pass to Wilbraham whose shot was initially saved but when the ball broke free he managed to hold off Jags a bit too easily and find Holt who finished nicely. It should be noted that the goal came from a poor long kick out from Tim Howard.

Moyes response was to bring on Anichebe for Cahill with the Nigerian moving out to the left wing with Pienaar moving inside to provide a compact midfield 3 with Gibson sitting a bit deeper to keep tabs on the dangerous Hoolahan.

5.Final thought

This was an entertaining draw and certainly a point gained rather than two lost against an impressive Norwich side. There were impressive displays from Pienaar and Jelavic in particular, whilst Gibson’s long range passing was again superb. Fair play to Lambert whose tactical change got Norwich back into the game in the second half when it looked like we were going to take the 3 points rather than 1. With no new injuries or suspensions incurred the only nagging issue is who takes up the only real space still up for grabs in the semi next week on the wing. Magaye’s display asked more questions than it provided answers and Coleman hasn’t really fired all season. Anichebe also featured on the flank and it could be the Nigerian’s extra physical presence that sees him start at Wembley next week.

Everton Scout Analysis: 5 Point Tactical Report on Norwich

1. Lambert Impact

Paul Lambert has made a really positive impact in his maiden season as a top flight manager. In his playing days the Scot became the first British player to win the Champions League with a non-UK team, and the first British player to win the ECL since its inception, beating Man United on their own patch in the Semi Finals on the way. Shortly before his retirement he completed his UEFA Pro License at the German FA after being convinced to do so by former Scotland boss Berti Vogts. He has reaped the rewards of studying in a different country and being exposed to new ideas and interpretations of the beautiful game. There is a fair amount of synergies between Lambert and our own maestro David Moyes. Both are former Celtic players who have served their apprenticeship in the lower leagues of England and both are more pragmatic than idealistic in their outlooks.

Both managers have overseen sides this season who are perhaps more reactive in terms of being off the ball more than being on it – both sides bizarrely averaging the same 46% average possession per game and 76% pass completion. The duo have flexed their tactical acumen on many occasions this campaign and have been amongst the most influential in terms of making proactive changes during games to take points. Whilst Moyes was lauded for his high pressing game at Swansea a few weeks ago it needs to be said that Lambert had already strategised the same tactic to take 6 points off the Swans this campaign. Lambert has gained the Canaries 10 additional points by bringing on players to get decisive goals whilst 41% of our goals have come from goals either scored or assisted by Moyes substitutions – the highest in the league.

2. Norwich Style and Approach

Norwich have been a really good team to watch this season and their games have usually involved a fair few goals at both ends.  As a team they have covered the greatest distance collectively in the League this season, averaging 67 miles per game with  former Toffee target Kyle Naughton the most energetic, covering just under 6 miles per game

The Canaries play more long balls per game (75) than any side in the top flight. This is not dismissing Lambert’s side as long ball merchants as they have shown they have diversity to their play but they clearly play to their strengths. When selected together in Holt and Morrison they have an interesting strike duo that almost seem something of a throw back. Holt is a crucial player for the Canaries though; he has scored or assisted 29% of Norwich’s goals and is also the most persistent fouler in the top flight; making the most fouls per game 2.6 (74 in total). Steve Morrison is decent in the air with an eye for goal but has the worst pass completion (55%) of any outfield player in the top flight. With their aerial armoury I’d expect Distin to start as Jags/Heitinga won no aerials against them at Goodison.

They do have subtlety to compliment this physicality though; in the middle of the park Man Utd Academy graduate and ex Blackpool midfielder Danny Fox has created 39 chances with his long ball delivery to the flanks crucial, so far posting an impressive 70%, as has his crossing with 41% accuracy from his 90 crosses. Norwich also have another ex Blackpool schemer Wes Hoolahan in their ranks who possesses great dribbling and an eye for a pass which has seen him amass 5 assists so far.

3. Toffee Tactics & Selection

Moyes key decisions will be who he rotates with only 1 days rest before Sunderland and the looming Wembley date with Liverpool. With the return of Holt and the potential selection of Morrison I’d be surprised if Distin wasn’t recalled for this one with Moyes likely to rotate his 3 centre backs for this quick fire bank holiday double header. Pienaar is of course cup tied so I’d guess he would be a shoe in for both games with Drenthe also returning to the fold and now available for selection.

