BFC95
Well-known member
Unsure if it's been posted anywhere else, but I've been reading about Duff and I came across this article which covers his tactics and formations. It is from 2020 but I think a lot of it still holds true and I'm really impressed with it, so it's definitely worth a read.
Tactical Analysis
Firstly a brief look over his very impressive managerial career to date, he took over Cheltenham at a time when they consistently flirted with relegation in league 2 each season, but just managing to stay up. Duff joined and first season he kept with the status quo just keeping them up, before a second season finishing 4th and then missing out in the playoffs, what followed was a third season in which he went and won the league and then finally this season finished comfortably 15th for Cheltenhams highest ever league finish. That's a seriously impressive turnaround for a club the size of Cheltenham when you realise he's operated with little to no budget and a focus on developing younger players.
Onto his tactics, and reading the article it highlights how "Duff has set up an attractive style for his side to play". He sets out in a 3-4-1-2 type formation that focuses on possession based short passing football - "Cheltenham Town’s style of play in their own half is short passing build-up from the defence, if possible. They will look to focus their attacks wide"
As it says above, their attacking threat mainly comes from wide areas - "They use the width of the pitch and play longer switch passes to unsettle the opposition block. This creates space for the Cheltenham attackers to drop into positions in the half-space to allow for transitions into the wide areas".
They also press aggressively from the front - "It appears that when the opposition has possession in their defensive third, and the Cheltenham attacking players feel it is necessary, they will aggressively press and this will form a block in parts. The two Cheltenham strikers will look to apply pressure on the ball, and they will be joined by one of the Cheltenham Town midfielders. This forms a 3-4-1-2 block. The front three are shown to be in a much higher position compared to the rest of the team."
When you also add that he's managed this with no budget and a focus on developing young footballers, you come to realise he's worked miracles there. To me he ticks every box for a Blackpool manager and looks like there are a lot of similarities with the way Critchley liked to play, which fits in with the 'ethos' the club has in the way it wants to go about things, so should make for a smooth transition. Cheltenham fans themselves aren't surprised to see him linked with us, they believe he can go right to the top.
So all in all he seems a very outstanding candidate to me.
Tactical Analysis
Firstly a brief look over his very impressive managerial career to date, he took over Cheltenham at a time when they consistently flirted with relegation in league 2 each season, but just managing to stay up. Duff joined and first season he kept with the status quo just keeping them up, before a second season finishing 4th and then missing out in the playoffs, what followed was a third season in which he went and won the league and then finally this season finished comfortably 15th for Cheltenhams highest ever league finish. That's a seriously impressive turnaround for a club the size of Cheltenham when you realise he's operated with little to no budget and a focus on developing younger players.
Onto his tactics, and reading the article it highlights how "Duff has set up an attractive style for his side to play". He sets out in a 3-4-1-2 type formation that focuses on possession based short passing football - "Cheltenham Town’s style of play in their own half is short passing build-up from the defence, if possible. They will look to focus their attacks wide"
As it says above, their attacking threat mainly comes from wide areas - "They use the width of the pitch and play longer switch passes to unsettle the opposition block. This creates space for the Cheltenham attackers to drop into positions in the half-space to allow for transitions into the wide areas".
They also press aggressively from the front - "It appears that when the opposition has possession in their defensive third, and the Cheltenham attacking players feel it is necessary, they will aggressively press and this will form a block in parts. The two Cheltenham strikers will look to apply pressure on the ball, and they will be joined by one of the Cheltenham Town midfielders. This forms a 3-4-1-2 block. The front three are shown to be in a much higher position compared to the rest of the team."
When you also add that he's managed this with no budget and a focus on developing young footballers, you come to realise he's worked miracles there. To me he ticks every box for a Blackpool manager and looks like there are a lot of similarities with the way Critchley liked to play, which fits in with the 'ethos' the club has in the way it wants to go about things, so should make for a smooth transition. Cheltenham fans themselves aren't surprised to see him linked with us, they believe he can go right to the top.
So all in all he seems a very outstanding candidate to me.
