The system or not the system, that is the question

By now, everyone who knows what football is has heard about the term SYSTEM. The new media and fan favourite word, replacing “philosophy” as the new buzzword in the sport. Coincidentally (or not), the rapid rise of SYSTEM thinkers in football coincides with the appointment of Ruben Amorim as the manager of Manchester United. The infamous 3-4-3. 

Can it work in the Premier League? But Tuchel did it with Chelsea and is successful. How can Crystal Palace still be unbeaten coming off a win against the champions? Can Bruno be more effective up the pitch? Why is Amorim so stubborn? How can he all of a sudden become so bad at his job after being one of the most promising young coaches in Europe? IS IT THE SYSTEM???? 

First of all, let's define what a system means in the context of a football match. A system is a set of patterns of play that allow the team to execute on their principles of play (the two terms should not be confused with each other). 

 BUT WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF? 

Principles of play are the fundamentals of the sport, rules that are true all the time.

- Stay compact when out of possession 

- Expand and create space when in possession 

- Control and restraint play away from dangerous areas. 

Those rules are followed by all players, irrespective of their position on the pitch. Are you the closest to the ball out of possession? Do you have support behind you? But the ball is in their own box, and you are a defender - doesn’t matter. Your job is to press and deny space. 

Patterns of play, on the other hand, are sequences of actions made by a set of players that should allow the team to execute its principles of play. This includes, but is not limited to, starting positions, movements, passing sequences, and timings. Logically, to get the most out of a pattern of play, you need the players to have the right quality for the job they are meant to do. Now to get to the elephant in the room…

AMORIMBALL!!! 

“I swear he just needs to play 4-2-3-1 and we will be one of the best teams in the league”. There isn’t a statement that is more false than that. Nowhere in the above explanations was there mention of formation. Hint: Because it is irrelevant. You can have a 4-2-3-1 and have the exact same patterns, with the exact same outcome. 

Formations are fluid and are dictated by the patterns and principles. There is almost no time during a game where a team resembles its exact formation on paper (excluding the 4-4-2 out of possession from this statement). 

If we turn our attention to Manchester United, we have good evidence to conclude that their poor form has little to do with their SYSTEM. 

- They are most vulnerable against set pieces and crosses. The way they defend set pieces and crosses has nothing to do with the SYSTEM. 

- Their goalkeeper can’t make a save even if his life depends on it. 

- Too many individual mistakes that are costly - missed penalties, defenders making poor decisions. 

On the other hand: - United ranks 1st on shots taken per game 

- Rank 1st in xG 

- Rank 4th on touches in the penalty area 

- Can consistently transition into the middle and final third (this was rarely the case in previous years)

 WHY ARE THEY SO SHIT THEN?

 One word - Momentum. Not only with respect to games (which they haven’t won 2 in a row of... shocking statistic), but also within the game itself. The team is giving momentum away too easily and is also very slow to regain momentum. 

The script is always the same. They dominate, someone makes a mistake, they get shaky, they concede, they don’t come back from the shock. Against Brentford, it was Maguire’s shocking unawareness of the position of his marker. Against City - Luke Shaw. Against Arsenal - the goalkeeper. Against Fulham - Bruno penalty. There is always one person who makes a mistake, and they can’t come back from it, because they are just not that good at the moment. 

No, it's not because Bruno does not play high up the pitch - he makes plenty of touches in the final 3rd, in areas where he can influence the game. And no, Kobe will not change anything. 

In conclusion, the problem is not the SYSTEM, it is the men behind it. And I include the manager in that statement. His substitutions have not been good so far, and his patterns to break defences seem to cause little trouble to the opposition. On paper, overloads are great and there are clear opportunities, but the reality is one of poor crosses that end up being easily cleared. Whether Ruben Amorim is the right person or not remains to be seen, but one thing is certain. THE SYSTEM IS NOT THE PROBLEM.