Changes
Thoughts on Thelin 3.0
Hi everyone, it’s been, once more, an interesting few weeks for the Dons. The big story of this season, at least thus far, as has been the turn around in form correlated with a change of shape. Including the Motherwell match on September 27th, when we first saw the back-three, the Dons have won six, drawn two and lost two in the SPFL. 20pts from a possible 30. Solid going you’d have to say.
Though most of those victories were hard won, some were grittier than others. The last two games, offered more encouragement that maybe a plan is coming together with more scope than just tightening up the back line. Here’s hoping anyway.
Like Aberdeen’s form at the start of the season, this blog has dropped off of a cliff. I mentioned before more demands on my time (not sure where I found the hours last season) but I did take a closer look at the first half vs. Dundee as well as some mental notes from St. Mirren. Here goes.
The Attacking Structure
Despite the change from last season’s 4‑2‑3‑1 to the current 5‑4‑1 / 3‑4‑3 shape, Aberdeen still maintain a similar attacking structure. This was a hot topic last season and I offered the following images to suggest how Thelin likes the shape to look in the final third.
I would venture now, and this, as always is a fairly simplistic view, more like this:
This mirrors the inverted wingers/inside forwards (Jesper Karlsson and Stuart Armstrong) from last season, with the width coming from the fullbacks (Dylan Lobban and Alexander Jensen).
This 3-2-5 structure is quite common amongst the more dominant possession-based clubs, or at least it used to be. So in terms of the roles and responsibilities, there remains a fair amount of consistency for certain positions.
Where’s the #10
The transaction that has taken place here is the movement of the #10 to become an additional defender. Last season, the role rotated between Jamie McGrath, Leighton Clarkson, and Pape Gueye. The profiles were a bit different and how they interpreted their jobs was too. Gueye, was mainly an additional striker and as the graphic shows we now have less men in that central area.
Adil Aouchiche, brought in to be that #10 is now operating in a deeper area. I’m not sure the classic Riquelme dictator of play we associate with the older days of the 4-2-3-1 has ever really been a success in Scotland but particularly with Thelin as it seemed the team rarely attempted to get that player on the ball in those areas.
Aouchiche now has a dual responsibility: arriving late in the box while still functioning as a deeper No. 8/6. He has been on the end of a few good chances over the course of the season but on Saturday he also showed the final‑third quality needed to make a difference.
Dante Polvara also deserves credit of course. The last couple of games have been a positive for this pair, let’s hope it continues.
The back-five too is quite fluid. Against St. Mirren Knoester was almost a left back, as Devlin and Milne became centre-backs and Jensen pushed on to left-wing. Getting Gyamfi back fit, would provide more natural width and athleticism on that side.
Relationism and Positionalism
There are some corners of the internet where there exists fervent passion over two doctrines on the game. I would not want to wade in to this debate and I certainly don’t have a dog in the fight (look up the two terms above if you want to go down a rabbit hole) but a basic summary might be that relationism is not about strict positioning (e.g. peak Guardiola) but more about players ‘relations’ on the pitch.
In the Dons case I would say this applies to Karlsson and Armstrong. We saw them both drift across the front-line vs Dundee, particularly Armstrong, and they were joined by Aouchiche e.g. second goal and even Jensen.
By putting good footballers close together and giving them the freedom from both a positional sense and defensive duty to try and make things happen in a way that’s less predictable, it presents a challenge to opponents in terms of their preparation firstly, but also from the individual match-up level.
The team also seems to be alive to rebounds from Karlsson’s shots as a means of creating great goalscoring opportunities.
The Yengi Role
Poor Kusini, we hardly knew you mate. Keen readers will remember a long article at the start of the season, trying to justify why the club may have invested in such a profile of player.
What we saw from Lazetic on Saturday, was, for my money, one of the most encouraging hold-up play performances from the #9 under Thelin. He adapted well to the physical demands, held the ball up consistently, and brought teammates into attacking sequences and he’s got a bit about him to scare defenders in behind.
That being said, without the #10 as mentioned, the options to connect play are not as abundant. Support from the midfield and wide-men and then runners beyond the ball will be important things to keep an eye on.
Out of Possession
Just as Jimmy liked his 4-2-3-1 he also loved his 4-4-2 out of possession. This has now adapted to be more like a 5-4-1. What does that do for the opponent? It potential makes it easier for them to progress the ball through central defenders but for the most part on the risk/reward curve, it seems to be working. Again, with those numbers defensively, I think the full-backs can be a bit more aggressive to jump to the ball, along with centre-backs to go with opposition forwards.
We also saw a couple of good turnovers versus Dundee with Aouchiche reading the play well and springing the attack. It does require a good bit of work from the centre-forward to press the ball and make the play predictable.
The Back Five and Protecting Young Players
One of the benefits of the shift to a back five, as we saw in moments against St. Mirren when things got a bit stretched defensively, is that it offers more protection for younger players like Jack Milne and Lobban.
That extra layer at the back gives Dylan more freedom to get forward than he might have in a back four. For Milne, it means a little more breathing room, more support against front pairings and more passing options around him so he can develop with a bit less pressure and showcase his longer passing.
In the long run, of course, if they’re going to move to a back four, those young players will need to prove they can handle that setup as well. But for now, the back five definitely helps them grow into the team.
Progressing to the Mean
In the FotMob xG table I like to consult, the Dons are now actually one point better off, so we’re back to reality and our league position in sixth is probably a fair reflection of where we are as a team. This is ok, given our start, but probably a bit below expectations. As the Yanks say, we’re 0.500 with a 0 GD. You couldn’t be any more mid-table.
In my last piece re. KPIs I suggested we might be about 25pts by the time we get to Ibrox on Jan 6th. I won’t tempt fate but we’re well on our way to that and of course we’ve got the January window to come to relieve us of our post-Christmas blues.
From where we were, Thelin has turned things around pretty impressively, results wise and we’re starting to see a bit more attacking intent - Livingston was a tough watch only last weekend mind. We’ll also see some teams adapt to the Dons, the counter-revolutionaries. First up Stuart Kettlewell, an angry man with plenty to say.
Shipping up to Boston
Carlsberg/Tennent’s/Hazy New England IPAs don’t do World Cup draws but if they did (and god knows it might be quicker), then Friday and Saturday’s selection would come pretty close for yours truly.
As mentioned before, I’ve lived in Boston and various towns surrounding over the last 18.5 years so, I’m pretty familiar with the area, though the World Cup will be a beast into itself. There are many folks out there providing some great advice but if you do have any specific questions, then please feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to try and steer you in the right direction.
My main suggestion would be, if you can’t get into Boston pricewise, somewhere with a commuter rail might be a good shout. Waltham for example has a lot of hotels, a decent enough main street with plenty pubs and is a 20 minute ride on the commuter rail into the City.