Tag: Ben Chilwell

Explaining the Wing-Back – Player Role Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Data Analysis, Fullback, German Bundesliga, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Player Analysis, Player Education, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting, Wing-Back

A wing-back, as the name suggests, is a full-back that operates up and down the wing, holding particular importance in attacking phases. They may contribute to the defensive side of the game, and they may even invert into central areas. But wing-backs do their best work down the by-line, where they can deliver crosses into the box, utilize their trickery and skill to go 1v1, and surge up the field through their dynamic pace and timing of movement into dangerous areas. Here is our latest Player Role Analysis.

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Top 100 Male Footballers 2021 Edition (80-61)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Most Recent, Top 100 Footballers, World Football

The end of the year is nearly here! And that means it's time for our annual Top 100 Footballers list to kick off. This year, you had your say in our voting polls, and this is where you landed. Here is numbers 80-61 in the Top 100 Footballers in the World.

Left Back of the Year – Interactive Vote (Top 100 Footballers 2021)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Most Recent, Top 100 Footballers, World Football

The end of year is almost here, and that means it's time for our annual Top 100 Footballers list. This year, you, the readers of our website, will get to have your say. Just simply see the list of nominees below, and rearrange the list to suit your preference of first to last in each position. When we rank the Top 100 Footballers of the Year, we take into consideration a player's form throughout 2021, their club and national team success, difficulty of league, and their reputation + performances in the year prior. You can rank based on any criteria you desire! Below is our first poll of the year - ranking the best left backs in 2021.

UEFA Champions League Final -Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Match Analysis, Most Recent, UEFA Champions League, World Football

What a game. After beating Manchester City twice already this season, Chelsea entered the 2021 UEFA Champions League final with a slight psychological advantage. They absolutely delivered on that promise, winning the match by a score of 1-0. Thomas Tuchel became only the second manager since Jurgen Klopp to beat Pep Guardiola three times in a row, leading his Chelsea team to the Champions League trophy in his first six months in charge. Here is our tactical analysis of the final.

Futbol Masterminds – FA Cup Final, Alisson Saves the Day, Barca Crash out of Title Race

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Futbol Masterminds, German Bundesliga, Podcast, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, World Football

It was a weekend of football like none other, with two domestic league cups to discuss, new developments in the title races in Spain and France, and a goalkeeper scoring a header in the Premier League. Kausty, Russell, Rhys and new guest Shomik get together to discuss Leicester's stunning FA Cup final win, Dortmund's resurgence in the DFB Pokal and Bundesliga top four race, and Alisson's incredible headed goal. The panel then end off with a discussion about Barcelona crashing out of the La Liga title race, and whether or not Ronald Koeman is to blame. Follow @futbolmasterminds on Instagram to see more of the show and subscribe via Itunes and Spotify!

Chelsea 0-1 Leicester – FA Cup Final – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Match Analysis, Most Recent, Premier League

Oh, the magic of the FA Cup. Leicester City came into the cup final as clear underdogs, with Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in great form and a UEFA Champions League final in their sights. But it was the Foxes who came out on top with a stunning Youri Tielemans strike, and two fantastic saves from Kasper Schmeichel. Here is our tactical analysis of the match.

Picking England’s Euro 2020 Squad

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Most Recent, World Football

It's been debated throughout the entirety of the 2020-21 season, and now TheMastermindSite takes their swing at picking England's squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament. Taking into consideration both our dream squad and Gareth Southgate's likely plans for the tournament, here is our 23-man squad for Euro 2020, as compiled by Rhys Desmond, Sam The Man, Kevin Ravindran and Anthony Khoury.

