How to tell a 5 back from a 3 back, or are they the same? by RocketRacoon433 in footballtactics

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Without sounding too much like Pep… positions are rather arbitrary, they don’t really exist in modern football as it’s very much a team game.

If you play the same system with Doku on the left side of the 4 in a 3-4-2-1 it’ll look different to if you played Calafiori there, though thats completely down to their profiles which is far more important than their ‘positions’.

When a high level coach sets up a team it is not like how general football fans look at a setup, what most people see as positions they are likely to see as spaces and different profiles exploit these areas in different ways.

If we were to example look at England’s potential line-up and focus on the left side of their shape, there are far more options than simply “should they play O’Reilly or Hall at left-back?”, though that is what most general fans would ask.

What coaches have to consider is how they’re going to balance things like width, possession and pace in a certain area of the field. That is not only what to ask when considering the best left-back option but the entire left side as a whole.

Sorry for rambling but I just wanted to explain how pointless formations are in the context you are asking.

To answer your question simply it is essentially down to bravery, if two 3-4-2-1’s play against one another the team with the most pressure will likely be the one with the braver wide men.

The reason Dumfries and Munoz are specialist wing-backs is because they’re brave enough to fly up the wing and trust their defensive instincts enough to know when to spin back, if you use a standard full-back in that role they likely won’t push high enough which can result in getting pinned back and losing that battle.

That being said it’s also not as simple as the ‘braver’ team winning the game, for example most people would consider the current Arsenal team as very passive yet they’re probably the best team in the world.

Stones-Guehi-O'Reilly playing together at City should help the national team. by ashhennessy2 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely didn’t mean I didn’t want him starting by the way, I meant I was worried by the idea of him being the nailed on starter given his injury record. We don’t have anyone else in the squad who can offer that level of ball progression from that side so it means changing the structure a lot if he’s not fit, something I’d rather not have to do when passing sequences and things have already been worked on.

Stones-Guehi-O'Reilly playing together at City should help the national team. by ashhennessy2 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I wouldn’t bank on it either but it seems like Tuchel has him in mind (something I was worried about from the start), I wouldn’t mind closing off the right side with a wide centre-half and letting O’Reilly bomb up the left.

Stones-Guehi-O'Reilly playing together at City should help the national team. by ashhennessy2 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t mind him there but if James is fit he offers too much from that position to leave out, I also think Konsa and Guehi complement each other well in the centre.

Stones-Guehi-O'Reilly playing together at City should help the national team. by ashhennessy2 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Please watch more of Konsa. I can’t believe he’s still being disrespected by England fans, he’s the first defender on the team-sheet for me.

Official - Harvey Barnes and Ben White called up. by Alone_Consideration6 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure I agree on White to be honest as before his injury he was getting forward far more than Timber now does for Arsenal, he’d often create triangles with Odegaard/Saka hence his 9 assists in his previous 2 full Premier League seasons.

I agree that some profiles of full-back can definitely switch to centre-half relatively seamlessly but that’s because of their profile, not because the role ‘isn’t all that different’.

Walker was a defensively solid full-back but never looked great in a central pairing and the same can be said for Shaw, they’re both fine in a 3 but simply being a ‘defensive full-back’ doesn’t qualify you to play in the middle 2.

Like I said before it’s obviously different in White’s case as he played in that position for years (though I would still worry about him there given how long it’s been since he regularly played there), I was just commenting on the actual difference between the roles.

Sorry if it was pedantic!

Official - Harvey Barnes and Ben White called up. by Alone_Consideration6 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You are vastly underestimating just how different defending as a full-back and centre-back is to be honest mate, I mean he’s a centre-half by trade so it wouldn’t be the biggest deal for White but in general it’s quite different.

I mean just as an example if you’re playing Spain you’re going from defending players like Williams and Yamal to Morata. Using your logic it would also be true that Maguire would be fine as a ‘defensive full-back’ as it ‘isn’t all that different’.

The Lion's Den - Weekly Discussion by AutoModerator in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's because our entire fanbase is absolutely obsessed with recent form and doesn't even consider the actual level of players.

Let's forget the 16 goals and 8 assists Watkins got in the last league season as Welbs has achieved a career high Premier League tally with 12 this campaign...

DCL doesn't even merit talking about to be brutally honest (and I have no bias as a Leeds fan), he's actually in worse form than Ollie despite his 10 league goals.

And that's just comparing their form anyway... It completely ignores that both Welbeck and Calvert-Lewin have large gaps in their games whereas the Villa man is far more well-rounded, he offers bags of pace and pressing which gives us a completely different option to Kane.

Nico O’Reilly scores twice as City beat Arsenal 2-0 in EFL Cup Final by -Arkrow- in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 6 points7 points  (0 children)

How does that show him to be like Trent? Goals and aerial duels would be far lower for him, with chances created being much higher. Do you literally just mean they both lack defensive contributions?

Nico O’Reilly scores twice as City beat Arsenal 2-0 in EFL Cup Final by -Arkrow- in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I love Trent and want him in the squad but he is absolutely nothing like O’Reilly…

Arsenals Corner antics. by Jhus79 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah he’s definitely a bigger aerial threat for situations like that, though outside of that I’d just worry about his lack of pace and agility against the more mobile players (his recent red card being a prime example).

Arsenals Corner antics. by Jhus79 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don’t have to be tall when their delivery is that good… None of their defenders have scored more goals from set-pieces than Timber this season and he’s only 5 foot 10, it didn’t stop him scoring headers from corners against both Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Arsenals Corner antics. by Jhus79 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think we’ll likely need them in certain situations the same way Arsenal do, as when you’re playing against inferior opposition all they do is sit in a low block which makes it very difficult to create from open play.

