The other day I was explaining to somebody how the situation at Manchester United (3 losses in a row) seems inexplicable to me, haunting me with Jose’s last season at Chelsea. The team looks the same on paper as the one which started the season so promisingly. Everyone saw that performances were weak, but expectations were being set, and historically Manchester United picks up its performances as the season progresses. I was talking about Luke and how he is an amazing left back, but his attacking prowess is not having an impact which it seemed to have last season, before the infamous multiple leg break in Holland. I was asked, “Wait, if he is an attacker, then what does Rooney do?” I stuttered about wingers, and wing-backs, but was cut down by, “what’s the winger do, defence?”
To say that I was taken aback, would be the clichéd understatement of the century. What was I doing talking about Shaw, when my audience did not understand the basic number 11 role? (By the way Luke Shaw might be a ‘wing back’, or a more traditional ‘left back’, but it might take a few years to get that right) Had I been so blinded by my obsession to defend Shaw that I failed to gauge the audience? When did I become so callous in my love for football that I would seemingly bore the audience out of their fucking heads? I never thought of myself as ‘that’ person! But then, I was informed that my friend was genuinely interested in the concept, but had no ‘footballing brain’ – yet.
I couldn’t find the energy to explain stuff, if I was not assured of the ‘quality’ of the questions I would be asked. So, I decided to write about it instead. The generous bastard that I am. <Applause!> <Booker prize> <etcetera>.
I couldn’t find the energy to explain stuff, if I was not assured of the ‘quality’ of the questions I would be asked. So, I decided to write about it instead. The generous bastard that I am. <Applause!> <Booker prize> <etcetera>.
The Jersey Numbers in Football- Explained
I will stick to the most basic 4-4-2 (the picture below is 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1 though) for our discussion here.
Let me start with the obvious one (1). The #1 in football is the goalkeeper. He is the most important person in the team. He is like the CEO in the context of business. The whole game is played out in front of him, he makes very little difference (unless it’s an amazing CEO like Neuer, and the chairman – the manager- allows him to make a difference), and the trickiest shots are aimed at him. When he does make a difference though, oh what impact! Legions of fans/customers will sing songs about ‘the wall’, and CEOs are, inevitably, un-droppable – the first name on the team sheet. Every. Single. Time.
As the CEO is fronted by a team of functional leaders, so is our veritable goalkeeper. There is the ‘defensive set-up’ of a team, a line of defenders, ostensibly charged with stopping the attackers of the opposition to get a whiff of the home goal. In terms of numbers, they are usually contained within 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15. Now, the single digits are generally reserved for the senior players, so when you see a defence with 2, 3, 4, 5 lining up, it’s the BEST the team has got. Young defenders (with double digit numbers) will usually be lined up as injury replacements (long season, you know) or when there is an attempt to use their pace (left and right defenders) to run behind the opposition defence in an attacking situation, and then quickly track back in case of a counter attack. The 2 center backs will usually sit deep, and left & right backs will assist on the wings when attacking.
Does that make sense to you? I might have looked at all of this from a constricting point of view of the Premier Leagues. Your thoughts and bricks are welcome! I will write more about midfield and attacking numbers soon!
