The new Norwich head coach has worked consistently for more than a decade since starting out as a manager in January 2011, having moved from Walsall to Brentford, then to Aston Villa and now on to Norwich... 🧐🔰
In addition to the odd brief experiment with a back three, Brentford used a proactive, attacking 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 in the early days of Smith’s tenure. With this shape, they were the fourth highest scorers in the Championship in 2016/17... 🧐🧵
Dean Smith also mostly used a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 at Aston Villa. While Brentford often created through the centre of the pitch, Smith’s Villa put more crosses into the box, having attacked around the outside of their opponents... 🧐🧵
Crossing play remained a prominent feature of Villa’s game after they returned to the Premier League. In that season, they attempted the 5th most crosses in the league – but they evolved, with many crosses coming from advancing full-backs Elmohamady, Guilbert and Targett... 🧐🧵
Smith’s Villa developed further in 2020/21. Their attacks became more direct and they demonstrated improved game-management. Matty Cash, regularly provided crosses from right-back. Watkins improved the team with his ability to receive on the move and his unselfish runs... 🧐🧵
At Brentford, Smith introduced a more aggressive high press. This succeeded in that they recorded the 3rd most regains in the final third in the Championship in 2017/18, and their defensive record improved markedly... 🧐🧵
After promotion to the Premier League, Smith’s Aston Villa mostly defended with mid and low blocks. But, as was the case with Brentford, they were vulnerable if opponents built with width as a result of the attacking licence he gave his full-backs... 🧐🧵
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Spain used a 4-3-3 structure and built play patiently from the back, despite Germany pressing aggressively from their 4-2-3-1. They moved the ball around the back line to isolate Thomas Müller, before a centre-back stepped out with the ball into midfield... 🧐🧵
Olmo continued to move inside and Asensio dropped deep, in the process pulling Süle out of his position in Germany’s back line. This helped Spain to build out from the back and get around Germany’s increasingly effective high press... 🧐🧵
Traditionally, full-backs are the widest players in a back four, and as a result they attack and defend mostly in the wide areas. However, full-backs who move inside into central spaces are known as ‘inverted full-backs’. This movement adds an extra presence centrally... ↩️🧐
Although Pep Guardiola is the coach most associated with the inverted full-back, Johan Cruyff used them with Barcelona many years before. Then, he often converted the 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3 diamond, with one full-back inverting into central midfield... ↩️🧐
Manchester United were set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but Fred pushed forward from the double pivot to become a number 8 and give them a stronger attacking presence in central midfield. Bruno Fernandes then adapted his positioning, moving into the left inside channel... 🧐🧵
The hosts eventually pushed both full-backs higher, primarily working around the outside of Tottenham’s wing-backs. United’s wingers then came inside, with the freedom to rotate with Fred and Fernandes, as long as both inside channels were always occupied... 🧐🧵
Barcelona were set up in a 4-3-3, against a Madrid 4-4-2 defensive block. Torres moved inside to support centre-forward Aubameyang. De Jong and Pedri widened to support through the inside channels, with Busquets left as the single pivot ahead of the two centre-backs... 🧐🧵
Busquets dropped into defence to draw one of Madrid’s central midfielders up, and Pedri drifted wider to drag the other out. This often left De Jong as the free man to receive in the inside channel when Barcelona’s back line could access him... 🧐🧵
4-4-2 is made up of three distinct lines. The back four including two centre-backs and two full-backs. Ahead of them, a midfield four features two players in the middle and one on each side. Then the front two in attack who provide both height and goalscoring threat... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵
In the 1950s, Viktor Maslov developed another variation of the 4-2-4, in which the two wingers dropped back alongside the two central midfielders. So originated the 4-4-2, which worked to overload opposition midfields with traditionally fewer numbers... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