Norwich U21’s striker pairing – Ken ABOH and Dan OGWURU
Norwich was on the road this Saturday, playing at Bournemouth for the Premier League U21 Cup. A game of football happened, I turned up. Not sure about the competition, or the stakes at play. I knew I had a chance to watch Norwich Cityâs front two.
Ken Aboh and Dan Ogwuru were paired up top of a 442 for the Norfolk side, and proved once again that there’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle. (or two).
đ€đ€ Canari-lly play 2 upfront, in an an era of Main Character Syndrome 9 (or coaches) expected to do everythig by themselves ahead of an areopagus of more or less convincing âprogressorsâ. Or simply being holograms 9 who nevertheless âlink up play in the half spacesâ âchest second ballsâ
Ken ABOH (10): 2004 born American-English striker, on the left of the picture
Dan OGWURU (9): 2004 born English striker, heading the ball, signed from Manchester City in the summer.
Errol MUNDLE-SMITH (2006) came on with 25 minutes to go, signed from the Kinetic Foundation football program in London.
SKIP IN THE BOX
One trait of good strikers is to stay alive in the box.
To an extent, everything can be coached, but nobody was ever coached or instructed to skip in a candy shop. You do that because itâs the best way to make something out of an opportunity if it arises.
STAND IN BETWEEN
One very annoying thing good strikers do, is to find the sweet spot at 2/3 distance between defenders because theyâre the biggest chaos merchants on the pitch
By standing close to the CB but not quite, but too far from the fullback, they guarantee defenders cuss at each other blaming each other for communication / passing along the marking duties.
Stay tight = distance between defenders extends (more space appears)
Maintain zonal distance = lose contact with the striker (who can exploit space)
GET IN SYNC
Difference between strikers and entertainers will be: ball carrier has the ball, do you go away (strikers) or are you drawn to the ball.
Aboh and Ogwuruâs synchronisation is comically on sync, but evidences proof of good coaching
ALGORTHMIC PERCEPTION OF AFFORDANCES
dafuq am i reading
âRun the channelâ
Strikers read situation: where is the space, where are opponents.
Winger pins the fullback, run the channel to draw the CB out of the box
NEVER MORE THAN HALF A BOX FROM EACH OTHER
In case of a standard 9 pairing, the general idea is to never be more than âhalf a boxâ apart from each other; or occupy consecutive intervals whithin the back four.
GET GOAL SIDE ON CROSSES
At the end of the clip (27â), Ken Aboh makes sure to keep the defender away with his arm to attack the near post area.
An annoyng situation for the defender who needs to tap the arm before trying to put his in front.
WORKING THE BACKLINE
The vast majority of tacticoachs nowadays only think about one thing and itâs fucking disgusting. Their grand plans that they need everyone to talk about.
Reality is that no defender ever commits an âunforced errorâ, itâs often the consequence of being rattled with different degrees of shitehousery (or gamemanship, or simply being annoying, remember when your sibling had something you wish you had instead).
Point is, thatâs the âoff the ballâ stuff that doesnât necessarily have to lead to âgetting the ballâ. The rate is about one in 4, one action for 4 moves.
Your modern strikers who only do what coachs want, only get one chance every 4 games.
Shoving the defender
Reading that the LB is out of position and running the channel
Manufacturigng space in behind by pinning the LB and dropping off the front
For a dart in the space just created. Look how Dan Ogwuru stays connected and attacks the inteval just next to the one Aboh takes.
Another channel run by Ogwuru, to force defenders to run and trigger the offside trap
BACK TO GOAL TO LAUNCH A RUNNER
A fairly routine play, but letâs look at the details
Ken Aboh is on ties, and starts to react about when the CB is about to connect. Proactive, not reactive
Balances himself to set shoulders over the ball and chest it down.
Winger starts running on the layoff (and not when the receiver receives)
BACK TO GOAL / CHEST IT
Ogwuru chesting it despite being pressed by the defender from behind, lays it off for Abohâs curved run.
