Thread by @EBL2017

Vincent Kompany has changed Burnley from a long ball team into one of the most aesthetically pleasing & *efficient* sides in the WORLD.

Not only that, but he excels in all of the areas required to be an ELITE manager. The evidence suggests he might be exactly that.

MEGA-THREAD.

Burnley are 19 points clear in the automatic promotions spots with just 9 games left. Promotion is all but guaranteed at this point. Kompany's men have scored the most goals in the league, conceded the least amount of goals, average the most possession..

But, how? It's Burnley?!

Well, Kompany's Burnley build play in a variety of shapes depending on the opposition's style and general approach, and those tactical adjustments are very, very similar to that at Manchester City.

Kompany has always been a leader, but it's clear he took a lot from Pep at City.

Earlier on in the season and against teams who play a back 5 and didn't exert much pressure on the ball via pressing, Kompany's Burnley used a 3-1-6 shape where the emphasis was on creating an overload in the last line to break the opposition down.

Pep & ten Hag use this a lot.

Specifically, though, the system is most similar to ten Hag at Manchester United as Guardiola typically uses the 3-1-6 with a fullback like Cancelo holding the width on one side, but ten Hag uses it with an inverted fullback positioning themselves high and between the lines.

This creates the 6v5 overload against the opposition back 5 but it also means Burnley can continue to attack with their wingers receiving in 1v1 situations as opposed to fullbacks who are often less equipped in such situations.

The inverted fullback is key for Kompany's team.

Roberts, Maatsen & Vitinho are Burnley's most commonly used inverted fullbacks with Roberts most often tasked with this role throughout the season.

He is often the one who starts deep before positioning himself high where he can make runs from deep.

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However, Kompany uses his inverted fullbacks in a variety of other methods too. His preferred shape is the 3-2-5 or the 2-3-5 which transitions from a 4-3-3 in the very first phase, much like Mikel Arteta at Arsenal or again like Guardiola at City.

Burnley set up in a standard 4-3-3 shape from goal kicks but further up is where the magic happens. When Burnley transition into a 3-2-5 they often do it unpredictably selection or system wise.

The players' positioning throughout games is constant, but the names often change.

In picture #1 we see Roberts as a right centre back with Vitinho inverted into midfield from left back. Vitinho is right footed, but just like Pep, Kompany has no problem using right-footed left backs!

In picture #2 we see Roberts in midfield with Maatsen as the left centre back

Sometimes the right back inverts, & sometimes the left back inverts. The positioning is constant throughout individual games, but from game to game the individuals change, & that's the optimal balance from a coaching perspective.

The staple system remains regardless of who plays

However, Kompany has more tactical strings to his bow relative to inverted fullbacks.

Another approach he uses against teams who are passive in the press & play back 5's is to use a 2-3-5 shape with both fullbacks inverted (see Roberts & Maatsen either side of Cullen in the #6).

The fullbacks can be fluid positionally in the sense that they may drift to create passing options for their teammates.

That fluid positioning can cause Burnley's build-up to resemble a variety of shapes, such as a 4-1, a 3-1 (if the fullbacks drift high), a 3-2, & a 2-3!

It's fluid, but it's within the confines of the system, & the positional play higher up the pitch complements Burnley's phenomenal build-up perfectly as each player consistently occupies key zones in the final third. The below clip epitomises their quality.

The inverted fullbacks offer huge attacking benefits in possession because of how they act as circulatory options who create passing lanes directly into the wide player holding the width on each wing.

They can also combine & attack space from deep, providing a threat themselves.

Not only that, but the value they add defensively is arguably their biggest asset. Kompany's Burnley may only set up in a 2-3-5 in the build-up on occasion, but they almost always resemble that shape in attack (outside of the 3-1-6 shape), & the spacing is nothing short of elite.

The inverted fullbacks act as offensive facilitators who can also offer penetration but the security blanket they offer Burnley in the counterpress is arguably the teams greatest quality.

*LOOK* at how compact they make the team in transition!

Burnley may have a qualitative advantage over much of their opposition in the Championship, but come on.. forget quality. These principles are the very same ones the elite coaches and teams use.

Look at the security they provide behind the initial line of attacking...

