My thoughts on Aston Villa's problems this season (free to read).

#AVFC

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Leadership ☑️
Composure ☑️
Physicality ☑️
Dominating Duels ☑️
Passing Range ☑️
Positioning ☑️
Set Piece Threat ☑️
Pace ☑️
Defending Small Spaces ☑️
Defending Large Spaces ☑️
Football Understanding ☑️

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This happened a few times vs Liverpool.

Gundogan ended up closing down Gomez with Foden covering in central midfield.

A defensive 4 of Lewis-Bernardo-Foden-Nunes.

Yikes.

Something Guardiola usually gets right is that balance in midfield.

Far post runs from just inside the oppositions half…

I understand the principle (create space to attack) but sometimes you just need to attack the space.

My thoughts on Man City FWIW

For the last couple of seasons they have been the chasers that always finish strong. This is obviously a great characteristic but it’s also a bit like conceding the first goal then coming back to draw/win

It points at something not being quite right.

This is what I was referring to with regards to the 3-2-5 structure.

A lot of teams will defend against that using a 5-4-1/5-2-3 shape with a CB jumping out to press one no.10.

This creates space in the oppositions back line, making it attractive to play early balls forwards.

When you think of a standard 4-3-3 there is very little space between the CBs & DM during build ups.

When teams build in the 3-2 shape this space increases as the middle CB drops deep, making it easier for the opposition to counter.

See Carlos & Mateta’s positioning here during Villa vs Palace

Pre Brian Horton even, @talkintactics.bsky.social gave me the steer 👏

Different platform, still breaking the news 😉

As we approach the January transfer window, a reminder of last seasons success stories.

Both players - from the Championship - pretty much hit the ground running & improved the performances of their new clubs.

If you want an immediate impact, the Championship is the place to look.

If I follow you on Twitter (X) but have missed you on here, please say hi.

I’m not sure what lists I’ve been added to but I appreciate the response over here ✌🏼

From a scouting perspective, International Football is a nice opportunity to see players in a different environment.

With England Guehi plays for a ball dominant side & will be judged on his decision making, execution & defending larger spaces.

A good opportunity to highlight other strengths.

Watch Marc Guehi’s distribution tonight.

He very rarely plays it wide. Instead, he looks to give it to his Midfielders or find players between the lines.

That’s the sign of a top player. It’s very easy to just keep passing it to your full back.

So…this place needs a bookmark feature.

It’s nice to see Brighton in & around it after 11 games & it would be a great story if they could stay around the top four season after season.

Other clubs like Southampton & Leicester City have managed good spells before being picked apart & then struggling to maintain the level of the squad.

It’s important not to stay loyal to technology as it is forever evolving.

It’s the people that make these platforms what they are.

Injuries to key players not only weaken the affected position but many other areas of the team

I’m surprised Guardiola persisted with the 3-diamond-3 (3-6-1) shape as it didn’t suit Kovacic (DM), Rico Lewis (struggles to recover) or the CBs (when Akanji is unavailable)

Rodri holds it all together

Fulham have been my favourite Premier League team to watch this season.

They have an excellent Manager, who isn’t following modern trends just to satisfy his ego, and they have recruited extremely well.

They were a fairly traditional 4-3-3 vs Crystal Palace and they played it well.