5 tactical changes of the past decade: Part 5 - Demand for player versatility

Anyone who has more than a rudimentary understanding of football or has played Football Manager knows how important player versatility has become. Importance of player versatility is beyond doubt in modern day football. But it was not always so.

Up until the early 2000′s, players were chosen predominantly for their ability to perform in a fixed position. Strikers played as strikers, wide players on the flanks etc. But towards the mid 2000′s all this began to change. Clubs wanted player who were capable of playing at multiple positions (and play well in these positions of course). Just a look at the Champions league final in Istanbul between Liverpool and AC Milan and it will tell you how important this trait was to the success of Liverpool. Steven Gerrard, the inspirational captain of the side, played at 4 different positions in the course of that match as he, almost single-handedly, hauled them from 3 goals down to victory (scoring one and winning a penalty) to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in Champions League history.

Now, clubs all over the world have players in their ranks capable of playing multiple roles with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marouane Fellaini or the entire Barcelona team for that matter. The reasons for this rise in popularity of versatile players can be attributed to multiple factors.

With the change in formation in the past decade from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 and its variants, the wide midfielders like David Beckham or Robert Pires have been replaced by wingers who are much more attack minded and hence are faster and more goal oriented than their predecessors. Adding to this is the change in role of the striker (due to single striker formations), who now has to be more mobile and better on the ball in addition to his finishing prowess, making the role similar to that of a winger. This has led to these players interchanging positions and an increasing demand for players who are able to perform well in multiple positions. With the formation change from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, the areas where the players play are much closer to each other than before and this has considerably eased the transition.

Also, the formation change has led to the addition of good off the ball movement to the players’ arsenal. A striker can no longer wait for the ball to come to him in the box, he has now got to drop deep and provide support while wingers and midfielders have to cut inside to the center and make runs from the deep respectively to exploit the space left by the striker’s movement. All this has added to the players needing to start and end the attack at different positions and be comfortable playing at different areas, hence increasing the need for versatility.

Another important factor in the growth of the versatile players is squad depth and rotation. This factor is a peculiar one as it has two sides -

a) For a club like Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid that has a wealth of talent, they needed to find a solution to play these players in 10 positions (goalkeeper excluded) available. To successfully do so, they may have to play them out of their preferred position and this requires the players to be versatile. It is hard to say which position is the best for Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as they play all over the final third, or Fabregas who can play just about anywhere other than defense. It has come so far that even relatively less influential players like Phil Jones or Mascherano can play multiple roles.

b) Unlike the former clubs, for the clubs who are not so financially sound, player versatility is a safety vest. For a club like Everton, whose financial muscle is almost non-existent, they need to buy players who are capable of playing well in multiple positions for the sake of safety, in case of one or more players get injured or suspended. With the likes of Fellaini, Pienaar and Coleman who can play multiple positions, they are able to cope in case of player unavailability. For them it’s more a necessity than a privilege as opposed to the former clubs.

With squad rotation and management becoming a rather profound task for the managers with the amount of matches they play in a year and with the higher demand of physicality required in the current brand of football, player versatility is an important trait to prevent injury and burn out within the squad by aiding in the rotation.

A look at Newcastle United, who enjoyed a very successful season last year, will show the importance of versatility. Having played predominantly the same starting eleven last year, they were able to achieve unprecedented heights in the league. But this year, with the big injury list in their team, they are unable to cope, as they do not have players who are capable of playing multiple roles as effectively as the other teams and this has lead to their downfall and the subsequent splash in the January transfer market.

The tactical growth within the game has also increased the demand for versatility. With multiple players in the team capable of performing at different positions, the managers can now mix the role of the players within the team to outwit the opposition.

While player versatility is not actually a new concept in the world of football, its importance has certainly taken an upward trend. As we move along the evolution of football, it is quite apparent that versatility is certainly a crucial trait.