Grover's Tactical Manifesto So here is how we lined up at the beginning of the match. The was, from back to front and left to right: Reina; Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Kelly; Spearing, Henderson, Gerrard; Bellamy, Carroll, Downing. Points of interest 1. Johnson starts instead of Enrique: I believe this can looked at from various angles. Firstly, its a league cup game and Kelly hasnt played a great deal lately. It was therefore a good opportunity to give match practice to a player who has already proved himself more than capable. Secondly, I feel it was tactically valuable to play Johnson at left back with Kelly at right back. Enrique has been incredible thus far, but has lacked composure (and perhaps attacking ability?) going forward on occasion. Johnson offers more pace on that flank and added his noted attacking prowess on the left hand side. This combined well with the hard work of Bellamy, who understands his defensive duties and carries them out very well. Johnson would not have had this much freedom had he had Downing in front of him as he seems unable to cover as proficiently. An additional bonus, which may or may not have been planned, was having Johnson on Johnson. This system also allowed Kelly to be a more defensive full back behind Downing, who again offers less defensively. 2. The midfield triangle: I expect the starting midfield to be Adam Spearing and Gerrard, but I wasnt too disappointed to see Henderson in for Adam. Spearing was obviously the sitting midfielder and covered the gaps for Gerrard to attempt to link in with the wingers and Carroll, whilst Hendersons role seemed to simply be "cover the gaps, play it simple". He actually did this really well throughout the game, although some criticisms could perhaps be levelled with regard to "getting stuck in", in 70's parlance. 3. Downing on the right: This confused me a little - I could see the intent,but I couldnt understand why they wanted it. Downings strengths, even if he doesnt use them often enough, are his ability to beat a man and cross the ball well. This is not going to be achieved if he is playing on his less favoured foot. This is furthermore perplexing given that Carroll allegedly lives on crosses and not oxygen. Note must be given to the point above about defensive capabilities however, as playing Downing on his favoured side would have left the team very shaky on that same side. The Match From the off, the gameplan was very much contain, counter and use the ball wisely. This worked incredibly well for the first 15-20 minutes and obviously seen the penalty being awarded and subsequently scored. Credit must be given to Agger, who offers a delightful aside to any game in which he embarks on a forward movement. Key players early on included Gerrard, Henderson, Johnson and Bellamy. Bellamy is a vastly underrated player and I am overjoyed everytime he plays. His workrate is great and he makes space for other players. This was evidenced throughout the match during which he vacated his wing area to join Carroll. This also worked to make space for Johnson to push on. Spearing would drop into the numerous spaces to cover if a full back pushed on and I feel this approach allowed for maximal width and pressure whilst on the attack. The passing was typical of a Dalglish side and of what we have noted in previous games - direct and sharp. Carroll did offer a few positives early on in the match. He spun a defender, if Savic counts, and had shot on goal that he was surely disappointed to miss. More is definitely needed from him. His touch was off, but more worryingly his positional play seems to lack, whether that be through motivation or lack of match intelligence. He should have been making runs into the channels, dragging his centre back deep to allow space for Gerrard to run into and generally being a nuisance. He was very lax and this allowed the City defence to be relatively settled. The defensive line and the pressing of the team was largely impressive throughout the match, although the former was obviously variable depending on timepiece readings. Early on, the line was high, and as seconds progressed the line got deeper and deeper. The pressing however stayed constant and it was simplistic yet impeccable in its application. The ball was allowed to come to the line of the forwardmost player before other players would press on. If the ball was within ten yards of a player,the switch was flicked and they immediately charged, reminiscent of a knight on his trusty stallion, and put his opponent under great pressure. Equally pleasing was the intelligence shown by the team about when to step off and allow another player to continue pressing. 10 yards seemed to be the rough limit and it paid off. Henderson also seems to apply pressure to De Jong which seemed to disrupt Citys ability to build from the back. Gerrard and Henderson provided an able passing relay station for the team to move around. Gerrard was keeping things simple and seemed content tactically to occupy a relatively deep role in comparison to the position of Carroll. Similarly, Henderson didnt look too pressured to push much further than the edge of the centre circle. Credit must be given for his determination in the second half for his LUNG-BURSTING run down the left wing, even if his final ball was lacking. An obvious change in the system arrived with the substitution of Adam on for Spearing. Initial wariness was maximal at this point, given that we had circa 70 minutes to complete without a natural defensive midfielder available. Kenneth was also seemingly wary, as we seen the tactical aspect of the game change fairly rapidly, with the team approaching the line quicker than a housewife on a windy day. The team kept largely the same shape but dropped increasingly deeper in the second half, almost to the point of having 6 persons as our defensive line. This in itself is not a problem but questions must be asked when the City team were underpowered and the possibility of another away goal could have seen the tie killed off early. The substution of Downing for Enrique saw 532/352 being put into action: Enrique and Johnson played at left and right back respectively, with Kelly moving into CB. This move definitely neutered the attacking threat on the wings to a degree, but that was probably part of the trade off with a greater number of players in the defensive third. Coupled with the every deepening defensive line and the plan from herein was definitely that of "protect and survive". The pressing continued to what seemed to be their 10 yard imposed limit, and City were encouraged to play in front of the 8 defensive players on the pitch. Carroll was often left isolated but he could have and perhaps should have offered more with regards to running the channels and holding up the ball, but that cant be a major gripe given the teams performance in the second half. City were limited to few chances so it seems as if it paid off, but once again the question must be asked - could more away goals have been scored. Notable Mentions Gerrard - Having not long returned from injury his presence is a delight to see. His passing range, leadership, and simple ball keeping abilities are of great value to the team, especially when he is playing in a deeper than normal/expected role. Very pleasing performace. Bellamy - As always, he gave it a lot of energy and provided space for others to work in via clever runs in behind and in front of the defence. Also enjoyable is his attitude - he has a dogged determination that seems to inspire those around him and his constant bickering with the opposition shows his interest and willingness to win. His importance to the team cannot be underestimated. Johnson - His attacking ability has never been doubted and he seemed very comfortable at left back during this game. He was extremely involved, kept Johnson A. very quiet and should be applauded for his general performance during the game. Grover and out.
