Thread by @TheBlueReview_

Last but not least Julian Naglesmann's (JM) analysis. Only 35 years old, meaning he would only be 2 years older than Azpi, a club captain. Still, he has achieved so much at his young age and this is why he is a candidate for the head coach job:

(Mega thread)

JN once said that: "Thirty % of coaching is tactics, 70% is social competence" and "At this level, the quality of the players at your disposal will ensure that you play well within a good tactical set-up – if the psychological condition is right." This is great to hear given that

most likely he would be willing to give some talented Chelsea outcasts even a chance to shine if the conditions are right, something I would be very open to seeing.

At only 28 years old, he became the youngest-ever head coach in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim. JM is heavily inspired by German coaches, with Ragnick recruiting him to Leipzig in 2019. Also, he was even coached by Tuchel when he was in Augsburg's second team.

Successively appointing him as 1860 Munich's under-17 coach.

Characteristics: JN is very innovative and willing to adapt, experiment and explore new formations, tactics, etc. Making him a very exciting coach to see develop and lineup teams. Not only this, but JN is very open to

using data, new technologies and innovative processes if these would help the squad, this is something undoubtedly Boehly would like, given his preference for fluid and participative communication and feedback between the manager and owners.

JN when at Hoffenheim usually set up his team in an attacking 352 while in possession, and a 343 or sometimes 532 when defending. Something that would be good for the club given that the last couple of years debatably we have been better with 3atb formations.

Here, his three defenders would play out from the back, usually the left or right CB would carry the ball forward, while in this case, Polanski would most likely take over/ cover for whichever wing back pushed up while the central defender carried the ball up the pitch. The two

other central midfielders would create a square and options to pass between them and the attackers. This created several passing options for the defender pushing up, as well as always having a free man to pass to on the wing. With JN it is all about positive passes, always

trying to pass upfield whenever possible.

When at Lepzig, JN still often returned to the basic structures he used at Hoffenheim but here he mostly utilised a 532. The biggest change was that he now opted for players to make more rotations of the ball around the pitch as his

team had the quality of players for this. This meant that eventually, they had bigger chances of penetrating the space in behind the opposition. Timo Werner was a key player here, his pace to run in behind defenders and even play out wide at times made JN's job easier.

Werner was such a key player under JN that when he departed to Chelsea, JN started changing striker often and even sometimes opted to lineup with 4231 rather than his better-known 532. When Leipzig built an attack, their Wingbacks provided the width, but also at times, the focus

was switched to the middle of the pitch given that Angelino and Mukiele would at times drift inside to attack with the most advanced attacker. When this happened, their position was covered by any central midfielder, it could have even been Sabitzer on the left and Olmo at times.

On the right, even Nkunku sacrificed himself too. When one of the central midfielders occupied a more defensive position, the following mid would take over his place and occupy a wider position to still provide width or even rotate the ball into the inside again.

Since Leipzig

would usually overload the centre of the pitch, opponents would defend with similar numbers, making the outside quite free for their wingbacks to have space.
Leipzig was such a fluid team, Olmo, Sabitzer and Forsberg are all such flexible players as they can all play as CMs, AMs

and even CFs. They constantly swapped positions during the game, confusing the defenders and making man-marking very complicated. At Chelsea JN would need very flexible players that would be comfortable in several different areas, if he came I believe he would be a fan of Ruben,

Reece and Enzo of course.

When at Bayern, JN switched a bit and started preferring a 4231 formation, opting for the double pivot of Kimmich and Goretzka. Muller remained the 10 playing behind Lewandoski. Also, JN prefers wingers to play on the side of their strong foot, hence,

Sane playing on the left and Gnabry on the right. He likes his wingers to attack through the outside of the opposing fullbacks and often reaching the end line as this simultaneously would create more space in the middle for Muller and several crossing options for Lewandowski too.

At Bayern also, due to him having Davies, he often opted for him to be the wingback that would most often push up the pitch. But this would happen only when Sane would drift inside to create an overload in the middle with Muller and the mids, leaving space for Davies behind him.

This would be very interesting to see. I would love to see this on the right with the incorporation of Malo Gusto who is very athletic. When Lewa departed, the focus of the attack switched. Now JN preferred to attack through the middle with the likes of Musiala and Muller.

Finally when defending, at Leipzig and Bayern JN enjoyed watching his team press. First, at Leipzig, he opted for his team to allow one pass from the opponent preferably out wide. Then the press would start with the sole striker being backed up by two CMs and a deeper mid

supporting the CMs from behind, preventing any passes to be played to the opposing CM in the middle of the pitch. This would also cause an overload mostly causing the opponents to have to boot it up the pitch.

Nagelsmann always encouraged a high and intense press. When the press didn't succeed, he would focus on not allowing the opponent to play through the middle. Something I would like to see at Chelsea, a team that would not be passive without the ball and would overload the middle

of the pitch first and foremost.
When at Bayern, he opted for a 442 when out of possession. Muller or Musiala would be the most likely to start the press always forcing the opponent to force the ball out wide, the press would then be supported by one other CM (similar to Leipzig)

JN's coaching is beautiful due to its simplicity and focus on quick attacks that would catch the opponent off guard. I wouldn't mind one bit seeing his very dynamic and attack-focused football come to the Bridge. He has a good track record and can only improve as well. Thoughts?