This is not designed to be a dig at Enzo Maresca, simply a nod towards a more basic style of football from me. Football can be a simple game, it does not need to be overcomplicated.
Full backs are full backs, and mostly, they should be used that way, in my opinion.
Liam Rosenior is using his full backs differently to Enzo Maresca, and it’s been a very welcome change for me.
Jason Cundy was on TalkSport yesterday morning speaking very positively about Liam Rosenior’s impact at Chelsea.
He picked out one tactical switch that’s already quite clear from Enzo Maresca’s time in charge.
“The inverted full-back is less obvious for me, even though they do and can come inside,” Cundy said.
“But it’s not what we saw with Cucurella [under Maresca] where he’s come in and literally been another striker, it’s a slightly toned-down version of that.”
The full backs are largely staying as full backs and as well as that, they are often overlapping too.
This was against Hull City. Whilst Hato didn’t get as advanced as Cucurella has been getting, he’s mostly stayed wide.
This was the Leeds game. Cucurella’s positioning was wide and advanced through some of this game.
Malo Gusto above was also staying mostly wide in the same game.
Of course, they do still drop inside now and then, but mostly, we are seeing full backs as full backs, and I am completely here for it. We are playing much better as well, and whilst I’m not saying that is just down to the positioning of the full backs, it certainly helps.
By the way, this is why I’m not fully invested in data either – these sofascore ratings above!? Hato was superb against Hull but only gets a 6.4 rating. Data is not everything.
