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Manchester City were crowned the Champions of England after what could be called as probably the most exciting premier league season ever. Last time City won the league, it was branded the best finish to the league, but Pellegrini and Co. were in the driving seat and chose to steer clear of any sort of last minute drama. Liverpool had little luck in their hands, but they still managed to make it a hard fought win against a resilient Newcastle side who started with a 5 man back-line. Chelsea meanwhile, came back from a goal down to end the season with a win, and secured the 3rd place with ease.
It has been a season with many ups and downs and some uncharacteristic results all over the place. A lot of sackings and many new faces coming, both players and managers. In this tactical review, we will take a look at the top 10 teams in the table and analyze their performances, covering mainly the tactics and strategies employed by their managers over the course of the season. We start off with the 10th team in the final table, Newcastle United, and work our way up.
10. Newcastle United
Transfers
In: Luuk De Jong[L], Loic Remy[L]
Out: Yohan Cabaye, James Perch, Danny Simpson
Player of the Season: Yohan Cabaye
After a flurry of transfer activity in the previous season which saw a huge influx of French players, and a relegation survival, Alan Pardew turned the fortunes of Newcastle around with an impressive first half of 2013-14 season. With all summer to work out his ideal squad, Pardew devised a plan to fit in his French recruits, giving more weightage to team play and keen opposition scouting.
Applying the 4-2-3-1 formation to the squad, built to be industrious and able to grind out results, the first half of the season until the new year saw 10 wins in 19 games. The burden of team’s creativity was vested in Yohan Cabaye, who marshaled the midfield along with Anita and Tiote.
Hard working wingers are a plus, but too much reliance on Cabaye: Sissokho and Gouffran were used more as wide midfielders, with Sissokho especially breaking forward quickly on counters. This strong wide midfield pair allowed the fullbacks Debuchy and Santon to play high up the pitch. But Newcastle eventually conceded space in between the lines, and almost 50% of the goals they conceded were from the edge of the box.
Remy proved a good goal machine, with Cabaye their best player of the season, even though he left in January. The second half of the season from January was pretty much a downslide, with only 5 wins and a draw in 19 games. This poor run can be solely attributed to the absence of Cabaye in midfield.
Pardew just didn’t have a similar replacement lined up for the Frenchman, and Luuk De Jong could manage only 8 starts. So, a creative No.10, a good center-back and a prolific striker should be on Alan Pardew’s shopping list in the summer.
9. Stoke City
Transfers
In: Ireland, Assaidi[L], Arnautovic, Pieters, Odemwingie, Muniesa, Guidetti[L]
Out: Delap, Upson, Whitehead, Owen, Kenwyne Jones, Pennant
Player of the Season: Peter Crouch
Mark Hughes stepped into the shoes of Toni Pulis with a mission to topple the existing persona of the style of football Stoke City have been practicing over the last few years. It was evident right from the start of the season, with the kind of players departing the club, that Hughes wanted to infuse a new theory at the Britannia Stadium. The signings of Ireland, Arnautovic and Assaidi improved the creativity factor of the club, which was renowned for its hoof-ball approach.
Woeful away form, midfield is sub standard: The most used formation was the 4-2-3-1, with Crouch playing as the lone striker/center-forward. Stoke essentially didn’t run away too far from their long ball game this season, but they did divert their resources to playing more ground passes and creative football.
But they conceded a lot of goals, particularly away from home. The major problem was the lack of shape when defending counters, and surprisingly, when defending set pieces. Also, the midfield duo of N’zonzi and Whelan gave away too much space behind them, resulting in almost 54% of the goals conceded from outside the box.
For the next season, Mark Hughes will be needing a good holding midfielder, and a few attacking players to add to the squad depth.
