Chapter 53: Luton's Defensive Tactics

"The lights at Stamford Bridge look a little brighter than at Wards...... ' said one fan in the visitors' fan zone.

The fans who came to Luton looked at the owner of the team, and David Morton had to pretend that he didn't see anything, and it didn't cost anything to change the stadium lights...

The reason why fans pay attention to the lights is because Chelsea have been in possession for three minutes, but in fact they didn't push the ball into the Luton penalty area at all, so the game was quite boring, after all, Chelsea were passing back, and the game was almost three minutes into the game, and there was not even a shot on goal.

Of course, Chelsea want to press hard and eat this arrogant second division team in one bite, but as soon as the football passes the middle circle, Chelsea's players can feel the defensive pressure brought by the opponent.

Frank Lampard dropped back from his midfield position to the centre circle to get the ball, because Deco had been crossing left and right in midfield, but couldn't find a way forward, so Lampard came back to ask for the ball.

Although Scolari wants to establish Deco as the core of the team, Deco still does not dare to go against the Chelsea dressing room big man like Frank Lampard.

Frank Lampard picked up the ball and turned around, and from his line of sight, there was a whole field of players in orange shirts, while the Chelsea players seemed to be cut apart by Luton's players one by one, and short passes forward were almost impossible, and Luton concentrated a large number of players in the tight space to participate in defence.

Frank Lampard wanted a long pass but found himself approaching on either the left and right flanks, so Lampard then returned the ball.

Branislav Ivanovic tried a long pass after receiving the ball, but because his long pass was too long at the back, Luton's overall formation moved almost as soon as the ball hit the ground.

"The efficiency and discipline of the formation movement are good!!"

Scolari, who was wearing a blue tracksuit, shook the gray beard next to his lips and glanced at Gao Bo, who was standing not far away.

This young man doesn't just talk big... Judging by Luton's performances in those few minutes, this is a well-trained team.

Luton's defence was not a bucket formation in the usual sense, but rather a piece of brown candy moving back and forth on the pitch, and as the ball developed, they also piled up a large number of players on the side of the ball, making the Chelsea players feel that there were far more players at Luton than on the spot.

That's why Chelsea haven't been able to get the ball up front quickly.

"We have to pass the ball a little bit faster!!!"

It was also the first time Frank Lampard had seen such a defensive tactic, but he quickly spotted a weakness in it.

Speed up the pass!!

Increasing the speed of passing is indeed an effective way to crack Luton's tactics.

Speeding up the ball is easy to say, but it's not something that any team can do easily. Chelsea are a powerhouse in European football, but until then, Chelsea were not known for passing the ball. Scolari's revamp to Chelsea has only scratched the surface, with only the weight of Deco's ball, which is now a midfield centrepiece that drops back and gets the ball through Deco's players and then the Chelsea players run and Deco is passing the ball out – a bit like a classical midfielder.

Gao Bo referred to Simeone's defensive system in the future at Atletico Madrid, piling up enough personnel in local areas to put huge pressure on the opposing ball carriers.

But there is also a weakness in such a formation, as Barcelona once beat Atletico Madrid with a quick pass.

It's 2009 and it's the first time that Luton's defensive tactics have been on the radar of the mainstream media. The current dense defense is more of a traditional iron bucket formation, four defenders who will never leave their own penalty area, plus three or four defensive midfielders in front of the defenders, two iron rope-like defense lines lie in front of the goal, no matter how the opponent passes on the periphery, after all, it is necessary to pass through the penalty area of the defending side to score a goal.

Establishing an absolute numerical advantage in key positions is the essence of the tactics of the Iron Bucket Formation.

The establishment of numerical superiority in local areas is also emphasized by Gao Bo's theory. However, this numerical advantage can be in the penalty area as well as in other areas....

For Luton, it's a defensive and attacking formation, and if Chelsea make a mistake, then Luton can immediately launch a counter-attack on the spot as soon as the ball is broken!!

Scolari is still an old-school football coach, and in fact, the style of play of having a single core is increasingly abandoned by the times. Even Barcelona, who have been insisting on pass-and-control flow, are now gradually moving away from single-core tactics, after all, when a player controls too much of the ball, it is easy to be targeted by the opponent's tactics.

It's the same for Chelsea now, with Gobo's eyes always on Deco, and when Frank Lampard came back to get the ball, the muscles around Gobo's mouth shook... Frank Lampard is back to stir things up....

What a pity....

"Luton Town are one of the most prestigious teams in the second division, and under the tutelage of the Chinese coach, the team's tactical style is full of distinctive personal characteristics, and this is the first time I have seen this kind of play in the English league." Lightkinson said.

"It's too much physical exertion for the players..."Redknapp Jr. questioned on the side, "I doubt that this way of playing, Luton will be able to hold on until the second half..."

Redknapp's doubts are still reasonable, in fact, in the development of modern football, one of the fastest changes is in the running data, in the era of Redknapp Jr., football tactics are very different from now, at that time, after a game, the players ran five or six kilometers was considered very diligent.

In Gao Bo's later life, at that time in 2018, after a football game of sufficient quality, the players often ran around 10 kilometers!!

On the one hand, this is because the change in the rules of football has made the pace of football faster and faster, and on the other hand, the development of football tactics requires more and more players to run.

Gao Bo is not worried about Luton's fitness condition, which is a top priority in Luton's daily training routine. And Luton's squad is mostly young people in their mid-twenties, which is a young army with plenty of fitness.

......

Chelsea's passing speed did quicken.

Frank Lampard and Deco both have good skills at their feet and they can do the job of passing the ball quickly like that.

The pair made a couple of passes in midfield, and sure enough, they quickly got the ball to the edge of the Luton penalty area.

Frank Lampard then fired a long-range shot from outside the box to finish the first of the game.

The fans in the stands erupted in cheers, and the Luton fans were taken aback.

Gobo didn't react much to this, he saw Chelsea's intentions, and the succession between Frank Lampard and Deco just now was perfect... But will they always be able to work together so perfectly?

Not necessarily...