Depay goals from left will be vital, particularly if Rooney struggles as lone striker

I wrote a piece last week questioning how long Louis Van Gaal would play Memphis Depay in a central role just behind Wayne Rooney, as he elected to do in Manchester United's season opener against Tottenham, before he opted to move the Dutchmen to his more natural position on the left wing in place of Ashley Young. It took LVG just one game to make that change as Memphis started on the left against Aston Villa last Friday. He had a fairly indifferent performance there but thrived in that role in Manchester United's 2-1 win over Club Brugge in Champions League playoff qualification tonight. He scored two fantastic goals cutting in from the left, provided the assist for the third with a perfectly whipped cross to Marouane Fellaini at the back post and forced another couple of difficult saves from Brugge goalkeeper Sebastien Bruzzese.

It feels a bit harsh on Ashley Young to be losing his spot. He was one of United's best players last season so it felt unnecessarily harsh when this summer Van Gaal said in an interview "You can expect things from Ashley Young. He had a fantastic season. But he is not a Neymar and we have to compete with that."

No one would argue Young is a better player than Neymar, Young included, but to draw attention to that fact publicly doesn't seem like a great way to get the most of out of a player that was vital to United's second place finish.

Still, as unhelpful as LVG's comment may have been, there's an obvious truth to what he said. Young is a limited player, extremely gifted at playing teasing crosses from the channels but not especially skilled at attacking the opposition fullback off the dribble, cutting inside and finishing. He's at his best when United are playing with Fellaini, a giant of an attacking player that can get to the back post and attack Young's whipped crosses.

But it's obvious LVG wants to evolve his side's style of play towards something less simplistic than crossing to the big man at the back post. Memphis is the ideal modern wide attacking player, athletic and outrageously quick, capable of hitting a good cross but also adept at beating his defender, cutting inside and scoring goals of his own. For all of Young's good work last season he scored only 4 goals in all competitions. With Robin Van Persie having departed for Fenerbahce over the summer and Rooney currently struggling for goal scoring form, it'll be important for United to get goals from elsewhere. Memphis was the Eredivisie's top scorer last season with 22 and therefore provides an additional goal scoring threat for the opposition to worry about.

Memphis's ability to shoot from distance is also a tremendous threat. There's been a stat floating around on Twitter that 9 0f his last 30 goals have come from outside the penalty area. That's a major concern for opposition defenders. He's ultra-quick so if defenders try to close him down to quickly he'll easily blow by them, but alternatively if they back off he can make them pay with his shooting from distance.

There's also probably something to be said for Memphis sharing his manager's nationality. He can expect a warmer relationship with his boss than the one experienced by the recently departed Angel Di Maria which should help with the adjustment process and keep his confidence levels high. The signs point to Memphis being a terrific player for Manchester United.

Ozil, Silva excel in #10 role in Sunday's games

The popularity of the 4-2-3-1 formation over the last few seasons has led to the reemergence of the classic #10 or trequartista role. In the mid to late 2000s the European game had become dominated by the 4-3-3 with teams employing an extremely defensive holding midfielder (Claude Makelele the obvious example) flanked on either side by two energetic and generally very athletic shuttling, box-to-box midfielders. Teams would look to overpower one another in the middle of midfield by playing three strong, physically imposing players. For example, the Chelsea side that won back-to-back titles in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 played with a midfield triangle of Makelele at the base with Frank Lampard and Tiago or Michael Essien just in front.

The 4-3-3 doesn't allow for the classic central attacking playmaker that sits just in behind the striker. The 4-2-3-1 has allowed teams to maintain defensive balance with two holding midfielders shielding the back four while allowing one attacking player to stay further up the pitch, move into tight pockets of space and use their creativity to provide the final ball to create scoring chances.

Sunday afternoon saw two excellent central attacking midfield performances within the 4-2-3-1 framework from Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Manchester City's David Silva. Both players got into dangerous positions between the opposition midfield and defensive lines and created loads of chances for the other attacking players.

Inside the first 30 seconds of Manchester City's comfortable 3-0 win over Chelsea, Silva collected the ball in midfield, spun Cesc Fabregas and provided a perfectly weighted through ball that put Sergio Aguero clean through on goal. The Argentinian was denied an opener by Asmir Begavic in the Chelsea goal but the immediate danger posed by Silva and Aguero was a sign of things to come.

Ozil's impact in Arsenal's 2-1 at Crystal Palace was also felt early on. In the 7th minute Arsenal sprung a counter attack from a Palace free kick. Ozil put Alexiz Sanchez through on goal with an excellent pass but Sanchez's first touch was poor.

Ultimately both Silva and Ozil would get the assists their performances deserved and made nuisances of themselves throughout. Silva was involved in the build up for City's first and assisted the second and third. Ozil assisted Olivier Giroud for Arsenal's opener and nearly added a second assist with a clever ball to Aaron Ramsey at the front post in the 37th minute.

Silva created 3 chances of which City converted two, Ozil created an impressive 5 chances.

The most impressive aspect of Ozil's performance was his efficiency with the ball. He completed 54 of 55 total passes and a remarkable 37 of 38 passes in the final third of the pitch. The only player to complete more final third passes in the opening two weeks is, unsurprisingly, Silva who completed 45 in City's easy 3-0 win over West Brom (Ozil also managed 37 attacking third passes in the defeat to West Ham).

