Which system suits Chiefs best?
4-3-3 with very advanced wide men
When you think of this shape, it features genuine attackers and three specialist central midfielders as opposed to a number 10. Kaizer Chiefs have used this system many times this season, but the skill-set and profile of the players means it’s been utilised in different ways.
Against Royal AM in the 0-0 home draw, Molefi Ntseki went with Yusuf Maart as the number six, with Edson Castillo and George Matlou as number eights. More than that, he used a genuine front three almost comprising three high strikers at times. Jasond Gonzalez and Ashley Du Preez alternated being down the middle, with Pule Mmodi very advanced on the left. Despite the scoreline, there was some promise to the display with 18 shots attempted and 59% ball possession, although only two shots were on target.
The same set-up was used in the following encounter, a 1-0 loss at SuperSport United, albeit with Christian Saile replacing Mmodi to effectively make it three strikers. Once again, despite high shot numbers (13 attempts), Amakhosi only had one effort on target from 67% possession. We saw the same approach for a 2-1 win against Sekhukhune United. It was a dominant display with 56% of the ball and 19 shots to just eight for Babina Noko. Ntseki was clearly leaning towards this set-up with George Matlou having his best run of form and starts since arriving at Naturena.
Unfortunately for the former Bafana Bafana coach, the set-up failed in a 1-0 home loss to Cape Town City. Those three advanced forwards had no space to operate against a deep back five and the 65% possession and 18 shots were misleading as the Soweto giants barely created from open play (one ‘big chance’ from nonset pieces). The thing about that game was how the balance was altered by the absence of Matlou and a more defensive, less creative player like Sibongiseni Mthethwa replacing him.
Matlou returned for Ntseki’s swansong against AmaZulu FC in place of Castillo, but it was Keagan Dolly and Tebogo Potsane wide, so there wasn’t the same powerful trio in attack from the preceding fixtures.
VERDICT: This shape saw some promising attacking displays, but the team felt a bit disconnected with seven outfield players tasked to defend and three front players camping high up the field. When Matlou was missing, there wasn’t enough ball-carrying ability from slightly deeper areas.
4-2-3-1 with tucked-in ‘wingers’
We saw this slightly curious 4-2-narrow3-1 set-up a few times this season. In the 1-1 MTN8 draw against Mamelodi Sundowns, Ntseki used Mmodi and Tebogo Potsane very narrow, almost suffocating Mduduzi Mdantsane! He partly selected that shape to deal with Masandawana’s four-man midfield box, but it hardly helped Chiefs create anything of note. Mmodi and Potsane pressed well, but they couldn’t really influence the game going forward.
In fact, the head coach ripped up the game plan at half-time in that match and threw on Gonzalez up front, with Du Preez trying his best to play as a number 10. We again saw the narrow wingers set-up in the second leg, but this time with Matlou in the midfield instead of Mdantsane. We again witnessed a shape so confined that you could have thrown a blanket over Amakhosi’s attacking players! In reality, the Brazilians can play narrow with their cohesion in tight spaces, but the Glamour Boys can’t at this stage of their development.
The funny thing is that we even saw Cavin Johnson try a super narrow 4-2-3-1 system with all of Shabalala, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Dolly in the same starting XI… from Ntseki’s 4-3-3 with no number 10 to having three of them holding hands in the same line-up! Thankfully for Johnson, he made that selection against Cape
ATown Spurs and Chiefs had the superior players to get away with it. Once Mmodi and Saile came on, we saw a better picture.
VERDICT: These narrow set-ups just did not bring out the best in the players. A number 10 needs wingers to spread the opposition and therefore manufacture space between the lines or in the-half spaces. When you play three narrow players in that ‘third band’, you best have the interplay and understanding of Sundowns or it will get too congested. It’s a bit of a ‘narrow-minded’ formation, if you will!
4-3-2-1 – Cavin’s Christmas Tree
After Johnson took the reins, he stopped using his predecessor’s various iterations of 4-3-3. Under the latter, number 10s were out of favour due to using three outright central midfielders in the engine room. Johnson brought Shabalala and Ngcobo back in the picture… but in inside forward roles!
