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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 13:28:16
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How three at the back became the Premier League’s tactical trend this season
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How three at the back became the Premier League’s tactical trend this season
Arsenal became the 17th team to play three at the back this season, while Chelsea are on course to become the first Premier League champions to win the title with the system. We look at the rise of the tactical trend…
On Monday Night Football, Arsene Wenger sprung a surprise and deployed a three-man defence in Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Middlesbrough.
It was far from perfect, but helped the Gunners secure a vital three points after a weekend that saw Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United each win.
It was the first time Wenger had utilised the system since 1997 but Gabriel, Laurent Koscielny and Rob Holding did enough to keep the Boro attack at bay and end a four-match losing run away from home to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.
“It’s the first time in 20 years I’ve played it. It shows that, even at my age, you can change,” Wenger said of his decision to field a three-man defence at the Riverside Stadium.
Yet, Arsenal have become just the latest team to use the increasingly popular defensive formation.
Monday night was the 112th time a three-man backline - including those using five at the back - has been deployed in the Premier League this season.
Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal toyed with the idea of a three-man defence following the 2014 World Cup, deploying such a setup in the wake of the Netherlands’ success on the international stage, and used either a 3-1-4-2 or a 3-4-1-2 formation on 12 occasions in his debut season at Old Trafford, to mixed effect.
However, it wasn’t until Antonio Conte moved to Chelsea last summer that the system began to dominate headlines.
The Italian was expected to implement a three-man defence from the get go having routinely utilised the setup during his time for Juventus and Italy. However, Conte initially went with a back four before a 3-0 loss at Arsenal forced him to switch to his tried and trusted formula.
Since October 1, when Chelsea secured a 2-0 win at Hull with three at the back, the Blues haven’t looked back since, losing just three of 26 Premier League games in their pursuit for the Premier League title.
As one can expect, they have used the setup more times (26) than any other team in England’s top tier this term.
The formation had been used 10 times prior to October 1 by Premier League clubs but Chelsea’s success with the set-up appears to have inspired other managers to try three-man defences.
Top seven trio Tottenham, Manchester City and Everton have each used a three-man backline on more than one occasion this season, while 17 of the 20 Premier League teams this term have started with a set-up involving three centre-backs at the heart of the defence at least once.
That’s a significant rise from 10 of the 20 teams last season, with West Brom, Southampton and Burnley the three teams yet to start in the system this season.
What’s interesting about Saints, though, is that they started in a three-man defence more times (eight) than any other Premier League team last season, with Ronald Koeman’s Everton appointment meaning the Merseysiders are the beneficiaries of the Dutchman’s tactical flexibility after the Toffees used a three-man defensive system just the once last season.
Having been used just 34 times last season, a three-man backline was deployed in just 4.5 per cent of games in the Premier League in 2015/16, with that increasing to 21 per cent, a significant increase this term.
What’s more, teams using a three-man defence have a better win percentage (47.3 per cent) than teams using a four-man defence (36.7 per cent), though much of that has been down to Chelsea’s success in the setup. That being said, their strongest weapon has been used against them this season.
Tottenham ended their 13-match winning run by using a three-man defence at White Hart Lane back in January, while Jose Mourinho fought fire with fire with a similar setup at Old Trafford on Sunday, with that the first time Manchester United have been deployed in a three-man backline in England’s top tier under the Portuguese manager.
It’s far from perfect, but the set-up is evidently having the desired effect for Premier League teams, with managers favouring the system as it allows their side to keep numbers at the back and in midfield, yet provide width in the form of wing-backs.
The deployment of a lone striker has also helped in that regard, as managers know they can flood the midfield to either solidify or increase the number of goalscoring options from deep.
In a similar way to the 4-2-3-1 formation becoming flavour of the month after the 2010 World Cup, a three-man defence looks set to do similar in the Premier League as managers look to evolve and keep with the trend in a quest for glory.
Conte’s success with the system looks to be setting the standard and it wouldn’t be a great shock to see a three-man defence used even more frequently next season.
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Doswell to give Southampton referees a good talking-to
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PAUL Doswell will be guest speaker at tomorrow’s (Thursday, April 20) monthly meeting of the Southampton Referees’ Association.
Manager of National League outfit Sutton United, Doswell and his Us heroes recently hit the headlines as they marched to the last 16 of the FA Cup before finally bowing out 2-0 to Arsenal.
A highly experienced manager, he is well-known in the Southampton area from his days in charge at Eastleigh and is a life-long Saints fan.
