2023-01-15, 08:50 AM - Word count:
I'm realizing now how fast this series can devolve into strikerless, I'm probably going to just going to transition at some point into talking about it at the same time. However today, as the title implies, I'm going to be talking about the traitor striker, pressing forwards on defend.
Some people may be aware of the famous leschestier miracle where they won the league out of nowhere. They won this off of having a few incredible players that they spotted before everyone else did. Later those players would be sold except for one. Jamie Vardy was a critical part of the Prem title campaign. What was a Lower league striker had managed to peak at the most perfect time he could. His experience and mental abilities to read the game hit the tipping point the moment before his body would start failing him. He spent his time smartly pressing the furthest back line of complacent prem teams that would then force turnovers that he would dive on to score goals cleanly.
Vardy however would probably be represented on a pressing forward on attack. What I'm talking about is the forbidden pressing forward on defend. This is a fundamentally different role than any other one at the striker position. We complain about there being no defensive attacking midfielder but a realization I've had is that the real defensive attacking midfielder was a striker the whole time. The PF-D does not try to score goals, and should not be the one you expect to score goals. This is the inverted Ball winning midfielder, an advanced ball winning midfielder. We have many different striker roles that intend to drop back to the AM line as it is but the PF-D as an outlier intends to stay there and to defend there. I'm sure of course that randomly a player just happens to be in front of a goal with no one to block their shot and they just take it, the PF-D is a player that is uniquely able to create chances for other players in this way. The core of this heresy is that unironically the PF-D does the same thing a false nine or any playmaker does. Going back to my last article the PF-D doesn't create assists, it creates second assists. Starting the Chain of facilitating goals from such an advanced position and allowing the playmaker to have space and time through their ability to dribble into space that they can see while giving them critical seconds to spot where they can move the ball where it can be scored by another player.
Some people may be aware of the famous leschestier miracle where they won the league out of nowhere. They won this off of having a few incredible players that they spotted before everyone else did. Later those players would be sold except for one. Jamie Vardy was a critical part of the Prem title campaign. What was a Lower league striker had managed to peak at the most perfect time he could. His experience and mental abilities to read the game hit the tipping point the moment before his body would start failing him. He spent his time smartly pressing the furthest back line of complacent prem teams that would then force turnovers that he would dive on to score goals cleanly.
Vardy however would probably be represented on a pressing forward on attack. What I'm talking about is the forbidden pressing forward on defend. This is a fundamentally different role than any other one at the striker position. We complain about there being no defensive attacking midfielder but a realization I've had is that the real defensive attacking midfielder was a striker the whole time. The PF-D does not try to score goals, and should not be the one you expect to score goals. This is the inverted Ball winning midfielder, an advanced ball winning midfielder. We have many different striker roles that intend to drop back to the AM line as it is but the PF-D as an outlier intends to stay there and to defend there. I'm sure of course that randomly a player just happens to be in front of a goal with no one to block their shot and they just take it, the PF-D is a player that is uniquely able to create chances for other players in this way. The core of this heresy is that unironically the PF-D does the same thing a false nine or any playmaker does. Going back to my last article the PF-D doesn't create assists, it creates second assists. Starting the Chain of facilitating goals from such an advanced position and allowing the playmaker to have space and time through their ability to dribble into space that they can see while giving them critical seconds to spot where they can move the ball where it can be scored by another player.