One area which has been key in the Blues annual post xmas revival is the blossoming partnership of Fellaini and Gibson. The Irishman will hold and distribute whilst the Belgian does what he does best – aggressively win the ball, keep it simple in possession and be a general snide in both boxes. Gibson’s long passing has been superb, averaging 76% completion and the speed with which he gets the ball and moves it out of his feet and out to the flanks – notably to Pienaar – has seen us a lot more dangerous in fast break situations. Upfront I’d guess Jelavic will start either this or Sunderland with Denis Stracquilarsi released from his cage for the other match.

4. Last Time Out

As mentioned in point 1, Lambert is very much a pragmatist and will tweak his selection and formations according to his opponents. The Canaries predominantly attack down their left but on this occasion they overloaded down the right via Naughton & Croft, presumably to counter act our chief creative force Leighton Baines. Lambert played 4-4-2 with Holt and Morrison as the battering rams but both were quite isolated as the two banks of 4 sat deep and proved tough for us to breakdown – a familiar factor in our post Christmas matches.

Whilst we had 62% of possession and 29 shots over half of these where from long range as we again lacked the incision to break down stubborn opponents. Norwich  played mostly long balls to their strike duo – 86 in total – more than their average and had just 1 shot on target and scored with it after a nice bit of skill from Holt. We only really looked threatening with any form of penetration when the enigmatic Drenthe came on a sub on the right and Osman shifted to the left with the pair combining for our equalising goal.

5. Betting

Our run of low scoring games has lessened since the arrival of Jelavic and we look more potent and have won our last 3 games 2-0 having only scored more than once on our travels twice previously this season. We haven’t won 4 on the spin without conceding since September 2009.

Our defensive record has been steadily improving with 7 clean sheets in our last 12 with only the Manchester clubs and Chelsea conceding fewer goals on the road. Bizarrely we haven’t been involved in a 0-0 in 64 games.

Norwich are not in good form though and sit 3^rd from bottom of the form table and are short on goals so an under 2.5 goals bet could be a decent shout. I fancy us to sneak this 1-0 courtesy of an Osman goal.

Sunderland 0-2 Everton – 5 Point Tactical Deconstruction

1. Teams & Tactics

We made several changes from the excellent Swansea win with Heitinga rightfully restored  to the back line despite Jags ace display at the Liberty Stadium. Gueye also came in on the left for Pienaar and Fellaini returned to midfield with Neville switching to right back. Sunderland welcomed back influential duo Sessegnon and Cattermole whilst calamity ex Kopite Sotiris Kyrgiakos coming in for John O’Shea at the heart of the Mackems back four. Both sides were pretty much 4-4-1-1.

2. Blues Hit Ground Running

The Toffees were out the traps very quickly and immediately hurting our host’s zonal marking strategy twice with the usually military marked Cahill repeatedly finding space from corner situations. The opening goal wasn’t far away though as a slick move led by the commanding Fellaini witnessed the marauding Belgian drive into the space between Sunderland’s defensive and midfield lines before playing it wide left to Gueye who struck a superb zipped ball into the Mackems box which Jelavic dispatched with aplomb. The Croatian is looking a really great buy and he has the cool head and lethal finishing in the final third we haven’t really seen since the Yak’s first season.

The Blue’s midfield was bossing proceedings with Fellaini pressing and Gibson sitting back and moving the ball quickly out to the flanks when we regained possession.  On the wings Gueye was superb and Osman was showing the hallmarks that make him such a top player;  two great feet and toes twinkling past his marker repeatedly. The pint sized schemer was instrumental in the Blues creating almost double the openings of our hosts and hitting 8 shots on target to the Black Cats 1.

3. O’Neill Looks to Change Things

On the hour mark O’Neill switched things around with Kryiagkos given the hook for David Vaughan, with Bardsley moving inside and Gardner switching to fullback. Vaughan is actually a really good passer of the ball who hurt us at Bloomfield Road last season but few could predict just what an instant impact he would have on the game.

Fellaini was again pressing constantly and his aggression forced Sunderland backwards and culminated in Jelavic going one on one with Mignolet before pulling the ball across Sunderland’s goalmouth which Vaughan, with no blue shirt anywhere near him inexplicably contrived to take one touch before miscuing his second into his own net. O’Neill’s next change was to send on Campbell for Wayne Bridge and a move to 4-3-3 but with the Blues now in lockdown mode it would prove fruitless.

4. Blues close things out

With the 2 goals in the bag the Blues retreated and afforded superb protection to Howard, who was only forced into a single one on one situation when Campbell got clear. With the game as good as won the Blues basically did to Sunderland what our hosts did to us for the final 45mins at Goodison, sitting back and snuffing out the plethora of crosses which were increasingly coming from poor angles ideal for our defenders to gobble up. The Jag came on to sit between defence and midfield and nozzle the threat of Sessegnon which he did well in the short time he was on the pitch.

