Playmaker: Villas-Boas needs one. Photo: apasciutoChelsea’s toothless passing game suggests a midfield playmaker à la Luka Modric could prove the difference between? fourth and first this year. And Villas-Boas knows it.
The Blues’ need for creativity and flair are well documented. South American wizards have frequently filled the wish list since Robinho escaped their claws three years ago, but promising links with players such as Sergio Agüero and Neymar have resulted in little else than window shopping so far.
The apparent policy to throw strikers at the problem has not compensated. Fernando Torres and Drogba are yet to score this season and, with Andre Villas-Boas struggling to accommodate the latter, Chelsea seem to have bought themselves a new problem in the ￡18m ‘new Drogba’ – Romelu Lukaku.
Such worries have been confirmed by the Premier League opening fixtures, with stuttering displays against Stoke, West Bromwich and Norwich. The excellent Juan Mata will be a much-needed addition but, as this analysis finds, the team is screaming out for a midfield playmaker to get that heavy artillery firing.
Lack of penetration
Much anticipation had built over how Chelsea would play under Villas-Boas. It was always hard to judge against Stoke (indeed, even Lionel Messi would struggle at the Britannia…) but answers appeared in the two home games. The result was largely a side with plenty possession, but no idea what to do with it. This trend was evident against Norwich, where the chalkboard below is taken from. It shows completed passes from open play over 90 minutes, reflecting the areas where Chelsea conducted their build-up play to break down a stubborn home side.
?by?Guardian Chalkboards
Clearly, Chelsea’s full backs are cornerstones in the build-up play – a similar feat to Andre Villas-Boas’ Porto. Most passes are made along the flanks, with plenty inside the final third, and Norwich will have been defending the penalty box with little space between midfield and the defensive line.
The problem remains that no midfielders seem able to play vertical passes (passes towards the opponents goal) to players in dangerous positions. Indeed, out of 435 passes, only three arrived inside the penalty area. This role is crucial, because without it the ball is simply circulated from side to side. As the statistics show, Chelsea have tended to play ‘around’ the Norwich team – waiting for an opening to appear, but without the creativity to exploit it.
Villas-Boas offered fascinating insight into this himself when interviewed by sport science student Daniel Sousa – now his scout at Chelsea – in Portugal on March 27, 2009 – and the key passages were published by the Telegraph this August. In an in-depth discussion about tactics and football philosophy, Villas-Boas said:
“There are more spaces in football than people think. Even if you play against a low block team [a team defending deep], you immediately get half of the pitch. And after that, in attacking midfield, you can provoke the opponent with the ball, provoke him to move forward or sideways and open up a space. But many players can’t understand the game.
“They can’t think about or read the game. Things have become too easy for football players: high salaries, a good life, with a maximum of five hours work a day and so they can’t concentrate, can’t think about the game. Barcelona’s players are completely the opposite. Their players are permanently thinking about the game, about their movement, about how to provoke their opponent with the position of the ball.”
Despite Villas-Boas’ awareness of this, a comparison with Manchester United suggests his title rivals currently master this far better. The chalkboard below shows Manchester United’s completed passes from open play during their 3-0 win against Tottenham earlier this season – a game typifying their pass and move philosophy.
?by?Guardian Chalkboards
The result is clearly a much more varied passing pattern with no obvious concentrations of play. There are more vertical passes – out of 362 from open play, 12 found players inside the penalty area – and all three goals were scored from inside the box. Manchester United played 73 passes less than Chelsea, yet were clearly more effective.
Passing styles
Styles obviously contrast between Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge. United move the ball quicker to drag players out of position, posing lower demands for a single moment of genius to break teams down. Instead the two central midfielders largely play it simple to ‘keep things ticking’ – engineering a steady ball circulation that outmaneuvers teams through safe intelligent passes and smart movement.
Conversely, Chelsea’s slow tempo means spaces are harder to find when midfielders have the ball. Whereas ball circulation is maintained safely to ‘control’ matches, the art of finding attacking players in dangerous space is yet to be mastered. Inevitably, the front three are either isolated or forced to drop deep – a role neither of Drogba and Torres play particularly well.
Fernando Torres
It is worth to make this point on Torres. The Spaniard’s game revolves around getting into advanced positions – preferably with only one or two defenders to beat. This requires either quick transitions or a pass-master able to find him with vertical passes. With neither, Chelsea have a frustrated striker either running into a wall of defenders or losing himself in deep positions.
Functional: The Liverpool set-up under Rafa Benitez in 2008/2009Rafael Benitez faced a similar problem when Xabi Alonso departed – nobody were able to find Torres or Steven Gerrard, and the goals quickly dried up. This is a vastly undermined factor in assessing Torres’ form. Villas-Boas was right pre-season when he blamed the team structure for the Spaniard’s failings – not the player. However he is still to figure out the solution.
Villas-Boas’ philosophy
The interview from 2009 suggests the Portuguese is well aware of how easy teams can stall. He points out how modern top sides now use midfielders to play vertical passes, relying on wingers to provide creativity.
Interestingly, he names Xabi Alonso and Andrea Pirlo as rare examples of players who can vary between vertical and diagonal passes to surprise the opponent.
The lack of such players, combined with an absence of wingers, can be fatal. Going back to Xabi Alonso at Liverpool, his presence meant reliance on wingers decreased because progression came from central areas. However, his departure saw the Reds lose their only source of vertical play – eventually leading to a total collapse.
Chelsea’s problem is of similar stature – they lack midfield playmakers as well as natural wingers. Juan Mata is a welcomed mixture of the two but, granted the team structure at Stamford Bridge, the vertical driving force must be located deeper.
Villas-Boas never had an out-and-out playmaker at Porto, but the tricky Silvestre Varela and the at times unplayable Hulk provided plenty of flair and trickery on each wing. Indeed, so far at Chelsea, the most prominent player has been Jose Bosingwa – a former winger possessing the sorely-missed ability to unlock defences by bursting past players.
The solution
The interview again becomes interesting when Daniel Sousa asks Villas-Boas how to break down defensive teams. The Chelsea boss replies:
“You have to provoke them with the ball, which is something most teams can’t do. I cannot understand it. It’s an essential factor in the game. At this time of ultra-low defensive block teams, you will have to learn how to provoke them with the ball. It’s the ball they want, so you have to defy them using the ball as a carrot.
“Louis Van Gaal’s idea is one of continuous circulation, one side to the other, until the moment that, when you change direction, a space opens up inside and you go through it. So, he provokes the opponent with horizontal circulation of the ball, until the moment that the opponent will start to pressure out of despair. What I believe in is to challenge the rival by driving the ball into him.”
The final sentence may hint at someone who can go past players – either in wide positions – or centrally to create 2 v 1 situations. An exemplary player of the latter would be Andres Iniesta – perhaps the closest version in England would be Luka Modric. A classical winger also fits the description, though someone with playmaking qualities would be ideal.
The graph below shows the Spurs midfielder’s completed passes from open play during a 0-0 draw against West Ham last year.
?by?Guardian Chalkboards
These passes typify the range and variety needed at Stamford Bridge. They are a mixture of vertical and horizontal passes – four of them arriving inside the penalty area –a few more just outside the penalty box. Chelsea failed with a bid for Modric on transfer deadline day, and the lack of an outright alternative playmaker will concern Villas-Boas. The ￡13m signing Raul Meireles is a coup in itself, but time will tell how much he can contribute to solve the Blues’ main problem.
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