By Tom Wardle
The myth about Tony Pulis being an extremely defensive coach has slowly disappeared during his tenure as Boro manager. Instead, his style has become known as one in which the Welshman simply gets the best out of each and every Boro player. This was proven last year with the rise of Adama Traore and has been proven once again so far this season; players such as Ryan Shotton and Stewart Downing have been transformed into vital cogs in the mechanics of Boro’s tactical engine.
When he came in, Pulis set up his Boro side in a 4-5-1 formation, and very rarely changed from that foundation for the remainder of the season. This brought consistency in a Boro side which hadn’t found any consistency under former boss Garry Monk during the opening half of that season. However, Boro’s attacking prowess was centered on one man, Adama Traore. Going into this season, following the departure of the maverick Spaniard, Boro fans were worried as we didn’t know how well we’d cope without last season’s main, and sometimes only, attacking threat. We needn’t have worried.
After failing to bring any wide attacking players into the squad to replace the outgoing Traore, Pulis didn’t have a lot to work with. So instead of keeping with the same system, Tony worked his magic and brought a new 5-3-2 system to the fore. So, what exactly is this new 5-3-2 Boro have started the season with?
With only two fit senior centre-backs at the club, Pulis had to find a third to play this system. Cue George Friend, the now former full-back was given the left centre-back position to fill, probably because he is left-footed. Friend is the most attacking player of the current back three, but will only push up if Boro are in and around the opposition’s penalty area.
New boy Aden Flint and youngster Dael Fry are the height of the back three, and win virtually everything in the air. Flint is positioned at the centre of the three as his ball-playing abilities are inferior to those of Dael Fry, whilst his aerial prowess allows him to head the ball more effectively when in the centre. This also means he's able to cover both the left and right when the ball is played in the air towards the Boro box.
Fry provides right wing-back Ryan Shotton with an alternative, backwards option for a pass every time. This has been important because Shotton is not as direct and dynamic as a typical wing-back so an insurance option to recycle possession is useful to ensure Boro keep on top of the opposition.
Stewart Downing and Ryan Shotton are currently Boro’s wing-backs. If you’d have said that at the start of last season, most Boro fans wouldn’t have believed it, yet, they have proven us wrong and have been key contributors to Boro’s early season success. Both drop into defence to form a back 5 when the opposition is in possession and then transition further up the pitch when Boro have the ball.
Downing tends to drive forward with the ball and come inside rather than crossing the ball and this allows our centrally based players to then get hold of the ball. Shotton, on the other hand, usually crosses when given the chance. This gives Boro much more creativity and many more offensive options than last year, as the team now possess a wider variety of ways to bypass and break down opponent presses and blocks.
Our 3 central midfielders haven’t changed so far when using this formation apart from when substitutions are taken into account. The starting three have been Adam Clayton, Jonny Howson, and Lewis Wing. Clayton sits as the deepest of the three, with Howson to the left and Wing to the right. Both Howson and Wing have been given a box-to-box type role which has seen them excel.
Wing has been a revelation and deserves all the credit he is getting at the moment after going from playing Northern League football with Shildon and working in a factory to bossing Boro’s midfield in just 18 months. Howson has shown why Boro coughed up £5 million for the Norwich midfield last season, too. Both players have been key in creating chances for Boro so far, and have been making surging runs into the box, which is something we didn’t really see last season.
Surpisingly, Martin Braithwaite has been simply magnificent after a summer where everyone expected to see the back of him. He may still leave yet, though. The Danish international drops into pockets of space in front of the midfield three which allows him to pick up the ball, and use his trickery and technical nous to provide a link with Britt Assombalonga. His performances have been what Boro have been craving since the departure of Gaston Ramirez one year ago.
Assombalonga has been hard working, strong and so far a good fit for the system. His presence allows him to hold up the play to get more players involved or to win set-pieces, which as you can imagine under Tony Pulis are real goal-scoring opportunities.
Boro’s new system fits perfectly with the players available and has allowed the likes of Downing and Friend to find the right position for their aging legs. The 5-3-2 does give Boro balance when both attacking and defending, but it shouldn’t be understated how desperately the team needs cover in the wide areas of the pitch.
If Pulis is to carry on deploying this well-performing system, Boro could be left desperately short at left wing-back, centre-back or right wing-back if (or when) injuries occur. This is likely to force a change in shape, something Pulis will not want to be doing if the system continues to work as well as it has done in our first three games.