8. Southampton
Transfers
In: Lovren, Wanyama, Osvaldo
Out: None
Player of the Season: Adam Lallana
On the face of the English World Cup team selections on Monday, a look at the style of football that Southampton and Mauricio Pochettino have been displaying shows a stark contrast in the basic elements of the game. The Argentine manager had received ample acclaims for his style at the end of last season as his “Saints” were quite impressive in their new found style of quick pressing and building play from the back. But the inclusion of a few young players from their legendary youth system this season, along with a couple of critical signings has totally revolutionized this style of football this season.
Quick pressing and intelligent movement in the attacking third: Ricky Lambert’s selection in the WC squad obliges us to pin-point his performances first. The towering striker would be expected to be a target man based on his size alone, but Lambert is quite the opposite. He is often found to take up much deeper roles, often on the lines of the “false-9”.
So this allows him to be a passing option for the midfielders. And due to his precise touches and well trained movements in sync with Lallana and Rodriguez, each one of his passes after receiving the ball in deeper positions are able to trace out the overlapping runs made by Lallana and Rodriguez.
A stat to justify this style practiced by lamert would be that: a wide-man James Rodriguez has more goals than Lambert(15-13), while Lambert has more assists than the teams most creative player Adam Lallana(10-6).
Adam Lallana surely deserves a mention in this article, as the Saints’ captain has had an extraordinary campaign after being converted into a No.10 player from his previous role on the flanks for Atkins. His instincts of a winger still allow him to often dribble towards one particular flank from the centre, hence opening up spaces for Rodriguez and lambert to receive the ball. Lallana, just like Barkley, also provides Hodgson a much direct option behind the main striker, especially considering that Rooney will settle into a deeper role in the big games.
New additions in Defence and revitalized players in midfield: Dejan Lovren’s capture in the summer proved to be a vital transfer for Pochettino, as the Croatian has added significantly in all the departments: aerial duels, tackling and speed in the backline. His combination with Fonte proved very effective in the first part of the season, and both the CBs turned out to be more than comfortable in passing the ball out of the defence.
The other major coup for the Saints was the transfer of Victor Wanyama from Celtic. The Kenyan is an out –n-out holding midfielder and his close passing was highly impressive for Celtic. But he has not yet settled in England and was seen erring couple of times while keeping the ball too long in possession.
The players who made the difference in midfield were Schneiderlin and Jack Cork. The combo of Wanyama and Schneiderlin was used earlier in the season, but with Southampton’s prowess in attack, this double pivot often resulted in the shape shifting to a 4-2-4. And Pochettino’s insistence on leaving out Gaston Ramirez meant that there was little connect between the deep duo of Wanyama-Schneiderlin and the attack.
Jack Cork’s selection after Wanyama’s injury was able to provide this connect to the team, as the Englishman has a style which is more similar to a floater than a holder. So Southampton played 2 deep floaters behid the attacking 4 rather than an orthodox midfield holder.
7. Manchester United
Transfers
In: Juan Mata, Varela, Fellaini
Out: Scholes, David Moyes[Manager]
Player of the Season: Wayne Rooney
Alex Ferguson passes on a damaged squad: Man Utd were supposed to be in transition during the last year of Ferguson’s reign. The Scotsman didn’t find the job of developing the next generation of players to replace the first teamers an appealing one, and hence left it to the incoming David Moyes. Clearly, for someone who believes in long-run football theory, it was too much work in a very short period. Ferguson did sign players like Jones, Smalling and Buttner, but they were not well groomed to take the title challenge head on with a new manager. The midfield still remains a mystery, as not a credible player was bought in numerous windows over the seasons.
Injuries, Player Unrest and Mediocre tactics by Moyes: Adding to the job of making things work, Moyes had to deal with frequent injuries to key players. Van Persie missed almost half of the season, drying up the goals and negating that killer instinct in the box. Micheal Carrick was the only midfielder to get more than 20 starts, while the other midfield options in Fellaini and Cleverley couldn’t get out of first gear, in their already sporadic appearances. Also, the unrest among the players on team performances deteriorated the atmosphere further.