5. Final thought

Whereas in the game at Goodison we struggled to break down a well drilled outfit there was always going to be more space here as our hosts simply had to open up more on their own patch. Sunderland’s endeavour wasn’t in question but they ultimately lacked the subtlety to breakdown a side that is in their element closing out leads.

This was a richly deserved win for the Blues in a game we dominated from start to finish. Each member of the side won their individual battles and the result could have been a lot more convincing given the chances the Blues spurned. We now head to Wembley for a showdown with old foes Liverpool in a very winnable game and then face a potential final with either Spurs or Chelsea;  2 sides the Blues have beaten in the last few months. COYB!

Deconstructed: Moyes 3 Phase Strategy for defeating Swansea

Team News

The Blues drafted in Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka as like for like replacements for Fellaini and Heitinga. With rumours abound that he had been sacked by the club, Royston Drenthe was not in the match day squad and was replaced on the right flank by Osman with Gibson taking his spot in the centre. The Swans set up in a 4-2-3-1-ish system with Graham leading the line supported by the key danger man Sigurdsson.  Moyes tactical plan could be broken down into 3 key phases;

Phase 1 – Containment

Our hosts had most of the ball (62%) kept it better (86% v 76%) and made more passes (585 v 359) but pre match we had an idea this would be the case given Swan’s excellent style in keeping the ball.  The key factor was whether we could disrupt their fluidity in playing through us. Swansea’s key man this season has arguably been Leon Britton whose 93% pass completion is the best retention rate in the top flight. He is key to Swansea’s rhythm and linking defence to midfield. Our game plan from the off was to position ourselves to block off the angles from Vorm to the defenders with Osman and Pienaar positioning themselves high up the pitch. Cahill was asked to basically stand on Britton’s toes and ensure the midfielder had no space or angles to distribute forwards when the ball was played into him. This tactic really frustrated their key midfield man and one of the key themes of the first half was him constantly moving around the midfield zone looking for space, closely followed by Cahill. Unsurprisingly the duo covered the most – and almost exactly the same – distance in the first half from players on either side; Britton 2.78 miles and Cahill 2.76 miles respectively.

Phase 2 – Possession and Goals

The Bainaar axis was key to us getting a foothold in the game in the second period. The below graphic shows the players average positions and their font size demonstrates the volume of touches they had of the ball (the bigger the font the more touches). This shows the importance of Baines and Pienaar.

The duo combined superbly down the left in the second period and one of their signature moves culminated in the Swan’s key defender Williams upending Pienaar. From the resulting freekick Baines curled home a superb effort into the top corner of Vorm’s net. Pienaar and Osman were at their impish best on either flank; setting up 6 chances between them as the Blues missed a host of other chances before Jelavic – having just missed a sitter after another Pienaar run – was able to slot home after Fellaini’s physicality enabled him to turn away from Williams who was now being ragged all over the pitch. The Belgian had come on just before Baines opener and provided more of a threat than Cahill who lacked shattered after his tireless running in the first half.

Phase 3 – Lockdown

With the goals in the bag we looked to shut up shop, get men behind the ball and restrict Swansea from creating openings. Howard was incredibly well screened and only had one save to make in the 90mins as the Blues shape meant that Swansea couldn’t get behind our back line and were resorted to making speculative efforts from long range with 64% of their efforts pot shots and 0% from inside our 6 yard box. This image shows this (Swans left, Everton right) . In total the Blues made a huge 20 interceptions from deploying this tactic of cutting off forward angles. This great positional play and strong shape also enabled the Blues to conserve energy for the most part as Swansea’s possession was mostly confined to their own half and often broke down before reaching the final third.

As the game drew to a close we continued to look threatening on the break and were unlucky not to add to our tally. Stracquilarsi was snarling on the touchline and ready for action and on 82 minutes Moyes unlocked the key to his cage and as has become custom the belligerent Argentine galloped onto the pitch like a tiger who had been kept in a pen against his will and in need of some meat to satisfy his hunger. Straight away he was sharpening his claws on unsuspecting prey Williams and Caulker – making  as many fouls in 8 mins as any of teammates had done in 90mins. He should have scored at least once – perhaps twice if I’m being tough – but 2-0 was the final score in what was a terrific display from the Blues. In the case of the last 45minutes it was arguably our best offensive display of the season against a side who have rarely been brushed aside with such ease….Bring on Sunderland!!

