00:00Vito Pereira has transformed Nottingham Forest.
00:03This is an image showing Pereira's tactical setup at Forest,
00:06attacking rotations mean his side can't stop scoring,
00:09his defensive setup sees them relentlessly press the opposition,
00:12and they've got one foot in a Europa League final.
00:15But this isn't just good form, it's a complete transformation.
00:20Now, how has he done it?
00:21Well, I'm Jacob Hawes for 442's resident tactician.
00:24Today, we'll be breaking down exactly how Vito Pereira
00:27has taken Nottingham Forest from relegation to potential Champions League qualification.
00:32What a mental sentence.
00:36To understand Vito Pereira's impact with the tricky trees,
00:41we first got to look at how adaptable him and the team have actually been.
00:45Typically, Forest will sit in a 4-1-4-1 mid-block with a very, very narrow midfield,
00:50which means they can protect that central space.
00:52In this case, Tottenham drop both of their central midfielders out of that midfield space
00:56so they can actually get on the ball.
00:58But, despite popular belief, Forest don't just let the opposition have the ball
01:02and have a nice little kick about.
01:04They want to be proactive and step out of their block.
01:06So, when one of those Dito midfielders receives the ball,
01:09the two ballside players jump to force the ball backwards.
01:12Being proactive in your mid-block can be seen as a risk,
01:15because stepping out creates space for the opposition to play in.
01:18But, Forest take that risk,
01:20because it can lead to them creating their own chances on the ball.
01:23Forest will go man-to-man high up the pitch whenever possible.
01:26You see a sort of central diamond here to cut off the Burnley pivot player.
01:30The wide pass is also cut off,
01:31whilst Elliot Anderson zonally covers space to allow Sangare to commit high
01:35to follow the Burnley midfielder who's trying to receive from the back line.
01:38This forces the opposition into some really tricky scenarios.
01:42They can either fire through the lines and trust this midfielder to receive under pressure
01:46and win that physical battle, or they can send it long.
01:49The problem with both of them options is Forest are physically dominant,
01:53so they will usually win that battle and turn the ball over.
01:56Only Arsenal and Brighton have won the ball in the attacking third more than them since Pereira's arrival,
02:00which has been almost a turning point for the tricky trees.
02:03They're not necessarily the low block side that both Daesh and Nuno Espirito Santos would have wanted them to be,
02:09but they're also not style over substance, like Ange Postacoglu is known for being.
02:14Instead, Vito Pereira has managed to balance that out-of-possession risk with security impragmatism.
02:21If their aggressive press is broken due to their midfield not jumping quick enough,
02:25Vito Pereira has a little plan, a little trick up his sleeve to adapt.
02:29They'll drop in and go almost entirely zonal, often going man-to-man with just one central player.
02:34This means they can pressure the ball in groups to usher the opposition wide without giving up central space for
02:39the opposition to play into.
02:40Which is why they've not really given away too many high-quality chances since Vito Pereira's arrival.
02:46In fact, they sit fifth for least shots conceded inside the box under their new gaffer.
02:50And that pressing in groups making those midfield jumps at the right time are key to their defensive solidity.
02:57And funnily enough, those jumps, those patterns out of possession, are almost mirroring their attacking play.
03:04They will regularly play on the halfway line in a 3-2 with one of the wide players opposite to
03:08the ball coming inside
03:09to pull the opposition's winger narrow, whilst the other Forrest wide player is going high and wide into space.
03:14The return of Chris Wood has been huge for this, because he's formed a nice partnership with Igor Jesus.
03:20That partnership has allowed Forrest to pin the opposition's backline and force him to go man-to-man,
03:25whilst the ball side winger stretches the defence by going wide, leaving these small pockets of space in the opposition's
03:30block.
03:31Which are important. Don't worry, I'm going to tell you why they're important.
03:35Dominguez receives the ball and quickly plays wide to the winger, but he doesn't just stop here.
03:39He then makes a darting run between the opposition's full-back and centre-back,
03:42which opens up the lane for the cut-back pass so then Forrest can deliver from that half-space area
03:47into the box.
03:48And that, that quick movement from midfield, those quick jumps, the small-side overloads,
03:53well, that's why it looks like Forrest in these counter-attacking scenarios almost all the time.
03:58Because those quick darts from midfield after the direct press-out wide create small-sided overloads for them to play
04:04in,
04:04which frees up players elsewhere on the pitch.
04:07For example, just before this clip starts, Anderson had played the ball out wide and then slowly jogged forward,
04:12but he clocks Morgan Gibbs-White in an unfavourable position to actually receive the ball,
04:16so he darts forward, dragging Lukas Bergvau with him.
