Enzoball v Brendanball: Exploring Leicester City’s style evolution
Despite early cries from the stands, Enzoball is getting results so far. Andrew Smith ponders how things have changed from the similarly possession-centric approach of our previous permanent manager.
Never slow to identify something to disagree about, the Leicester City fanbase now seems hell bent on falling out about the true nature of our new manager’s style of play. Simply put: is he Brendan in disguise?
For sure, there was audible discontent inside the King Power against Coventry when a vaguely familiar, long sequence of sideways passing, seemed to bring any possibility of a meaningful attack to an immobile standstill. The Times said there were ”boos” - I’d call it low level chuntering.
Behind me in the West Stand, there were half-shouts of “gerr it forward”, mostly from elder statesmen who seem to see moving the ball forward as the brave equivalent of a World War One general urging their troops “over the top.”
Certain death isn’t at stake here. But to be fair, watching Brendan Rodgers’ team struggling to implement his vision of possession football did often feel like a kind of life-threatening, cruel torture.
I’ve seen otherwise healthy men close to cardiac arrest, as the ball repeatedly switched the 20 yards between the feet of Wout Faes and Daniel Amartey. At times, Daniel Iversen kicking the ball out for a throw in, almost seemed a relief. It may have saved the odd life.
Possession: nine-tenths of the law
But get Enzo to describe his philosophy and it bears an uncanny resemblance to Brendanism. Keep the ball, nay, love the ball. No team scores without it, so don’t give it away lightly.
Play out from the back with all the resultant risks that implies. Take the ball in tight areas, move it around until the space appears. Pass and build in numbers, then strike ruthlessly.
Add in an inverted full back and you could be forgiven for thinking it’s August 2022.
Hence the temptation to cynically yawn, as many of the same players perform the same unproductive passing phases we seem to have seen a million times before. The kind of dismal, sterile periods which helped get us relegated.
Retaining possession implies building from the keeper. The risks of that going wrong are obvious. And a rational response to those risks is to play safe. Why get yourself slated for committing one of those “individual errors” that Brendan was so fond of citing post-match, when you could pass to Daniel Amartey?
So some safe passing is part and parcel of placing a premium on possession. Whoever the manager is.
That’s what gets results
As the old song goes, “t’aint watcha do, it’s the way that you do it.” There isn’t a world of difference between the style of football demanded by Enzo Maresca and by his predecessor. The important contrast is in how they go about it,
First, transfers. It is obvious, even at this early stage, that the new arrivals fit seamlessly into his teams. This may seem quite a low bar of effectiveness but then you have to remember that Brendan once claimed, after two and a half years in charge, that he lacked the right “profile of player” to defend a corner.
New players may or may not succeed, but with Enzo, there’s a clear role for them, right from day one. So hopefully we’ll spend less time scratching our heads wondering: “why did we sign him?”
Possession football from the back requires a higher level of fitness. Everyone - goalkeeper included - has to be constantly on the move to create space for themselves and teammates. The current team looks a good deal fitter than the one Maresca inherited.
And then there’s our very old friend, a winning mentality. We haven’t seen him for a while but the comeback against Coventry suggests he may be returning to our lives. Almost as soon as Enzo walked through the door, he recognised that a lack of mental strength was one shortcoming to address.
In those moments when possession football appears to be stalling, belief in the manager, in teammates and in the system is crucial. A stubborn, defensive opponent, a momentary defensive lapse, a balls-up playing out from the back. The temptation is to give up and to return to more basic instincts. “Gerr it forward…”
Maresca has identified the problem and set about tackling it.
Finally, the manager has indicated he wants the players to be pragmatic. To think for themselves on the pitch. Whereas under Brendan it often felt like they were playing in straitjackets – trying to perform pre-arranged, whiteboard moves, in the heat of a match.
So both sides of the Brendanball/Enzoball argument are right. They are built on similar beliefs. They’re more similar than many would care to admit. But already Enzo seems to have a better grasp of what’s required to become a successful possession-based team. So for now I’m happy to shout “gerr it sideways!”
