Us Norfolk folk aren’t best adhered to change. My father, for example, continously rejects national stations in exchange for local radio. In more recent times, his preferable station has become stretched and now its web casts further than the Fine City. Needless to say the station which accompanies my breakfast has subsequently changed.
My grandmother has worn the same Norwich City scarf for a prolonged period of twenty years when she attends matches, its been twenty years and that scarf still hasn’t been washed. She won’t thank me for mentioning that fact…
It’s unfair to taint those from Norfolk with the same brush though, but upon Daniel Farke’s bow as Norwich City Head Coach, he has implemented a defensive strategy to set pieces that has left many supporters stratching their heads and feeling perplexed.
Zonal marking.
Farke has entered these shores with ideologies and philosophies aplenty, but perhaps his most radical is this concept. It’s called zonal marking because you have to imagine the area is divided into segments, with players on the defending team responsible for one of these segments.
For Norwich, there are three key segments, the front post zone, the middle zone and the back post zone.
A continental approach, zonal marking’s premise is for defenders to occupy space, rather than an individual player. It doesn’t require pace or stamina like its more traditional counterpart in man-to-man marking, but it is a more complex system to master.
Manufactured in Brazil, many argued marking could be as attractive as offensive play, and zonal marking is a viable option to defending if managed successfully, but the first hurdle to overcome is how radically dissimilar it is to its more traditional colleague. Both styles of marking have variants, both in regards to situation and systematically.
During the history of football, man marking became prominent as teams tactically evolved in order to create a differentiation. An example of this is the number 9 occupying space between the defence and midfield, thus creating the false nine. This, like many football tactics, has evolved and so too has the defensive styles in orders to keep up with the ever changing landscape and innovation of offensive tactics.
Just as 3-5-2 became prominent in the Premier League last season, Manchester City’s innovation and space orientation tactically has exploited the wide areas and isolated the wing-backs, creating a swashbuckling and aesthetically pleasing brand of football, which will also be counteracted at some stage.
Marking is no different.
Tactical innovations seem to born one moment and nullified the next.
In Brazil, Zezé Moreira created the style in his revolutionary Fluminese side who adopted a 4-2-4, which had greater emphasis on the defenders being fluid and occupying offensive play through pushing into midfield. This was then developed further by Milan, who under Arrigo Sachi was introduced to better space orientation and occupation.
Sachi created the ‘four reference points’, in which players were instructed to construct their own position centred about the ball, their teammates, the opponents and the open space. Zonal marking became an adjunct to Sacchi’s philosophy.
To switch the focus back to NR1, zonal marking is now a preferred method of marking during open play and set pieces, with space orientated zonal marking being Norwich’s choice of action during open play phases. This involves the team moving laterally and vertically as a block to control the space. Norwich are better at this with Alex Tettey in the midfield. The restriction of space should squeeze the space and make us harder to play through.
Well, hypothetically at least.
It’s at set pieces where City opts to subvert against the conventions and deploy space orientated zonal marking. This involves a dice-like formation in a position of five, in front of the goal. Often it involves an occupier of the front post, with the three tallest players creating a line of three on the six yard line. They are each the ‘enforcers’ for their zone, which will contain a further player in front of them.
From here on in, the players are required to marshal their individual zones, attacking the ball should it enter their segment and head it away.
For all its critics, it fundamental success hinges of the individuals capabilities, concentration and desire of the occupants, much like man-marking. For Norwich, we’ve witnessed Christoph Zimmermann police the middle zone, whilst Timm Klose marshals the front post area. That line of three attacks the space ahead of them.
Ahead of those three, are another three, or two defenders of the corner which mirror the players of zone one and attack the space between the penalty spot and the edge of the area. This means leaving a man of the edge and being forced to defend the corner as a team.
While reducing the potential of a counter attack, when defended successfully, this technique is arguably harder for opponents to score but if it is let down by one member of any zone, it could be destructive and lose games.
Football is about simplicity, or so we’re told. Very few philosophies or tactics blow the mind, but zonal marking is something that will grow on Norwich fans. As long as it’s well devised and rehearsed.
City have conceded two league goals from set pieces this campaign, Arsenal aside, this new approach has been relatively successful.
