Talking Tactics
The apparent mystery of the midfield balance.
Jonny Carter is an MLS Pro coach. To find out more, visit his website.
Copycat football tactics are often seen when inferior projects attempt to emulate the best-in-class frontrunners at the top of the table.
The midfield configuration of the system of play for the most successful clubs in contemporary football seems very apparent, so why hasn’t everyone just followed it in the same way that modern initiatives such as inverted fullbacks, throw-in coaches and reckless goalkeepers have been followed?
Manchester City have dominated with a genuine number six in their midfield model. Fernandinho originally, and then the world-class Rodri next. Trophies everywhere. The Premier League’s second-best for a few consecutive seasons, Liverpool, deployed Fabinho as their number six counterbalance at the base of the midfield.
Current challengers Arsenal look best balanced with Thomas Partey anchoring, allowing Declan Rice to get forward. There are many salient examples. The past generation before these Premier League standards had an identical dynamic for both club & country; Sergio Busquets was a number six staple for Barcelona and the all-conquering Spanish national team dominated the screening midfield with innocuous efficiency.
The deep-lying defensive midfield pivot is not so much a new tactical concept, just a modern refined belief with increasing importance. The number six’s task is now twofold. In possession, the role is to build the attack, play out of the back and through the lines, progressing the ball upfield, helping to retain control of possession and help dominate the tempo of play in the attacking territory.
Out of possession the flipside of the six’s job scope is to screen the defensive group, dictate the space in the critical central area of the field and funnel opposition play to the less demanding width. Positional reliability on the transition moments influences the six’s success in these scenarios.
So, if the job description is known, and the case studies of the most successful protagonists are very visible; how come not everyone just duplicates this game model?
Here, I delve into three odd tactical choices…
SEAN DYCHE — EVERTON
Aston Villa paid a hefty £50million for Amadou Onana to represent them in the six role in the Champions League and through their Premier League campaign attempting to retain Champions League continuation. A Belgium international, who started every game at Euro 24, earning much recognition and plenty of acclaim. Onana was infrequently utilised at Everton and was essentially purchased from the relegation-dodging bench.
Everton have struggled alarmingly under the guidance of Sean Dyche and his lack of tactical understanding to recognise how an excellent exponent of the six could have benefited the welfare of the team is hugely culpable. Everton missed out on a great player, and the shallow learning curve of Dyche was and is to the detriment of the club.
GARETH SOUTHGATE — ENGLAND
Blessed with a generational selection of attacking talent, the only task required of the former England manager was to just build a balanced group and watch them win. Especially against a climate of national opponents at their weakest cycles. But the outcomes failed.
While unable to resolve the attacking conundrum, Gareth Southgate’s biggest miss, amongst many misses, was the midfield balance and an inability to identify a genuine six. The template was known, he watched it from the soft seats in the Grandstand most weekends. But he couldn’t implement it.
Rice is a good midfield player, but he’s not a competent six. He can do a job, but it's not his best job. It's not even his club job. Rice is best as an eight ‘box-to-box middie’ where his ability to travel with the ball on the run is dynamically effective. Screening, discipline or positioning yourself effectively in the buildup is not his strength, he is constantly out of position on the buildup and vacates the midfield far too often to be effective on the transition.
ERIK TEN HAG — MANCHESTER UNITED
There are many dysfunctional components of the current Manchester United team, but the midfield balance must be the first fix. Far too open to play against and lacking any pattern in the attacking phases.
Casemiro was once great but surely now he is so fatigued that he cannot support a contemporary Premier League midfield. Christian Eriksen should not be in a deeper midfield role given his playing profile, remembering that it’s a twofold task now.
Kobbie Mainoo is good, but equally he is not a number six; he likes to abandon the midfield and influence the play, often when it’s not his responsibility to do so. Manuel Ugarte is new and unknown, but he is also a hunter and destroyer — he is not a midfield craftsman with restraint and patience.
No matter how much money you spend or who you recruit, if you splurge badly and recruit wrongly you will fail. These are amongst the top-paid coaching staff in the country and yet they are vividly unable to connect to the tactical understanding of the balanced midfield.
I’m not sure it’s as simple as one change for these failing teams, I don’t think it’s as easy as change the number six and now you win.
But there is some evidence to suggest that the midfield balance is apparently better at some of the more successful teams versus some of the less successful teams.
By Jonny Carter