This season represents a period of transition for the Central Coast Mariners. Paul Okon is rebuilding from Tony Walmsley’s reign with a squad pieced together by the cast-offs of other A-League clubs combined with several promising but very raw youngsters.
This may seem a harsh indictment on the likes of Jacques Faty, Mickael Tavares and Connor Pain but the reality is very few Mariners players would feature as prominently at other clubs. Hamstrung by budget limitations and two seasons of poor form, Okon has to make do with what he has, in the limited time he has had with the squad.
Results, and the style of play, have marginally improved, but these are the first steps in what is a long-term plan.
Arriving halfway through the pre-season and two months out from the first round, it was always going to be difficult for Okon to imprint his preferred brand of football immediately. It should be no surprise what school Okon subscribes to, having coached at national team level during this current Ange Postecoglou era of proactivity.
Postecoglou himself was part of the decision to appoint Okon. The Socceroos coach said at the time of Okon’s appointment that “I want the level of football here to improve…the more teams we have trying to play good positive football will benefit the game.”
“I’ve worked closely with Paulo for the last few years and he can get his team to play in a certain way in really tough international conditions when you only have limited time.”
The Mariners exhibit clear hallmarks of the Okon, and ‘national’, style of play. In a 4-3-3 formation, they have a clear emphasis on playing from the back to build attacks.
They also defend proactively, pressing teams high up the pitch. While there is a clear difference in quality, speed and execution, stylistically, you can see similarities between Okon and the Socceroos, and with many of the other teams in the A-League and NPL attempting to implement this ‘modern’ approach.
However, where Postecoglou’s Socceroos build up with intent, Okon’s Mariners initially felt very ponderous in possession. Perhaps too keen to satisfy their coach’s reputation, the centre-backs often spent long periods passing across the width of the pitch, albeit deep inside their own half.
Yet even after a heavy defeat to Sydney FC Okon insisted that his team outplayed the league leaders. “I think we were the better side and I challenge anyone to disagree with me,” Okon said. “It’s the way we want to play, to come here and dominate Sydney and play the way we want to. I’m happy with the team.”
Okon was probably simply trying to instil confidence in his young team with these hyperbolic comments, but it also belied his current emphasis on the style of play, rather than results. Even if the process proves challenging, he will persist with this learning process, with faith in its eventual ability to create a possession-dominant, attacking team in the vein of Josep Gombau’s Adelaide United, or Postecoglou’s Brisbane Roar.
However, the Mariners continue to be plagued by issues of both territory, and execution. In their New Year’s Eve clash against Melbourne City, for example, they struggled in the first half to control possession in meaningful areas of the pitch.
Their back four, stretched across the full width of the pitch, with the full-backs moving high and wide and the centre-backs splitting to the edge of the box, moved the ball slowly from side to side in the back third, but struggled to play genuinely penetrating passes into the middle or front third.
Part of the problem lay in the positioning of the full-backs. Often, Michael O’Neill and Scott Galloway received passes from the centre-backs with the opposition winger in front of them. This meant as the full-backs took their first touch, City could press them immediately. As City’s wingers defend from a narrow starting position, this pressure often come from ‘inside’.
This meant the Mariners full-backs could only play straight line passes down the line to the feet of their teammates on the wing. These extremely vertical passes, to Trent Buhagiar and Kwabena Appiah, were easily read by City’s full-backs, who could then intercept or tackle to win the ball back.
This common scenario illustrates the perils of building up through full-backs. Their positioning against the touchline, while helping to make the field as big as possible, restricts the space they have to play in when they receive the ball.
It is often said the touchline is the best defender, because it automatically halves the available area to the player on the ball from 360° to 180°.
By a similar rule of thumb, it is more beneficial to build up through central areas, where the player on the ball has theoretically a 360° field of view. By the design of their 4-3-3 formation, however, the Mariners find it difficult to achieve this. This is because Okon instructs his front three to stay high up the pitch, against the opposition’s last line. The wingers try to go 1v1 against full-backs, and Roy O’Donovan makes runs in behind – he has been caught offside more than any other player this season.
