- 19 minutes ago
Explore how the role of the 'target man' in the Premier League has transformed over the years. From old-school strikers focused solely on scoring to modern forwards who are integral to build-up play and pressing, this video delves into the tactical shifts that have redefined the position.
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00:00The Premier League has always been a league that operates in stages, from the 4-4-2 target men back
00:05in the day to the Firmino false nine of Jurgen Klopp, and now the chance generation generals.
00:11Basically, the target man's back, but it's changed in a new way. So, why? And why did Pep Guardiola abandon
00:19his false nine tactics in favour of a last line goal scorer in Erling Haaland?
00:24Well, I'm Jacob Oswald, 4-4-4-2's resident tactician, and this is how the Premier League's target men have
00:31changed completely.
00:38Football used to be really simple, didn't it?
00:424-4-2, pun intended, strikers operating in the box, midfielders covering the distance in midfield, and defenders box defending.
00:50As a result, poaching-type strikers were a real priority in the Premier League, because that was their only real
00:56goal as a centre-forward in the Premier League.
00:59Get on the end of chances, score goals, whilst the rest of your teammates works to give you the chances
01:03to score those goals.
01:05From 2001 all the way to 2010, only one non-striker won the golden boot in the Premier League.
01:12But, things change quite quickly in football, we all know this, things are always moving around.
01:17Then, over in Spain, taking inspiration from those who became before him, Pep Guardiola was popularising a new sort of
01:24way of using a centre-forward.
01:27Lionel Messi found himself leading the line for Barcelona, but in a new way.
01:32Instead of getting on the last line and pinning defenders, he was dropping to the halfway line to receive the
01:37ball.
01:37Now, this had the same effect of a target man in the way it created space for his teammates, but
01:42it did so in a new way.
01:44Pep built his football philosophy on positional play, but players like Messi, jeez.
01:51As much as Lionel Messi and Gabriel Jesus had similar sort of impacts in some ways when they played as
01:56that deep striker,
01:57I'm not going to insult Messi by putting Jesus in the same sentence.
02:02So, we'll go back to just Messi.
02:04So, Messi found himself as the differential for Pep.
02:08He was someone who would operate in all three-thirds of the pitch, gelling together these fixed positional players.
02:14Jose Mourinho took his own spin on this by having his centre-forward start in the last line,
02:18before dropping out as the inverted wingers went in beyond to exploit the space beyond the opposition centre-backs
02:24as they tracked the run of the three Roman centre-forwards.
02:27Now, as you'd expect with the Premier League, if you've been round long enough,
02:32we were a bit late to all of this.
02:34But, when you've got two of the best tactical coaches in football,
02:39two of the brightest coaches in football,
02:41they inevitably have an impact on the wider European tactical landscape.
02:46And although maybe the whole of England were behind this,
02:50they were for a time, but they very quickly caught up.
02:57Jürgen Klopp took Roberto Firmino and used his on-ball ability to facilitate wide goal scorers,
03:03but also used his ridiculous pressing in his famous Gegenpress style.
03:07Which is important.
03:08The Gegenpress style of setting up out of possession
03:11means that those sort of springboard bounce-board strikers
03:14who would hold one position and just bounce the ball off them
03:17became even less important.
03:20Classically, a bottom-offside would typically have sat in a deep low ball,
03:23protecting space and very rarely stepping out from their front line
03:27to press the opposition.
03:29However, as we know, over the last 10, 15, 20 years,
03:33the Premier League has progressed significantly.
03:35Which means the revenue has progressed significantly.
03:38And therefore, these lower-mid-table-to-bottom-half clubs
03:42have a lot more money to spend.
03:44Which means their way of setting up entirely changes.
03:48In the 2023-24 season, the ball was won in the attacking third by either team,
03:52an average of 10 times per 90.
03:55Pressing football has had its time as this sort of differential for these lower-mid-table clubs,
03:59who found a way to make games difficult for the opposition by just making it chaotic.
04:04Newcastle are one of the best examples.
04:07They would go aggressively man-to-man to force the opposition into rush passes,
04:11which they could then compete for and often win due to their physical advantage.
04:15As we all know, the Premier League has become a lot more aggressive,
04:18a lot more in-your-face.
04:19And that is largely because of the influence of these lower-down clubs,
04:23who were making the games against the big six, against the big boys,
04:26into these 50-50 battles by pressing hard,
04:29by making it chaotic, by battling so, so well.
04:32However, last season, the ball was won in the attacking third seven times per 90 by either side.
04:37A huge drop-off from what we were talking about with the 2023-24 season.
04:42Which suggests that the landscape in English football is maybe once again changing,
04:46and these lower-down clubs are now prioritising valuable pressure over constant pressure,
04:52timing their jumps differently, and being more switched on,
04:55as the whole league's quality slowly improves.
05:00Which means that the squad building, the profiles they want, are also changing.
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05:45Right, back to the video.
05:48Brian Broby for Sunderland!
05:50If you are going to press really, really high,
05:52and go man-to-man against the opposition, like a bomber potentially,
05:55you may want an Evangelsen up front.
05:57But, if you decide to vacate the opposition's build-up,
06:01and instead, protect your own defensive third by sitting deeper,
06:04like Sunderland, for example,
06:06you're probably going to want a Brian Broby.