Ozil has been accused of disappearing from games in his first two seasons at Arsenal. On occasions that criticism has been fair but often he's unfairly criticized by pundits confusing what can appear to be a languid playing style with a lack of effort. He's certainly not Alexis Sanchez whose style of play, all direct sprints forward with the ball and attempts at defense-splitting penetrating passes, tends to give the impression he's working harder. But a side needs balance- two Alexis style players likely wouldn't be an ideal set up for Arsenal. Sanchez is a brilliant player, certainly Arsenal's best last season, but in attempting mazey dribbles and defense-splitting passes he at times gives possession away too easily. It's important to have those Alexis type players willing to take risks in the final third to create chances but it's also important to have a player like Ozil who will circulate possession and be extremely efficient with the ball. Last seaosn Ozil had an overall pass success rate of 88.3%, an incredible percentage for an attacking midfielder, compared to just 76.8% for Sanchez. For comparison Chelsea's Edenz hazard, who plays the same position as Sanchez, had a pass success rate of 86.8%.

(Two Ozil type players in the same attacking midfield three likely wouldn't provide enough directness and goal scoring ability; again it's all about getting the balance right).

Silva seems to have benefited from the arrival of Raheem Sterling from Liverpool. Last season Manuel Pellegrini tended to opt for a 4-4-2 formation which meant Silva was deployed on the wing. He was still effective in coming inside from a wide starting position and creating chances but it also meant he had to do some defensive work tracking the opposition fullback meaning he was pulled further from the opposition goal and forced to use up energy in tracking back defensively. The arrival of Sterling has seen City switch to a 4-2-3-1 with Sterling on the left channel and Silva in the #10 role. He no longer has to track the opposition right back and can maintain a position further up the pitch where he can provide an immediate outlet ball when City recover possession.

The 4-2-3-1 has been great in allowing a framework for such technically gifted, creative players to take center stage, literally, and dictate attacking play. They allow their respective team's to play highly entertaining, attacking football. We saw two expert performances in this role from Silva and Ozil Sunday. Manchester City are better endowed at striker to take advantage of their excellent trequartista but Olivier Giroud's improved performance this weekend and a strong end to last season for Theo Walcott could be enough to convert more of the chances created by Ozil into goals.

Van Gaal must put in place a more coherent system for United to mount title challenge

Over the course of the 2014-2015 Premier League season Louis Van Gaal struggled to settle on a consistent formation and starting XI. Prior to the campaign he announced the side would use the same 3-5-2 Van Gaal had used to lead a less-talented-than-usual Netherlands team to the semifinals of that summer's World Cup. That plan was dispatched after a poor start to the season- United won just one of their first six competitive matches, a stretch that included an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to MK Dons in the Capital One Cup and a 5-3 loss at Leicester.

VanGaal switched to a more traditional (in England at least) back four but a combination of injuries and inconsistent performances led him to continue tinkering with formations and personnel. Over the course of the season Van Gaal used a revolving door of formations- 3-5-2, 4-4-2, diamond 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3. It seems likely United's inconsistency was at least partly brought on by the changes- developing an understanding of your own role in a side and developing a team synergy is remarkablydifficult when your duties are continually being redefined as formations and personnel change.

No player appeared to suffer more from the constant shapeshifting than Angel Di Maria. Di Maria didn't have the season many expected but the conditions weren't favorable for him. It's difficult enough for players to adapt to new teammates in a new league but when your role in the squad is constantly changing it makes the bedding in process that much more difficult. Di Maria played on the left wing, on the left side of a center midfield three, in a #10 role through the middle and even as a striker with Rooney behind him in midfield. He wasn't the only player whose role was inconsistent. Daly Blind played as a center back, left back, left wing back and holding midfielder. Rooney played as part of a front two alongside Robben Van Persie, as a lone striker and as a center midfielder. Both Di Maria and Blind are known for being flexible and tactically intelligent footballers and Rooney has developed more of that flexibility with experience but it has to be unsettling for players to be shifting spots on the field so often and unsettling for their teammates as well. In any efficient, well run company the employees know their specific roles. For much of last season Manchester United's players appeared to be struggling to figure out theirs.

It wasn't until the second half of the season when Van Gaal settled on a 4-3-3- with Maurouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera either side of Michael Carrick in a midfield three, Juan Mata tucking in on the right channel, Ashley Young playing wide on the left and Wayne Rooney up front- that United started to put in consistent, impressive displays. The first half of their 2-1 win over Liverpool at the end of March, Liverpool's first league defeat in three months, was sensational. With tactical stability came improved performances.

Settling on the right tactical system could prove difficult yet again for Van Gaal given the number of new signings brought in over the summer. In their season opener last weekend against Tottenham Van Gaal opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Morgan Schneiderlin partnering Carrick at the base of midfield, Mata on the right, Young on the left and Memphis Depay playing off Rooney through the middle. United struggled to create chances. They produced just one shot on goal and scored from a fortuitous Kyle Walker own goal that stemmed from an awful giveaway in midfield by Nabil Bentaleb.

The lackluster attacking performance obviously can't simply be put down to formation. No team can be expected to be at their most fluid this early in the season. United started three of their summer signings in Depay, Schneiderlin and right back Matteo Darmian and with new personnel comes additional time needed to develop an understanding among the players.