Therefore, the only players occupying central areas are the three midfielders. These are a #6, usually Nick Montgomery, a #8 who drops deep (Adam Berry against Melbourne City) and a #10 who plays high, typically Blake Powell.
Opposition coaches also know that is more effective to force a team to build out wide rather than centrally. Defensive blocks, therefore, focus on restricting space in the middle. Melbourne City do this, as aforementioned, by having the wingers tucking in to block passing lanes centrally. Additionally, in their last game, Van’t Schip instructed Tim Cahill to drop back and occupy Montgomery when the Mariners had the ball.
With Luke Brattan and Anthony Caceres positioned behind Cahill, picking up Powell and Berry, there were very few moments where any Mariners midfielder was able to receive passes facing forward in that congested midfield zone.
This has been a common problem throughout the season. The Mariners understand the first phase of possession play, but struggle to link it to the second, or third phase, which would allow them to consistently and effectively create chances.
Theoretically, an extra player in that midfield zone could help overload teams that defend man to man. It was telling that in the second half against Melbourne City, when O’Neill began making underlapping runs down the left-hand channel from left-back, that the Mariners made inroads. His forward movement inside – rather than outside – meant a City midfielder had to vacate their man to press him, creating space for a Mariners midfielder in the centre.
Getting players facing forward on the ball in the middle third is a critical component of Okon’s game plan. When a midfielder faces forward in possession, it is the cue for attackers to make forward runs in the final third, creating opportunities for penetration. This can only come about as a result of good build up play that has drawn the opposition up the pitch to press, creating space between the lines.
The Mariners second goal against Melbourne City was actually an excellent example of this. O’Neill receives a lofted pass from the goalkeeper in the inside-left channel. Luke Brattan shifts across to press, creating space inside for Berry to receive facing forward.
As he does, Connor Pain drifts wider on the outside-right, and receives a cross-field switch. This gives Buhagiar the opportunity to make a forward run in behind from the #10 position, receiving in behind the defence. He squares for Roy O’Donovan to tap home.
It’s a simple goal that goes from back to front in four passes, and encapsulates the Okon philosophy. Tellingly, though, it came in a period of frantic end-to-end play, when both teams began to tire and the pressure on the ball significantly dipped.
When City defended solidly throughout the first half, the Mariners did not come close to creating anything similar. The challenge is to consistently produce these types of passages against organised defences.
The bare framework is in place, but more work is required for Okon to continue to build this fledgling Mariners team in his preferred image.
At work
Roar Rookie
It's a very important point you make JB, if you don't have the quality on the park then Okon should alter his style of play. Also there is more than one way to play beautiful and positive football, you don't need to have 70% (effective) possession to achieve this, attractive play can come in many ways. Reason I bring this up is that last year it was an objective of CCM that they would play attractive football, but if you're not implementing well then it's not very attractive. Whatever style Okon chooses, he should base it evenly on his ideals but also who he has at his disposal. FWIW I never really appreciated watching Barcelona play, the way'd strangle the opposition with their possession was boring at times.
j binnie
Guest
Bob - for some time now, and in recent seasons, there has been considerable change into the way our top teams try to play football.and such has been the impact that over and above the Socceroos we now have CCM ,Melb.City and others trying to base their strategies on the game brought to the fore in Europe by Barcelona,one of football's best ever teams. One thing,a very important point ,that appears to be forgotten, is that this brand of football is highly dependent on what and how you play the game when in possession of the ball. Ball retention factors such as "first touch" control, passing ,speed and accuracy of ball movement, and,,just as important, constant movement by team-mates in other areas of the field, all add up to attaining success with this system of play. It is these factors I feel are being ignored by some coaches.To be successful in this style of play calls for a very high level of skill all around the field and it is in this area we appear to struggle as all of the players in our top teams have yet to attain that standard hence the tactic breaks down far too often to be deemed successful Hence we have Sydney FC , playing a simplistic system all the players know,"streaking the field" this early in the season. Cheers jb
Bob Brown
Roar Guru
I remember Paul Okon well, from his time at Marconi Stallions, he went on to play in the big leagues of Europe, including Seria A for Lazio and Fiorentina and of course captained the Footballroos. He was a great player and I always felt he didn't get the full credit he deserved, possibly because of his wretched luck with injuries towards the end of his career. I don't think Paul is quite ready for top grade professional coaching just yet and he is not the one to save the Mariners this season. I wish him all the best in his coaching career and am sure that one day he will become the great manager that we all know he can be. For the sake of the Mariners and the A-League in general, I sincerely hope that day comes sooner rather than later.
