The Soccer Blog: The Battle For Midfield

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

The Battle For Midfield

By: Noel | April 13th, 2011
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Liverpool 4-2-2-2 formation tactics problems

We’ve often looked to break down tactics in the days following a Liverpool match, with the midfield being a particular source of interest when it comes to exploring why a game ended up taking the route it did. However, this week we’re going to try something a little bit different by focusing more on Liverpool’s opponents over the last three games to see if the patterns that emerge can help to explain just what has gone right for Liverpool in midfield, as well as what has gone wrong, as the club makes a conscious shift towards the 4-2-2-2 formation in order to incorporate Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez into the line-up as something of a traditional big man-little man pairing.

Sunderland:

Though Liverpool’s opponents started with something of a three man central midfield with Muntari, Henderson, and Sessengon, Sulley Muntari’s injury after 19 minutes resulted in Lee Catermole coming on in his place to partner Jordan Henderson (right). At that point, Sessengon moved further left while both Welbeck and Malbranque offered little direct support from their more advanced roles. While they had five midfielders on the pitch, none of the trio of Sessengon, Welbeck, or Malbranque offered much in the way of support in possession, leaving a distinct central pair instead of a three man unit.

Meanwhile on the Liverpool side of midfield, the duo Lucas and Spearing didn’t have exceptional games against Sunderland. In fact, with Lucas misplacing an unusual 14 passes and Spearing sending 11 astray on a similar number of attempts as their counterparts, it could be said that the pair was actually quite poor. However, with the Sunderland midfield quickly evolving into a separated duo, neither side convincingly won the overall battle there, allowing Liverpool’s strength elsewhere–and in particular an exceptionally strong showing from Luis Suarez–to become the deciding factor.

Statistically speaking, Liverpool lost the midfield battle against Sunderland despite that side’s quick abandonment of any numerical advantage, but they weren’t completely overwhelmed, and that was just enough to allow Luis Suarez to work his magic.

Manchester City:

If Sunderland represented a survivable loss in midfield, Manchester City was a dead heat, even if as the game went on and Liverpool coasted to victory it was hard to see anything good in the performance of City midfielders Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure. On the red side, Lucas made eight successful tackles on twelve attempts while Spearing won four out of five. Comparatively, Toure won four of six and Barry only managed two of three.

However, Barry and Toure intercepted eight passes between them while Lucas and Spearing only stopped three.

Beyond that, there was little to choose between on the passing front (right), as Lucas and Spearing were slightly more aggressive and Barry and Toure slightly more efficient, though on the whole the numbers suggest a wash in midfield despite how well Lucas and Spearing appeared to play at the time.

The difference, again as in the Sunderland match, was that the midfield battle provided a platform for the surrounding players–Meireles, Suarez, and a tireless Kuyt in this case–to be the deciding factors. Lucas and Spearing did also play better than they had against Sunderland, and while against Sunderland it was largely a one man show by Suarez that tipped the match in Liverpool’s favour, here three players–along with some timely finishing by Carroll and that the midfield battle was fairly even instead of a narrow defeat–made it seem a landslide by comparison.

In both cases, however, it wasn’t so much that Liverpool’s midfielders comprehensively won the battle and, as a result, provided a base for Liverpool to win a game built around their possession. Instead it was that they were simply good enough not to lose it. Which probably shouldn’t be all that surprising given that for most of both games the numbers in the center of the park were functionally even, leaving it to other players to provide temporary support in the center or to decide the outcome in one on one battles away from midfield.

West Bromwich Albion:

Rather painfully, the West Brom match sandwiched by those two victories showed exactly what an outnumbered midfield leads to: Without the numbers to at least keep the fight close, Liverpool’s surrounding impact players didn’t even get a chance to make a difference.

Here, when you look at the pure numbers between Youssuf Mulumbu and Paul Scharner as West Brom’s deepest lying midfielders and Lucas and Spearing for Liverpool (right), it hardly seems a landslide for West Brom. However, they edged the battle in midfield similar to the way Sunderland’s deepest two had, and part of the reason this time around was direct support from first Simon Cox and then Marc-Andre Fourtune in front of them. Combined, the two players who filled that supporting forward role didn’t contribute as many passes, tackles, or interceptions as any of the four deeper midfielders on either side, but they offered a quick outlet that allowed West Bromwich Albion to control the match for long stretches, particularly with Chris Brunt taking up a largely free role from the right as an overlapping fullback provided width on that side of the pitch. In fact, Chris Brunt provided more central support for West Bromwich Albion than Raul Meireles and Dirk Kuyt did combined for Liverpool (below), at times giving the Baggies a devastating four to two advantage in the center of the park.

***

Long story short, Liverpool appears strong enough in midfield–even with just Lucas Leiva and Jay Spearing–to get by against opponents with a corresponding central pair, especially if the surrounding players are on their game and can make a difference in their own one on one battles. Against even a moderately competent three-man midfield that plays as a unit and is itself properly supported by surrounding teammates, the numbers game can catch up quickly. And for those who believe a solid possession game is the safest route to domination through pass and move football, even Liverpool’s recent victories employing a 4-2-2-2 system provide cause for concern, as at best it offers a midfield draw that leaves it down to which side’s surrounding players perform better on the day to play the largest role in determining victory.

