Sheffield United's 3-5-2 'Overlapping Centre-backs" Approach

[Hoof the ball]

So, someone sent me this link yesterday demonstrating Sheffield United utilising two outside CB's overlapping down the wings in order to create overloads in the field. Quite odd, really, but fascinating.
Chris Wilder is the coach who's taken them from League One to second place in the Championship and pushing for automatic promotion.

I can't embed the video due to it not being Youtube. Here's the link, however, with the video contained within.

https://www.footballdna.co.uk/featu...pOjhzkO61QTxzpKS3tEBnuRpDmw0Z9QfEBVHS3l1lt6b4

 

[SalfordRed18]

Overlapping CBs? Do the wing backs in a 3-5-2 tuck infield then in which case do the holding midfielders become CBs on a quick break?

Very interesting.

 

[RobinLFC]

Not sure I like the approach - I barely saw a good cross into the box during that 5mins in the video, and I wouldn't expect many since a lot of CBs simply don't have enough quality on the ball to deliver such crosses. Not to mention your defense is horribly exposed against good counter-attacking teams. It might work in the Championship where they're dominating other teams but I think they'll find this tactics very hard to apply in the Premier League should they get promoted this season.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Might as well just play a 4-4-2 if that's the case. Sounds fancy but I can't see it making much difference.

 

[beergod]

Lindelof, Darmian, and Shaw would be well suited to this system as the outside CBs, but any injuries would instantly start causing issues.

 

[adexkola]

Not sure I like the approach - I barely saw a good cross into the box during that 5mins in the video, and I wouldn't expect many since a lot of CBs simply don't have enough quality on the ball to deliver such crosses. Not to mention your defense is horribly exposed against good counter-attacking teams. It might work in the Championship where they're dominating other teams but I think they'll find this tactics very hard to apply in the Premier League should they get promoted this season.

If you had CBs good on the ball you could carve out extra chances in this fashion.

Sheffield United have conceded the second least amount of goals in the Championship. Seems there is merit to this approach if you have the right players in the proper spaces. I see no reason a better team couldn't tweak this to work in the Premiership.

I imagine Barcelona using De Ligt in a similar fashion.

 

[NoPace]

This is interesting. I guess the idea is that your DMs get to dictate play on the ball (Norwood I remember as technically very, very good when he was here) because they basically become the CBs in possession.

Might suit us if we bought Wan-Bissaka, a holding mid (N'Dombele likes to sit and is technically sound) and a left-sided attacking wingback.

---Martial/Rash--Rash/Lukaku
-------------Pogba-------------
LWB--Herrera--Fred/DM----Dalot
-----Shaw--Lindelof--AWB-------

Arsenal are a perfect fit to try it, too:


-------Aubameyang-Lacazette----
------------Iwobi/Mkhitaryan-------------
Kolasinac---Xhaka--Torreira-----Bellerin
-----Nacho--Koscielny--MaitlandNiles----

They'd probably want a younger left-sided defender but they basically need one of those anyways.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Need to watch more into it. The video only shows the movement of the two wide centre back during possession and attack. Need to know how they handle the counter attack and who’s covering them when they overlapping.

 

[steakpie]

The key to them is Norwood and Fleck in midfield, absolutely joy to watch, Norwood's passing is insane

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

A high pressing team will have a field day against them. They'll be outnumbered and outfought in midfield once there's no time on the ball and the wide passing lanes are cut out. Teams like Liverpool and Spurs would love to face them.

Then again, it's the lower leagues, so I don't expect them to come up against anyone with efficient quality on the high press.

 

[adexkola]

A high pressing team will have a field day against them. They'll be outnumbered and outfought in midfield once there's no time on the ball and the wide passing lanes are cut out. Teams like Liverpool and Spurs would love to face them.

Then again, it's the lower leagues, so I don't expect them to come up against anyone with efficient quality on the high press.

Teams like Liverpool or Spurs would love to face a newly promoted Sheffield no matter what kind of tactics they used. So much you can do with that quality differential.

 

[Cascarino]

They play very good football. I've really enjoyed watching them this season.

 

[Ish]

Well, nice and innovative anyway. And they’re seemingly having some success with it.

I guess at the end of the day, most systems (well, realistic ones anyway) can be effective as long as you have the right players to execute.

 

[Acole9]

If the managers name was Christophe De Wilder I think people would be taking him and Sheffield United more seriously.

 

[Irrational.]

Somewhere, Pep Guardiola just got an erection.

 

[Gio]

What a lot of teams failed to do when 3421 came into vogue over the last five years.

 

[RedCurry]

That is quite interesting. I believe Southgate did the same with Kyle Walker at the world cup. Maguire did it too but much less frequently.

 

[Greck]

Sounds risky but most innovations were called gimmicks early on. In 20 years a more refined version of this could be the norm

 

[markhughes]

I think their entire team cost less than 4-5 million. The system they play is better to watch than ours IMO.

Wilder has done a great job there, I’d love to see what he could do with a bigger club but I’d be sad to see him leave the Blades. Top, top manager

 

[Hoof the ball]

It's good to see an Englishman being the one on the cutting edge of tactical innovations, at least, as opposed to adopting them a number of years after they've already been effectively countered.

