Talking Tactics: The long ball revolution

The A-League Men is back, and so too is proper old-school hoofball. Or, at least, that is how it appears on the surface.

The reality is that, as with most things in modern football, this choice was very much a deliberate tactical adjustment.

There were three teams last weekend who took this to heart: Melbourne Victory, Central Coast Mariners, and Western Sydney Wanderers. And each for different reasons.

Direct passing because your midfield is weak

Let’s start with the Grand Final rematch in Gosford.

The Mariners are heading into this season without last season’s key central midfielders Josh Nisbet and Max Balard, and have looked to use a pivot pair of Harrison Steele and Alfie McCalmont.

Now, both Steele and McCalmont are very solid players, but neither possess the touch, turn and vision that Nisbet in particular afforded.

Rather, in a 4-4-2, Mark Jackson has drilled a style of wing play into his side – aiming to use the skill and ability of his wide players, namely Mikael Doka and Vitor Feijão, to open up the attacking third.

To this end, the Mariners striker pairing of Ryan Edmondson and Alou Kuol – two rather tall individuals – were asked to sit quite wide in the build up phase, win their direct aerial duels, and knock the ball down to the wider playmakers.

This width was underpinned by a desire to then target those same two strikers when they emerged in the box; the Mariners having made 25 attempted crosses during the match.

Now, part of the sheer number of crosses can be attributed to the fact that after Roderick Miranda’s red card, the Victory backed into a low block to absorb pressure, and the Mariners started to launch Hail Marys as the clock ticked down.

But it still highlights the fundamental style that Jackson is looking to bring to the Mariners this year. Working the ball into those wider areas, where the most creative players find themselves, to then target the tall target men up front.

Direct passing because your midfield is strong

The Victory, on the other hand, played a number of long balls because their midfield is so strong.

Patrick Kisnorbo must have identified that with Ryan Teague and Jordi Valadon hoovering up everything in a reasonable radius, there was little risk in trying to play direct.

Worst case, the aerial duel is lost, and it falls into the contested midfield where one of the Victory ballwinners would, well, win the ball.

And whilst Bruno Fornaroli, interestingly selected to start over new import Nikos Vergos, hardly has the stature of his Mariners counterparts, he has a very sneaky way of dealing with taller defenders.

With a quick check over his shoulder, Bruno makes sure to throw his whole body weight backwards into the approaching defender, timing it perfectly to disrupt the opponent as they try to play the ball.

This often leads to a poor header, and the ball ergo falls exactly where the Victory want it – in the midfield.

The Melbourne side also played a fair few direct balls out wide, especially to the imposing frame of Nishan Velupillay, who would look to initiate attacks early with runs at Lucas Mauragis.

This was a clever move from Kisnorbo’s men. Mauragis has tended to sit higher than opposite full back Storm Roux, with Feijão looking to invert where possible.

This, naturally, leaves a lot of space in behind up that wing. Rather than giving Mauragis a chance to drop, a direct ball over the top unlocks Velupillay in the space with time to take a touch and evaluate his options.

Kaltak is typically the one who will step across to cover that space, but he has made a myriad of mistakes already for the Mariners, especially when over committing in exactly these situations out of desperation.

In fact, he made one such error in the first half of this game, rushing far too early to engage the ball carrier, leaving runners with space in behind. It did not eventuate to a goal on this occasion, but it was far from pretty.

Direct passing to bypass the press

Meanwhile, over in the Sydney Derby, the Wanderers adopted their own version of long ball football, but this time to bypass the Sydney FC press.

While it was not quite the Leipzig press of last season, Sydney’s front line did not want the Wanderers to feel at all comfortable.

It was usually initiated as the ball moved into the midfield, with heavy pressure to try and force the ball backwards towards the looming Sydney front four who aimed to recover the ball high up the pitch.

To counter, the Wanderers looked to play over the top, exploiting the space this usually leaves.

The issue was twofold: firstly, Sydney kept their shape relatively compact, while maintaining rotational flexibility, meaning the space so often afforded by a press was non-existent.

Secondly, the Wanderers often targeted Borrello with these long balls, who struggled aerially against Alexandar Popovic and Hayden Matthews.

Someone like Bozhidar Kraev would have been a much more appropriate player to target. Alas he was resigned to the bench for the first half.

Occasionally, when using diagonal switch passes to widen the play, the Wanderers found success. Such as in the 14th minute when both Zac Sapsford and Gabriel Cleur found space in behind the Sydney FC defensive line.

However, it was far too infrequent to capitalise on, and would have benefited from stronger players in the midfield to withstand the press, turn their man, and ping those balls into the gaps.

A return or a revolution?

Direct football has its detractors. Some cry that it is archaic and boring.

But, as with anything in modern football, there are very good reasons to play long balls.

This isn’t the Sean Dyche 4-4-2 hoofball that is symbolic of a bygone era. This is a revolution.

Long balls played with purpose and tactical adjustments to take advantage of space, exploit opposition weaknesses or bypass a press. A far cry from booting it long to your tall forward because it just makes sense.

Sure, there’s always going to remnants there – physical forward play and overlapping runs for instance. But there’s more to it than meets the eye.

It’s tactical, it’s pragmatic, and it’s beautifully A-League.

Long may it continue.