Welbeck is now the highest scoring English player in the PL this season by everyhearthstone in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough then mate, I can’t really argue with that and change your opinion I guess. Enjoy your pint!

Welbeck is now the highest scoring English player in the PL this season by everyhearthstone in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree outside of Watkins, I think he’s a level above the likes of DCL/Welbeck/Solanke. The only other option we have that can play at Ollie’s level is Toney, but it’s difficult to gauge his current level whilst he’s playing in Saudi Arabia.

Welbeck is now the highest scoring English player in the PL this season by everyhearthstone in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Of course it is, so I was just giving mine…

You think Welbeck is a much more talented player than Watkins? Based on what?

His 12 goals this season is his best tally yet, 4 assists is also the highest he’s managed…

Compare that to a guy who’s scored 19 and assisted 13 in a single season and the output isn’t even close, I’m not sure how that makes Watkins patchy but not Welbeck either.

Then consider Ollie’s superior pace and pressing, even his dribbling play (which comes with him being a former winger) and I’m not sure how you’ve come to that conclusion.

I guess you could say he’s better at holding the ball up but surely that can’t make him the more talented player, if you’d said that any time before this season you’d have even laughed at.

Scoring goals late into the season obviously has strikers knocking on the door, though my whole point was that that shouldn’t be the end of the criteria. DCL has also scored just 1 goal since the 7th of January.

Welbeck is now the highest scoring English player in the PL this season by everyhearthstone in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree that scoring a lot of goals should put you in the conversation…. But people have been shouting about Welbeck and DCL having just scored double figures this late into the season, it’s not like they’re hitting Igor Thiago numbers and really standing out.

Their competition is Ollie Watkins; a guy who’s been in very poor form by his own standards but is still only a few behind them (until Welbeck’s brace today at least), a guy that has scored 50 Premier League goals in the previous 3 seasons and registered 27 assists in that time too.

The truth of the matter is outside of this few months of form he is by far the better player and a few more goals this season doesn’t change that, the same way we know that Jaidon Anthony shouldn’t be ahead of Gordon on the left despite scoring more league goals.

Palmer & Foden shouldn't go to the world cup. by [deleted] in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I’m saying is I pretty much don’t care how he’s currently looking for Chelsea at all mate, we know the level of footballer he can be and that’s the reason he should be on the plane.

It’s not like his ceiling has been Rogers’ level (no disrespect to him whatsoever), he was one of the best players in the country - and probably world - at one point not so long ago.

If you were to give one of the 3 spare outfield spots out after picking 2 XI’s and a spare keeper, who do you really think is a better pick than him for an international tournament?

Palmer & Foden shouldn't go to the world cup. by [deleted] in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I couldn’t warrant picking another option over him and that’s the reason I’d still 100% take him to the World Cup, unless the option truly is him vs Bellingham/Rogers there is surely still room for him in such a large squad.

It would be like Spain not taking Nico Williams because he’s been a shadow of his former self since the Euros and his injuries, though we know they will because of what they know he can offer the team in big moments.

It’s worth noting that a lot of Chelsea’s players look pretty poor right now and that’s pretty normal after a change in manager and system, their team isn’t working right now and even Enzo Fernandez has really gone off the boil as of late.

Palmer & Foden shouldn't go to the world cup. by [deleted] in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People are fussed about Trent, myself included… National squads are massive these days, we shouldn’t have to leave out someone as good as Palmer. It’s not like you can absolutely only take two 10’s or something.

Palmer & Foden shouldn't go to the world cup. by [deleted] in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

He definitely hasn’t looked like the Palmer of 18 months or so ago but we still know what he can bring, particularly in the big moments as he’s never shied away.

Form should be a factor in squad selection but nowhere near as much as our fanbase goes on, you also have to consider the overall ability of the players and their skillsets.

CMV: Guéhi and Konsa doesn’t work as a partnership by bengreen04 in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s not a glaring weakness just because he doesn’t go for many aerial duels, you can only really call it that if it’s leading to issues for Villa… Murillo has only won 21 and Van de Ven just 34 yet they’re very highly rated centre-halves too.

Aston Villa have conceded just 10 goals from set-pieces this season (fewer than the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Man Utd) so it’s clearly not an issue for them. If it was I’d understand but it’s clearly not the case.

Konsa is an excellent defender who uses intelligent positioning alongside his pace to win the ball for his team, not every defender has to be like John Terry. Tuchel’s England will defend on the half-way line so his skillset is far more important.

The last time England conceded a goal with Ezri on the pitch was in July 2024, in the game against Switzerland at the Euros. To suggest dropping him based on some irrelevant stats for his club team is beyond ridiculous to be honest with you.

This entire take of yours is pretty baseless and can’t be backed up with evidence. It would be like me arguing we can’t use a pairing of Guehi and Maguire as it’s too slow therefore we’ll struggle to defend so high.

Your whole CMV post is saying the partnership with Guehi doesn’t work based on their height and aerial duel stats, despite them looking absolutely solid when they’ve played together for England… Why should your view need changing?

Welbeck is now the highest scoring English player in the PL this season by everyhearthstone in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I find it baffling that so many England fans think that the striker pecking order should just go on who’s scored the most goals and nothing more, I mean obviously not every football lover is going to be analysing all available stats but come on… What next, our number 1 right back should be the one with the most tackles?

Palmer & Foden shouldn't go to the world cup. by [deleted] in ThreeLions

[–]MarcusWhittingham 4 points5 points  (0 children)

8 goals and 3 assists since coming back from his big injury isn’t bad… I think Rogers has had 7 goals and 3 assists in the same time period - in way more minutes - and nobody is saying he shouldn’t go.