Manager Suggestions: In-depth profiles

These are the managers you all wanted to see profiled in depth

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gents,

Thank you for your patience whilst waiting for this article, there is a lot of information, work and research that goes into an article like this and I hope you all enjoy it.

The 4 highest votes received on yesterdays polls were for; Ruben Amorim, Sebastian Hoeneß, Xavi Hernandez & Kieran McKenna.

With Ruben Amorim I had already profiled him in February so a lot of his will be the same with some tweaks.

Lets get into it

Ruben Amorim

39 years old - Sporting Lisbon - Tenure: 2020-Present Day - 71% Win Rate

Ruben Amorim uses a 3-4-2-1 formation predominantly, but like with all modern methodical coaches that formation changes multiple times during a game in and out of possession.

His team build up from the back, using their 3 centre backs to do so, the wide centre backs tend to be very progressive with the ball and the middle centre back is generally used to retain the ball, his wingbacks tend to vary and there is always one more attacking and one slightly more reserved who is mainly used as a passing or crossing from deep option. The deeper of the two centre midfielders will drop in as a bounce pass option and therefore drags in an opposition midfielder, his partner will be 10-20 yards further forward (used as a box crasher) and available to receive the ball once the press is beaten. Due to the deeper midfielder dropping in teams can be reluctant to press the centre defenders in case the press is beaten leaving huge gap in centre midfield, it also allows one of the centre halves to bring the ball out from the back whilst maintaining shape.

The attacking wing back pushes high and the wingers invert in to half spaces, once the press is beaten they have the option of passing in to pockets to the wingers or advanced centre midfielder or through the liens and into the channels.

In the defensive phase Sporting press with their front 3 very narrow in order to avoid the ball played into central areas. The two centre midfielders also press, leaving the wing backs and the centre backs to defend deeper. They press with curved runs to force the opposition to play the pass to a certain area of the pitch, the wing back will then close down the free player that has received the ball.

The wingbacks use the touchline as an ‘additional defender’ when pressing which means they try and push the player to take or pass the ball down the line rather than inside.

In possession in the oppositions half they build up in a 3-2-5 formation with the 2 centre midfielders being central short pass options and the wing backs being high and wide, this allows the wide attackers/wingers to invert into half spaces to receive the ball. Although this is a great shape to build up in, it has its downfalls, it leaves them open to the counter attack and against teams with pace they can be vulnerable due to their high line.

That is a brief overview on Sporting Lisbon’s shape under Ruben Amorim.

His record at Sporting is 222 Matches, 158 Wins, 33 Draws & 31 Losses. His team have scored 473 goals and conceded 184, with a goal difference of +289.

Sebastian Hoeneß

42 years old - VFB Stuttgart - Tenure: 2023-Present Day - 64% Win Rate

Sebastian Hoeness was an ex-pro who mainly played reserve league football and became a youth coach at Leipzig & Bayern before becoming reserve team manager at Bayern in 2019, in 2020 he took over his first managerial role at Hoffenheim. He has been in charge at VFB Stuttgart since April 2023 leading them to 2nd place and Champions league this season.

He uses a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 predominantly, he is a possession first manager and that approach has lead them to have the 3rd most passes per90 in the Bundesliga in the 23/24 season, the goalkeeper is incredibly important in the buildup phase.

Stuttgart like to retain the ball in the middle third and then try to probe through using through balls and players getting in behind, as well as working high quality opportunities to cross the ball into the box, to prove this they are 3rd highest for crosses into the penalty area this season, BUT 4th lowest for total crosses, which proves they work for high quality chances to do so.

In the defensive phase they concentrate on a 4-4-2 mid block shape, they are happy to leave space on the opposite flank and slide over when necessary, but this can be considered as their defensive weakness, something most teams do have. They are very compact in the middle and on the ball side of the pitch, they are very adept at stopping the ball being progressed through the middle phase. They like to press high but intelligently and they keep the centre of the pitch congested in order to force the opposition into errors when trying to play through.

Stuttgart use unselfish runs in order to create space, you will often see players making excellent runs without intending to receive the ball in order to create space for players, they have excellent ball carriers across the pitch. They use wide overloads wo well using the full back, winger and forward from that side in order to overload and create high quality chances in and around the box.