The meeting takes place at The Dell Café, kicking off at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 14:29:05
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Ticket details for #SaintsFC’s final day clash with #SCFC have now been confirmed: http://sfcne.ws/SCFC210517
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 15:29:17
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Southampton target Gylfi Sigurdsson and Pontus Jansson
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Southampton are targeting the signings of Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and Leeds defender Pontus Jansson this summer, Sky sources understand.
Both players are under contract at their respective clubs until June 2020 but Southampton believe they can lure them to St Mary’s if the pair are faced with the prospect of playing in the Sky Bet Championship next season.
Sigurdsson, 27, is fighting a relegation battle with Swansea, while Sweden international Jansson expects to secure a play-off place with Leeds.
Southampton have been tracking Sigurdsson, whose family are settled in Swansea, for two years and made an attempt to sign him last year.
Sigurdsson has been vital for the Swans this season, having scored nine goals in 35 appearances for the Welsh club in the current campaign.
Centre-back Jansson has been a key part of Leeds’ promotion bid, initially joining the club on loan, while Southampton have been left without key defender Virgil van Dijk since January after he suffered an ankle injury.
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Premier League clubs ranked by their best ever centre-backs – from worst to first!
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Chelsea have revealed John Terry is set to leave the club at the end of the current Premier League campaign.
Since the annoucement on Easter Monday, many have paid tribute to the centre-back, praising him for a superb two decades of service at Stamford Bridge.
Ex-team-mate Frank Lampard claimed, in a heartfelt tribute, Terry was ‘the greatest defender in Premier League history’, but where does the Blues star rank?
Here at talkSPORT we’ve taken a look at every current top-flight team’s best centre-back during their spells in it, and rated them from worst to first.
So, is Terry top of our list? Click the right arrow above to find out…
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 16:29:32
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Great news for #SaintsFC fans! Tickets for the trip to #Boro will cost just £20, thanks to @virginmedia: http://sfcne.ws/BoroVMTickets
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#SaintsFC captain @StevenDavis8 has been discussing the continued progression of teammate @jackstephens_18:
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 17:29:45
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“Jack has been excellent since he came in."
@StevenDavis8 has been impressed with #SaintsFC’s @jackstephens_18: http://sfcne.ws/SDonJS
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 18:29:57
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 19/04/2017 19:30:13
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...readily brought into being by Optimus trousers...beta v1.9 - now with EXTRA pictures!| Momentum gathering over Leeds United star’s summer exitSPORTWITNESS |
| Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article
Davis: We want to finish strongly
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Saints currently sit ninth in the Premier League table, and the club captain believes that a finish inside the top eight would cap off a successful campaign.
“Overall if we were to do that [finish in the top eight] then we could look back on the season with a lot of good memories and experiences,” he started.
“Hopefully we can now take that on into future seasons. Again it was a summer of change at the top with the manager and a change of personnel in the team.
“So with all of that to contend with and then to come into the season with a game every three days right up until Christmas; we dealt with it all relatively well and now we just want to finish strongly and show our true qualities.”
As well as a change in personnel and management, Davis has also had to adapt to a new role inside the Saints dressing room.
Named club captain by Claude Puel in January, the Northern Ireland man has also led the team out on a number of occasions in the absence of team captain Virgil van Dijk.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” added Davis.
“It was a very proud moment to be asked to take the captaincy and I was obviously delighted.
“It’s a bit of a different set-up to what we are used to with Virgil and I sharing the role, but it’s always very proud to get any chance to lead the team out and wear the armband.”
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Stephens broke into the first team earlier this season following an injury to Virgil van Dijk, and Davis has been impressed with how the 23-year-old has settled in.
“Jack’s been excellent since he came into the side,” explained Davis.
“It is always difficult to come into a side, especially under difficult circumstances and in place of someone like Virgil who is such an important player for us.
“You’ve seen the quality Jack’s got. He’s going to come up against top-quality forwards in every game and it’s a learning curve for him, but he’s dealing with it really well, is level-headed and has performed consistently.”
Saints currently sit ninth in the Premier League table with just seven games of the season remaining.
And Davis admitted that the squad are completely focussed on finishing as high up the table as they possibly can.
“We’ll see where we are at when the season comes to an end,” he continued.
“We’ve got a lot of good games coming up so we will be looking to come into those with confidence. We’ve always been confident in the ability that we’ve got.
“We have still got the chance to finish this season strongly and on a positive note, so that is what we are trying to do.”
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