Manchester United's defensive frailties

Much has been said and spoken about Manchester United and their faltering form. The transition from Sir Alex Ferguson to David Moyes was bound to include some bumps along the way, but the former Everton manager is bound to be found scratching his head while reviewing some recent results and displays. Moyes was considered to be a reactive, reliable, safety-first manager, but his credentials have left much to be desired so far. And while reading through most of the English football press might lead one to believe that it is all a matter of simply adding a few players to the squad, it is hardly the case.

Case in point, the first goal Swansea scored at Old Trafford last weekend for the FA Cup. Manchester United are picked apart smack down the centre by 4 simple touches from Swansea, starting from their centre-back. Since the match is pretty much in slow motion, it is difficult to accept such bad defensive positioning from the current English champions.


1.

Swansea's centre-back Chico Flores has the ball and already United look out of position. Javier Hernández is contributing nothing defensively and Danny Welbeck is trotting backwards. Oddly enough, it's Tom Cleverley - one half of the midfield duo who comes out pressing the man on the ball. Darren Flatcher is not providing any sort of coverage for his defence either. A simple vertical pass down the middle bisects the entire United team and overcomes six players in one sitting.


2. 

Swansea perform one of the most run-of-the-mill movements in football, with the striker Wilfried Bony dropping back to support the build-up play and left-winger Routledge exploiting the space vacated by the Ivorian forward. Bony passes it back to Pozuelo who immediately tees up Routledge. Rio Ferdinand's lack of pace is only made worse by his odd decision to half-press Bony when he has little protection from up front (yellow circle) and there doesn't seem to be any support from his team-mates in defence.


3.

Jonny Evans does not come unscathed from this defensive debacle, as he takes ages to adjust his positioning according to Ferdinand's decision and Routledge's movement. It is indeed Chris Smalling (deployed here as right-back) who tries to make up for his team-mate's rash decision. In acres of space, Routledge found it easy to lob Lindegaard and score the first.


4.

Looking at the play from a different perspective, the situation looks even more baffling. United's back four are clearly left exposed (again, this is not in any a counter-attack or a quick-paced transition). Cleverley is almost in line with his forwards and Fletcher cannot track anything that is going on behind him (yellow circle). The almost ubiquitous 4x2x3x1 formation often seems to lead coaches and players to believe that forming two banks of four is enough, often forgetting that movement and coverage are key in order to avoid opponents from pouncing on such vulnerabilities.

The zonal occupation of spaces is apparently on the wane in England, as it becomes ever more frequent watch the full-backs in the Premier League worrying about their direct opponent, rather than concerned with providing coverage for their defensive team-mates. In this particular case, both Smalling and Büttner offer barely any contribution for United's width control - thus making the team wider and more open to this sort of penetrations.


5.

Here, Ferdinand's delay is even clearer, as well, as Smalling and Büttner's removal from where the action is taking place. Watching Ferdinand pass by him, Evans does not adjust his feet accordingly and remains facing forward.


6.

Evans has just finally realised something is not right and starts turning (rather slowly). He was easily outsprinted by the quick Routledge and only Smalling is in a position to bother the left-winger.

• Conclusion

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," some may say. While that is certainly true, the lack of defensive organisation in most Premier League sides should offer some food for thought. The return of the once thought to be outdated 4x4x2 (in some shape or form) has brought about more goals and scoring opportunities, but does not bode well for coaches (in a purely coaching sense) nor for clubs - European competition will certainly be less forgiving about this sort of mistakes.

Spurs v Swansea: anti-continental manifesto

Starting line-ups

If ever there was a match that epitomised the continental way of playing, the Spurs v Swansea match has to be up there among one of the clearest pieces of evidence. There was no "throwing it in the mixer", hoofing it upfield or route-one football. There were rather two teams coached by two foreigners that keep trying to instill the values of keeping the ball on the ground and their passing short and sweet (even though both teams haven't been exactly Stoke-ish over the past few years). For the average English fan and/or viewer - used to more action-packed matches -, it must have been quite a hard penance.

Swansea were at their best for the first 15 minutes. With Spurs trying to pressure high up and to keep their opposition from getting into their passing rhythm, Michael Laudrup's team were very good at avoiding ressure and looked extremely comfortable on the ball, including all of their back four, with De Guzmán doing excellent work dropping off in order to overload Spurs' midfield duo of Sandro and Dembélé. 15 minutes into the match, the possession stats read 60% for Swansea, even though the match was at White Hart Lane.

Spurs eventually found their stride and managed to disturb Swansea's passing patterns. Simultaneously, André Villas-Boas' men started finding the way to compensate for Gareth Bale's absence, with Adebayor roaming out wide and Clint Dempsey, originally deployed on the left, more and more central.