That is a brief overview on VFB Stuttgart’s shape under Sebastian Hoeneß.

His Stuttgart side have won 32, drawn 8 and lost 10 of his 50 games in charge, scoring 112 goals, conceding 57 and having a +55 goal difference.

Xavi Hernandez

44 years old - FC Barcelona - Tenure 2021-Present Day - 63% Win Rate

Xavi predominantly uses a 4-3-3 formation and almost emulates the formation that he played under Pep. They approach possession in a 2-3-5 structure. He normally uses a centre back at full back on one side and a very attacking wing back on the other side of the back 4. He also can set up the back 4 with 2 orthodox full backs with at least one if not both looking to invert into midfield to create an overload. The single pivot tends to drop in between the centre backs in order to create from deep.

His centre backs are given license to drive forward and progress the ball which buts a real emphasis on centre backs being confident to carry the ball and be progressive with their passing.

The front 3 is generally set up of a main stay no9, an inside forward and an out and out direct winger, the inside forward will invert and get closer to the 9 whilst the attacking full back bombs on, the winger will have the attacking freedom of that channel to be direct and get past players. They use one of the no8 to push up and act as a 10 and almost box crash with the defensive minded full back inverting into midfield for spatial cover.

In the build up they like to play our under pressure as you would expect from a Xavi side, they are incredibly press resistant and Ter Stegen (The GK) is the most important component of their build up phase. They like to flood the middle of the pitch with bodies and then use a quick switch of play to create space and chances.

Their biggest creativity source comes from out wide and inside pockets, they use clipped crosses and passes into the back post area with high threat whilst also being able to by direct and get into the box from wide they have adapted to playing this way in recent months whilst losing key creative players in the middle of the pitch, that is where Xavi tends to like his team to create from, it shows he is adaptable and versatile in his approach.

That is a brief overview on FC Barcelona’s shape under Xavi.

He has been in charge of 141 games, with 89 wins, 23 draws and 29 defeats. His team have scored 277 goals and conceded 157 with a goal difference of +120.

Kieran McKenna

38 years old - Ipswich Town - Tenure: 2021-Present Day - Win Rate 57%

First things first, as you all know I watch Ipswich almost every week and go to their games fairly often through a season, I have seen Kieran McKenna’s sides first hand a lot over recent seasons. He is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most exciting managers in the country and I hold him in high regard, BUT I do not want him as the next Chelsea manager.

Firstly because I would hate to see him ruin all of the hard work he has put in to this point, also because he is not ready for such a huge step up in my opinion, he needs to get his PL experience slightly lower down the league with Ipswich or move onto another small club like Brighton👀. I just think it is all too much too soon for him.

Anyway onto his profile;

McKenna sets his team up on a 4-2-3-1 formation initially but this changes multiple times through a game, his back 4 becomes a 3 as the left back pushes on and almost becomes a winger, the right full back tucks in to make a 3, his double pivot remains and then they attack in a 3-2-4-1 where the original left winger will invert creating space for the attacking full back, the no10 will get close to the 9 the right winger will stay wide and hug the touchline and the 9 will be a presence in the box.

There is lots of short and sharp passing around the back and in midfield in the early build up phase, they are patient and wait for an opening as soon as they see the chance to play into space the ball will switch sides and they then attack with speed, aggression and in numbers.

The thing I love about McKenna’s side are the ways in which they play, they are so effective in the manner they approach games whether it is playing short and sharp passes, whether it is being incredibly direct or a mix of the two, they are incredibly adaptable in game and to most situations, they are happy to change the way they play to suit the opposition and inevitably get the better of the opposition.

They defend really narrow in a 4-2-3-1 and slide the whole team over to the ball side and are aggressive in their press getting lots of numbers into a small area to win the ball and counter.

That is a brief overview on Ipswich Town’s shape under Kieran McKenna.

He has been in charge of 131 games, winning 76, drawing 35 and losing just 20. His side have scored 257 goals and conceded 122 with a goal difference of +135.

After writing and researching for this Article my new Chelsea manager would be Xavi, hopefully with Cesc as his assistant.

Thank you all for reading and participating.

Luke Rushbrook