Still, Van Gaal's selection showed some signs of his tendency to perhaps over-tinker and use players where they aren't at their best in order to make a spot for them in the starting XI. Young was outstanding last season and probably deserving of his starting spot on the left of midfield. But his inclusion meant that for Van Gaal to play Depay, he had to be deployed through the middle. Using Depay through the middle meant there was one fewer spot for a proper center midfielder so in effect United were playing with two center midfielders rather than three. Having a third center midfielder would potentially have allowed United to establish a bit more control of possession and dictate the tempo of the game more. It's noteworthy that Spurs finished with 50% possession at Old Trafford and 4 shots on goal to United's 1.

Again, United were at their most fluid last season playing with a three man midfield with Herrera and Fellaini shuttling up and down the pitch either side of Carrick at the base of midfield (although at times Fellaini would push further up the pitch alongside Rooney).  Like Herrera, Scheniderlin is full of energy and more than capable of playing one of the two shuttling roles in a 4-3-3. A midfield trio of Herrera and Schneiderlin in front of Carrick provides an excellent balance of energy, technique, passing vision and tackling ability.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino likes to press high up the pitch. However most opposing managers will come to Old Trafford and look to defend deep and compact and play on the break. It's difficult to imagine Depay being especially effective in the #10 role in these sorts of contests. His strengths are his tremendous pace, dribbling ability and finishing. While he's also a very good passer, he's at his best in the channels where he has the opportunity to get the opposition fullback in 1 v. 1 situations, cut inside and either shoot or provide through balls. Playing him through the middle against sides that defend deep will reduce the chances he has to pick the ball up in space and run at the defense.  According to the soccer data site transfermarkt.com every one of Depay's 30 league appearances for PSV came on the left wing. He scored a remarkable 22 goals. He had 6 assists which is impressive enough but suggests he's more of a goal scorer than a goal creator. The #10 in a 4-2-3-1, the role Depay played in the opener, tends to be reserved more for creative passers than speedy dribblers. It seems strange to ask him to play out of position when he was virtually unplayable on the left last season. For all of Young's success last season, Depay is the more dynamic, dangerous player. Eventually I'd expect Van Gaal to move Depay wide in place of Young.

Whatever options the Dutch manager chooses to go with he should look to establish a coherent playing system early. For all his talk of philosophy, United didn't really seem to have one last season. With title winners Chelsea last season you knew their lineup before the team sheet came out perhaps with the exception of whether Cesc Fabregas would play in the #10 role or deeper in midfield. The players knew their roles in the system and it showed in cohesive if not always thrilling performances. For United to mount a title challenge this season, Van Gaal will need to do less tinkering.

Three key tactical questions to consider ahead of Manchester City vs. Chelsea

In just the second week of the Premier League season the fixture list has provided us with a clash between two expected title contenders in Chelsea and Manchester City. Both contests between these two sides ended in 1-1 draws last season. The first was an entertaining affair, capped off by Frank Lampard scoring the equalizer for Manchester City, who had been reduced to 10 men after Pablo Zabaleta was sent off, against his old club five minutes from injury time. The second was a far more cagey, dull encounter- Chelsea were missing both Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa through injury and were content playing for a draw that left them with a five point lead at the top of the table. Frankly I could see this one going either way in terms of entertainment value. Perhaps given where we're at in the season Mourinho will direct his side to play adventurously since a loss won't be the end of the world but you'd never put it past him to make this one cagey, especially since Chelsea will be desperate not to allow a rival to gain a 5 point advantage in the table, even if it still mid August.

Here are three important tactical questions to consider ahead of Sunday's contest.

Can Ivanovic contain Sterling after opening week difficulties defending Swansea's pacey Montero?

Branislav Ivanovic had one of his most difficult matches in a Chelsea shirt in last Sunday's opener against Swansea. Swans' phenomenally pacey winger Jefferson Montero was able to beat Ivanovic off the dribble time and again, either getting to the endline to provide crosses for striker Bafetimbi Gomis or cutting inside to shoot. After dribbling past Ivanovic in the first half he provided the cross for a Gomis header that Thibaut Courtois could only parry into the path of Jordan Ayew who finished to put Swansea on level terms. In the second half Montero forced a couple of fine saves from Asmir Begovic, on to replace Courtois after he'd been sent off, after cutting inside. Only Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completed more successful dribbles in the opening week than Montero's 6.

Ivanovic's task won't get much easier Sunday as his direct opponent will likely be Raheem Sterling on the left side of Manchester City's attacking midfield three. Like Montero, Sterling has no shortage of pace and is dangerous when given the opportunity to dribble 1 v. 1 at the opposition fullback. His movement off the ball is more varied than Montero- he'll drift inside more often so Ivanovic will have to be just as cautious when Sterling is off the ball as when he is on it.

Sterling's City debut was mixed- he was involved in City's domination of possession high up the pitch but also showed the wayward finishing he was at times accused of at Liverpool, missing when put clean through on West Brom's goal. Nonetheless he's the type of player that could give Ivanovic fits. While the Serb has been a remarkably consistent and reliable performer at Chelsea, pace and athleticism are not his strongest attributes so he could be in for another long afternoon.

Will Chelsea expose Toure's lack of urgency tracking back when they get opportunities to counter?

