After nine months at the helm of Norwich City, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s structural variations in settled phases of possession have become clear.
Ben is a City season ticket holder and author of the NCFC Analysis social media account, who unpicks games with an analytical report highlighting tactical strengths and weaknesses.
Ahead of the return to action against West Brom this weekend, following the international window, Ben has studied how the Danish head coach strives to exert control of Championship games.
As explained in a previous analysis article entitled ‘Full-Backs: From Overlaps to Inversions’, the full-backs play a key role in Norwich’s in-possession structures under Thorup.
The Dane’s full-backs typically occupy deeper positions than they did under his predecessors, often either inverting into midfield or shifting into a back three. But in recent weeks some new rotations have become more
So it’s worth breaking down each of these settled-play variations as a guide to Norwich’s structural repertoire under Thorup, beyond just their 4-3-3 base formation.
The 2-3-5: Overlapping full-backs
This, Thorup’s favoured approach of late, involves both full-backs advancing into the last line beyond the wingers, who invert into the space between the central channel and the wide areas – commonly known as the ‘half-spaces’.
These rotations leave a 2-3 rest defence comprising three deep-lying midfielders ahead of the centre-backs.