A bit like Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan side of the early 2000s, we saw a single striker supported by two playmakers with no wingers in sight. Whereas Ancelotti had Kaka and Rui Costa, Johnson was attempting it with Dolly, Shabalala and Ngcobo, but without Du Preez available. It didn’t work without the latter’s pace and mobility to force defenders deep and therefore open space between the lines.
We saw this formation in losses to Golden Arrows and archrivals Orlando Pirates. The game against Abafana Bes’thende had good stats (61% possession, 22 shots), but in reality, the narrow shape flopped on a bad playing surface as Dolly and Shabalala lacked speedy players to release or combine with. In the loss to
Bucs, Amakhosi may have had 58% of the ball, but they only mustered one shot on target… simply not good enough. Thankfully, it was a shortlived experiment.
VERDICT: This structure could work if you had two truly outstanding number 10s, like Themba Zwane and Gaston Sirino of yesteryear. You also need a mobile striker to work the channels and two very adventurous fullbacks. Hell, you need former wingers bombing forward from fullback like we see at Downs. Trying this set-up with Chiefs’ fullback options and number 10s was never going to work.
4-2-3-1 with wingers and a number 10
Two games, two wins, two clean sheets. Since Johnson went to this formation, the Naturena-based side has looked miles more balanced both on the ball and out of possession. “Mshini” has been selected as the number 10 with wide, inverted wingers in Mmodi and Saile. Ranga Chivaviro has players to combine with and opponents can’t simply sit narrow against this shape.
Amakhosi had 15 shots against Moroka Swallows but needed a fast transition in the 82nd minute to score. However, there was better spacing of the front six players and “Ox” looked more comfortable with Maart alongside him to do the passing from deeper positions. Against Polokwane City, the Glamour Boys only mustered eight shots in the 32-degree heat, but they had 61% possession, meaning they largely ‘defended with the ball’.
VERDICT: A more symmetrical shape suits the personnel in the Chiefs squad. We’re seeing Mmodi playing as a winger instead of as a narrow inside left or as a very advanced left forward. He can get the ball deeper and drive at opponents. This formation (with Ngcobo to knit things together) looks the most promising of what we’ve seen this season.
Castillo conundrum: Three doesn’t go into two!
The problem with the 4-2-3-1 shape is that there is only space for two central midfield players. Meanwhile, the side has the expensively-acquired Mthethwa and Maart and also Castillo, arguably their Player of the Season so far! All three merit and even demand a starting position at Chiefs. If Johnson keeps using this formation, it means one of his big-name central midfielders has to be left on the bench. The wins against Swallows and Polokwane City saw Castillo as the odd man out and it won’t be easy to change a winning team for the Richards Bay FC and Sekhukhune United matches that come prior to the mid-season hiatus.
There comes a time when the good of the team has to come first and perhaps the coach will simply have to rotate his three main midfielders from week to week. After all, they all bring different gifts to the table. Perhaps the issue is that no matter which duo you select, something is missing from the skill-sets on the pitch. Maart and Castillo? They probably aren’t quite strong enough or disciplined enough defensively. Maart and Mthethwa? They are solid as a pair and bring a pass-destroyer dynamic, but no goal threat. Castillo and Mthethwa? They bring destructive qualities plus the Venezuelan’s runs into goalscoring positions, but it means Amakhosi lacking a deep-lying passer without Maart. With some good opposition analysis and training ground work, Johnson can pick the best pairing to dovetail against specific adversaries.
s we near the mid-season break for the Africa Cup of Nations, we can take stock of Kaizer Chiefs’ tactical systems so far this season. Considering the side has had two coaches in Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson and have had to integrate 10 new signings, there was always going to be some experimentation. The two main men in charge this campaign have steered clear of using a back
three shape, something we saw on occasion from Arthur Zwane and certainly before that from coaches like Steve Komphela, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt and even Stuart Baxter. Which shape is producing the best results, possession numbers and chance creation? In this feature, Soccer Laduma focuses on the last dozen matches to get a clearer picture of the way forward at Naturena.