The Sky Blues have secured a top-two finish for the regular season, but will their defensive woes cost them in the finals?
Graham Arnold has led Sydney FC to a remarkable resurgence in his first year in charge with the club. He has managed to strengthen and gel a squad that over the past few seasons has looked disjointed. However, one thing that still remains an issue is their defence. Since their successful double-winning season in 2010, Sydney FC’s defence has been woeful. Poor structure and organisation led to many lapses in concentration and in turn, losing a number of games.
When Graham Arnold was hired as Sydney’s coach only weeks after the 2013/14 season ended, he knew the task at hand was enormous. Much like his time at Central Coast, he knew that turning Sydney into a competitive side started with rebuilding the defence. To put that in perspective, during Frank Farina’s two years in charge the club had conceded a whopping 80 goals in 54 games.
Arnold’s early work with the squad was about repairing the defensive unit. Part of the repair work was focused on implementing a defensive structure in which the side was able to be more organised at the back four, including being able to play out from the back.
The fruits of Arnold’s early work with the defence were seen in Sydney’s pre-season fixtures and in the FFA Cup against Melbourne City. The back four of Sydney FC were playing with a different verve. It was clear that, even though it was early days, the defensive unit was beginning a transformation into playing in a more organised fashion. They were passing well and were clearly more organised when defending than in previous seasons supporting each other and the midfield.
While it is nowhere near the finished product, fans could clearly see Graham Arnold’s defensive blueprint beginning to take shape. After the cup game against Melbourne City Arnold said, “I’ve worked hard on the defensive side. I think we’ve got the defensive players to do well.” Having witnessed a majority of these players underperform in previous seasons, it was a nice surprise to a have coach who could see potential in his existing stock.
Three goals conceded in the first six A-League games of 2014/15 and things were looking great defensively. Arnold’s philosophy was taking shape and the defence was continuously improving. In Sasa Ognenovski, Arnold had a veteran player who took command at the back and continuously directed his troops: who to mark, where to pass, spaces to cover. This was a welcome change, especially for fans who had become accustomed to a defence lacking leadership.
From round seven onwards though, Sydney began to consistently leak goals. Ognenovski then got injured and was ruled out for the season. With the only natural leader in the back line ruled out indefinitely, the defensive structure that Arnold worked so hard to implement crumbled away even more. As the season wore on, Sydney began to concede goals easily. The defensive lapses that were common prior to Arnold’s arrival reappeared. Ognenovski’s leadership was a huge loss as those remaining were nowhere near as vocal as him.
[interaction id=”554225d7ca16d6d87faa453d”]
While it is not Ognenovski’s fault for the club conceding goals, particularly while he’s injured, it does highlight the fact that Sydney lack other leaders in defence. Great defensive pairings have often had two vocal central defenders who continuously order instructions and shape the team defensively to absorb and extinguish the opposition’s attacks.
Since the Asian Cup break, it has taken Arnold a few games to install a structured defensive unit again. The defence improved slowly once again but in the final few games of the season conceded more goals than necessary. In those games, particularly against Brisbane Roar (5-4 win) and Newcastle Jets (4-3), the defensive lapses were ever present. These results form the basis of interesting and alarming defensive statistics for Sydney FC.
In 27 games, Sydney conceded 35 goals at a rate of 1.3 goals per game. Conceding 35 goals is only a 3 goal improvement compared to the 2013/14 season. With a home semi-final to prepare for, Sydney’s form at Allianz Stadium is a concern. In 13 games at home, the Sky Blues conceded 1.62 goals per game, resulting in just four wins. For a team that finished second, that is a potentially damning statistic.
Sydney has achieved some impressive feats in Arnold’s first season in charge, but the defence still remains a key area to improve. As the saying goes, defence wins you championships and Arnold will need to find a way to make sure that happens come semi-final time.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
