On Saturday, Norwich City headed to the Stadium of Light with a desire and determination of returning to Norfolk with 3 points, but what we learnt from that game was so much more. In this article, I will review the formations and tactics on show from both sides.
Let’s start with Sunderland: Dick Advocaats’ men played a narrow 4-3-3 formation – a formation that served the Black Cats so well last season. However, with their midfield three of Larsson, Cattermole and M’Vila they looked lost and had too much space between the three of them, which allowed Hoolahan to run absolute riot. The lack of protection in front of the back four allowed the little Irishman to find pockets of space to deliver some killer passes. In this formation, your midfield is key. You need to have the desire to run all day but you also need to work as a unit. With Sunderland, there was no evidence of pressing Norwich on the ball and so they were so easy to break down. Cattermole in particular had a poor game; he didn’t shield the back four (as you would expect from a more defensive midfielder) and he was getting the run around from Norwich’s slick, accurate passing. When Norwich received the ball out wide, Sunderland’s shape needed to alter but failure to do this meant van Aanholt and Jones were often left with 2 vs 1 situations. The midfield three needed to shift across to become more compact to ensure the 2 vs 1 situation never occurred. Also, the striker furthest from the side of the pitch needed to tuck in alongside the third midfielder to ensure they were more compact, especially after going a goal down.
Sunderland’s defensive duo of Coates and Kaboul didn’t complement each other very well. Jerome was given the licence to cause havoc and there didn’t seem to be any understanding between the two centre-backs. Kaboul should be leading the somewhat inexperienced Coates and as soon as they realised Jerome had them for pace, dropped five yards deeper in order to stop that deadly ball over the top that Jerome thrived on. They need to work on complementing each other’s game because they clearly lacked confidence and understanding, and this in turn affected Sunderland’s whole shape, meaning they needed to come deeper to ensure Norwich didn’t play the ball over the top.
There was no desire from the Sunderland front three in Defoe, Lens and Fletcher. Admittedly, they didn’t receive much service, but not one of them played in the pockets in front of the Norwich defence or looked up the line for the ball. I’m a big fan of Defoe, but at times I forgot he was playing. With Defoe, he thrives off a big man and a direct style, but Sunderland didn’t go direct, even with the introduction of Danny Graham. Nor did the Black Cats run at Norwich, and the only time they did, it resulted in a free kick which led to Watmore’s goal.
To conclude, Sunderland could be in trouble. There was no desire or creativity when on the ball and they looked almost panicked when in possession. Their general team shape was weak and they looked really poor.
Norwich City played well though. We can sit around talking about how poor Sunderland were, but you can only beat what is put in front of you and City did that. Defensively, I thought City were much better than last week. Tettey mirrored the back two and looked confident and composed on the ball.
City recognised early the joy they got down the wings. Brady and Whittaker were allowed to go forward and when they did, the respective winger, whether it be Redmond or Howson, dropped inside to create space for the duo. There were numerous times Brady and Whittaker won the ball on halfway and would parade forward for 30 yards before delivering a cross or looking for a ball inside to the brilliant Hoolahan. The full-backs were a key part of City’s win and that was displayed through Whittaker’s goal, working the ball from one side to the other before a glorious one-two. Whittaker proved to be stronger and hungrier to get to the ball and surprised the travelling supporters with a striker-like finish.
I can’t talk about Norwich without talking about Wes Hoolahan. I have always said if he was 7-8 years younger and had pace he would be playing for a much better side. The Irish magician served Sunderland a footballing lesson with his vison to find that killer pass. It was a pleasure watching Wes on Saturday. He played behind Jerome but often dropped deeper to support Dorrans, always wanting the ball, regardless of how Norwich or himself are playing.
The positivity from City was really refreshing. Hoolahan, Redmond and Jerome in a side away from home shows the intentions of Neil, but in truth, Norwich looked like the home side. The smart passes on display and the way Norwich made Sunderland lose their shape and tired them through possession based football was really impressive. Dorrans was an unsung hero from the start and played cute little 5 yard passes that others fail to notice.