The tactics Moyes used were very basic and did not involve any sort of imagination, on grounds of taming the opposition and working on their weak spots. The general method of attack was based on crosses into the box, and Man Utd had loads of them. They hold the record of most crosses by a team this season, followed closely by West Ham. This tactic is only useful, when there is a strong striker/target-man in the box.
West Ham has Andy Carroll to aim at, so it makes sense for them to play in that way, but for Utd and Moyes, they didn’t have anyone at the end of those crosses. Even the runs into the box were not well timed, either by the strikers or the wide players.
Emergence of Januzaj, the only positive: Perhaps, this is the only good thing Moyes did during his stint. One could also say, he didn’t have a choice, as both Nani and Young were sidelined for months. The Belgian kid did bring some spark to the team and carried the hopes of the club until January.
The arrival of Juan Mata in January changed a few things. But again, with 3 players in Rooney, Mata and Kagawa with very similar profiles, the vertical passes from midfield lost their relevance, as both Rooney and Mata ran into the same space all the time. The partnership of Rafael and Mata could have worked well on the right wing, but injuries worked against that strategy.
The incoming new manager will have a lot of work in his hand. With the departures of Vidic, Evra and Rio, the task will become a bit easier. Midfield needs a complete revamp with a few additions on the wings.
6. Tottenham Hotspurs
Transfers
In: Paulinho, Chadli, Soldado, Capoue, Eriksen, Lamela, Chiriches
Out: Jermaine Defoe, William Gallas, Gareth Bale, Andre Villas Boas[Manager]
Player of the Season: Emmanuel Adebayor
AVB sacking, a blunder: Villas Boas is the only manager among the top 10 teams to get sacked before the new year, and frankly it was a panic decision on part of the owner. Still young in management world, Andre had a good first year at the Lane. His footballing theory is surely brave at times, but the manner in which he treats the experienced players has landed him in hot water on many occasions.
For the first half of the season, Spurs were playing a ridiculously high defensive line with slow centre backs, and an uncharacteristic midfield. Their attack didn’t complement the high line with extreme pressing. Soldado was a complete flop as he was left isolated in almost every match. The sudden influx of new players damaged the balance of the squad, leading to unrest in the dressing room.
Adebayor brings back the swagger: Tim Sherwood did very less to revive the club in the second half of the season. In fact, he has a much worse record than Villas Boas. In 28 games, Sherwood’s side lost 10 times and drew 4, while Villas Boas’ side lost only 5 and drew 3 in 26 games.
The only positive development was the return of Adebayor into the starting XI. There was improved cohesion with Soldado, and Eriksen came alive in a few games. But their midfield and defence problems persisted, with the first team coach developing a peculiar dislike for holding midfielders. Just like the case of Newcastle, the Spurs squad will settle in after the summer, and we can expect a better showing in the next season.
Tim Sherwood though, will mostly be relieved of his position, and in all this lies a lesson for the chairman Daniel Levy, with a few may things to ponder upon.
5. Everton
Transfers
In: James McCarthy, Barry[L], Lukaku[L], Deulofeu[L], Joel Robles, Kone, Alcaraz, Lacina Traore[L], Aiden McGeady
Out: Heitinga, Phil Neville, Felliani, Anichebe
Player of the Season: Gareth Barry
Despite end of the season managerial awards going either Pellegrini or Rodgers’ way, Roberto Martinez has played a critical part in the tactical enhancements of the English game. And while his tactics have been refreshing at the very least, so have been his transfer decisions in the 2 windows. Loan moves for Barry, Lukaku and Delofou have produced fantastic results, while his transfers in McCarthy and Stones have added bite to Martinez’s new system.
The central block of 4: The loan capture of Gareth Barry proved crucial for Everton’s system as Martinez was now able to provide a central stability to a team overly dependent on attacking fullbacks. With Jagielka and Distin not being the quickest CBs, Martinez preferred this system with both Barry and McCarthy staying deep in their half. Though the biggest advantage of this system was Coleman and Baines’ freedom, the position of the midfield duo also perfectly complimented Ross Barkley’s style.
