Yes, usually I'd point to Atletico Madrid as a team which can be very effective playing somewhat deep.
However, even Simeone has now switched things so when theyre playing 442 their full backs push high up the pitch. Almost making them a 2224 system. He's also frequently dabbled with the 352 system so its a different style to the past few seasons.
The setup we currently have may be very effective in keeping clean sheets, though it does indeed isolate the forward players. We really need our attacking play to be top notch if our defence is so far behind the play.
Even if we focus on having a flat back four (full backs not frequently pushing forward) then to really dominate teams we would need to have a high line. This is actually impossible with both Keane and Mina.
Im quite open minded about it really. I would say that if we want to continue the deep defensive setup then we would need to have a superstar central or defensive midfielder who can carry the ball or act as a deep playmaker.
It will be interesting to see what happens at the end of the season in terms of signings as then it should make things clear if we are going to persist with this new solid defensive setup OR gradually adapt towards more of an expansive one.
It’s not as black and white as to have Keane or Mina or both of them in the team we have to play on the edge of our penalty box. They’re both good penalty box defenders, of course and they’ll never be the quickest but you’re doing them a disservice.
We will play higher up than we’re playing at the moment, when our better players come back and we can retain possession for longer than we have been recently. Team moves up the pitch naturally when you’ve got possession of the ball for a period of time attacking or in the opponents half.
For me, the stand out problem with the centre backs playing higher up the pitch in recent years has been the lack of pressure on the ball from our midfield and how slow we are to get back into a defensive shape when we turn the ball over.
Midfielders like Schnederlin, Gomes, Davies, Siggi etc are a liability - turn the ball over and you have opposing teams running straight at a high back line with loads of time to pick a pass over the top, down the side, wherever they want really or just run straight at the centre backs with no protection in front of them and acres of space behind them.
The top teams you’re referring to, all win the ball back quickly when they lose possession or attempt to. They put pressure on the ball in midfield, they get back into a defensive shape quicker.
It’s more a team thing than something that can just be pinned on one particular centre back.
