Loading video...
Video Failed to Load
Alonso's Chelsea Blueprint -system catalyze player interactions -repeatable yet dynamic ideas instilled -right player profiling makes local problem solving easier -double pivot = positional reference -others revolve around it -central interactions are encouraged
17,419 views • 1 month ago •via X (Twitter)
0 Comments
No comments available
Comments from the original post will appear here
![Possession vs Progression: Patience or Lack of Ideas? Is Kaizer Chiefs showing more patience on the ball, or a lack of ideas to penetrate defensive blocks? Kaizer Chiefs were more comfortable in possession and better organised against Sekhukhune than against Golden Arrows over the weekend, but the key question was whether this represented patient control or a lack of attacking invention. Chiefs kept the ball but rarely broke lines. Circulation was often safe and predictable, with few passes between the lines, limited rotations in the final third and little movement behind the defence. Possession, therefore, did not consistently translate into clear chances. This also exposed structural and personnel issues in build-up. When we build in a 4-2 and the opposition blocks passing lanes to Maboe and Ox, progression becomes difficult. The fullbacks are not consistently high, while we lack enough quality from the back to play through pressure and connect with Baartman or Ighodaro moving into the half-spaces or behind pressure. These are passes a player like Aden McCarthy used to provide more naturally, but we often resort to long balls with poor accuracy. Midfield control is another concern. Ox made more passes into the final third[14] than Maboe, despite Maboe playing as the 8. We need the 8 to be more influential in these areas, helping control the flow and connect midfield with attack. Ox was effective at winning the ball and playing forward, but that responsibility cannot fall primarily on him given his technical flaws once the expectations rise. Sekhukhune's passive press gave Chiefs comfort on the ball, but it also highlighted how dependent our possession can be on the opponent's approach. We can circulate when unpressured, but still struggle to play through a well-organised press. Ighodaro is another example: he often drops too deep to get involved, yet when he makes runs behind the defence, he is not consistently found even when the space is available..we lacked players brave enough to play "that pass". We also rely too heavily on low-probability long shots instead of getting the ball into the box for players such as Silva, Ighodaro and Duba. Final-third decision-making has to improve. We need to get our best midfielders on the ball more often and, once we reach the attacking third, consistently find our most dangerous players in positions where they can hurt the opposition. We struggled to get Phili in the game in the 1st half. The second half was an improvement on the pointless circulation of the first. Chiefs played more forward, increased the intensity a little and benefited from substitutions that brought better movement in the final third. Instead of simply passing around Sekhukhune's block, we began moving it, creating spaces from both wide and central areas and the goals followed. Having a player capable of operating between the lines also made a difference by providing a link between midfield and attack. There are clear signs of progress in the coach's positional model, particularly in our ability to retain the ball and control games for longer periods. However, possession must become more consistently penetrative. This is also a squad-balance issue. The coach has asked for 4 attacking reinforcements, and management is yet to provide them[Only Phili came and Faiz is more of a project buy than a player who comes and hits the ground running] Some of these limitations, if attended to, should improve with better attacking profiles, but the existing group must still make better decisions in the final third. The progress is there, but the next step is turning possession into progression, and progression into consistent chances. Match day 3 under coach Fernando Da Cruz...📝](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2088291540934246663/amplify_video_thumb/2088289819390595072/img/TMTxxAMDopysiESN.jpg)
![Samkelo Zwane x Thabo Cele✍️🏾 Another solution the team can or could have built on. ■ There was control and a lot of forward passes. There is a way to balance the many attacks, our attacking transactional moments and dominance on the ball. ■ When you have the right profiles to improve your ideas, you need patience after you identify them. Be patient and focus on key areas like what needs to be improved, not who needs to be removed. ■ Players grow with the confidence they get from playing. The understanding between players grows with more games they play together. ■ You are not going to get the best out of players who are scared to make mistakes because they don't get a chance to grow from those. ■ The next problem would be using a 10 that does not only bring creativity but also goals we criticize and rely heavily on strikers. ■ You have solved the problem of unsustainable passing patterns or poor space management and lack of control from midfield. You also have players on the bench who provide enough tactical flexibility in case you want to freshen up the midfield. Those players can't all be started. Hence, you need a midfield partnership you will stick with longer and improve. When the team changes its spine as frequently as we did, it interrupts your abilities to identify problem areas after bad results because there is no consistency in the team. When forced changes like suspensions and injuries hit us, you don't know if we lack compactness due to a new CB pairing[injury/suspension] or a new double pivot[random change]. You end up solving the wrong problems and having a team that always looks unsettled even when they have more of the ball. We look shaky in most defensive moments. In this game vs Chippa, we dominated the game and created a lot of chances. We won, and our Nedbank Cup journey gained more momentum. ■ We changed Zwane and put Mshini in the next game, and the quality in midfield was elevated instead of dropped. ■ This gave the technical team 2 of our best possible midfield pairings. We now have working solutions in midfield, but our obsession with having players that offer more running than solutions on the ball meant we are changing this partnership again in the following game and suddenly the quality we've been seeing disappeared. Points started dropping. ■ One of the reasons I want the coach to get the players he wants is to allow us to judge the team on the application of tactics more, not proper selection. As supporters, we won't be happy to see the team drop results when we are not using our squad to the best of its potential. ■ Drop a player for another who will perform functions in midfield better than those you're dropping. We can't repeat similar tactical blunders going into the 2025/26 campaign. ❤️✌🏾](https://image.24vids.com/tw-1927699875732591040/ext_tw_video_thumb/1927699329210261504/pu/img/DAQfFEY2tKkQfw3y.jpg)