That initial line of attacking cannot be underestimated either. Many coaches who implement a line of 5 in attack often do so with wingbacks holding the width or struggle to create a cohesive settled defensive press out of possession because the wingbacks track back into defence..

Not Kompany, not his Burnley team...

Natural wingers receive on the wings so there are 5 players comfortable in attacking zones positioned perfectly in the final third but they also transition into a 4-4-1-1 press out of possession.. again, just like Guardiola or Arteta do!

The thing that separates the best 4-4-1-1 presses is the ability to create reliable pressure on the ball. Oftentimes such a shape can be disengaged because the opposition have a central overload against the front 2.

The elites combat that by inverting the wide players, though.

Pep does it, Arteta does it, ten Hag does it, De Zerbi does it.... and so does Vincent Kompany!

The wide player inverts leaving the opposition with *NO* spare players in the build-up as the fullback out of shot is ready to press the far side fullback if the play is switched.

Most teams pump the ball long and into midfield in the Championship which is where Burnley have to battle for duels, but man does Kompany know how to set his team up to press!

He adapts the press depending on the opposition too. If they play a back 4 or a back 3.. not a problem.

Here we see Burnley's wide players inverting to press the outside centre backs in a back 3 with the fullbacks pushing on to press the opposition wingbacks and the #10 dropping off to help the midfielders man-mark in the middle of the park.

Again, FLAWLESS.

I wrote a thread on Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough because they are quite clearly a well coached team who have gone on a formidable rise up the table, but I was forced to include critiques of Carrick's style that need to improve to become elite.

I can't fault Kompany AT ALL.

We are well and truly looking at an elite tactical team, and when you consider Kompany's tactical qualities in tandem with the fact that he's a well-renowned leader and has proven he can handle the pressure of the modern game then it becomes clear why he's succeeding as a coach.

However, there's more.. Sean Dyche's Burnley were the polar opposite of Vincent Kompany's Burnley in style. The culture at Burnley was already set in stone, but the sheer difference in style is truly astounding to consider.

For Kompany to change that almost instantly is wild!

Kompany's two biggest signings to date (outside of the recently signed Lyle Forster) cost just €4m each in Benson and Zazroury with both excelling in terms of output provided alongside Nathan Tella who was signed on loan from Southampton.

The technical quality signed as well has been sensational. Cullen cost just €3m and he is arguably the heartbeat of the entire team technically, Vitinho excels technically too & he was signed for just €1m.. on loan there's Maatsen from Chelsea, Harwood-Bellis & Muric from City.

There has been a lot of signings, but there's been a lot for either very cheap or on loan, and that was required to change the style at Burnley. The starting XI Kompany picks is often a far cry from the teams Dyche used to pick, although some key figures remain and are excelling.

Josh Brownhill, Gudmundsson, and Ashley Barnes are all still regulars for Burnley and that's because they possess a particular trait that is invaluable in creating chances and scoring goals - ferocious ball-striking.

Brownhill and Gudmundsson in particular are flourishing.

When you combine a structure like Kompany's with ball-striking like the Brownhill and Gudmundsson have then there's only one outcome that can possibly occur, and that's reliable output.

The positional play and general compactness of the block enables them to create with ease.

So, on top of Kompany's tactical, leadership, and pressure handling qualities, he has also shown that he can excel in the transfer market and at exerting his own identity into a football club.

The masses would have deemed such a feat impossible in such a short period of time.

The parameters I am discussing to judge Kompany's tenure at Burnley are carefully hand-picked.

These are the same parameters I use to judge the absolute elites, and the evidence to date suggests that Vincent Kompany, from a qualitative perspective, is on their level.

The job he is carrying out at Burnley is astounding.

From long ball football to some of the most aesthetically pleasing and efficient football in the WORLD, from defending deep to being the team who dominates the ball the most in the league.

A revolution in front of our eyes.

The thing about it is everything about the performance processes under Kompany's tutelage suggest that the success will continue. The style they currently play is directly translatable to the Premier League.

With more additions in the market, they can excel even further.

Burnley have been placed under a transfer embargo at the moment, as well all know, but in the assumption everything is resolved there, Burnley won't just survive but they will excel in the Premier League!

Vincent Kompany might just be the next elite manager in the sport..

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