Full Back positioning

[spyinthesky]

Throughout the season I have noticed that Ryan Manning seems to play as a third centre back when opponents play down our left hand side thereby leaving lots of room.

On Friday this affliction seems to have been passed onto KWP and Boro's left back had acres of room on his side of the pitch.

I imagine this must be a tactic that the Manager has inspired and perhaps is a consequence of only playing Downes and Smallbone in midfield.

Interested in any views on this.

It is such a shame that the tactic still remains to spend so much time faffing around with the ball in our own half rather than get the ball forward.

 

[tdmickey3]

3 minutes ago, spyinthesky said:

Throughout the season I have noticed that Ryan Manning seems to play as a third centre back when opponents play down our left hand side thereby leaving lots of room.

On Friday this affliction seems to have been passed onto KWP and Boro's left back had acres of room on his side of the pitch.

I imagine this must be a tactic that the Manager has inspired and perhaps is a consequence of only playing Downes and Smallbone in midfield.

Interested in any views on this.

It is such a shame that the tactic still remains to spend so much time faffing around with the ball in our own half rather than get the ball forward.

 

Agreed we are so open on either side with this tactic and Ipswich's pacy winger will love it.

You think this would have been addressed by now but it hasn't 

[Harry_SFC]

20 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Agreed we are so open on either side with this tactic and Ipswich's pacy winger will love it.

You think this would have been addressed by now but it hasn't 

Unfortunately Martin is incredibly stubborn with these tactics. 

[badgerx16]

6 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Unfortunately Martin is incredibly stubborn with these tactics. 

He has reinvented football, the problem is nobody else in the Championship has realised.

[The Cat]

Been saying it for months that it's not Manning's poor positioning and that it's tactical.

Quite a lot of teams defend in this way, it's certainly not just something that Martin has dreamed up on his own.

[Tommy Mulgrew]

Yes, and we have discussed it at length on here before.  The trouble is that we seem to suffer the defensive disadvantages of that system, especially on our left-hand side, without gaining any of the advantages.  Some would say that other teams do the opposite.  I could not possibly comment.

[Whitey Grandad]

3 hours ago, The Cat said:

Been saying it for months that it's not Manning's poor positioning and that it's tactical.

Quite a lot of teams defend in this way, it's certainly not just something that Martin has dreamed up on his own.

I can’t for the life of me see how it could ever be called ‘defending’. 
 

It's a bit like the way that they abandon sea defences and call it ‘managed retreat’. No, it’s just ‘retreat’.

[Miltonaggro]

Was closely watching Bree last game and his positioning was such an improvement on manning defensively. Very tidy player James Bree. It was as though KWP had been given free reign and it was on the right side that we were much more exposed. If it’s tactical it seems incredibly naive. 

[Patrick Bateman]

3 hours ago, Miltonaggro said:

Was closely watching Bree last game and his positioning was such an improvement on manning defensively. Very tidy player James Bree. It was as though KWP had been given free reign and it was on the right side that we were much more exposed. If it’s tactical it seems incredibly naive. 

Agree. Sat on the halfway line against 'boro, and decided to watch Bree (of all players) and KWP as the positioning fascinated me. KWP was smashing forwards in a proper right winger position, but Bree seemed to be doing the inverted full back thing, but he did it well, better than Manning did. Manning was good when not asked to do that and just defend as a left back, but Bree seems to have the skills to do that role better.  N.B. I'm not saying "well", but "better", I still hate it. 

[Cricketphilly]

There does seem a policy to allow crosses to come in and we'll deal with them. 

[The Cat]

31 minutes ago, Cricketphilly said:

There does seem a policy to allow crosses to come in and we'll deal with them. 

Definitely, again this tactic is used by a lot of teams now.

Gone are the days of full backs all staying wide with the winger and getting close to try and block every cross.

Looking at the stats for this season we are the third lowest team in terms of crosses again the league, and mid table for the number of completed crosses against.

That perhaps suggests that our CB's aren't dealing with the crosses that well because if we're 3rd lowest in terms of crosses conceded we should be lower in the table for completed crosses against.

Edited 1 April, 2024 by The Cat

[Harry_SFC]

55 minutes ago, Cricketphilly said:

There does seem a policy to allow crosses to come in and we'll deal with them. 

It's working really well. 

[Osvaldorama]

Baffling tactics, just like the decision to try and pass it around in our own area as much as possible instead of in the oppositions half. 
 

Apparently we are supposed to trust the process

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, Cricketphilly said:

There does seem a policy to allow crosses to come in and we'll deal with them. 

Not just crosses. Shots on goal too. 

[coalman]

It's not even so much that we're leaving wide spaces free either. Can remember a few times in recent games where we've followed the ball across and left space through the middle too. 

It's not even like we need our full backs so far forward either. In Brooks, Fraser and Edozie we've got wide players that are going to trouble any defence in this division.

Edited 1 April, 2024 by coalman