SIDEMEN FC vs YOUTUBE ALLSTARS - Tactical Analysis
One match, 15 goals, 2.6million concurrent viewers, over £1million raised for charity…
The goalkeeping was questionable, but there was indeed ability, at both ends of the spectrum, on show.
It ended 8-7 to Sidemen FC on the day, courtesy of another stellar performance from Miniminter that saw him rack up six goal contributions in the form of three goals and three assists.
But YouTube Allstars certainly gave resistance, with manager Mark Goldbridge proving to be more tactically astute than many would think.
So, before we look at the stats behind individual performances, let’s delve into some of the key tactical themes that featured throughout.
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Youtube Allstars Tactical Themes
When the line-ups came out, many were shocked to see Theo Baker, a well-renowned attacking threat in the YouTube scene, deployed as a centre-back in a back-four.
And whilst it came as a shock originally, you can envision Goldbridge’s thought process, as he clearly wanted players who were comfortable with the ball in the deeper positions so that sustained attacking build-ups could consistently take place.
It was a theme that carried into the double-pivot midfield of Yung Filly and Noah Beck - again, two surprise inclusions in such traditionally deep roles.
Though, just minutes into the game, it became clear as to why the United Stand founder deployed the duo in these respective pivot positions.
With Baker a clear initiator at the back, Filly and Beck would often combine to progress the ball further up the pitch.
But the plot twist in all of this, and the key theme that made the Allstars so threatening at times, was the double-pivot duo’s attacking intent.
Beck and Filly were not traditional pivots and made sure to get forward in almost every attacking transition, they were almost deep-lying attackers and were afforded this opporunity by WillNE, Harry Pinero and AnEsonGib, who would create a makeshift back-three in-possession.
It enabled the Allstars to get as many players forward in their bid to achieve numerical superiority, with gaps at the back covered.
With the usual aim of getting five players in the opponent’s final third, the Allstars rotated and focused on gaining advantages in the half-space, with Chunkz a surprise string-puller during this phase.
Sidemen FC Tactical Themes
Which brings us onto the Sidemen FC, who deployed a 4-4-2 system with ChrisMD and KSI as a double-six.
It was a surprisingly balanced midfield, with KSI happy to sit back as ChrisMD ventured forward, though it is worth noting that both players rotated this role.
You can understand manager Billy Wingrove’s decision to deploy ChrisMD as a midfielder, with his ability to progress play a key attribute to his playstyle.
Miniminter, was happy to act as the floating striker, almost acting as a false-9, in a move that saw the generational talent that is Vikkstar123 lead the line.
This rotation enabled the likes of TBJZL to invert and offer support in the central areas, to which he did on a consistent and productive basis.
But one of the most interesting tactical themes in the Sidemen FC squad was their use of the 4-4-2 throughout both attacking and defensive transitions.
When going forward, the fullbacks in Calfreezy and Zerkaa would happily sit back in a back four, with no real intent to attack.
But, with cover in this area more than present, it meant that the likes of ChrisMD and TBJZL would venture forward to accompany Miniminter and Vikkstar in a shape that resembled a 4-2-4, with Mr Beast and KSI providing cover in the midfield areas.
As such, out-of-possession, the side would quickly revert back into their native 4-4-2 set-up, but often made the mistake of dropping too deep.
If Wingrove had taken a page out of Fulham manager Marco Silva’s playbook, he would have seen his side defend in this same set-up, but further up the pitch to create a 4-4-2 mid-block.
This sort of pressure would have disabled a number of Allstars attacks, and could have seen the Sidemen benefit from greater counter-attacking opportunities.
The Stats
Either way, credit has to be handed to all involved, with the teams evenly matched and tactics making for an open and positively destructive game of football, for some great causes.
On the day, Goldbridge’s Allstars just edged possession, compiling a total of 53%, whilst Sidemen FC were happy to sit back and wait for counter-attacking opportunities, with their superior total of 26 shots evidence of this.
In terms of individual performances:
Noah Beck created the joint most amount of chances in the game with 5, sharing this total with Miniminter, and also completed the most passes in the match with 39, at a completion rate of 85%.
ChrisMD completed the most dribbles in the game, with a total of 7 completed.
KSI both won the most duels in the match with a total of 11, and simultaneously lost the most duels in the game with 10 lost.