Swansea v Everton – 5 Point Tactical Preview

1. Swansea’s season so far…

Brendan Rodgers has rightly been lauded for the way his side have lightened up what has been a very stagnant and average quality Premier League season. They have been so good that even the wooden tops on motd have ushered the immortal words of condescension previously reserved for Hull and Blackpool of  ‘they’re like a breath of fresh air’

The Swans have played some terrific stuff this season with a fluid short passing offensive game harnessed by a great work ethic and intensive pressing in the defensive phase of play leading to them keeping 12 clean sheets so far. Since the turn of the year they have been more free scoring too thanks to the superb loan acquisition of Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim, who Rodgers worked with previously at Reading.

The best thing about their style is that it shows you don’t have to play the direct, dour percentage football adopted by other sides that have come up such as Pulis or the run blocking, tactical fouling model of O’Neill.

2. How to play them?

Against a side who keeps the ball like Swansea do there is perhaps a plan A and Plan B you can use. ‘Plan A’ is to let them have the ball, conserve energy by only pressing when they approach 20 yards from your goal. Plan B is to stop them playing from the source – their top keeper Michel Vorm – recruited from Utrecht as much for his ability on the ball as for his goalkeeping prowess. In midfield, Leon Britton has the best ball retention stats in the top flight with a 93% pass completion and 1574 successful passes in total – the 3^rd most in the top flight.

If you opt for plan B than Stracquilarsi would appear a certain starter given the similar job he did in the recent game against Chelsea. Given the small squad and the more important game on Tuesday I’d doubt very much if Moyes would adopt an energy sapping tactic like Plan B and will instead adopt Plan A and look to stand off, narrow the passing angles to Swansea’s defenders and push them to play longer.

3.Previous Meeting

The Blues won 1-0 in a very entertaining game at L4 just before Christmas. Swansea had the bulk of possession ( 54%) and kept the ball better than the Blues (82%) but we looked more incisive in the final third than our opponents and secured the points when Osman rose ‘like a salmon’ to head home Drenthe’s delicious cross. As per point 2, Moyes looked to close out passing angles from Vorn to Swansea ’s defensive distributors.

If there is a critique of the Swans its that their domination of the ball is mostly in their own half and they lack penetration to force their way into the final third. Crucially, in the game at Goodison of the successful passes made 27% of ours were made in the final third whilst only  16% of Swansea’s occurred in our final third. The below image shows the average positions of the players in this game…Everton in blue obviously…

 4.Team News

I think Moyes will certainly shuffle his pack for this one given the looming cup game on Tuesday night. I’d expect Stracquilarsi, Anichebe and perhaps Gueye to get run outs whilst Pienaar is cup tied for Tues so will probably start also. I’d imagine Cahill, Jelavic and possibly Drenthe will all be rested whilst at the back it wouldn’t be a surprise if Distin was rested for the Jag. Swansea will probably adopt a similar 4-4-1-1 with Sigurdsson in ‘the hole’ behind top scorer Graham. Centre back Williams is their only injury doubt heading into this one.

5. Prediction

Make no mistake; this is going to be a very tricky fixture for the Blues on a ground where few teams have come away with anything this season. We average less than a goal a game on our travels which puts big pressure on keeping clean sheets in order to get wins on the road. Given the way the derby was conceded its unlikely Moyes will have too many qualms about writing off this fixture also if it means getting an advantage for Tuesday’s season defining tussle at the Stadium of Light. If my head rules my heart I’d go with 1-0 Swansea in this one but I could see defences coming out on top.

 

Everton 0-1 Arsenal – 5 Point Tactical Deconstruction

1. Selection & Tactics

The Blues made 2 changes from the side which drew the FA Cup Quarter Final earlier in the week; Steven Pienaar came in for the injured Seamus Coleman and Tony Hibbert replaced skipper Phil Neville. The system was the usual 4-4-1-1 with Cahill initially pivoting between midfield and attack in support of Jelavic. The Gunners only significant change was to bring back the talented Aaron Ramsey from injury with the Welshman deployed in an attacking midfield berth from the left drifting inside onto Hibbert’s left foot– something the fullback struggles to cope with. Wenger’s side lined up in more of a 4-2-3-1.

