Raskin splitting the centre-backs was the right idea in principle, but the follow-through simply wasn’t there. The team has defined triggers for those moments, yet when they happened against Motherwell the reactions from other players were too slow or mis-timed, and the result was a midfield left exposed both on and off the ball.
Out of possession: press triggers ignored
When Raskin went to split the two centre halves it should have been a cue. Sterling and Meghoma needed to push up quickly to compress the wide channels and stop the opponent turning the press. Miovski and Chukwuani should have offered immediate support centrally. Instead we saw Meghoma and Miovski frequently out of position and responses that came too late. Thelo and Chukwuani were slow to adapt at key moments, so the intended shape never really materialised.
To be fair, those moments require sharp, almost automatic reactions. You can see why the coach wants that split — it creates overloads and forces mistakes. But if the others don’t move in time the whole point is lost and the press becomes a liability rather than an advantage.
In possession: a stranded number six
On the ball the problem became the mirror image. Raskin ended up dropping deeper and deeper just to get on the ball because the full-back line were ponderous in possession. That included Butland, who wasn’t quick enough to progress the ball or create angles. With Raskin retreating and Chukwuani pushing higher, the middle of the park was left thin. We stopped being dangerous in transition and became too easy to play through.
It’s frustrating because the idea links both phases: split the centre-backs to invite press opportunities, keep the centre compact when building. We failed at both sides of that coin in the same spell.
Small fixes, big difference
What’s needed is cleaner rehearsal of the triggers and a bit more urgency from the wide players when the cue appears. Full-backs must be braver on the ball or the midfield will keep having to rescue possession, which kills our tempo. Nothing dramatic — just crisper timing and slightly better decision-making in those transitional moments.
Truth is, the template is fine. It just needs everyone to do their simple job at the right time.
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