Nebakke
Guest
Except they do. They're separate entities, yes, but under the same management. I'd be surprised if any club with investment in property doesn't have a similar setup to shield themselves from liabilities. If doing poorly in the league was really the deciding factor you'd have to gave thrown out just about every other team except MV and Brisbane by now. Heck WSW only narrowly avoided the spoon two years ago.
Ruudolfson
Guest
A good young coach, hes also got some good players especially the young winger, what they need is some key experienced players in midfield and in defence.
Lionheart
Guest
Well I enjoyed this article immensely, and have read it a couple of times to absorb it properly. Let's have more of these, rather than the esoteric expansion and p/r articles. Education is one of the keys to success and growth of the league.
Waz
Guest
Mid, you made a profit last season through the transfer income of Ryan ($2m) and Caseras ($350k). Logic says that unless you have the same transfer income coming in again you will lose about $2m this year, which is in line with many HAL clubs.
MarkfromCroydon
Roar Pro
As funny as it sounds, from what I've seen of CCM this season, they are a team that does try to play football and I can see what Okon has meant with some of his comments. Having said that, I think any good team in the A-League needs to have a"plan B". Its all well and good to play pretty football and lose sometimes, but in a 10 team competition, where you're playing each other so often and often within a few weeks, you need options to change the game to force a result if you want to be a team that is challenging for honours rather than a development club, which to some extent is what they seem to be aiming to be at the moment.
At work
Roar Rookie
Yes thank you for the great read Tim. Not a code war comment in sight. I wonder if Okon sticks with his philosophy or tries something new. As we're seeing, I don;t thin he has the quality in the team, particularly the back 4 to implement his tactics well enough. Also signing Faty was just lazy, good guy but inconsistent player and a liability at the back.
Squizz
Guest
Sorry Mid - but it is That Boy Trent - not That Trent Boy.
Franko
Guest
Was big talk of Robbie Slaters boy a while back, any word on him now?
Franko
Guest
As mentioned above, great analysis. You feel the Mariners are only two players away from being really competitive. A good playmaker and perhaps a CB or DM, good wingers solid attack but aren't great at dictating tempo (like when mcglinchey was around) Really pleased to see Okon doing well and another great NYE from the Mariners also.
aladdin sane
Guest
Great analysis! I have my doubts as to whether Okon can succeed playing this way, given he is unlikely to ever have the cattle to do so. If you take Leicester as an example last season in the Premier League, that was an average group with a couple of outstanding individuals, playing very basic football. Everyone knew their role and they were able to fulfill it as the demands on the individual were not too high. Could Leicester have done the same playing tiki-taka? Not a chance in hell. Experiment is doomed to failure. Same reason they overachieved with Arnie at the helm, playing pragmatically and to the ability of the squad.
Jeff Williamson
Roar Pro
Thanks for the very good analysis of the Mariners. They are definitely a better organised outfit this season. Defensive lapses have hurt them. But they are competitive and improving with Paul Okon.
Lancey5times
Roar Rookie
No I got grub from using a great article regarding the rebuilding of one of the A-Leagues foundation clubs as a platform for an attack. Your post has zero to do with the article and seems caked in personal bias. Fadida asked you to back up your statements with facts and instead you attacked further. Attitudes like yours are holding back the game in this country. Not proud clubs likes the Central Coast.