Despite Manchester City's overwhelmingly dominant display over West Brom, there were a couple of small signs of lingering weaknesses that we saw last season. Yaya Toure put in a brilliant attacking display but also showed a reluctance to defend and the rare occasions West Brom were able to mount any sort of attack stemmed from Fernandinho having to defend the space in front of the back four on counter attacks on his own. Twice in the first half the Brazilian was forced into desperate tackles near Man City's penalty box to break up West Brom attacks and he finished the match with 4 fouls, more than any other player on the pitch.

Chelsea can be a lethal side on the break. In Eden Hazard they have the Premier League's best dribbler and most dangerous player when presented with loads of space to run into. Toure will have to remain cognizant of the threat Chelsea pose on the break and make quick recovery runs when City lose possession to help defensively in the middle of the pitch.

Will Mourinho start Fabregas in his preferred role alongside Matic or higher up in the #10 role?

It'll be interesting to see where Jose Mourinho uses Cesc Fabregas, his most creative midfielder. Chelsea played some brilliant football last season when Fabregas played deeper in midfield alongside Nemnaja Matic but in more difficult fixtures towards the end of the season Mourinho often opted to use Fabregas higher up the pitch in the #10 role to make room for another more defensive midfielder alongside Matic, most often Ramires.

In their opener against Swansea Mourinho opted to use Fabregas in his preferred deeper role. That match was particularly free flowing and open, something Mourinho doesn't tend to enjoy. Chelsea at times look stretched even before Courtois's sending off sent them down to ten men. It wouldn't be all that surprising if Mourinho opted to deploy another holding midfielder and slide Fabregas to the #10 spot- against a talented title rival like City away from home Mourinho will likely want a slower, less open contest regardless of who plays where.

Pressure on Coquelin immense for such an inexperienced player

Francis Coquelin was a revelation last season when injuries forced Arsene Wenger to bring the French midfielder back from his loan spell at Charlton in December. He was in large part the catalyst for Arsenal's excellent run of form in the second half of the season. Arsenal won 17, drew 2 and lost 4 of the 23 matches Coquelin started in all competitions including a win at Manchester City, a heavy defeat of Liverpool and an FA Cup triumph in which Coquelin was sensational in the final. He brought an energy, physicality and discipline at the base of midfield that Wenger's side had been sorely lacking. Over the course of those 23 starts he rarely seemed to put a foot wrong.

There was plenty of debate among Arsenal fans over the summer months over what positions most needed strengthening. After Petr Cech signed from Chelsea the consensus among those that felt they were still a signing or two to short of a title challenge was that Wenger needed either an upgrade on Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck at striker or cover for Coquelin at defensive midfield. Given Coquelin's near flawless half season and a lack of available deeper lying midfielders in the market following Morgan Schneiderlin's move to Manchester United and William Carvalho's unfortunate leg break, transfer rumors have centered around a new striker.

But to put so much pressure on Coquelin to be the main man anchoring Arsenal's midfield is a giant ask of a 24 year old in his first complete season in top flight English football and a risk for the club. While he made no indications that he wasn't up for the challenge last season, a 38 match league campaign requires a level of fitness and, most importantly, concentration that Coquelin hasn't had to show thus far in his young career. One of the defining features of Chelsea's title winning side was the vast experience of every one of their normal starting XI. They'd all played in big matches and all had an understanding of the consistent level of concentration required to win a title. Over the course of their careers they'd been in nearly every imaginable situation on a football pitch and were able to use that experience in tough circumstances.

While Coquelin has proven to have the attitude and physical tools to be a fantastic Premier League midfielder, he can't have developed that ruthless professionalism and ability to read game situations that only comes with playing in a large number of matches. Players of his experience level will inevitably make mistakes and become better players by learning from them. The experience he's gaining now is invaluable and should make his future a bright one at the Emirates but if Arsenal's goal is to win a title this season, it's ambitious to rely so heavily on a player with half a league season under his belt. While Alexis Sanchez is certainly Arsenal's best player, Coquelin is currently the least replaceable. That is a compliment to just how quickly he's adapted and proved his worth in top flight football but it can also be viewed as a critique of Wenger's lack of depth deep in midfield. Mikel Arteta's return is valuable- the calmness and ability to dictate play he brings will be useful in certain matches- but he struggles to provide the necessary cover for the back four in big games.

Coquelin put in what was probably his poorest performance for Arsenal in the opening day defeat to West Ham. To suggest this is an indicator of some kind of sophomore slump rather than simply a one off bad day at the office would be deeply unfair. Every player has a bad match from time to time and Coquelin has had shockingly few since returning to Arsenal. He certainly wasn't the only Arsenal player not at his best. But it will be interesting to see how he picks himself up after a poor performance. When he returned from Charlton last season less was expected of him and therefore the pressure to perform wasn't as heightened. This season the expectations are high and the pressure immense. It's a lot to put on the shoulders of such an unseasoned player but for Arsenal to have a crack at the title he'll have to continue to perform like the tested professional he looked last season.

West Brom 0-3 Manchester City: Tepid West Brom defend too deep in heavy defeat

Manchester City cruised to victory over an abject West Brom Monday evening at the Hawthornes. Tony Pulis has always been a conservative and functional manager- he typically sets his side out in a rigid 4-4-2,  defends in deep, compact banks of four and looks to find goals on set pieces. While Pulis's relentless focus on defensive organization is a major reason he has never been relegated during his managerial career, the pursuit of functionality over creativity means at times his side's can be dour. That was certainly the case against Man City today.