06:08But, why is that?
06:10Why does Brian Broby make sense for a side who are looking to sit in and protect space in their
06:14own half?
06:15Why not a Johan Wisser?
06:18Well, a team like Sunderland, whose defensive salinity map highlights minimal pressure high up the pitch,
06:23and instead, superb defensive coverage in the defensive third,
06:26will often find themselves pinned in with 10 men behind the ball.
06:30Which means, when they win the ball back, they have 10 men behind the ball, believe it or not.
06:35So, when that ball goes forward, they have one man up top,
06:37who has to make its stake.
06:39Because, if they don't, the opposition can counter-press,
06:42and then Sunderland are really vulnerable in their own defensive thirds.
06:45When Chelsea are attacking, we see six Sunderland players already on the edge of their own box,
06:50with many more retreating.
06:52When they turn the ball over, Gertrude has minimal forward options.
06:56So, Chelsea are in prime position to counter-press here,
06:59until Gertrude drives forward and hoofs the ball up to Brian Broby,
07:04who is 1v2 with Chelsea's back lane.
07:06He latches onto it and uses his body to carry himself into the Chelsea box.
07:11He then pins a Chelsea defender for a long, long time,
07:15let's just put it that way.
07:16Allowing Sunderland time to get their players forward,
07:19and then they have a valuable opportunity.
07:21However, Broby, I feel, is probably the stereotype or the typical target man.
07:25He's quite tall, he's pretty big muscular-wise,
07:29and he typically plays maybe two to three touches,
07:32and finishes off these first touch more often than not.
07:35However, as we said about the Premier League change,
07:38and once again it feels this season,
07:39there's been a new development,
07:41and we've got these sort of half-target men,
07:44half-techy little ballers,
07:46and they're in the Premier League now.
07:52Aston Villa are a side who pull six players back into their build-up,
07:55leaving them 1v1 against the opposition's back line,
07:57with their front four on the halfway line,
08:00which is great,
08:01but similarly to how Sunderland needed someone to be an outball
08:03when they're defending deep,
08:04Villa need players that can make it stick high up
08:07to exploit the 1v1s on the halfway line,
08:09which is where Nicholas Jackson is ideal.
08:12He will happily drift into the wide areas
08:14to get separation from his marker with his back to goal,
08:18dragging players over before dropping the ball off,
08:20and then spinning in behind,
08:22which is a tad different,
08:24because I wouldn't think target man
08:26as soon as I think of Nicholas Jackson,
08:28but he's got so many of the skills.
08:30He can hold the ball up well,
08:31he can write contact on his back,
08:32he can find space away from the centre-halves,
08:35and his link-up play is second to none.
08:39So, I suppose,
08:43he does fit into a lot of the criteria
08:46commonly associated with that type of striker.
08:49However, the difference is mobility.
08:51When Villa turn the opposition round,
08:53Jackson has the speed to get him behind,
08:55but this still isn't a great position to score from.
08:57Hornacek hasn't committed out,
08:59there's a defender on his back,
09:01and obviously, Nicholas Jackson
09:02is still some distance from goal here.
09:04So, let's say it's a 0.02 XG scenario.
09:08But that's where Jackson's mobility and disguise
09:11allows him to turn,
09:12and all of a sudden,
09:13Jackson has this whole side of the goal to aim at,
09:16Hornacek in a less favourable position,
09:17and he's even managed to get into the box,
09:20increasing the XG of this chance to 0.14,
09:24a much better opportunity.
09:25And that, for me,
09:27is the big difference between maybe the classic lumps
09:30of the 4-4-2 of back in day,
09:32and the modern sort of era of these big targetman strikers
09:36who are hit so regularly from their backline,
09:40playing into them,
09:40but can ride contact, play well,
09:42but also have the technical ability to ride challenges,
09:46to beat players,
09:47to create their own opportunities
09:49from what feels like nothing.
09:51Erling Haaland is brilliant at the same thing.
09:55Here, he's absorbing contact
09:56from the Manchester United centre-half
09:58as the ball is sent long,
09:59but he's then able to bring the ball down,
10:02then reach the ball before anyone else,
10:03and even though there's three players in red around him,
10:06he drives Manchester City forward.
10:09Now, this leads to more Manchester United players
10:11being dragged out,
10:12and had City been with 11 men here,
10:14you could expect Phil Foden probably to attack
10:16the space beyond United's defence,
10:18and from nothing,
10:19Haaland would have created
10:20a top-class opportunity.
10:22Now, will these big men
10:23stick around in the Premier League forever?
10:25Probably not,
10:26but in the modern era,
10:28where you've got everyone
10:29in these man-to-man pressing schemes
10:30really sucking the life out of the opposition
10:33when they aren't in possession,
10:36someone who can hold the ball up well,
10:38can make it stick in 1v1 scenarios,
10:40and then can constantly create difficulty
10:43for the opposition
10:44and create their own chances,
10:46is incredibly valuable.
10:48So, at least for now,
10:50in the current meta,
10:52these big men have a huge,
10:54huge role to play,
10:56and are incredibly useful.
10:57Just like the 442 YouTube channel.
10:59So, drop us a little subscribe, will you?
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