Nevertheless, Spurs' chances were bound to come from the right flank, with Kyle Walker and Aaron Lennon the main providers. Dembélé, who excels at gliding past his opponents, was a bit off pace today, even though his game was very interesting throughout.

With little creativity from midfield, AVB needed "drivers" - players who can push the team forward with sprints and take-ons, especially with Bale sidelined. Even though Lennon would seem to be the man for the job, his last touch and decision-making process keep letting him down, often squandering excellent opportunities.

Despite the excellent start to their match, Swansea found themselves pinned back, the odd counterattacking menace notwithstanding. As stated when the Welsh team played against City, Routledge, De Guzmán and Michu are very good players, especially on the break - and there were clearly glimpses of that today. However, the fact that they were playing and defending so deep increased their difficulty at taking the game to the Londoners.

This chalkboard offers clear evidence of Swansea's lack of penetration.

Swansea found it very hard to get past the Spurs defence.

In fact, Swansea were defending so deep that the number of tackles, interceptions and blocks made inside and near the penalty box would be more indicative of an Italian team playing their usual brand of counter-attack, something the Welsh were forced to by Spurs' growing pressure.

This was indeed a much-needed victory for Spurs' aim to get into Champions League positions, especially after their dramatic defeat at the hands of Everton last weekend. Despite the good result, AVB still has much to do, since their team remain (a bit less, to be honest) prone to lapses of concentration while getting the ball out from the back and too nervous while trying to close up shop after they get ahead. Andros Townsend's display was positive and may provide relief on the wings for the manager (and Lennon, as well), who will also welcome Parker's return to the fold, particularly for the ever so demanding two upcoming weeks.

City's victory does not paper over the cracks

Starting elevens

Yesterday's match between Manchester City and Swansea had created many expectations after City's latest loss for the Champions League - and subsequent questioning of Roberto Mancini's tactical and man-management skills. Would the Italian manager persist with the three-man defence or would he heed his players' call? In the end, the Citizens took the three points, but Swansea will probably count themselves unlucky not to get a point.

As it turned out, Mancini surprised many a pundit (yours truly included) by leaving his stubbornness aside for once and went with the player favourite 4xx4x2. The first half was basically a stalemate and it often reminded the Premiership of the late 90's - two teams arranged in the same formation sitting in front of each other, waiting for their key players to decide the match. 

While City came out flat, with hardly any dynamics, movement and creativity, there were no "parked buses" on Swansea's half. In fact, the Welsh were more than willing to play an open contest, trying to exploit City's vulnerability at the back breaking quickly - which they did fairly well, with Michu putting the ball in the net after a correct call for offside and forcing Joe hart to make a great save a few minutes later. City weren't even making Michael Laudrup's men work for the result. 

City were rather toothless throughout the first half,
but improved a great deal in the second.

Swansea were more direct than City,
often trying to play in Michu behind the centre-backs.

Mancini replaced the ineffective Kolarov (even though his poor game was not exclusively his own fault) with Balotelli and the change brought immediate results. While the Italian maverick did not exactly set the match alight, the different tactical arrangement meant Tévez was an extra man in midfield, but it also meant that the front four (Tévez, Balotelli, Agüero and Nasri) were more fluid in their positioning. Outnumbered in midfield, Swansea were no longer able to make as many interceptions as they had done in the first half, allowing City to pile on the pressure.

Swansea were excellent in breaking up City's play in the first half.
The Welsh were not as good at it during the second half.

The difference in passes in City's attacking third.
While subtle, it shows a greater presence in the centre, mainly thanks to Tévez.

The match should have been beyond Swansea's reach by then, but City never managed to dictate the tempo of the game (despite all of Touré's attempts) and finished the match with unnecessary suffering and going back to the three-man defence, this time trying to hold on to the result. 

Swansea were worthy adversaries; it's always refreshing to see a mid-table team resisting the temptation of playing route one football and insisting on playing out from the back, even when trailing - it most likely means their manager's ideas are coming across nicely and are being accepted by the players. As for City, the much-needed win can't hide the team's persisting problems and shouldn't allow players and coaches to believe the worst is behind them. On most matches, the start players will suffice, but harder opponents will not be as kind.

• Highlights

Carlos Tévez was absolutely critical for the victory - and his scoring the winning goal was only fitting. His movement, work rate and bravery were essential for his team to grab the win. This may well be turn out the Argentinean's best season in England.

Wayne Routledge showed an interesting skill set and often provided his team's out-ball. His wonderful trickery with the ball made him a safe bet for his team to break out from City's initial pressure zone, hugging the touchline and forcing City to spread out to deal with him.

Routledge was often the men Swansea looked for to escape City's pressure.