West Brom set out in what looked like a reasonably attacking 4-4-2 with Saido Berahino partnering Rickie Lambert up front. In practice however, it was far more defensive. When City were in possession Lambert dropped alongside James Morrison and Darren Fletcher forming a midfield bank of five. Berahino stayed slightly higher up the pitch but even he defended inside his own half, typically staying tight to Fernandinho. The thinking behind the tactic was to clog the midfield and deny City's tricky midfielders- Silva, Sterling and Toure- the time and space on the ball to cause problems. Pulis wasn't overly concerned with City having the bulk of possession as long as that possession wasn't in dangerous areas around the box.

The problem for West Brom was that when they won the ball back they were positioned so deep that they couldn't find an initial outlet pass to initiate counter attacks. Berahino was isolated up front. When West Brom regained possession they simply dumped it into the corner for Berahino to chase. City easily won possession back and mounted wave after wave of pressure. David Silva broke the deadlock with a fortuitous opener in the 9th minute- he deflected a weak Toure effort off the leg of Michael Dawson- but it had been coming.

Recognizing that having Lambert drop into midfield to defend left his side unable to find an outlet pass to transition into attack, Pulis had Lambert stay higher up the pitch alongside Berahino after City's opener. West Brom were now defending in a 4-4-2 rather than 4-5-1. The change in tactic posed a new problem for Pulis- it left City with a 3 v. 2 advantage in the middle of midfield which meant West Brom risked Morrison and Fletcher being overrun in the center of the pitch. Almost immediately City were able to exploit the midfield in advantage. Fletcher and Morrison were occupied with Silva and the interior runs of Sterling which left space for Toure to play a 1-2 with Boney and fire in one of his vintage curling efforts from just outside the box to make it 2-0.

At 2-0 down Pulis tinkered with the shape for a third time to give his side equal numbers in the middle of midfield. Rather than dropping Lambert into midfield as he had to start of the game, he shifted Gardner infield alongside Fletcher and Morrison and moved Berahino to the right wing into a 4-5-1. West Brom were marginally better in attack but the change posed a new defensive problem down City's left wing. Berahino is far and away West Brom's most exciting attacking player but he lacked the defensive discipline to track Alexander Kolarov's bursts forward from his left full back position. Shortly after being moved to the right flank Berahino switched off, allowing Kolarov through on goal but the Serbian put his effort into the side netting.

Pulis's starting shape and subsequent two formation changes following City's opening two goals failed to curtail City's dominance. West Brom gave the visitors too much time in possession and failed to offer any sort of an attacking threat of their own.

It's worth pointing out that Swansea and West Ham, sides that got weekend results away to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, were both far more adventurous in their approach against top quality opposition than West Brom were here. A major aspect West Ham and Swansea were able to exploit was their pace and athleticism. Swansea's Jefferson Montero gave Branslav Ivanovic the runaround with his pace, Andre Ayew's power and speed also gave the Chelsea back four fits. For West Ham Dimitri Payet was largely responsible for Francis Coquelin's worst performance in an Arsenal shirt since returning from his loan spell at Charlton last season. Looking at West Brom's lineup today, it's desperately short on both creativity and athleticism. Berahino can be electric but with a midfield of Gardner, Fletcher, Morrison and McClean there aren't any players there that are going to strike fear into the opposition. Those four will work hard and carry out Pulis's tactics with discipline but you're depending on Berahino entirely to create chances.

With a side lacking in direct, attacking players discipline and defensive shape will be crucial. Pulis is the man to lead a functional side with limited resources. His Stoke sides always stayed up despite being near the the bottom of the league in goals scored. However, they'll need to offer more going forward than they did tonight to avoid a relegation scrap. New club record signing Salomon Rondon was presented to the fans before the match. Perhaps he'll be the man to bring an attacking spark to the Hawthornes but on the basis of tonight's display he may be concerned about the number of scoring chances that will come his way.

Three Leading Characters in the FIFA Drama: Blatter, Blazer, and Warner

In 2013, Blazer waived indictment and pleaded guilty.

Sepp Blatter’s resignation a mere four days after reelection remains something of a mystery. Blatter took a defiant tone during the FIFA Congress in which he soundly defeated his only electoral opponent, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. In the short term, it appeared to be business as usual, as delegates to the FIFA Congress – apparently unmoved by the indictment of nine former and current FIFA officials – provided Blatter a resounding victory in the FIFA presidential election. A mere four days later, Blatter announced plans to resign at a hastily called press conference. The day before his resignation, the New York Times linked Blatter’s chief deputy Jérôme Valcke to a $10 million bribe transferred from FIFA funds to Jack Warner. Blatter lamented at the press conference, “While I have a mandate from the membership of FIFA, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football – the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA.” Clubs, players, fans, and the media had criticized Blatter long before the indictment, so this was certainly not an important concern to Blatter. In the immediate aftermath of this resignation announcement, ABC News reported that Blatter is a target of the FBI probe. Others had speculated that the imminent release of Chuck Blazer’s testimony from his plea hearing was sufficiently damaging to Blatter that he preemptively resigned. While Blazer’s testimony outlines serious corruption allegations, it does not seem to implicate Blatter directly.

