Football for Dummies Part 2.

Some time ago, I wrote a post attempting to link football and business tactics. My colleague found a mention in it, which he did not enjoy by the way, although he did find it in him to share the post. I ended up arguing with him that businesses can indeed extrapolate footballing knowledge in their context, while he naively kept insisting that ‘nobody cared about football’. I saw red, and like Mr. Neville and his badge kissing antics and ‘I would’ve taken a 120 match ban’ claim, went ahead and stuck my foot in my mouth. Long story short, nobody really knew about football in the 120 mile radius where I had previously decided to be born. So, my noble attempt to teach and educate continues..

I labour on to the mid-field. The mid-field is most oft likened with an ‘engine room’, where the power comes from. Remember Clarkson ( of Top Gear fame) growling “Power..” ? The mid-level managers who support on-ground execution are like the star players (think Riquelme, Zizou, Pirlo, Lampard, Scholes, Giggs, Pogba) who form the ‘soul’ of a team. Now, mid-field is a complex beast.

The ligament between the defence and ‘attacking midfield’ is the defensive mid-fielder (usually the number 6). The #6 jersey forms the first line of defence, and the first line of attack- in essence the pivot role. He puts in the first defensive tackle at the centre-line when the opposition breaks. He puts the first pass into an attacking play. Just ahead of the #6, plays the ‘player in the hole’. Most likely also referred to as the No. 10. Wayne Rooney was Manchester United’s #10 till the latest s***-storm hit. Very likely his return in form will settle large tracts of football supporters, and all will be hunky and dory, but let’s keep our fingers crossed for the time being. Both for his (Wayne’s) and Mata’s sakes. So, while Rooney is ‘sidelined’, it is either Juan Mata (#8 jersey) or -god forbid- Fellaini who would take up that role. Or, even Mkhitaryan, who did the job well at Dortmund.

While Jose insists on playing 2 players in the #6 position currently, as the defensive confidence builds and attacking requirement increases, it would eventually boil down to 1 position. That would leave the #10 role (center midfield, attacking), and #11 (left midfield, attacking), and the #8/#18 role (right midfield, attacking) to fall amongst Rooney, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Martial, Depay (gone soon?), or even the young-Jesus-Christ and saviour-of-humanity Rashford. While Rooney and Mata are essentially #10s, both have recently (sometimes) operated from the right. Their ‘pace’ is a curse though, albeit their creativity and passing range is oft admired. United has traditionally employed young, pacey wingers. Martial, Lingard, Mkhi, Depay, Rashford all fall in that category. Of course, rumours of a ‘new’ number 10 are now emerging, but really, too soon!

Well, that covers mid-field. Of the tons of variations possible, the ‘system’ of a 4-5-1 seems to be most accepted in the Premier League by any ‘modern’ manager. Not too different from a 4-4-2, there is a better ‘defensive’ set-up in the new formation. Also, Pogba, and Fellaini’s hair. Two strong reasons. Comments?

1 thought on “Football for Dummies Part 2.”