Positions are dead, long live player roles!

[Rousseau 9,382]

Positions are — let’s be honest here — a terrible way to think and talk about football. They’re supposed to suggest players’ job descriptions, even whole skill sets, but all they really tell you is approximately what patch of grass they run around on.

 

It’s like sending employers a CV that says your desk was over by the potted plant in the north east corner of the office, a few rows behind the accountants and across from marketing. You might get a few weird looks at that interview.

 

What if, instead of positions, we had a more detailed way to describe footballers’ tactical roles?

Better yet, what if these roles are based not on subjective labels for starting formations but on the type and location of a player’s actual touches?

 

“Players can be called one position and then do a totally different thing than another player who plays the same position. Sometimes, people don’t agree on what position a player is,” says Mike Imburgio, [...] “So I got really fascinated by the idea of, ‘What kind of player is this? What does this player like to do, and what are they tasked with doing?’.”

 

 

[Breakdown:]

 

Central attackers
Finisher: Focused on getting in the box and finding shots. May be good on the ball but isn’t very involved in possession. Examples from the 2021-22 season: Erling Haaland, Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku
Target: Involved in his team’s build-up play, especially in the air or by dropping towards the ball. Typically more of a goal threat than a creative passer or dribbler. Patrik Schick, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Gianluca Scamacca
Roamer: Likes to drop deep or wide to create for team-mates when he’s not attacking the goal. Includes mobile strikers, false nines, and hybrid wingers. Harry Kane, Kai Havertz, Richarlison.

 

Wide attackers
Wide threat: Stretches the back line and gets into the penalty area. Does some crossing but likes receiving the final ball as much as playing it. Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Mohamed Salah
Unlocker: Likes to play field marshal in the opponent’s half. Big on crosses, switches, and forward passes. More of a provider than an off-the-ball runner. Mason Mount, Neymar, Lorenzo Pellegrini
Outlet: Gets on the end of dangerous passes but usually plays it safe on the ball. Takes a lot of touches in midfield or close to goal, not much in between. Draws fouls. Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish, Joao Felix.

 

Advanced midfielders
Box crasher: Doesn’t touch the ball much except when close to goal. More of an off-ball runner than a passer, but will play passes into the box. Likes to dribble. Phil Foden, Florian Wirtz, Serge Gnabry
Creator: Looks to break lines with aggressive passes. Frequently central to his team’s play in the attacking half. Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Orchestrator: Prefers midfield circulation to finding the final ball. Likes shorter, higher-percentage passes. Not afraid to do some defending. Bernardo Silva, Jude Bellingham, Nicolo Barella.

 

Deep midfielders
Box to box: Defends low but also gets upfield to receive progressive passes. Not very heavily involved in possession, usually cautious on the ball. Fabinho, Wilfred Ndidi, Eduardo Camavinga
Distributor: Favours longer, more direct passes and switches. Active in the opponent’s half more than the defensive third. Joshua Kimmich, Fabian Ruiz, Youri Tielemans
Builder: Serves as the main circulation hub in the build-up and as a stopper at the base of midfield. Declan Rice, Rodri, Aurelien Tchouameni.

 

Wide defenders
Overlapper: Gets into the final third, dribbles, and hits crosses. Would rather receive long passes and recycle them than play long himself. Includes a lot of wing-backs. Alphonso Davies, Achraf Hakimi, Reece James
Progressor: Attempts long balls and progressive passes as well as crosses. Active in possession at both ends. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Joao Cancelo
Safety: Stays home, getting involved in the defensive third while not taking many risks on or off the ball. Includes hybrid centre-backs or elbow backs. Benjamin Pavard, Timothy Castagne, Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

 

Central defenders
Aggressor: Likes to tackle and dribble. Not big on long passes or clearances. Includes a lot of outside centre-backs. Alessandro Bastoni, Lucas Hernandez, Ronald Araujo
Spreader: Plays longer, more direct passes. Will sometimes step out in possession or to close down in defence. Marquinhos, Eder Militao, Jules Kounde
Anchor: Plays safe passes and does his defending close to goal, especially with clearances and blocks. Ruben Dias, Matthijs de Ligt, Milan Skriniar.

 

[Full article can be found here: https://theathletic.com/3473297/2022/08/10/player-roles-the-athletic/ ]

[Bill 13,717]

Before smartarses invaded the sport, football used to be a simple tribal tradition of passion and enjoyment..

[Rousseau 9,382]

This article is a couple of years old, but I was reminded of it when thinking about our players. Many have been critical of our players, which I think is because they're being compared to static positions - a striker has to do x, y, z, but that's not quite how players are used now. They often have different roles. 

 

What roles do you think our players play?

 

For example, what if we stopped comparing Lammers to a finisher, and compared him more to the target role or roamer role (i.e. someone more involved in the build-up)? Does that change our perception?

[alexscottislegend 2,068]

14 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

This article is a couple of years old, but I was reminded of it when thinking about our players. Many have been critical of our players, which I think is because they're being compared to static positions - a striker has to do x, y, z, but that's not quite how players are used now. They often have different roles. 

 

What roles do you think our players play?

 

For example, what if we stopped comparing Lammers to a finisher, and compared him more to the target role or roamer role (i.e. someone more involved in the build-up)? Does that change our perception?

Aye, Lessers and Dammers are both roamers, right enough.

[CammyF 6,797]

Boooo @Rousseau 😀😀

[Gonzo79 13,660]

Is this what it's like watching American football analysis?

[Bluedell 5,342]

That diagram still has player positions. Yes, players can have different roles within their positions depending on their skillset, to put it in most basic terms, but there are still positions. That's always been the case.

 

It's not necessarily tactical either. Looking at our full backs, Tav, Sterling, Borna and Ridvan are all different and would do different roles based on their skillset, but they aren't able to switch to a different role particularly well.

 

Hateley and McCoist were always target and finisher and were always referred to in that way, so it's hardly a new concept either. Souness always wanted Hateley as a target man and when he couldn't get Hateley he went out and got Drinkell

[Scott7 5,179]

30 minutes ago, CammyF said:

Boooo @Rousseau 😀😀

Aye, booooooo an’ aw.

 

The CV analogy is false. Location beside the potted plant is irrelevant but responsibility to keep the thing under control is important.

[yuddie 1,012]

In fairness Clement mentioned having Lammers in the side for his size (more than likely influenced by Rae and his colleagues) so him being a target man of sorts isn't a bad shout, in both boxes.

 

Off the top of my head I'd put Lundstram at Distributor and Sima as Wide Threat as well.

Edited November 3, 2023 by yuddie

[Scott7 5,179]

16 minutes ago, yuddie said:

Lammers in the side for his size

Dessers?