That half volley touch to roll the defender was good
But the CB taking over once he puts his arm in front
CONSECUTIVE INTERVALS
Ken Abohâs run might be a decoy, but makes the CB spin round like a record
Dan Ogwuru let down by a poor touch, but succesfully exploited the interval adjacent to Ken Abohâs.
On the subsequent play, the 3rd man combination play failed to connect because the pass was played behind Ogwuru.
However, the play was
Ken Abohâs banana run to create separation (run along, then drop off), sound one touch layoff (front foot)
Dan Ogwuruâs run starting on the trigger that was the pass to the CF1, so he could receive the pass in th space created
BANANA RUN TO ASK INTO FEET
Ken Aboh manufactures the space heâll ask the ball into.
Ball goes to the right, goes to the left
So he can dart to the space he created for himself, when the winger is ready to pass
Getting the leg in front
Only to shift it the other way when laying it off
Then going around the penalty spot opposite side of the crosser
GET AWAY FROM THE BALL CARRIER
Few things are more unsettling for CBs than to open a can of worms where a runner on the ball with space gets out, and two runners also get in two different directions.
The ball carrierâs aim is to draw the CB then release the good option (or go by himself)
But if anything, strikers shouldnât come in to feet unless itâs to find a 3rd man runner or prepare a switch.
That statpadding and nice triangles donât improve the chances to score, it just makes âbuild upâ more predictable until to release a matchwinner 1v1 or a runner through
BOX PRESENCE
Overrall, thatâs a good sequence because itâs refreshing (somehow) to watch strikers focused into getting into good positions and crash the penalty spot.
The main difference between a good player and top level player isnât much the quality of plays, but the ability to produce them more often regardless of the success/setback experience in the previous involvement.
Slightly more dynamism by Aboh (on ties, skipping, feet closer together) wouldâve allowed to trigger a shot quicker than he just did. Jermaine Defoe was brilliant at air shooting whatsoever, which is the reason why he did get the shot off when the ball got to him.
Landing both feets
Skipping/reacting, but planted foot (left) doesnât land with toes pointing towards goal
Top level is about dynamism, the spin is decent, but so is the defending.
Getting a shot off = good
Scaled up a level above, that shot doesnât happen either.
These are usually the fine margins that donât get captured by xG models.
Even accounting from defensive pressure. How quickly can the striker skip, spin and shoot.
Following cross is sent at the far post
in another game of fine margins, Ogwuru doesnât quite connect with the cross
Balance slightly off, hard to lift off properly with feet apart
Supposed to start his leap at the apex (highest point of the trajectory) which he does a bit late
RUB CBs THE WRONG WAY
Two good instances of movements to scrap the defenderâs arms, to get wrong side in order to reach ball side in the goal mouth from the defendersâ blind side.
Movement is good, service ought to go through the mixer, as itâs much more difficult to defend.
ALSO RUB THE GK THE WRONG WAY
Making him lose a couple o f seconds to switch back on
WORKING THE BACK LINE
I chose that angle in oter to have a better perspective of the different types of movements
One into feet, one on the shoulder of the last defender
Running against the flow (ball goes leftâŠ) to stay whithin the width of the 6yd box
Running across each other
Chasing even lost causes
This is why defenders end up making unforced errors after 70â (credit to Bournemouth, they did very few)
RUN THE CHANNELS
Ogwuru identifies the ball is recovered and immediately runs the channel, let down by his first touch but drawing the CB outside of the box is one of the fundamentals of the 9 game especially in England.
An identical example, and the quick thinking from Ogwuru to start his run
Uncertainty creates chaos, thereâs areas of the pitch where things will happen: these âdead zonesâ behind fullbacks
Aboh works the channel and eventually wins it back.
Wouldâve benefited from hitting hit the ball like a shot, as opposed to a pass that got cut off.