 

[OleGunnar20]

How interesting.

Doesn't sound like a good idea long-term to me, yet another step in the direction of centre halves' defensive attributes not being of upmost importance.

But hey ho it's nice to see new things ey.

 

[V.O.]

Is this any different from how Azpilicueta was used for Conte's Chelsea?

 

[FootballHQ]

If the managers name was Christophe De Wilder I think people would be taking him and Sheffield United more seriously.

Nail on the head. Chris Wilder should change his surname to Bielsa and then people would be bowing down to him in corridors.

It's all about perception really. Leeds with Bielsa have played excellent football but I wouldn't say they're anywhere near the level of what Wolves were last season or even Fulham after xmas.

Sheffield really going under the radar due to I suspect them having a wholly British squad and manager. People probably just look at that, see them near the top and assume they're pinching results with long balls and set pieces.

Said before when they came to VP two months ago they knocked the ball round just as well as Leeds did on a far smaller budget so I certainly wouldn't have a problem with them going up.

Wilder's overall managerial record at all levels last 10 years is incredible if you study it so he deserves a crack in the premier league regardless if he gets them up.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

This is similar to what I see us having at United one day in a 352.

Sheffield United seem to play with a sweeper that allows the CB's to get wider & forward.

The only difference I see at United in the 352 is a false 9 and a 'false sweeper'.

The false sweeper is someone who starts at CDM & moves to the centre of defence when United have possession of the ball. The 2 CB's widens across the pitch to get the ball forward whilst the fullbacks push forward.

• Dalot - Lindelof - De ligt - shaw
• Rice

To

• Lindelof - Rice - De Ligt
• Dalot Shaw

Basically shifting from a back 2 in to a back 3 when on the attack - allowing the rest of the team to go forward & players like Pogba have a lot of freedom.

On the other side there will be a false Nine that allows our forwards to split wide & receive the ball at angles.

A diamond formation with 2 false positions.

 

[Bwuk]

Southgate did it with Walker at the World Cup.

 

[charlenefan]

Somewhere, Pep Guardiola just got an erection.

Either that or he's gone into a padded cell crying that he didn't try it first

 

[autopilot]

Is this any different from how Azpilicueta was used for Conte's Chelsea?

From what I recall Azpilicueta didn't really overlap as much, but underlap if that makes sense. When Moses and Willian had the ball deep on the right flank Azpilicueta would move in to occupy the half space (kind of where a left sided midfielder would defend), and send in early crosses from there behind the back line for Morata to attack.

 

[Physiocrat]

Does anyone know what their defense looks like in possession? Is it a square with two DMs in front of the RCB/LCB and CB or something else?

 

[TsuWave]

would get bodied in the prem

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The key to them is Norwood and Fleck in midfield, absolutely joy to watch, Norwood's passing is insane

@Scholesy? Is that you?

 

[roonster09]

Read about this few months ago in SI forum, from Sheffield United fan. It's very interesting tactic and looks progressive one too.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I’ve never seen the point of playing three central defenders unless they’re willing to get involved in attacking play. Might as well play with 10 men otherwise. Which is what happened when Van Gaal played this formation.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Either that or he's gone into a padded cell crying that he didn't try it first

One of the St Pep brigade will claim he did it first, just like he invented possession football and created Messi from clay

 

[Amadaeus]

It seems like a tactic that most teams that are great at counter attacking will like to come up against. I don’t know why a 4-4-2 with attacking fullback can’t do the same though. This formation creates an overload one side of the pitch and allows the right wing back to attack freely on the opposite side. It is a forward thinking approach to attacking but center backs won’t nearly be as effective overlapping as fullback. The overlapping cb should be a hybrid cb and wingback. I like this formation to be honest.

De Gea
Arron Wan Bissaka - Linderlof - Shaw
Sancho - Rice/De Ligt(destroyer) - Herrera(else N’Dombele) - Martial
Pogba
Rashford/Lingard(Free roam) - Lukaku(Target man)

Progressive indeed.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

De gea
Lindelof - Rice (false CB/destroyer) - De ligt
Wan bissaka - shaw
Rabiot - pogba
Sancho (false 9 wide drifter)
Rashford - Martial

 

[MrMarcello]

@Scholesy? Is that you?

 

[RochaRoja]

I like the idea of pushing two of your centre backs up the pitch but surely they’d be more useful coming into midfield than in wide areas.

I suppose the English lower leagues are still a lot more tied to crossing football than the elite levels are though.

 

[RochaRoja]

That is quite interesting. I believe Southgate did the same with Kyle Walker at the world cup. Maguire did it too but much less frequently.

Both ex-Sheffield United players funnily enough.

 

[VeevaVee]

Phil Jones on crosses

 

[RochaRoja]

I’ve never seen the point of playing three central defenders unless they’re willing to get involved in attacking play. Might as well play with 10 men otherwise. Which is what happened when Van Gaal played this formation.

Back in the bad old days when full backs barely crossed the half way line it actually switched out one defensive player for a more attacking one.

Once “full backs” basically became defunct at the top level and were replaced by “wing backs” in a back 4, an orthodox 3-5-2 became the more defensive formation of the two.