Barkley was not used in his favoured No.10 role by Moyes throughout the last 2 season, but Martinez was quick to utilize the youngster’s strength by playing him in a role which saw him collect the ball deep in his own half and then dribble directly through the centre of the opposition defence.
Steven Naismith, the new “False 9”: Naismith was another one of the players who were on the fringe under Moyes but has come to the fore under Martinez. The Spanish manager had stuck with Lukaku as the main striker for the first 8 months of the season, but the injury to the Belgian forced Martinez to look for other options (as Lacina Traore also got injured).
The first time Martinez chose Naismith to lead the line, he pointed out in a post-match interview that it was the Scotsman’s movement off the ball which made him such a key part of his plans. Henceforth Naismith was used repeated in positions just behind the main striker, or as the False-9 centrally. The Scot became the ideal ploy to pull out the opposition’ defenders from the backline, which allowed the likes of Miralas and Barkley to break through.
Another tactic that Naismith’s central role implied was that once Lukaku returned to full fitness, Martinez now pushed him to a wide Right role which not only restricted the opposition’s Left back but also allowed Lukaku to cut-in into the space created by Naismith in the centre.
Though these were 2 of the few main tactics that Martinez brought this season, it was his tactical adapting to the opposition which caught the eye the most.
4. Arsenal
Transfers
In: Yaya Sanogo, Flamini, Mesut Ozil, Viviano[L], Kim Kallstrom[L]
Out: Frimpong, Squilacci, Arshavin, Mannone, Gervinho, Chamakh, Andre Santos, Denilson
Player of the Season: Aaron Ramsey
Arsenal stamped their authority on the transfer market with a 46 million move for Mesut Ozil at the end of the summer window, but the Gunners’ perennial problem of coinciding injuries snatching away the title from them after they had led the league for 128 days. Arsene Wenger has never been branded a tactician, and even more importantly, Wenger rarely ever changes any nuances of his system in the middle of a season (let alone a match).
Flamini and Arteta’s roles in midfield: Mathieu Flamini’s transfer was almost neglected after all the fanfare around Ozil’s arrival, but the French midfielder definitely left his stamp on the season. Wenger sees him as a man-marker when played as the holding midfielder and he was often preferred over Arteta in games where the opposition had an array of dribblers (like the Napoli clash in the Champions League).
Flamini’s main contribution from holding midfield turned out to be his tendency of covering for a fullback who had advanced into a forward position, a tactic highly significant considering Arsenal’s fullbacks. This was well justified in games where Wenger started Arteta in the holding role, as the Spaniard has repeatedly been seen rushing into tackles near the halfway line resulting in the opposition attacking via the channels vacated by the advanced fullbacks.
Wenger still considers Arteta to be a “complete midfielder” and despite the fact that Arteta has indeed improved his tackling, his lack of pace and the resulting getting away of the dribbler has directly affected the results of some games. This becomes an even bigger worry considering that Arteta’s weak positioning results in Mertersacker needing to step out of the back-line, which more often than not leaves absolutely no chance for the slow German to recover back into the defence line.
Weighing the pros and cons of the Olivier Giroud system: Despite crossing the 20 goal margin this season, Giroud has been on the receiving end of innumerable abuses from fans and pundits alike. Wenger describes Giroud’s role simply as the connect between the midfield and attack. This focal point is often a No.10 or midfielder in other teams, but it is Giroud who is the pivot at the halfway line for Arsenal, depending on whom the likes of Walcott and Ozil can run past. Giroud has played this role to perfection this season, and his touches and hold-up plays have been magical at times. But it has been the movement around him where Arsenal have suffered.
In the majority of the 128 days that Arsenal led the league, Wenger had the likes of Ramsey and Walcott providing the movement either wide of Giroud or rushing towards him. With Ramsey’s recurring knock and Walcott’s layoff, the only means to connect Giroud with the game were either the “yet-to-settle” Ozil or the tiring Rosicky. Though Giroud played his role as the connector perfectly, his responsibilities of finishing off a move left much to desire from.