Also, not trying to connect with his team mate, but put the ball in the mixer between GK and last man, and let happen what can happen.
SELFLESS CHANNEL RUNNING
Dan Ogwuruâs run serves the purpose to stretch the CB pairing and force and ask a question from Max Kinsey (5).
Nature abhors a vacuum said Louis Pasteur. What was he cooking?
Probably not what he was looking for initially by the way but oh well.
Ken Aboh can get goal side and attack the space vacated by Ogwuru.
That game of vacating / filling space continues and Joe Duffy crashes the edge of the box.
Abohâs close control and spin is quality, but will probably want to use his arm to shield from the defender with Archie Harris hands all over which could put him off balance (without guaranteeing to draw a pen – footballâs peculiar rules seem to suggest that as long as you connect with the ball, you can pretty much be assaulted – because see you kicked the ball alright didnât you?)
Then, the less said the better. Shoulder over the ball and going through it?
Canarilly score from there? Tchip.
LINKING UP THE TWO STRIKERS
A striker pairing is like a pendulum, or a clock.
Thereâs a few unwritten rules that helps to deduct the starting position
Always be on both extremes. One into feet, one into space.
See both the goal and the passer in your field of vision
Therefore:
diagonal run for a straight pass
After the first move breaks down (bit phoned in), what Ogwuru and Aboh do is top level: they split in opposite directions to where they came from.
Because the attention is drawn to Aboh (10) who hits the channel, with a convincing run. Lewis Brown (4) is caught chasing shadows, drawn to Aboh
Therefore Wilson wrong foots the defence and plays Ogwuru into feet
Sure, Ogwuru could definitely use both feet (back foot, to hit the pass with his right, as heâs not under direct pressure from behind) – if heâd receive a stronger pass
Ogwuruâs pass lacks a bit of power, which prevents Aboh to get a clean first touch.
Itâs counter intruitive, but itâs usually easier to deal with a cinderblock pass than a pass making three weeks to reach the intended receiver
Abohâs reflex to get his hip betwee the ball and the defender is good
But probably needs to do more with his arm to keep the defender at bay, and trick him with a shoulder drop / spin. Pretend to move back to goal to flat foot the defender and roll him.
Shoulders not above the ball mean not perfect balance to keep hold of it, and would get dispossessed against a better defender than Noa Boutin.
A strong arm / hand doesnât necessarily require to slap the defender in the face, but at least tap his arm so that he gets a small bruise and canât grab the shirt
That spin is good: pretend youâre going back to goal
To actually roll the defnder and gain a step / half a yard
Winning the other half of the yard with a further shove. Shoulders above the ball, mean ball is shielded and the defender canât reach the ball
PIN CBs, ALLOW RUNNERS
Two CFs allow to pin the two CBs of a back four, then allow runners from midfield or wide to exploit intervals (or space to gather speed from) against both streched back 4 or compact back 4
You canât âdecideâ to be a 9, you are or arent. Lot of teams canât retain the ball in attack because too many players are ball watching and crowding areas that they shouldnât, especially between touchline and box on the side of the ball.
Errol MUNDLE-SMITH replacing Dan OGWURU – 70â
Norwich U21s coach Alan Neilson replaced Dan Ogwuru with Errol Mundle-Smith
who immediately stood out with a three part move:
Into feet with a sharp separation move to find space between opponents
Into space for the return pass
Shoulder drop to flat foot the defender and get away, to create a yard
Ajusting the planted foot to put a cross across the face of goal
BANANA DRAG (too)
The thing with the banana drag is to make it compelling enough for the defender to fall for it, itâs about delaying it long enough so that it doesnât transform into a cheap turnover
Having a go was a striker decision, pass if you run out of opitions and there wasnât one standing out. However, planted foot a bit ahead of the ball + balance backwards probably prevented the shot to get off with enough power
Another instance a few moments later.
