November 2013

Written by: Matt M’Boge

Ebbsfleet United Scouting Report

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System: Steve Brown asks his team to play a possession-based game with plenty of passing within a 4-3-3 formation that can morph into a 4-2-3-1 or when in need of a goal, a direct 4-4-2/4-2-4. Style of Play: Emphasis is on a mixture of quick and clever passing and movement, overlapping full-backs, and working the ball out wide for full-backs or wingers to cross, or for wide-men to come inside for shots or passes – Ben May operates as the target man in the attack and the team are flexible enough to play direct passes up for May to flick on or hold up to bring others into play . General approach play in possession

• GOALKEEPER – regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the division who is a natural shot-stopper who possesses the quick reflexes and agility to make outstanding saves. There are question marks on when he decides to come out/sweep the area in front of him – he is as quick as there is for a goalkeeper but sometimes mis-judges when to come out to sweep and when to stay on his line – also his kicking is much weaker on his right.

• DEFENDERS – both full-backs are extremely athletic and get forward to support attacks but without over-lapping too much as they prefer to leave space for the wingers to operate in. Sessegnon on the right is a converted winger but he is able to recover from mistakes purely down to his speed and pace – Palmer on the left is another quick defender but the more accomplished of the two and gets forward frequently and recently has been a goal threat. Centre-halves Lorraine and Sankofa are forming a partnership, with Sankofa being brought in to the middle from his usual position at right full-back – Lorraine can struggle with quick players and doesn’t have the pace to keep up with his man over twenty plus yards but Sankofa more than compensates for this with his pace playing as the covering defender with balls into space, with Lorraine more comfortable dealing with high balls.

• MIDFIELD – one of the strongest midfield units in the division with plenty of experience, guile and work-rate at their disposal. McMahon is the central platform for everything Ebbsfleet do – picking up the ball from the goalkeeper or back four, switch play, find feet or play direct to the forwards. If the pitch allows it, they are able to showcase controlled possession football with McMahon dictating tempo and Rance usually winning the ball back and setting the rest up to attack. Long has also been involved and with such vast experience a midfield of McMahon, Rance and Long has the guile and know-how to win the midfield battle. Corcoran is another option who is more similar to Rance in terms of his hard work off the ball.

• WINGERS – either Cook on the left, or Osborn on the right come inside when possible to make room for their advancing full-backs. Cook is an extremely quick player in full flight but he also likes to cut inside from the left for shots or passes across goal, he can spend spells seemingly out of the game where he will leave his wing and look for the ball in midfield – he may also interchange with Osborn, who prefers to operate more centrally, or May. When May shifts across to the wings he becomes a target-man for aerial balls that he will hold up and bring others into play or flick on for others to latch on to. Osborn also prefers to operate centrally and isn’t a natural or traditional winger but does have the speed to beat his man.

• FORWARDS – May causes opposition defences a number of problems but mainly due to his dominance when dealing with aerial balls and he will also move into the channels to find space with Thalassitis more than capable of replacing him at the very top of the attacks although Thalassitis is the quicker of the pair and much more mobile. May doesn’t have the pace to get away from his markers but is strong in the air, physical and difficult to outmuscle.

Ebbsfleet System and typical player movement (last 3 league fixtures most recent first)

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General approach play out of possession

• They are happy to allow the opposition possession (particularly when leading) and look to break quickly through the wings on the counter-attack – Cook is the preferred outlet. • They will operate in a disciplined and hard-working shape, with plenty of midfielders willing to get into defensive positions but they don’t to hassle or put their opponents under too much pressure,

they will wait for you to make mistakes. • Lorraine and keeper Edwards organise their defense with Rance as the anchor – they can be difficult to break down as a result.

Transition when losing possession

• They try to get men behind the ball but Cook is often caught too high up to get back quickly enough whilst McMahon, as well as Cook, don’t track back as aggressively as the rest of the team. Transition when winning possession

• The team get forward quickly and with numbers, with full-backs in particular, driving forward and providing plenty of width – both wingers come alive at this point too. • The team will also look to find feet and attack quickly once the ball is regained with the alternative being a direct ball up to May or even Thalassitis to hold up the ball and bring others into play.

This is an expensively assembled squad that should be much higher than they are at the moment – however, they have started scoring and settling into a rhythm of play which makes them dangerous. They are learning to win games but are still vulnerable when things don’t go all their own way - there is a weakness aerially across the team which means that they are vulnerable at set-pieces. Pressure is continually on them to perform as the expectations at the club are promotion.

Defensive transition Winning the ball

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How to beat them (A) Limit their full-backs and counter attack into the space left behind – particularly down their left flank – very much like Eastleigh, the Ebbsfleet full-backs charge forward at will and are a key feature in the way they play. Palmer has found form and goals bursting from left-back and with Sessegnon’s natural attacking instincts, both full-backs can be found very high up the pitch, a recent example being a game against Bromley where Sessegnon provided a cross from the right for Palmer to finish inside the area.

Palmer

Cook

(B) Target Sankofa and Palmer (LCB & LB) in the air – both players are more comfortable when chasing balls in behind but struggle when dealing with aerial balls and direct play into physical target-men or tall forwards. You can also ask your forwards to peel on to Sankofa for aerial duels and generally look to attack down his side – he is playing out of his natural position at full-back, test his defending.

Palmer

SankofaSankofa

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(C) Stifle McMahon, nullify their midfield – McMahon is no doubt their outstanding player who is very creative and intelligent when going forward but his defensive duties are not as good as his attacking instincts. He will prefer to let others pick up the runners from midfield rather than marking the man himself. The other chink in his armour is, having played at a very high level and being regarded as the best player in the division, he can become very frustrated when he is stifled and isn’t allowed to dictate play. Rance in contrast is happy to work extremely hard for the team but he doesn’t have the attacking capabilities that McMahon has. You may look to mark McMahon tightly in order to give him as little room and time as possible to operate in and allow Rance to have a bit more time as he is more likely to give the ball away. Rance is more than comfortable tackling and scrapping rather than creating opportunities, whilst McMahon is happiest with the ball at his feet and isn’t the best tackler or first to win the ball back when possession is lost – overwork their deficiencies.

McMahon

McMahon

Rance

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(C) Counter-attack through the wide areas - there will be opportunities for rapid counter-attacks once you win possession and the focus should be on counter-attacking down the wide areas. You can exploit the gap behind the full-backs and provide opportunities to come up against the isolated centre-backs. The midfield will be packed and it may be difficult to find space, therefore you should try to

take as few passes as possible before presenting your forwards in 1v 1 situations against their centre-backs. They are a very attack-minded unit but there has to be a quick transition from defence to attack when you win the ball back in order to exploit the gaps and catch them off guard.

(D) Striker movement out of possession - your most advanced forward needs to be on the move and aware of his movement when out of possession, he should look to get on the outside of Lorraine if looking to chase balls down the channel or Sankofa if challenging for aerial balls as explained in (B). If the channel balls are aimed right, you may find your forward 1v1 and in a foot race with Lorraine with his full-back (Sessegnon) too high to help out.

Lorraine Lorraine

Sessegnon