Nemesis
Guest
j binnie, I agree. My wishlist for CCM seems fanciful. Having said that CCM have always been low on financial strength. Yet CCM recruited, nurtured & provided the finishing touches to players of the calibre of: Jedinak, Amini, Ryan, Ibini-Isei, McGlinchey, Fitzgerald, Rogic, Bozanic, Sainsbury, Caceres, Duke Before anyone jumps in, I'm not saying CCM produced these footballers. I'm saying CCM gave them all a chance at pro-football when no one else wanted them. Look at them now. No reason why another Amini & Sainsbury cannot be found in Gosford.
j binnie
Guest
Fadida - An excellent analysis of this present CCM starting eleven. Cheers jb.
j binnie
Guest
Nemesis. You are in "dreamland " again, but it makes good reading. Paul Okon is a coach. He is at a club not blessed with great following "in numbers" or in "fiscal assets". So what to do for the new coach?. Does he "dream" about Amini. Rogic, or even Bozanic, or does he set to and make do with what he has, That is where the man is at. He has two fast wingers, one a novice, the other a tried and tested (elsewhere) operator and as you correctly point out is sadly lacking in experienced defenders and a skilled playmaker, ,always a threat in today's football. Okon has a job to do,he is not over blessed with talent,and until that is sorted out his job will be a difficult one to handle. My one worry is that in adopting his 'passing mantra" is he actually asking the players to perform above their talents,always a dangerous path to follow. Explain??? We have Sydney, and to a lesser extent Victory, now committed to a retreating defence game, with fast devastating counter attacking attempts on goal, and when playing the passing game against this tactic, the standard of passing has to be of the highest standard or you will be punished sooner rather than later. Can Paul teach his old horses new tricks? Time will tell. Cheers jb.
Midfielder
Guest
Tim Excellent analysis. Re Okon is a long term appointment by the Mariners. We had two terrible years mainly caused by poor management off the park. We appointed two top draw consultants to turn us around but returning to what made us successful I.e. the best juniors supported by excellent junior coaches. We are two years into a five year plan to win everything again. We are making a small profit. We have arguably the best two coaches of youth in the country. The COE without peer as a training facility. Next season the plan is to spend the full salary cap. Okon played a smart player swap in Pain for Austin . Again great read wil. coment more latter
j binnie
Guest
Tim - While it is always heartening to read an article in which the writer attempts to "educate" the "newer" fan to the game,I wish in the attempt, the writers would stop referring to 4-3-3 as something "new" in our game. 4-3-3 was a tactical development that actually morphed out of the system 4-2-4 which the brilliant Braziiliian teams of the early 1950's used, with almost unlimited skilled players, Garrincha ,Pele etc. The change to 4-3-3 is thought to have been "developed" due to the running power and attitude of a left winger in that 4-2-4 system,Mario Zagalla,who, as soon as the team lost possession, immediate took up a defensive position helping out his midfield.duo. By the time the 1956 World Cup came around Brazil were deemed to be playing 4-3-3.( this was 18 years before the Dutch claim to Total Football) Our team of part timers that went to Germany in 1974 used the system with Rooney, Richards,and Mackay as the mid-field trio. For some obscure reason the FFA chose to put forward the system as a "must" in the Dutch generated National Curriculum, hinting that it was the only way to play the game. All the ex-players now coaching in the HAL would be well aware of the 4-3-3 system and how it is supposed to work,the problem is that , as in any system, the players must have the basic skills and football "know how" to make it work. Unfortunately I suspect that is why the FFA's Dutch influencers suggested we go back to a 1956 Brazilian system (remember Verbeek's comment re. the HAL standard) and use it until our skills and knowledge levels picked up to a level that could see more difficult systems introduced. Today there is little doubt our standard has improved, but still the ratio of "cheap turnovers" to "killing passes" is still out of sinc. with what would be desirable. Cheers jb.