Disgraced former FIFA official Jack Warner purports to know why Blatter resigned. In an 8-minute paid political advertisement (Warner is an MP and founder of the Independent Liberal Party) entitled, “The Gloves Are Off,” Warner claims to have a trove of documents that pertain to “transactions at FIFA, including – but not limited to – its president, Mr. Sepp Blatter.” He warns, “Not even death will stop the avalanche that is coming.” Of course, this isn’t the first time Warner has used a natural-disaster metaphor. In 2011, he promised a “football tsunami” that apparently never reached land. Warner is perhaps the most absurd character in a cast of ridiculous characters in this FIFA drama. (Blazer is a close second. His blog is named, “Travels with Chuck Blazer and His Friends,” based on the suggestion of Vladimir Putin. The blog features pictures of Blazer posing in various costumes as well as with notable figures such as Nelson Mandela, Putin, Bill Clinton, and Prince William. He also reportedly rented a $6,000 per month apartment in Trump Tower solely for the use of his cats.) Corruption is so endemic to FIFA that it is difficult to contrive allegations of fraud related to FIFA that are not credible. Amazingly, Warner managed to pull off such a feat in claiming that FIFA interfered with the 2010 national elections in Trinidad & Tobago. Why FIFA would have any interest in electoral outcomes in Trinidad & Tobago is entirely unclear. In another video statement released only days earlier, Warner proudly held up and cited an Onion article as evidence that the federal investigation “stemmed from the failed U.S. bid to host the World Cup.”

Three quick thoughts on corruption scandal in FIFA

1. The details of the corruption in the indictment are astounding. Perhaps the most alarming scheme described in the indictment is vote buying in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. A member of the Moroccan bid committee offered Jack Warner $1 million for his vote. However, Warner decided to accept an alternative offer: officials from FIFA, the government of South Africa, and South Africa’s bid committee offered a payment of $10 million to the Caribbean Football Union (of which Warner was the head) to “support the African diaspora.” The payment was in exchange for the votes of Warner, Chuck Blazer, and one other unnamed co-conspirator. Warner accepted the offer and told Blazer he would share $1 million of the bribe with him. It turned out to be difficult to make the payment directly from South African government funds, so FIFA diverted funds that would have gone to South Africa instead to the Caribbean Football Union. Three wire transfers totaling $10 million were sent in January and March of 2008 from a FIFA account in Switzerland to accounts in New York for the Caribbean Football Union and CONCACAF, which were controlled by Warner. Warner subsequently laundered the money into his own personal accounts through intermediaries and paid $750,000 of the promised $1 million to Blazer in three installments.

2. Sepp Blatter is likely to win reelection tomorrow. While the indictment is almost certainly the greatest threat to his power in recent years, it seems likely that Blatter will win reelection this Friday. Blatter met with representatives from the regional confederations today to firm up his support for the election tomorrow. Delegates from associations in Africa, Asia, and Oceania have expressed opposition to postponing the election and have reaffirmed their support for Blatter. It’s not clear where officials from the Americas and Caribbean stand (the top official from CONCACAF is currently in a Swiss jail awaiting extradition to the U.S.). While UEFA is the only confederation that supports postponement, they have pledged their support for Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and will participate in the FIFA Congress. It is not entirely implausible that Prince Ali could win election tomorrow, but based on pledged support from the various regional confederations, it seems unlikely. This is all not to say that the federal investigation is a non-threat to Blatter’s reign, but in the short term, he looks increasingly likely to remain in power.

3. Both sponsors and broadcasters are complicit in FIFA’s wrongdoings. After Visa issued a statement expressing “disappointment and concern,” many were quick to applaud a sponsor for finally putting pressure on FIFA. It is true that pressure from sponsors may ultimately be crucial for reforms, but corruption inside of FIFA should come as a surprise to no one. Visa chose to ignore the corruption until it became untenable to do so. Also, what does it say that the sponsors exert more pressure in the case of bribery and problematic governance than a massive death toll and human rights violations? Journalists often bemoan sponsors’ refusal to pressure and protest FIFA, yet they say very little about the complicity of broadcasters. Television rights are huge revenue streams for FIFA, and the contracts for these rights were at the heart of almost all of the corruption detailed in the indictment. Broadcasters are equally complicit in FIFA’s wrongdoings.

Jonathan Wilson article on Marcelo Bielsa

With Marseille losing their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 game it seems like an appropriate time to post a link to this excellent Jonathan Wilson piece on Marseille manager Marcello Bielsa from Eight by Eight Magazine. Wilson details Bielsa's obsession with his footballing philosophy and how that philosophy has brought early success in his club jobs before exhaustion, both physical and mental, sets in among players as a result of Bielsa's obsessive personality. Marseille started the season brilliantly winning 8 straight from late August to mid October but have won just 4 of 15 in 2015.

"Bielsa, seemingly exhausted by the strain of coaching the team he supported to play in the style for which he was an evangelist, resigned. “We tried to convince him to stay,” said Llop, “but the process was worn out. He wanted to quit before then, and with Martino we went to his home and convinced him to stay a little longer, but after a month or two, he resigned. He probably understood that his era had ended. When he left, we ended playing to avoid relegation. It was terrible.”

For Bielsa, the template was set. The pattern has continued at every club he has been at: The intensity bringing stunning results, then exhaustion. It happened at Vélez and at Athletic, which played stunning football at times in Bielsa’s first season, particularly in their victory over Manchester United in the Europa League, before it fell apart in the second season as some players left and others proved unable to cope with their coach’s intensity. "

Some thoughts on the USMNT's defeat to Denmark

The US let a 2-1 lead slip away in the final ten minutes as Niklas Bendtner scored twice late to give Denmark a 3-2 win and complete his first international hat trick. The result was no more than Denmark deserved. They were the better side throughout as the US were desperately poor in possession and unconvincing in defense.