2.Gunners In the groove

The opening 20 minute spell was a complete non starter for the Toffees. Arsenal, clearly coming into the game with great confidence on the back of recent results, were pinging the ball around with some aplomb and repeatedly carving open a back four which had conceded just 1 Goodison goal in its last 9 hours of action. The hallmarks of the recent slayings of the league’s top clubs were not on show with virtually no pressure on the ball and an increasingly deep defensive line standing off and inviting pressure from the Gunners. The below image shows Arteta unmarked in acres of space in the build up to an early chance which the away side spurned.

Despite some really fluid play it was a corner that witnessed the Londoners take the lead as the ever productive Van Persie whipped in a left footed in swinger which was nodded home by the impressive Vermaelen after he wrong footed his marker Fellaini by fainting to run near post and then angled his run centrally. It was a criminal goal to give away by the Blues but in truth given the opportunities they missed we were lucky to still be in the game at the midway point of the first half.

3. Cahill / Fellaini Switch

With Arsenal and especially our old friend Mikel Arteta swelling possession in the centre the Blues continued to toil which led to Moyes swapping Cahill and Fellaini. The big Belgian is our best presser but in the early stages was out manoeuvred as his aggressive darts were being bypassed by quick triangular passing movements by the Gunners. As Moyes did with 30mins to go in the Sunderland game, Fellaini was pushed forward – playing pretty much as a central striker to occupy the Arsenal centre-backs – with Cahill dropping deep.

The bonus this had was twofold; firstly Fellaini (circled) was able to press the Gunners CB’s to stop them playing out from the back to Arteta and secondly it enabled us to get from back to front quicker using his significant height advantage and upper body strength to hold up play. This enabled the Blues to move further up the pitch and push our defensive line up a tad. The tactic now was to play more direct diagonal balls from Howard and Heitinga to the Gunners right side and specifically Sagna in the hope of winning flick ons or second balls. Sagna is decent in the air and won 14 aerials – 4 more than our team put together – but we did collect a lot of the second balls with Sagna dispossessed more times (4) than any other player on the pitch.

The only negative impact of this was that our bypassing of the middle ground with longer passes negated the offering from Leon Osman who was thus on the periphery of things for most of the evening before eventually getting the hook.

4.Gunners Defensive Line

As noted in the preview, both side’s high lines in the early season fixture at the Emirates led to the most offsides (15) in a prem game this season. The Gunners defensive line was such an obvious tactical approach last night that even the auto-pilot corpse that is Alan Hansen on motd would have been able to pick it out….or not! The Gunners caught us offside a whopping 10 times (average per team per game in the prem is 2). Moyes questioned 5/10 of the calls and it’s clear that Drenthe was at least 2 yards onside when he stroked the ball into  Szczesny’s net following good work from Cahill. The Blues were now at least asking questions of the previously un-worked visitor’s backline. The high line dynamic continued in the second period and despite a greater intensity from the Blues as the game went on the equalising goal just wouldn’t come.

5.Final Thought

This was a strange game that we could easily have been 0-3 down in at one stage yet by the close of play we could count ourselves a tad unlucky not to take a point. Credit to Arsenal, their passing and movement in the fist 20mins was something to behold and we couldn’t handle them. Defensively they restricted us to few clear cut opportunities, albeit with some help from the officials on the Drenthe ‘offside’ goal.

With the momentum of the 9 game unbeaten run now compromised the worry is that our season has already peaked as we head to Swansea on Saturday for a very tricky looking fixture. A positive result would be a real boost before heading to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday for a game which will ultimately define the remainder of the season.

Everton Scout Report: 5 Tactical Points on Arsenal

1. Arsenal’s Season so far….

The Gunners season has taken on 4 phases. The first phase was the opening spell when a summer of transfer woe culminated in them being humbled by the likes of Blackburn and enduring a savage 8-2 beating at the hands of Taggart’s mob. The second phase saw an upturn in results and performances which culminated in the 5-3 rout of Chelsea at the Bridge amidst a run of great form which included a 1-0 win over ourselves thanks to a Van Persie special.

The third phase involved patchy league form, an FA Cup exit and an embarrassing 0-4 reverse to Milan in the ECL. In the current phase, the Gunners are now firing on all cylinders as the league’s form side which has solidified their place in 4^th and made 3^rd spot tantalisingly close especially given the form of old Bagpuss head Arry and his stuttering Spurs. Unfortunately for us our games against them have coincided with the good phases!

2. Gunners Selection, Tactics & Strategy

This season Wenger’s men have mostly resembled 4-3-3 in terms of system. They play predominantly through the middle using their 3 midfielders to service the forwards. Van Persie will obviously lead the line as he looks to continue his machine like season which has seen the dynamic Dutchman plunder 46% of Arsenal’s goals.

