You're right there is a playing pattern.
However, it's actually what's killing this team and I'm surprised fans and the media have been so blind to the tactics. It's putting our players in impossible situations, yet their getting roasted for lacking quality. Ten Haag's tactics have actually been setting them up for failure this season.
Firstly, it's too fluid. Players are always trying to move into positions that leave them completely vulnerable on the counter. It also leaves them in poor positions to counter attack as well, as players are poorly positioned consistently. This is why there are so many gaps and why the spaces between players can be so wide. It's an issue of fluidity. In fact, our midfield and defence have looked so horrible as a result of fluidity in these zones. Centre backs moving to full back zones when on the ball, full backs moving into centre midfield and noone covering them. It makes it difficult to recover the ball from counterattacking situations when players are positioned that way, because it always leaves us disorganized out of possession. City and Arsenal have far more structure in these zones. Stones still pretty much stays central and plays as an extra DM, whilst the full backs tuck in so that they are still solid at the back. In addition, Pep is much better at employing machination of this manner than ETH, so he can make that work in England. Its not an easy tactic to employ. It may have worked for Ten Haag in a much slower and less physical Eredivisie, but its leaving our defence exposed in England.
Secondly, our current midfield shape is ridiculous. 4141 worked for City because they knew how to properly employ inverted full backs. Zinchenko was essentially a midfielder, as was Delph. They could support Rodri/Fernandinho when required. In addition, they were still more compact and much better at covering positions. City were also playing at a slower pace with keeping the ball being imperative. There were always enough players behind the ball to cover in case of the counter, as they were both compact and deliberate....the exact opposite of what we are.
Thirdly, Our pressing is ridiculous, particularly for the shape of our team. There isn't enough cover to press that highly and not win back the ball. In addition, we don't play as high a line as we should, which leaves the opposition with loads of space to attack us when we don't recover on the initial press.
Fourthly, our shape leaves our DM completely isolated. It also presents a gap between Defence and attack as in possession, the DM is not able to make up the gap in midfield on his own. Out of possession, it leave the DM completely exposed.
Hence we can't progress the ball forward because players aren't in great positions in the build up, our attackers are too far away from our defenders who have the ball and there are too many gaps in the shape, leaving our players constantly surrounded. However, fans will ask " why can't we play well in possession...Bruno". It's not Bruno, it's the tactics.
We have massive gaps due to too much fluidity, being far too wide and having a massive gap between our DM's his midfield partners. Again, this is put on players like Casemiro, when it's actually a tactical flaw. It worked in Holland because Ajax always had the physical and technical advantage to either win the first press or recover. However in England, the levels are far higher and the pace as far more.
We don't create chances because we don't have a sustainable plan of attack. Yes our wingers are selfish, but for our manager to not have a route to Hojlund is ridiculous.
We don't score goals....because we don't create chances. Yet people here talked about Hojlund and how having Kane would change everything. It would not. Ronaldo was the sign of what would happen to Kane. Fans would complain about his lack of pressing and blame him for our inability to gain possession, whilst expecting him to score every chance he gets.
Some of our players have technical flaws, but at the moment we suck because our manager sucks. It's there in the games, but noone wants to call it out because they think the Ajax connection makes Ten Haag much better than he is.