Klinsmann opted for a 4-4-2 with Alejandro Bedoya partnering Michael Bradley in midfield. Clint Dempsey missed out through injury so Aron Johannsson played alongside Jozy Altidore up front. Gyasi Zardes and Fabian Johnson played on the right and left wing respectively. Center back Michael Orozco and right back Timmy Chandler made up the right side of Klinsmann's defense, John Brooks and left back Greg Garza made up the left side.

Denmark played three in the middle of midfield and therefore had a 3 v. 2 advantage over Bedoya and Bradley in that zone. Johannsson didn't drop off to pick up the deepest Danish midfielder and therefore the home side were able to use the spare man to comfortable circulate possession and keep hold of the ball.

There's nothing inherently wrong with losing the possession battle if your defense is well organized and you're effective on the break. The US didn't achieve either of those things tonight. They defended in two deep banks of four well inside their own half. The wide midfielder on the opposite side of the ball tucked into a very narrow position to offer support in the central zones where Bradley and Bedoya were outnumbered. This opened the US to Denmark playing sweeping diagonal balls that switched the point of attacking. Denmark were particularly dangerous hitting these diagonals into the right channel where Brooks, Garza, Johnson and later Brek Shea didn't do well enough passing off runners. Lasse Vibe got into a number of dangerous positions with runs down the right channel that allowed him to cut the ball across the face of goal. He provided a flick for Bendtner's opener then got behind the right shoulder of Garza to receive a diagonal ball over the top that allowed him through on goal. He slashed his volleyed effort wide but the US didn't heed the warning. Bendtner ran into the space to the left of Brooks and received yet another crossfield diagonal ball from Christian Eriksen for Denmark's winner. Seconds later Martin Braithwaite got into a similar position but fluffed his effort.

The most concerning issue for the US however was their incompetence on the ball. Perhaps that could partly be blamed on a poor playing service but it didn't seem to effect the Danes to the same degree. Defending with deep banks of four, the US needed to be dangerous on the counter when they won back possession and to do so they needed to execute quick vertical passes out of the back. They couldn't do it however. Too often the first pass was poor or the receiving player's control let him down.

When Denmark dropped off and allowed the US some time on the ball in midfield the movement from Zardes, Johnson and Johannsson wasn't good enough. There were multiple occasions when both Bradley and Bedoya were forced to keep the ball at their feet longer than they would have liked as they looked for a more advanced player to move into pockets of space. Zardes is of course just finding his feet with the national team and I think Johnson is a better fit at right back, particularly given Chandler's poor performance there this evening. It was a difficult situation for Johannsson given how little of the ball the US had. He's more of a center forward or secondary striker than a creative #10 adept at exploiting pockets of space between the opposition lines so providing a link between the two center midfielders and Altidore was never going to be easy for him. Without that link between midfield and attack the tempo was too slow. The number of long hopeful ball hit towards Altidore was frustrating but came as a result of the US's inability to find a link forward. Neither Zardas nor Johnson tucked inside enough to give the US the numbers in central attacking areas to cause Denmark problems.

Altidore is limited technically but finds way to make impact

I've come to realize I have to accept that Altidore is never going to be particularly good on the ball. At 25 it's difficult imagining him improving his technical ability all that much. His heavy touches and wayward passes are maddening and today's performance wasn't without its frustrating moments. Kareem Benzema he is not. However, it's difficult to fault his movement off the ball and when the US are as poor in possession as they were today his size and physical strength are quite useful in providing a means to get the ball into the attacking third. He's capable of winning physical battles against opposition defenders when longer balls are hit towards him, as he showed for his goal, and draw fouls around the box with his hold up play. His finishing of course has also been good of late. He's proved that at the moment he is the best option at a position where the US is particularly thin. I'd love for him to add the ability of Wilfried Bony, a player Altidore resembles in physical strength, to not only hold up play but also link it forward with clever passes for midfielders making runs from deeper positions. 

Manchester United fluid in 4-3-3; Liverpool attacking midfielders stifled

Early on in his reign at Liverpool Brendan Rodgers expressed that his favorite formation was a 4-3-3 with one holding midfielder flanked by two midfield shuttlers. Louis Van Gaal went into this season fully intending to play the same 3-5-2 at Manchester United that he had success with at the World Cup with Holland. It was ironic then that Manchester United have recently switched to a 4-3-3 while Rodgers has adopted a system with three at the back similar to the one Van Gaal had planned on implementing at United.

The system changes had paid off for both managers. Manchester United came into today's fixture on the back of a 3-0 win over Tottenham, their most impressive display of the season, while Liverpool hadn't lost in the league since their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in December, the first time they used the 3-4-2-1 they've since switched to.

In the opening half it was Van Gaal's 4-3-3 that won out. United played some of their most fluid football of the season with Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera finding space either side of Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson, the two holders in Liverpool's midfield. Liverpool's system requires a great deal of defensive work in the middle of the pitch from Allen and Henderson because the two attacking midfielders, Adam Lallana and Coutinho today, stay higher up the pitch. As a result, Liverpool can get overloaded in central midfield zones but with three center backs covering in behind it's not always much of a problem in terms of the opposition creating great scoring chances. However, being overloaded in that zone makes it much more difficult to win the ball back which is what we saw today. Manchester United were able to keep possession and dictate the tempo. They had 60% possession at halftime.

