Wayne Rooney's Derby County
How did Rooney's tactical approach keep 10 man Derby level for 96 minutes?
Derby County lost for the first time under Wayne Rooney on Boxing Day, succumbing 0-1 to Preston North End, with Alan Browne scoring a 96th minute winner, ending a run of 4 clean sheets in a row for the East Midlands side.
Derby played around 70 minutes with 10 men and continued their string of solid defensive displays with good organisation and some clever tactical tweaks from the management. North End, apart from a 20 minute spell in the first half, between the red card and half-time, didn’t really threaten the 10 men.
The Rams’ defensive solidity in the second-half was primarily built on a clever tactical change at half-time from Rooney, and I was impressed by their overall approach. Below is a 3 part analysis on how Derby made it very difficult for Preston.
1) 11v11
2) 10v11 (between red card and half time)
3) 10v11 (second half)
Derby started the game in a 4-2-3-1 shape which became a 4-4-2 shape in Derby’s first defensive phase. Knight worked in tandem with Kazim-Richards to prevent short passes from PNE’s CBs to their CMs. The two banks of 4 below were in a narrow mid block, concentrating on protecting central zones and surrendering wide space, as is the norm these days.
When Preston reached their attacking 3rd, Derby compacted into a very deep shape, often defending with up to 8 players protecting the box. There was an emphasis on man to man marking, with the LB marking the RW, LW marking the RB, RCM marking the 10 etc etc.
As the ball reached crossing areas, Derby’s ball far players compacted into a very narrow shape, neglecting their man orientation, often defending a half width of the box, making it incredibly hard for PNE to attack crosses, and Derby always aimed to have numerical superiority in the box.
The 4-4-2 shape followed by the man to man orientation A) stopped Paul Gallagher getting on the ball and B) stopped Preston creating overloads in dangerous areas.
Derby initially went to a 4-4-1 after the red card, which was probably a mistake. It meant North End’s double pivot had an easy 2v1 against Kazim-Richards, and this afforded Gallagher time on the ball. With his passing ability, PNE often found Tom Barkhuizen in good 1v1 areas. PNE gained control, and gained territory, and Derby were pushed deep with little transition threat.
PNE created these 1v1s at ease due to the non pressure on PNEs double pivot, as well as the narrowness of Derby's wingers, who often pressed high rather than compacting into a deeper shape.
Rams continued to drop into a deep block with very good discipline.
At half-time, Rooney made the wise change to 4-3-2. This was clever as it A) allowed Derby 2 players in the first line again, B) allowed for an attacking transition threat and C) forced PNE wide in deeper areas.
The change to 4-3-2 stifled PNEs deep ball players, forced wide in non dangerous areas, allowed for central compactness, and allowed for superiority when defending the box. The use of Jozwiak up front, with Knight bursting forward from the right, also allowed an attacking transition threat. It was a near perfect tweak from Rooney.
PNE’s 96th minute winner was potentially one of the consequences of packing the box with defensive players - the keeper being completed unsighted. This was harsh on the Rams, and their approach was excellent.
A 0-4 win at Birmingham last night once again strengthens Rooney’s case to become the official Head Coach, and the early signs of tactical discipline are very impressive.