Former blue Mikel Arteta will be expected to transport the ball from defence to the flanks and I’d expect him to form a trio with Rosicky and Alex Song who is also enjoying a fine season both in terms of the defensive and offensive phases of play; so far making more successful through balls (17) than any player in the top flight yielding 7 assists.  The key cog in their recent renaissance has been the form of the delightful Tomas Rosicky. The former Dortmund star was the key man in the flagship wins against Spurs, Milan and Newcastle and his runs from midfield will need to be kept in check.

Although they still dominate possession of the ball more than any other side in the top flight there is more of an emphasis on sitting back and using counter attacks on their travels as the recent win at Klanfield showed. Indeed, the Gunners have scored more fast break goals (9) than any other side in the top flight.

In terms of weakness, they are not water tight in defence with Gibbs a borderline liability but its worth noting that both spells of poorer results have come when they were without recognized fullbacks. Their defence looks more rigid now with a settled back four and the excellent Szczęsny between the sticks. A sign of their solidity is that they have conceded fewer shots per game (10.8) than any side in the division.

3.Previous Battles

Whilst we have never won against them at the Emirates we have enjoyed some decent results at L4. Notable wins in the Moyes era came courtesy of Rooney, Johnson & Beattie winners and only a world class last gasp goal from Van Persie stopped the Blues from another triumph in 2009. Arsenal have of course dished out the biggest webbings of the Moyes era with embarrassing 1-6 and 0-7 defeats. In the last couple of seasons Arsenal have had things there own way; we have won none of our last 9 against them.

Earlier this season at the Emirates we played a high line (below) and tried to squeeze the play on Arsenal’s midfield trio stopping them playing through us and feeding the forwards. The results were good to an extent in that we were competitive  however playing this high line did leave us exposed to Arsenal’s wide strikers exploiting the space in behind. Luckily for us Gervinho and Walcott were repeatedly wasteful but with Walcott’s recent return to form the risk with playing a high line is thus a greater worry. With Arsenal also playing a higher line in this fixture it led to the midfield zone being incredibly congested; the offside traps from both sides resulted in a total of 15 offsides in the game which was the most in any top flight game this season. Koscielny has actually caught an opponent offside 40 times this season – only Coloccini at Newcastle has claimed more. The second impact of the side’s high lines was that as the game was condensed into the midfield area, space was restricted and possession was often conceded by both sides with a whopping 44 interceptions taking place.

4. Blues Team and Approach

We are up against Arsenal and Swansea – two of the best sides in the league for ball retention – in the space of 4 days. This will mean a lot of time off the ball which means a lot energy will be required. With the cup seemingly Moyes priority he will surely shuffle his pack with only 2 days rest from Swansea to the Sunderland replay. I’d say it’s more likely he will pick the bigger hitters for this one and then rest them at the weekend so I would be surprised if there was wholesale changes from the cup game with Pienaar probably coming in for Coleman although Rodwell will be pushing hard for a recall.

The Sunderland game was obviously a disappointment in that we dominated proceedings but faced the usual demons of not being able to break down well organized sides that sit and don’t compromise their shape. Added to this you have the usual O’Neill tactics of blocking runs, tactical fouling and the constant hacking of ball players such as Royston. Graft wise, you couldn’t question the application of the players but the lack of incision was there for all to see as was our over reliance again on crosses. With Sunderland happy to sit deep and let us have the ball Fellaini’s pressing capability was minimised so Moyes swapped him with Cahill on 60mins. Obviously with someone of Marouanne’s height it leads to more crosses however some of the angles for the crosses were just stupid. I’d imagine the approach against Arsenal would be similar to the recent games against the top sides, namely to keep a high line, squeeze play in the centre, push them out to the flanks, pack the box, nick a goal and then drop deep and shut up shop.

5. Prediction

Arsenal are a top side and will be a really tough nut to crack but they will come and attack which will suit us. Our best results this season have come against sides that play this way (Chelsea, Man City, Spurs) whereas we have been hopeless against teams with shape such as Stoke & Sunderland. A draw would probably be the best we can hope for in this one and I’d fancy us to open the scoring but Arsenal have recovered more points from losing positions (19) than any other Premier League team this season so could see it ending up 1-1.

5 Point Tactical Preview: Everton v Sunderland (FAC6)

1.Familiar Derby Woe

The Derby was thoroughly shite as usual. The Blues seem to find new ways to lose embarrassingly at Klanfield every year. Having lost to 10 men on more than one occasion and regularly ‘bottling it’ this time the Blues contrived to give their opponents a head start pre match in terms of selection. True, the side Moyes put out should have done better but a team already missing key men from the recent good run like Gibson and Donovan were further weakened with 6 more benched giving the initiative to Liverpool.