Chelsea 0-0 Wolves – Tactical Analysis – Tuchel’s 3-2-5

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Match Analysis, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

In terms of goal-scoring, Thomas Tuchel's first game in charge of Chelsea might not have gone as planned. But his team still put up a magnificent, tactically intriguing performance, and much promise for the future certainly remains. Given that he had only one day in charge of the Blues before this match, Tuchel certainly managed to get his point across regarding the tactical innovations that he wanted to implement in this match and the players seemed to follow his instructions incredibly well. The German manager changed Lampard's team more than expected, and even implemented a highly intriguing 3-2-5 attacking shape. Let's get right into this tactical analysis of Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in their 0-0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Frank Lampard – Chelsea – Tactical Analysis (Post-Sacking)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Most Recent, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful first season with Chelsea F.C., despite no new summer signings coming through the door. The Blues hovered around 4th for the majority of the season in behind Leicester City, and eventually secured 4th behind Manchester United. Lampard relied heavily on young talent in 2019-20 and the club were rewarded with fantastic performances from the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. In preparation for the 2020-21 season, Chelsea then went on to spend millions, securing the signatures of players like Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy, plus Thiago Silva on a free. For a short period of time, it worked. With nine games in, Chelsea were showing great signs of promise, sat second in the table, and were well in the hunt for a Premier League title chase. Frank Lampard himself was making some astute tactical changes, and appeared to be coping well with the dilemma of how to show faith in his youth, while integrating all the new signings. But as the season wore on, Chelsea failed to make an impact. At the time of his sacking, the Blues sit in ninth, with many nearby teams holding games in hand. Losses to Leicester, Manchester City and Arsenal likely handed Lampard a premature managerial sacking; along with the fact that Thomas Tuchel was out of a job, waiting at the door-step for a call. So a day after a 3-1 FA Cup win against Luton Town, Frank Lampard was sacked as manager. Here is our Tactical Analysis of Frank Lampard's Chelsea in both of his seasons in charge, and an accompanying analysis of where he might land next. 

Why Thomas Tuchel is the Perfect Fit for Chelsea – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Formations, Managers, Most Recent, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, World Football

Today, relatively out of the blue, Frank Lampard was sacked by Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. Yesterday, without knowing this information, we analyzed why Thomas Tuchel would be the perfect man to take over if Chelsea were to sack their former club legend. This article will take a greater look at why the Blues should seriously consider the German as their next manager. Here is Part Three of our Thomas Tuchel Tactical Analysis series.

Top 100 Male Footballers of 2020 (80-61)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in German Bundesliga, Most Recent, Premier League, Serie A, Top 100 Footballers, UEFA Champions League, World Football

2020 was a strange year for everyone in the world, not just footballers. But the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that we haven’t gotten as much football as we might have done otherwise. That said, there were still plenty of matches played across the year, and some surprise performers and performances along the way. As always, TheMastermindSite.com will now count down the top 100 male footballers in the world for the year. This list takes into account a player’s form in 2020 as its primary mechanism, with reputation, difficulty of league, club and national team success each playing a secondary role. So with that in mind, here is TheMastermindSite’s Top 100 Male Footballers in the World for 2020 (80-61).

Frank Lampard – Chelsea – Tactical Analysis (2020-21 Edition)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Most Recent, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful first season with Chelsea F.C., despite no new summer signings coming through the door. The Blues hovered around 4th for the majority of the season in behind Leicester City, and eventually secured 4th behind Manchester United. Lampard relied heavily on young talent in 2019-20 and the club were rewarded with fantastic performances from the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. However, this past summer, Chelsea spent millions to secure the signatures of some of the best players around the world. It has taken a bit of time for some of their new signings to gel together, but nine games in, Chelsea are showing great signs of promise as they currently sit 2nd in the table. Along the way, Frank Lampard has made some low-key, subtle changes that have helped to propel Chelsea back toward the top of the table. Here is our Tactical Analysis of Frank Lampard's Chelsea after nine games in the 2020-21 Premier League season.

Brendan Rodgers – Leicester City – Tactical Analysis (2020-21 Edition)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Formations, Managers, Most Recent, Premier League, World Football

After missing out on Champions League football on the final day of the 2019-20 season, many might have thought Leicester City's early season form of last year might just have been a stroke of good fortune and nothing more. But their stellar play has continued at the start of 2020-21 and other than a few disappointing losses to West Ham and Aston Villa, the Foxes have been flying high to start this campaign. After eight matches, Brendan Rodgers' side sit top of the table, with six wins so far. Significantly, they've experimented with different formations and a host of different, less luxurious players in the absence of talents like Ricardo Pereira, Wilfred Ndidi, James Maddison and of course Ben Chilwell, who left for Chelsea. Their impressive form after missing out on Champions League football last year definitely deserves further examination, so here is our early season tactical analysis of Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City in 2020-21.