Technique and mobility up front are all the rage

 
Tony Tannous Columnist

By , 6 Nov 2009 Tony Tannous is a Roar Expert

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Sydney FC'S Mark Rudan (centre) competes for the ball with Saso Ognenovski (left) and Reinaldo da Costa of the Queensland Roar during their A-League clash at Aussie Stadium, Sydney, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. AAP Image/Jenny Evans

Sydney FC'S Mark Rudan (centre) competes for the ball with Saso Ognenovski (left) and Reinaldo da Costa of the Queensland Roar during their A-League clash at Aussie Stadium, Sydney, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. AAP Image/Jenny Evans

Casting an eye over the A-League over the past month or two, what is becoming abundantly clear is that the teams that are using technique and mobility in the front third are the ones playing the most fluid and effective football.

You only have to look at the top of the table to see how effective this combination has been for the top two, Sydney and Melbourne.

The Vitezslav Lavicka-led Sydney have won five of their past seven, largely on the back of the maturing combination between Alex Brosque and Mark Bridge, who have bagged seven of Sydney’s 11 goals during this run.

Lavicka is finally getting the best out of both of these hitherto enigmatic strikers, and his template, built on rapid transition from defence to attack, and visa versa, is undoubtedly suiting both of these fit and dynamic runners.

Contrast it with Sydney’s static front-third earlier in the season, when John Aloisi led the line.

Aloisi, these days, is a through-the-middle-striker, meaning he essentially plays up and down the central third of the pitch, rarely venturing out wide.

When the ball was being targeted at him, Sydney’s forward play essentially came to halt as Aloisi attempted to hold the ball and hold off his marker. Every time he touched the ball it was a scrappy, slow contest, and Sydney’s play was pedestrian as a result.

Brosque and Bridge, since, have been moving all over the place and using their pace and first touch to turn, face the goal and link with their on-rushing midfielders. It has made for some very fluid front-third play.

Meanwhile, south of the Yarra, Melbourne first attempted to replace Danny Allsopp with the equally large Ney Fabiano, but the Brazilian is an altogether different player. He has the size, but not the mobility, and Melbourne were very static in round 11 when Sydney came to town and thumped them.

It wasn’t until Ernie Merrick replaced Fabiano with Mate Dugandzic at half time in the following game, away to Newcastle, that Melbourne finally started flowing.

In the past couple of weeks, the mobile and neat Sutee Suksomkit has joined both Dugandzic and Archie Thompson, and, with Carlos Hernandez drifting in from deep, the Victory look to have found a mobile solution to the loss of Allsopp.

Even Nathan Elasi did well off the bench last week in Perth, and Thompson appears to be relishing playing alongside some willing runners who can use the ball.

Further down the table and the bottom placed Newcastle Jets have been looking very effective with the pairing of Labinot Haliti and Michael Bridges, both blessed with pace, excellent movement and some very impressive work on the ball.

Even on Wednesday night, in a poor Jets display in Wellington, Haliti and Bridges created some chances, only to be thwarted by some desperate defending by the in-form Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante.

The Phoenix, meanwhile, have also been producing some very neat front-third play, with Paul Ifill continuing to catch the eye with his movement, pace, crossing and shooting ability, while he has been supported by a number of technically gifted attackers in Daniel and Leo Bertos.

Even Costa Barbarouses, who came into the 11 for Bertos on Wednesday, had a blinder, combining excellent pace and movement with a couple of lovely touches, including one delightful reverse-flick into the path of Chris Greenacre.

Of the in form teams, perhaps only the North Queensland Fury haven’t relied on the combination of mobility and technique to send them up the ladder.

Undefeated in five games, with only one loss in their past 10, the men leading the charge up front have been the technical Robbie Fowler, who has been a model of consistent finishing and football-smarts, and the industrious Daniel McBreen, who has been one of the few big-men making an impression so far this season.

Two teams, by contrast, who have relied on big men and are struggling in the front third are Adelaide and the Central Coast Mariners.

Indeed, their forward lines, at times, are probably best described as battering-ram attacks.

Up until recently Aurelio Vidmar was relying heavily on Lloyd Owusu to lead his line, but the United strategy with Owusu in the team was often very one-dimensional.

In the past three weeks Cristiano has been leading the line with support from Matthew Leckie and Travis Dodd, suggesting Vidmar is attempting to add more subtlety to the attack.

The problem is that while Cristiano has the technique, he doesn’t have the pace and mobility and is struggling to brake the shackles.

Meanwhile, the Mariners have been really ineffective in the front line, evidenced by only one win in their past six games, with only two goals in that run other than the three they bagged against the hapless Brisbane Roar in round 11.

Only five of the Mariners’ 13 goals this season have come from strikers, four of them from Matt Simon.

Simon puts himself about, Adam Kwasnik has a bit of pace, but neither of them, nor Dylan Macallister, has provided the requisite technique and mobility.

Even the Roar, which have relied on the goals of Sergio van Dijk for the past 12 months, have been looking less fluid of late, despite the efforts of Tommy Oar.

Van Dijk undoubtedly has the muscle and technique, and has been holding the ball up well, but the Roar is another side seemingly being left behind by this shift to having more mobility and movement in the front third.

No doubt the injury to Henrique played a big part in this, but right now a first choice combination of Van Dijk and Reinaldo looks more direct then dynamic.

The recent trend towards a more mobile and skilful front third has been a fascinating one, and is certainly worth watching.

Follow Tony on Twitter @TonyTannousTRBA

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