Defensively, Van Gaal's side was compact and didn't allow Liverpool to use their four man central midfield to overload them. They defended with a midfield bank of five with Fellaini and Herrera either side of Michael Carrick and Juan Mata and Ashley Young tucking inside from their wide midfield positions. Lallana and Coutinho like to operate in space between the opposition center midfielder and wide midfielder or fullback. However, with United's compact midfield bank of five these spaces didn't exist. Lallana completed just three passes in the attacking third before being subbed off at halftime. Coutinho had more of an impact but didn't enjoy the space to collect possession in midfield and dribble at the defense the way he typically does.

Rodgers tried to change the shape at halftime to give Liverpool more control of the game, replacing Lallana with Steven Gerrard. Liverpool changed from a midfield box with two holders and two attacking midfielders to a diamond with a holder in Gerrard, two shuttlers in Allen and Henderson and a #10 at the tip of the diamond in Coutinho. Gerrard was meant to dictate the tempo at the base of midfield and find penetrating, expansive forward passes. During the extremely brief period he was on the pitch the change in shape seemed to be having the desired impact of giving Liverpool more control of the game. Gerrard completed four passes including a sweeping cross field switch to the right channel.

Liverpool fought well after Gerrard's dismissal but Van Gaal's side were deserving winners. They seem to have struck a nice balance in recent weeks with Rooney in his favored position up front and the excellent Mata getting a run in the side. This result struck a blow to Liverpool's UCL hopes- they haven't been particularly good over the last two games and will need to be at their best from here on out if they're to have any chance of catching United.

Some thoughts on tactics from this week's UCL fixtures

Monaco, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona moved on to the quarter finals of the Champions League this week and will join Porto, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG. Here are a couple of thoughts on tactics from Juventus versus Dortmund and Arsenal versus Monaco.

Juventus will be a really difficult side to beat over two legs

Juventus's 3-0 win away to Dortmund was a masterclass in how to protect a first leg lead away from home. They spent the majority of the 90 minutes comfortably defending in their own half with all ten outfield players behind the ball then countered quickly and effectively through the front pairing of Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata with the energetic box to box midfielders Arturo Vidal and Roberto Pereyra making bursting runs from deep.

Juve set out in a diamond 4-4-2. Massimiliano Allegri often plays four at the back in the Champions League rather than the 3-5-2 they use most often in Serie A (as did his predecessor Antonio Conte). Claudio Marchisio played at the base of the diamond with Vidal and Paul Pogba in the shuttling roles and Pereyra at the tip of the diamond. Marchisio, Vidal and Pogba dropped into a tight bank of three just in front of the back four while the front three of Pereyra, Tevez and Morata also dropped well inside their own half to pick up Dortmund's deepest lying midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Sven Bender. Dortmund didn't have the ability to break down such a deep and compact defense. They are a side that prefers to press around the halfway line then transition into attack rapidly against an out of shape defense with quick vertical passes. Juventus didn't push enough players forward to open up such spaces for Dortmund to transition into. The German side didn't have the quality to find space and never looked a threat.

Pogba was forced off with an injury in the 26th minute. By then Juve had a goal lead through Tevez in the third minute. Allegri introduced center back Andrea Barzagli and switched the formation to 3-5-2. Pereyra moved to Pogba's shuttling midfield position meaning Juventus replaced the #10 position with a centerback. Already with a goal advantage the move further solidified Juve's defensive shape in the middle of the pitch. Lichsteiner and Evra operated more as fullbacks than wing backs. Juventus defended with a defensive bank of five and the same compact midfield three. Tevez and Morata continued to pick up Dortmund's deep lying midfieders.

Juve's defensive organization and ability to play on the break make them a really dangerous team in this tournament. It'll be important their next opponent gets a decent first leg result. Juventus are such a tactically intelligent side that they're incredibly difficult to play against when trailing. They rarely make the type of mistakes that allow the opposition back in the game.

Ferreira-Carrasco work rate provides Monaco desperately needed pressure relief late

Monaco just about did enough to hold on for a nervy 2-0 defeat that sent them through on aggregate but it was a poor example of how to close out a tie. They were always going to defend deep with the 3-1 advantage from the first leg but they didn't offer the same threat they had on the break at the Emirates. Part of that was down to Arsenal's performance, part of it was down to Monaco's understandable desire to preserve what they had but the French side was also too sloppy. One of their main problems was that Jeremy Toulalan and Geoffrey Kondogbia were getting overrun in the middle of midfield as Monaco defended in banks of four. This forced Joao Moutinho to drop deep to help out in this zone from his center attacking midfield position in behind Dimitar Berbatov. With Moutinho dropping just outside Monaco's box, Berbatov was isolated up front and Monaco's only option for an outlet pass. Berbatov is a great player but isn't known for his tireless work rate, an important trait when you're solely responsible for relieving pressure on your side. Berbatov wasn't active enough in chasing Monaco's clearances and as a result Arsenal won the ball back easily and poured on wave after wave of attack. It wasn't until Berbatov was replaced in the 70th minute and second half substitute Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco moved into the striker role that Monaco were able to relieve some of the pressure. Ferreira-Carrasco chased long balls into the channels and used his strength to keep possession. Perhaps Berbatov should have been replaced earlier.