3. Chelsea
Transfers
In: Andre Schurrle, Marco Van Ginkel, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Nemanja Matic, Mohamed Salah, Mark Schwarzer
Out: Kevin De Bruyne, Juan Mata, Michael Essien, Paulo Ferreira, Ross Turnbull, Yossi Benayoun, Jeffery Bruma
Player of the Season: Gary Cahill
Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge kicked off a long stint than usual going by the Portuguese’s own words. The task in his second spell at Chelsea is to build a team for the future, and from the looks of it, the process has already begun. The summer signings added depth to the squad, but a long term injury to Marco Van Ginkel limited the options in midfield. Chelsea started almost all their matches in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
With no Van Ginkel, Ramires and Lampard started almost every match in midfield in the first half of the season, restricting Mikel to the bench. This floating midfield was successful mostly because of Oscar’s discipline in the No.10 role. Once Chelsea started losing games at regular intervals, the need for a more robust midfield became even more evident.
Azpilicueta at LB serves Terry well: A change in approach in December saw Chelsea play a much compact style of football, demanding more defensive discipline from the wingers. The trend continued to the end of the season, and they conceded only 18 goals in 31 games, compared to 23 in 26 games in the pre-December period. The most positive points for Chelsea this season goes to their defending ability.
The use of Azpilicueta as a left back complemented John Terry very well, and kept pacy wingers at check. The Spaniard has excelled at the art of blocking shots and crosses, and exemplifies the kind of football Mourinho likes to preach. Equally important was the presence of Ivanovic on the other flank, with the Serbian acting as an outlet for goal-kicks, and strong presence in the air.
Nemanja Matic dominates the mid: January signing Nemanja Matic changed the team dynamic and beefed up the already organized defence setup. This solved the problem for a holding midfielder, but Chelsea still lacked that bite in midfield, as Ramires was having a very bad moment in the season. David Luiz was the answer to that crisis, and the Brazilian along with Matic became a mainstay in midfield for most of March and April.
The striker department still looks weak, with most of the goals coming from midfielders. Mourinho will be looking to get a good replacement for Ashley Cole at leftback, a world-class central midfielder and a prolific and in-form striker in the summer.
2. Liverpool
Transfers
In: Kolo Toure, Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Simon Mignolet, Sakho, Tiago Llori, Aly Cissoko[L], Victor Moses[L]
Out: Andy Carroll, Downing, Shelvey, Carragher
Player of the Season: Luis Suarez
Liverpool’s slipup in the title race has not only cost them their first ever Premier League trophy, but also the simplest chance to win silverware in the hectic Champions League schedule that begins from now. While individual errors in defence and midfield might have cost Liverpool the title, Brendan Rodgers tactical maneuvers have often been met with bright results.
Rodgers’ trials with a 3 man defence: The arrival of 2 extra CBs Toure and Sakho in the summer could not have led one to imply that Liverpool would shift to a back 3 formation. Rodgers shifted to a 3-4-1-2 after the first month in the League, but significantly so it coincided with the return of Luiz Suarez to action.
This turned out to be an attacking move by the manager, but just as the story of this season goes for the Reds, it turned out to expose Liverpool’s defencive fragilities, especially in the Left back zone. This zone was well exploited by Arsenal during the 2-0 defeat at the Emirates as Bacary Sagna and Rosicky repeatedly overloaded Aly Cissokho at LWB, and this forced Rodgers to shift to a 4 man defence from then on.