Mundle-Smith with a good âpeel offâ movement straight after laying the ball back.
The pass isnât the end game, itâs the mean used to create a situation.
Attackers who think ahead get chances.
Delaying the âbanana dragâ to flat foot the defender:
Decision time:
Attackers need time in sandboxes to compute that thereâs never a perfect chance in the box, half a window is better than âfull window, maybeâ
Being level with the defender in the box is already good. From that point, one of these options can work:
Arm to keep the defender then try to get a shot off with the left
Get the hip in between, delay, wait to get knocked over
Spin and drop the left shoulder, to expect to get clipped
That last attempt at at nutmeg was unfruitful
WORKRATE
Ken Abohâs game was fairly complete both sides of the ball, with industrious and consistent closing down of the back line over 90â
Games are built up with an accumulation of actions like that which will eventually tire defenders
Unfortunately, Elliot Mylesâ cross (akin to Aboh earlier in the game) was more of a pass, than a shot between defenders/goalkeeper.
Press defenders. A blind lip reader could hear the âwtf are you doingâ
WHEN TO GET GOAL SIDE?
Mundle-Smithâs reading of the situation is good: RB pinned by Myles (7) then the channel is open.
Thereâs one prime location to meet the trajectory, therefore itâs better to come from the defendersâ blind side (and protect access with arms), than being visible at all time
Ken Abohâs run is quality, in the consecutive interval.
Goalkeeper Cameron Plain spreads out.
In that case, ideally, strikers need to aim at the âtriangleâ between arm and leg that only excellent GKs can adress with a further move with the leg or arm.
Box presence creates chaos, chaos create rebounds
Pin the CBs and crash the 6yx box, and goals will come
ZIDANE TURN?
The pass was slightly slow to reach Aboh, who therefore had to find a solution which he did with creativity and that âZidane turnâ
Getting the arm in front is paramount, so that the defender doesnât (therefore can only get another part of his body in front – leg, if he tackles)
Taking the chance was the right decision, you aim at producing confident attackers, not perfect xG spreadsheets. And rebounds create chances, more than tippy tappy golden xG nonsense.
Abohâs balance is good, planted foot beside the ball, toes pointing where he wants to shoot, shoulders above the ball
The next level is to score regardless like Aguero (goal 36) did vs Aston Villa (and generally from that very location where heâd hammer a curved shot at the near post.
GOING AGAINST THE TIDE
Ball goes left, I go right.
Time to appreciate Mundle-Smithâs first touch, but especially Abohâs movement to create space at the far side.
RELIEF OUTLET
Every team needs someone to do the dirty work of getting under clearances (usually ball side, to go from having pressure piled on, to counter attacking and drawing a free kick)
Excellent work by Ken Aboh to gain territory
Mundle-Smith saw space, but it might have been preferable to ask more questions:
Heâs effectively drawing the cover to the ball, instead of making Lewis Brown (4) decide between keeping his man (and leaving his team mate 1v1) or reaching out to create the double team (but letting a runner lose to crash the box in his back)
Similar instance moments later:
Mundle-Smith creating space where the ballâs about to land
Risk worth taking, thatâs what attackers need to be doing: unpredictable turn or roll, draw a set piece (a throw-in) rather than pass back.
SCREEN AND BOX MOVEMENT
Abohâs screen is a good adaptation to the situation: if the RB (2) is beaten, then the winger is through.
Get the left leg in front, let it roll.
Mundle-Smithâs movement can improve on that cross:
The rule of thumb is to get around the penalty spot opposite side, then dart for the ball once the cross is hit
That gives the best chance to flick the ball, or get cleared out when the defender thinks heâs only got the ball to connect with (and the striker appears in his field of vision)
same instance moments later; after appreciating Aboh overlapping and getting into final third
On that cross, youâd want to meet with the trajectory, not run after it
Something more like it:
SĂ©bastien Chapuis 