They have only conceded four headed league goals this season and it’s clear the added physicality of Zimmermann is aiding the defensive back line aerially.
Don’t be afraid of zonal marking because it’s a new approach; go with it because it has the potential to be pivotal to Norwich’s new football ideology spearheaded by Farke.
Worthington tried it. It was such a disaster that it has scared me to this day. It allows the strikers to make runs with momentum that the defenders can’t match…..as we are seeing.
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Good point. It’s not just the momentum, it’s also that very often it can be unchallenged momentum which can lead to a free header in the box. McGoldrick in the latest humiliation of our Southern friends being a prime example. Fortunately of course he missed but the chance was there on a plate..
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From my limited experience of zonal marking, the key is the second ‘bank’ of defenders whose job it is to block off the runs of the ‘attackers’. Without this being done successfully the Kloses and Zimmermanns have no chance of winning an aerial dual from a standing jump against someone who has ‘the run’ on them.
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I think that’s a fair assessment on it Gary. It’s similar to man marking in the sense if one man doesn’t do his individual job then the whole structure and idea of it collapses.
If rehearsed well, then it is a good option. Norwich do need to work on how they transition out of a set piece once cleared though, that’s been lacklustre and quite poor at times.
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Connor: don’t be too hard on Grandma – many of our generation were brought up to believe it’s bad luck to wash your scarf!
A good read, again.
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Haha, I think she referred to it as her ‘lucky scarf’!
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A great article Connor, this is an interesting discussion! Like any system, I think zonal marking also requires a capacity to adapt it during the game if necessary, which is why defensive leadership is so important. If the opponents are managing to work it out in the way they are deploying their players, especially where we might have one or two shorter players involved, like Harrison Reed. Also if we are failing to block of runs effectively… or are too static in general.
In the game against Reading when Cameron Jerome scored our second, he burst past his marker and then was left with a massive gap at the far post, where he scored, providing a very obvious example of the weaknesses of the man-marking system that Reading were using. With a zonal system there would have been someone there to challenge him.
The system does seem to have made us generally tighter defending set pieces (Arsenal excepted), and thus has to be an improvement on last year… as long as we keep learning, and make the necessary adaptations as we go.
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A very informative read Connor.
A great footballer once said what happens on a training field is to get you fit to play on a Saturday once in the midst of a 90min battle it all goes out of the window and it is up to the captain to get the team back on track and that was Danny Blancflower of the Spurs double winning team.
His manager also said that he has to trust his captain during a 45min half to implement all that has gone on the training field and make minor adjustments to suite the game as it progressed.
Defence is is only as good as the players you have you can drill into them what they are supposed to do to any given play during the game but you can’t teach them how to adapt to an unknown bit of quality.
Everybody says we were better with Tettey as DM and since he has been injured the defence are not as solid, being that Team Farke discounted him at the start of the season and if an offer was made could have gone we should have purchased someone that could have done that job, Hanley in his early days at Blackburn I am told played there and did a good covering job.
Last moan we now have 5 CB’S at the club with number 6 about to join from Lincoln and he will be in the next round of the FA cup for city so will we be looking to offload one or more ie Klose or Franke for a good fee to help purchase a forward.
No matter wether it be man marking or zonal we will not win game by not scoring both go hand in hand defend from the front and forwards help defend at corners/free kicks it is a team game.
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We actually have two other players who can play in Tettey’s position as a DM. One is currently long term injured, Louis Thompson, and the second player is Ben Godfrey, who has been playing in this role for Shrewsbury.
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Hi Micheal
Yes I agree they can play that podition with one being injured and the other on load I discounted these as they are not available fot team selection and we need to utilise what resources we have available in a more productive way.
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I don’t think Donald marking is the problem, it can work. I always think that the defenders should start a little deeper and at least take a couple of strides to their zone (cricketer like as the bowler approaches). if the ball comes in on their original position, then Angus should claim it. if comes into their zone then at least they have some forward momentum to compete, they can fill the vacated space left by the next bank moving up also.
Given how I think we still look soft but lucky at the back on headers, maybe starting deeper might give them the little extra spring they need to consistently beat the opposition to the ball.
Bah!
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One of the issues I’ve found with zonal marking is when the opposition overload an area at a set piece, like the front post, leaving the defender out numbered.
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