04:19If we fast-forward slightly, Gibbs-White wandered himself into that space that Elliot Anderson vacated,
04:24which means he can get the ball fired into him, turn, and then Nico Williams makes a similar run to
04:30Elliot Anderson.
04:30He makes a darting underlap. That darting run pulls Archie Gray a little bit deeper and also pulls Pedro Porro
04:36narrow.
04:36So when the ball goes wide, Tottenham are now having to dart toward the ball once the Nottingham Forest wingers
04:41already received it.
04:43Which, when you have the dynamic wingers that Nottingham Forest do, it's a massive benefit for them tricky trees.
04:50That's gonna catch on. Because when that ball goes wide, the Nottingham Forest wingers have the ability to hit the
04:55touchline and cut it back,
04:56cut inside and have a whipping at goal, or just deliver into the box straight away, because they're so versatile.
05:02So a full-back trying to come and meet them once they've already got the ball, well, it isn't ideal.
05:09However, none of this is possible without these two players. Some would say the cogs of Vito Pereira's well-oiled
05:16machine.
05:16Before we get to that though, a quick one from me to tell you about our latest offer here at
05:21442,
05:22where right now you can get up to 50% off on all of our magazine subscription plans.
05:27Whether you sign up for a short-term six-month deal, or you're planning going on for a little bit
05:31longer,
05:31if you click the link in the description, you'll get the latest 442 magazine dropped off at your door every
05:36single month.
05:37And if that wasn't enough, by signing up right now, you'll get our next issue, the World Cup issue, completely
05:43free.
05:43On top of that, it comes with a World Cup wall chart and a free supplement as well.
05:47So the link's in the description if you want to get on it, and I don't know why you wouldn't,
05:50but for now, let's get back to Vito Pereira's cogs in his well-oiled machine.
05:56No Premier League midfielder has completed more dribbles per 90 than Elliot Anderson this season.
06:00Now, a lot of that is because he is, well, Elliot Anderson, the next £100 million sale in the Premier
06:06League,
06:08but I do also think Vito Pereira's system has bought into Elliot Anderson's ability in the dribble.
06:13Morgan Gibbs-White and Ibrahim Sangari both sit in Forrest's top ten dribblers as well as Elliot Anderson.
06:18The fact other central players are completing a high volume of dribbles, not just Elliot Anderson, isn't a coincidence.
06:24Because 41% of Forrest's football comes in the middle of the pitch, the midfielders aren't just tasked with running
06:29about to create space,
06:31they also get the ball and carry it forward to suck the opposition in before playing wide.
06:36Which is why the Wings are home to 77% of their total attacks in the final third.
06:41But with all these things considered, there is one specific player who really epitomises Vito Pereira's brilliance at Nottingham Forrest.
06:49Morgan Gibbs-White is absolutely incredible, ain't he?
06:53Under Pereira, Gibbs-White is averaging his most goal contributions of the season.
06:57Now, there's a few reasons for that.
07:00His last three heat maps show no real pattern.
07:03His positioning is relatively fluid and he operates in so many different zones.
07:07At times, he's the narrow left winger who approaches Marcus Blindside
07:10and utilises the two centre forwards occupying the opposition's defence to find space to use his box instincts.
07:15At other times, Gibbs-White's in a different role and it's probably the role that he's most known for.
07:20Here, he uses Forrest's wide right triangle that occupies Chelsea's man-to-man press to be that darting midfielder
07:26who breaks the opposition's defensive lines and creates once he's in behind the opposition's defence.
07:31And I suppose that's why he's doing so well.
07:33Yes, the start of the season wasn't great for Morgan Gibbs-White,
07:36but he still consistently finds situations for him to thrive in.
07:40Because he doesn't need a specific environment.
07:43But Vito Pereira's halfway line 3-2 build-up that gives Gibbs-White the autonomy to just be a free
07:50little bird
07:50does seem to get the best out of him.
07:53Whether it's in rotating with Elliot Anderson, swapping on the wings with Nico Williams,
07:57or even crashing the box to score a hat-trick in a six-point game for Nottingham Forrest,
08:02this sort of system that Vito Pereira has deployed is squeezing every bit of talent out of Morgan Gibbs-White
08:09in a positive way.
08:10And now, Forrest are safe from relegation, potentially could win a European trophy
08:14and are staring down at Champions League football next season.
08:17So, I don't think it's ridiculous to say that Vito Pereira has done a sensational job with the tricky trees.
08:22There's the nickname again.
08:24Because if you think I've done a sensational job with the 4-4-2 video this week,
08:30then please do leave a like and subscribe.
08:31Because again, we'll be back next week to offer you more tactical analysis.
08:35I've been Jacob Oswald, this has been 4-4-2, and I'll see you all next week.
08:39.
Comments