A perfect 4-3-3 in Gerrard’s absence: Rodgers has never had coinciding injuries this season, as either one of Gerrard or Lucas has always been present in the evidently light midfield zone. In the time in and around Christmas, Rodgers was forced to shift to a 4-3-3 mainly due to Steven Gerrard’s injury, and the risks of playing Allen and Lucas in the double pivot. So Rodgers combined Lucas as the lone holder, with the box-to-box playing Henderson and distributor Joe Allen. On paper this became the perfect midfield combination, and the fluidity that this brought to Liverpool’s midfield was evident especially in the Manchester City game in December.
Midfield diamond and Sterling’s varying roles: Rodgers’ initial shift into the midfield diamond was not only to accommodate his 2 strikers along with Steven Gerrard, but was also to not get outnumbered against an opposition playing with cut-in wingers on the flanks. This was seen in the Manchester United game where Allen was played on a narrow Left position to mark Mata and Henderson on a narrow Right role to cover Janujaz. This system also provided Liverpool 2 extra options in midfield, especially considering that Gerrard’s deep position almost made him a 3rd Center Back.
The position at the tip of the diamond kept varying, as Rodgers had the option of Coutinho and Sterling in that role. Sterling was used in this position majorly to provide a direct threat at goal once Suarez dropped off to collect the ball in deep zones. This overlapping runs by the youngster proved crucial against teams playing without a holder, like Manchester United and City.
Coutinho on the other hand developed a much deeper role in midfield, and allowed the likes of Henderson to bomb forward from a wider position. Coutinho was mostly played in the No.10 role against high-line defences, against whom the likes of Sturridge could use his burst of pace to get to the end of passes in-behind the defence, ala the Arsenal game at Anfield.
1. Manchester City
Transfers
In: Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo, Stevan Jovetic, Martin Demichelis
Out: Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Wayne Bridge, Kolo Toure, Maicon, Abdul Razak
Player of the Season: Yaya Toure
Winning the League after leading the race only for 15 days is indeed a rare achievement for a team, and considering that it was Manuel Pellegrini’s first campaign in England makes it even more special. Pellegrini kept it quite simple from a tactical point of view, and City’s monetary power was quite visible when they readily had the exact personnel required for either of the 2 majorly used tactical systems.
The two striker system: Pellegrini has been seen preferring a 2 striker system previously at Villareal, Malaga and Real Madrid, and with the options available in this department at Manchester City, the call didn’t seem too difficult. In this respect, City’s summer transfers too were quite precise.
Rather than going for the household big names, City went for specialists like Navas, Negredo and Fernandinho. The results were almost instantaneous as the combination of Navas and Zabaleta on the Right wing turned out deadly, finally accumulating 13 assists between them from the flanks. Alvaro Negredo, nick-name “Beast” played a particularly important role in the partnership upfront.
Negredo was the one holding up play near the hallway line, with Aguero running off him. Aguero can be a particularly difficult striker to play alongside, due to his direct and less selfless approach; but the combination play between Aguero and Negredo in the first half of the season seemed quite effortless.
Silva takes up the hole: The main reason for Pellegrini to shift away from the 4-4-1-1 was the injuries to Negredo and Aguero around the Barcelona game. This forced Pellegrini to play a midfield trio with David Silva shifting to a No.10 role. Though the Spaniard often occupies this position even while playing as the winger on paper, now Silva not only had much more service at his feet but was also able to occupy the pockets of space left on either of the flanks. The game against Liverpool where he continually disrupted Gerrard’s positioning by popping up on the inside-right channel was particularly reminiscent on this style.
Fernandinho still can’t fill the Holding midfield role: Though City bulked up their midfield options with the transfer of Fernandinho, the Brazilian was effectively pushed back into a defencive role rather than played in his natural role. Toure himself not being an orthodox holding midfielder was not playing next to another floater in midfield. This lack of a holding player was quite evident in certain games, as Liverpool in particular were able to attack this via the directness of Sterling through the centre.
Javi Garcia indeed was an option Pellegrini had as a holding midfielder, but this did not become a permanent solution at any point as Garcia lacked quite a lot in pace and passing when compared to Fernandinho. So a proper holding midfielder still remains on City’s shopping list this summer.
