With Chelsea positioned in the bottom half of the Premier League and unlikely to secure European football next season, Todd Boehly acted decisively by dismissing Graham Potter after just seven months in charge.
Potter showed plenty of promise at Brighton where he developed a fluid and interchangeable system that continued to reap results despite the loss of key players such as Ben White to Arsenal and Dan Burn to Newcastle.
The Englishman seemed to be a manager that could achieve success with little resources and with Chelsea spending upwards of £320m in the January transfer window, the expectation was for him to surpass his feats at Brighton.
However, with only three Premier League wins in 2023, Boehly came to the conclusion that sacking a second manager since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in May 2022 was necessary.
There are plenty of managerial candidates on Boehly’s reported shortlist and each would bring a unique style of play with them to Stamford Bridge.
Here’s how Chelsea could line up under some of the managers linked with the hotseat:
Julian Nagelsmann
“Thirty per cent of coaching is tactics, 70 per cent social competence,” Julian Nagelsmann once said. “Every player is motivated by different things and needs to be addressed accordingly.”
The 35-year-old has a psychological approach to football, but his ability as a tactician cannot be overlooked. Bayern Munich typically lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation allowing a full-back to push up high, an instruction Ben Chilwell and Reece James are very familiar with.
Similar to the Chelsea full-backs, Alphonso Davies is comfortable in advanced positions, often hugging the touchline allowing a winger to become a central threat overloading the opposition’s backline.
Nagelsman is willing to be flexible with his formation choices shown by his time at Hoffenheim when he often deployed a 3-5-2 shape; a formation similar to Potter’s 3-4-2-1 which was used at Chelsea.
On the defensive end, the German likes a high-energy press often shifting play out wide into a trap developed by numerical overloads to stifle the opposing team.
Potential XI (4-2-3-1): Kepa; James, Koulibaly, Fofana, Chilwell; Fernandez, Kovacic; Mount, Mudryk, Felix; Havertz
Luis Enrique
Despite the nature of international football not allowing a great amount of time with players, Luis Enrique was able to coach Spain and deliver an on-field structure most club bosses are not capable of replicating.
Usually deploying a 4-3-3 system, he is a firm believer in a controlled style of play that begins at the back, with his goalkeeper and defenders encouraged to play out.
Wingers often remain wide to promote one vs one scenarios and pin a full-back into their own defensive third, allowing space for the midfield to receive passes and marshal the attack as necessary.
With Spain and previously Barcelona, he favoured Sergio Busquets at the base of midfield to act as a puppet master. Enzo Fernandez could be modelled into a similar player given his skill-set.
The Argentinian international has an eye for a pass and could thrive in a team that presses from the front.
Potential XI (4-3-3): Kepa; James, Koulibaly, Badiashile, Chilwell; Fernandez, Kovacic, Mount; Mudryk, Felix, Havertz
Zinedine Zidane
The Frenchman led Real Madrid to their third successive Champions League title in 2018 becoming the only manager in the history of the competition to achieve the feat.
Zidane likes a striker that is comfortable with accommodating the wide forwards. Karim Benzema made off the ball runs to provide space for Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
The central striker will drift around looking to create an overload on a particular side. If Zidane is playing a diamond midfield it will be the No 10s job to create the overload.
The midfield shares a heavy defensive duty due to the often high positioning of full-backs. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were often seen covering wide areas, leading the counter-press and shifting the team’s shape.
Potential XI (4-1-2-1-2): Kepa; James, Koulibaly, Badiashile, Chilwell; Fernandez; Kovacic, Kante; Mount; Felix, Havertz
Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino allows his striker to free roam, often dropping deep to become a playmaker allowing wingers to make inverted runs to attack the space opened by the centre forward.
The Argentine mirrored Son Heung-min’s relationship with Harry Kane at PSG with Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. Pochettino loves wide forwards that are direct and capable of scoring a high volume of goals across the season.
Son and Mbappe were encouraged to play as part of a tight front free or two focused centrally as the full-backs were the ones instructed to keep the width to potentially free an unmarked winger.
Despite the star power of the PSG front three, they often struggled as they were incapable of pressing from the front. As a solution, Pochettino built a mid-block with energetic players ready to cut off passing lanes and start the press if possession was in contention.
Pochettino proved to be pragmatic in Paris, switching between a three-at-the-back formation and a four-man defence.
Potential XI (4-2-3-1): Kepa, James, Koulibaly, Badiashile, Chilwell; Fernandez, Kovacic; Sterling, Mount, Mudryk; Felix
Bruno Saltor
Unlike the previous managers, there is limited information on Bruno Saltor’s managerial and play style as he has never coached a senior match.
Potter’s assistant coach who he also worked alongside at Brighton has assumed the role of interim manager with the “supportive” backing of the owners.
Working so closely alongside the former Chelsea manager could mean Saltor holds stylistic similarities and may line up the team in a familiar fashion.
Potential XI (3-4-3): Kepa; Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella; James, Fernandez, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mudryk, Felix, Havertz
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/wNcWm4T
Post a Comment