Every aspect of pass and move football is built around a solid foundation in midfield, and utilizing only two men there immediately places Liverpool on at best an even footing with their opponents, while at worst it leaves them outmanned and overrun.

Liverpool was lucky, then, that a combination of injury and indiscipline left Sunderland’s midfield largely isolated, just as they were fortunate that Roberto Mancini gave them a gift by only using a two man midfield while City’s galaxy of surrounding stars were outperformed by their Liverpool counterparts. In the second example, one can hope that had that not been the case Kenny Dalglish and Steve Clarke might have shifted Raul Meireles inside to even things up. In any case, Liverpool won’t be able to expect that same kind of luck on Sunday against Arsenal, where they will almost certainly face a dynamic three man midfield.

How Liverpool sets up against that will go a long way towards determining their chances of success even before the ball is first kicked.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Zone 14Three. Six. One.Gamblor Watches the Table, Midfield Tactics, and Other Tuesday NotesBuilding a Better TriangleLiverpool 3, Manchester City 0: A Moment of Certainty

Category: Match Recaps, Premier League, Special Features

Tags: Andy Carroll, Arsenal, Chalkboards, Damned Lies And Statistics, Dirk Kuyt, Formations, Jay Spearing, Kenny Dalglish, Lucas Leiva, Luis Suarez, Manchester City, Match Recaps, Premier League, Raúl Meireles, So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, Special Features, Sunderland, Tactical Analysis, Tactics, West Bromwich Albion
Tweet « Gamblor Watches the Table, Midfield Tactics, and Other Tuesday Notes | Home | Red2deathAhh, so our midfield really isn't very strong. That's why Hodgson was so intent on bypassing it all the time. Genius!

Dj-ChutfieldI had a bad feeling about 4-2-2-2 from the start. 4-3-3, please! Especially if Arsenal still employ a 4-3-3, we can match them shape for shape.Dj-ChutfieldI had a bad feeling about 4-2-2-2 from the start. 4-3-3, please! Especially if Arsenal still employ a 4-3-3, we can match them shape for shape.lfc80ukNoel what midfield players do you think we should sign in the summer! At the Harrods end of the spectrum you have the likes of Arda Turan, Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young and Lavezzi being linked with us! On the bargain basement front you have the likes of...... Well I am just going to come out and say it! Do you rate Charlie Adam?NoelHonestly, no, I don't rate Adam highly. He's got great range as a passer and can spread the field, but even then he strikes me as being too set on putting it forward no matter what. He also doesn't have the work rate, which he can get away with as the "lazy" member of a three man midfield at Blackpool but still is hardly ideal.

I know I've seen people compare him to Alonso, but Alonso consistently ran the furthest of any player on the pitch to cover the angles defensively--more than the fullbacks, even--and has often talked about the importance of playing the short, safe ball when the flashy long-pass wasn't there.

Maybe for £6-8M he offers an option as a squad player, and perhaps he could develop further as a small fish in a big pond, but I'd be disturbed by anything over £10M that would likely suggest he's coming straight into the starting eleven no matter what.

Turan, Young, and Lavezzi are all quality players, but they're wide attackers for a 433/4231 and would presumably be competing with Kuyt and Suarez. Be nice to get at least one of them, though. And to see a system that could employ them embraced, with Meireles moving back inside.lfc80ukTotally agree! And not to sound like a Standard Chartered Executive. But I think we should spend the potential £10 million on Keisuke Honda! I think he offers more than Adam, he is also a playmaker, can pick a pass, good at set-pieces, younger and with more pace than Adam. Not to mention the potential marketing bonanza that Liverpool would reap the benefits from, in an emerging Asian market.

But a quality winger, leftback, centre half and additional striker are required to get back into that top tier of the Premier League!

I also second your view that Meireles should be bought back inside. Where he pushes forward, he is at times unplayable, a real attacking threat!

I may get shot down in an avalanche of insults and spittle but I feel Meireles is more effective in the middle of the park then Gerrard has been this season. And contrary to popular opinion 'wee Jay' is not the man to fill Mascherano's treacherous boots!NoelSpearing has surprised me, to be honest. Though I'm certainly not all the way there on him yet.

As for Honda, I think he might be the only Asian player Liverpool could pick up without setting people on edge after that idiot exec went on a ramble.cheekyfellowYea, but if you get Honda now you just look like a corporate tool. That exec is an idiot.LucasLeiva21Good stuff Noel. Glad you pointed out in the end how we're gonna, like, totally need 3 CMs Sunday though.Jay WrightI *still* maintain that 433 is the way forwards, is the easiest way to hide our physical deficiencies and get the best out of all of players. I also still maintain that Coady is not only a better prospect, but a better player right now than Spearing as evidenced by their showings in the reserves this seasonredtrev73From what i've seen you are on the money here. To be fair to "wee jay" though, he has really responded to the faith Kenny has placed in him. His (limited) experience is why he's edging it and his outings vs the bluenoses, sunderland and cit-eh were impressive. If we had a midfield injury crisis The King would throw coady in, you can be sure. Great hopes for that kid.AvinashAre you the same Jay Wright on football365??blog comments powered by Disqus