Matthias Jaissle wants Newcastle United to press high… so why is it so bad?
Matthias Jaissle wants his Newcastle United side to press high, that has been more than evident this season so far. But what last night’s defeat against Aston Villa told us is that the press in its current form is completely dysfunctional in almost every capacity.
For a side that are looking to be aggressive and on the front foot, the statistics that should back that sentiment up would actually suggest Jaissle’s men are decidedly passive when it comes to pressuring the opposition in build-up, even if that isn’t the case.
So, if the desire to press is there, but the statistics and eye test both tell us that the press is almost entirely ineffective, why on earth is it going so wrong?
The stats
To put it quite bluntly, literally everything is set up wrong. Whether that is the players not doing their job, the coaching not being up to scratch, or a mixture of both isn’t clear - but right now, there isn’t a single part of it that’s working.
Newcastle sit 17th in the Premier League for high pressures, 18th for final third pressures, 18th for possession won in the final third, 17th for tackles, and 13th for sprints (all measured per 90) - for a side who, in theory, pride themselves on intensity and pressuring the opposition, that is a shambolic set of statistics.
Although it was obvious anyway when watching the Magpies, yesterday’s game against Aston Villa was probably the most damning example yet of how easily that so-called intensity is being bypassed.
From the forward line, all the way through to the supposed ‘rest defence’ which is being caught out of position, there is so much to fix I’m not even sure where Jaissle starts.
The first line of press
It was Wissa and Willock on the front line yesterday, and all it took was Villa using Suzuki as an extra man to completely nullify any attempts at winning the ball back high.
The Japanese goalkeeper gave Villa a plus one on the first line, and almost acted as a quarterback in build-up. Every time the front two tried to force Villa into playing one way, they would already have the extra man there to play out, whether it be through the double pivot, full-backs, or a simple lofted ball into an advanced player’s feet.
It was almost a fruitless task for Wissa and Willock, and neither ever looked like they were close to winning the ball back during that initial pressure.
The wingers
Step on or drop off? That was the question for the Magpies two wingers.
Either step on and try to get involved in pressing the double pivot, which then allowed Villa’s full-backs to receive the ball in wide areas and overload in wide areas, or stay put and allow Villa to play through the central areas and, again, allow Villa to get an overload during attacks.
Literally a lose-lose situation.
The midfield
Joelinton and Nico didn’t know whether they were coming or going.
Really, one of the two should have more readily joined in with the initial pressure, probably Joelinton, and Gonzalez should have been left to deal with Manzambi in a man-for-man situation.
Instead, the two were too far from the forward line, which meant when Joelinton did join in, he was always too late to jump leaving acres of room to play around him. Alternatively, when the Brazilian decided to contain, there was a huge space in front of them that Villa could exploit as they flooded bodies forward.
The backline
Botman and Thiaw failed to deal with Nicolas Jackson for the large majority of the game. His pace in behind simply had the pair too scared to leave him 1v1, which would have been the best course of action if the aim was to get the press right.
Hall and Miley looked to step onto their respective wingers, which was the right idea but for them always being left in 2v1 situations due to Villa playing out of the initial pressure, as mentioned.
That left so many situations where they were either caught too high up the pitch with Villa playing in behind, or unable to deal with the extra man and being hung out to dry with overloads.
Newcastle are dealing with nothing
All of that meant that the Magpies literally didn’t deal with any phase of play.
No matter the scenario, Villa had an extra man, two extra men, or were able to exploit a mass of space as the Newcastle players scrambled to resemble some sort of defensive structure after being played through.
It was a chaotic and unflattering showing which really outed every single problem with the system Jaissle is trying to implement.
The problem right now is that there is so much wrong, it’s difficult to see how the German can make it right with Premier League games coming thick and fast and pressure already mounting.
The most obvious fix, in my opinion, is to stop trying to play with a number 10, a position that no-one in the squad can reliably fill. Instead, go to a midfield three, with a bit more structure and play a high-press that resembles the one that has worked so well for the Magpies in the past.
I do think there are positive signs in other areas, but while the press remains unfit for purpose, everything is almost entirely fruitless because Newcastle are leaving themselves so exposed time and time again.