On the pitch there were 2 key reasons for the failure; poor ball retention and ineffective pressing.  We had plenty of the ball and more of it in the RS half than vice versa but tellingly we made too many mistakes on the ball, particularly in the final third. The Blues were either dispossessed or made an error in possession 27 times compared to Liverpool’s 19. End product in the opposition final third is Pienaar’s major defect and whilst he did OK outside the opposition box he continually fluffed his lines when he approached Liverpool’s 18 yard line. In total the Blues made just 1 through ball – compare this with the RS who made 7 and you see the familiar woes of incision. The other key issue was that our pressing high up field wasn’t good enough as a unit. Selection seemed to favour ‘workers’ who could press eg Straq, Rodwell, Coleman rather than ball players such as Royston, Osman & Jelavic. Despite having grafters all over the park Liverpool frequently bypassed our pressure and either lofted balls over the top of our defence or through it into the acres of space we afforded them behind our back four.

Moving on….

2.Blues Line up

Of course, if we can topple Sunderland and get to Wembley few will care about what happened on Tuesday night. I’d be surprised if the team wasn’t the same one that beat Spurs last week, with Drenthe and Coleman probably swopping flanks. The alternative is to stick Ossie left side, Royston right and persevere with Rodwell centre mid, but I’d rather have Ossie central as his interchanging with Cahill last week was a feature of our attacking play.

3.The O’Neill Approach

O’Neill’s sides like width and using pace in counter attacking situations. He will be happy to not be in possession, invite teams onto them and then exploit the space in behind…with an emphasis on wide men whipping balls into the box.

In his first game in charge against Blackburn he put his cards well and truly on the table as his side attempted more crosses than any other side in a single prem game for 4 years, and 92% more than in their previous home game against Wigan, Steve Bruce’s last match in charge of the club. If we take a look at Sunderland’s two games this season against the league’s basement side Wigan the difference is clear. In the home game under the Aberdeen Angus headed Steve Bruce, the Mackems bossed the ball having 53% of possession and lost, compared to when O’Neill took his charges to the JJB and had just 37% but won 4-1. The new Sunderland also pressed less, making just 15 tackles in the away win compared to 30 in the home loss. The direct style is also evident with 20% of their passes long in the JJB win, a 4% increase on the game Bruce was boss.

Moyes record against O’Neill is poor – during his time at Villa O’Neil never lost in 8 league games against Moyes, however Moyes did triumph in an FA Cup 5^th Round tie the year we made it to the final. Obviously, this is balanced by the fact that Moyes has never lost to Sunderland home or away in his 10 years in charge at L4, including an FA Cup win here a few years back.

4.How will Sunderland Lineup?

The Mackems have suspension woes with key midfield anchor Cattermole and playmaker Sessegnon both absent. On the flanks former Everton target James McLean has made a big impact since joining form Derry. He is something of an old school winger and like our own Seamus Coleman has great quality in the tackle and in dribbling. Unlike Coleman though,  McClean can also put in a good cross. On the subject of crossing, only Leighton Baines (59) has played more successful crosses than Seb Larsson (56%) in the top flight with the Toffeeman having a marginally better success rate than his Sunderland counterpart (28% v 26%). Midfield wise, Colback and Gardner will more than likely occupy the central slots and may be joined by David Vaughan in a midfield trio if O’Neil decides to go like for like systems wise. Last time out against the RS they were very much 4-4-2 with Bendtner and Campbell upfront but away from home it’s usually been 5 in midfield.

5.Prediction

Sunderland will be a tough nut to crack given their form and momentum. Defensively we are well equipped to deal with balls into our box and if we can keep our shape well to repel what Sunderland can throw at us I’d fancy us to get the goal that takes us through. 1-0 Blues.

Everton 1-0 Spurs – 5 Point Tactical Deconstruction

1.Teams & Formations

The Blues lined up in the accustomed 4-4-1-1 with Jelavic making his debut through the middle supported by Tim Cahill. Seamus Coleman came in –initially on the left – with Drenthe on the right. There was a welcome return for Leon Osman and his twinkling toes in central midfield meaning that Phil Neville shifted to right back. Spurs played 4-4-2 with Modric and Bale on the flanks and Defoe up front with Adebayor.

2. Jelavic Debut

The Blues had the better chances in the first half and were very aggressive in winning the ball back in Spurs half. Jelavic was ace and had one of the most promising debuts seen at L4 in a long while. On early viewing he appears to be the striker both we and Moyes have craved in ages; he has a thirst for getting in the box and burying chances and is also more than willing to ‘put in a shift’ and lead the line with good movement both inside and outside the box.

This defensive side of his game was particularly good with many longer passes being played in his general zone made to look like great passes given the Croatian’s movement, chest control and winning 3 aerial duels – one of which setup an excellent  chance for Fellaini prior to his goal. He likes to get the ball and shift it onto his right at every opportunity and the goal was an example of how potent he is in the 18 yard box. Baines threaded a superb ball to Leon Osman who did some great work on the left, skinning Kaboul with some nice touches with his right and then threading a delicious through ball with his left which the Croatian (circled below) creates space from his marker Ledley King and cushions the ball out of the reach of Freidel and into the bottom corner.

Ledley King has Jelavic (circled) in close proximity as Osman (arrow) advances into the box…

Jelavic pulls back into the space as Ledley King is attracted to the ball giving him the space to slot.

3.Bale v Coleman Part Two

Last season at White Hart Lane Seamus Coleman was assigned a marking brief from right midfield to track Bale’s runs down the left flank. The ploy of him and Neville doubling up on the Welshman worked well and there was a development of that here. Spurs key danger man Bale started on the right and Coleman, despite being generally uncomfortable with his left foot and having only played about 15 mins away at St James on the left side in his Blues career was moved across to track Bale and support Baines– a seemingly deliberate move.

First Bale took up position on the right, with Coleman (circled) doubling up on him with Baines and blocking off the angle to cut inside on his left foot making him go on his weaker right

With the right flank shutdown Bale swaps to the left flank (circled) towards the end of the first half but Coleman moves across also and doubles up with Neville instead (circled)

Playing on the right, Bale would look to cut in on his left but Coleman’s positional play was such that he blocked off the inside and showed him on his weaker right. It was interesting that whenever Bale swapped flanks with Modric, Coleman and Drenthe followed suit so Coleman was always within 10 yards of Bale. The Irishman has his limitation on the ball but is a real grafter and did this job superbly – no outfield player made more tackles or interceptions combined (7) as Coleman, (3 tackles, 4 interceptions) in total.  After the game Arry pointed to the fact that Bale playing right side penned Baines back – true in that Baines was subdued in terms of not making any crosses which is an area he is usually prolific – but our full back still made the most touches (77) of any of our players and was instrumental in the winning goal.

4.Blues sit deep and grind out.

The second half witnessed Spurs throwing  ‘the kitchen sink’ at the Blues, with their share of possessions swelling to 62%. The Blues visibly stopped pressing Spurs higher up field and only began to engage when they got to 40 yards from our goal, seemingly happy to see out the 1-0.  Modric – who was periphery on the flank – came to life more playing inside and there was more of a flow to Spurs play in the second period as our play became quite disjointed and we struggled to keep the ball. The last 20 minutes seemed like an age as the Blues dropped deeper and deeper and were now lacking the outball of Drenthe over the top as the Dutchman was replaced by Rodwell with Osman – who looked shattered by the end – slotting onto the right flank.

Spurs had some chances but the sheer volume of players we put between them and Howard meant that clear cut chances were virtually non existent. Saha – who had more of a spring in his step than had been seen at Goodison in his last 12 months at the club– had one opportunity whilst Defoe had seemingly countless chances to pull Spurs level. The final whistle signalled that it was just short of 7 hours since the Blues last conceded a goal at Goodison, with Chelsea, Man City and now Spurs included in that run of shutouts.

5. Final Thought

This was a fantastic result for the Blues against a Spurs side who have played some great football this season. Ungracious Arry pointed to the fact that Spurs ‘battered us non stop’ but to be fair we were more than a match for Spurs when we needed a goal up til half time and the sides had the same amount of shots on target (5) over 90 minutes. If Arry was as ruthless with his homework as he is at going back on gentlemen’s agreements he’d see that we only usually need 1 goal to win games at Goodison and despite controlling the ball for long periods Spurs lacked the subtlety to break down what is an extremely dogged and belligerent squad of players when they have the bit between their teeth. It was a fitting end to a game which marked the 10^th anniversary of David Moyes tenure and the game provided a microcosm of the key themes which have marked his reign; defensive solidity, organisation, hard work and gaining a tactical advantage where all available in abundance here…plus a match winning goal by a shrewd buy. Lovely stuff!