Chiefy's Twitter handle says he is a 'Bielsa Disciple'.
At Leeds, Bielsa played a 4 1 4 1 model. I can see that working for us. Oskar Zwada is big enough and strong enough to play the high line of this model.
He is also widely credited to have invented 3 3 3 1. I have never seen that in operation. Be fascinated to see how that works.
No matter what his formation, Bielsa's big thing is an up tempo run run run. He demands players hunt the ball when not in possession with a high press no matter where the ball is. I can see a role for David Ball in a system like that. Provided he improves his tackle timing and reduce his yellow card rate. it will also need a high level of fitness for everyone.
When the players have the ball:
1) The striker pushes up as far as he can to create space between the mids and the striker
2) One of the mids is expected to move forwards into a CAM position to take up the space that is created
3) The two wingbacks are expected to rotate between being a wingback and a midfielder.
As the ball moves up the pitch, it creates:
a) a 3-3-1-3 when the ball is being progressed up the pitch (the 3 at the back are the centre backs, the 3 in the mid are the two wingbacks plus a mid, then a mid playing as a CAM, then front three). This can be described as a 3-3-3-1 depending on how high up the pitch the striker is managing to pull the defending line. The idea is that, theoretically, if you build up this way you can stretch the pitch with width, and will always have overloads down the back (3 centrebacks + goalie vs two/three strikers; three mids + CAM vs two/three mids) as you progress the ball.
b) a 3-1-3-3 once the ball has progressed up the pitch (where one mid sits as a DM in front of the centrebacks, and the other six players all try to aggressively press to keep the ball from leaving the opposition half). Biesla loves his pressing so this is really just designed to enable that. It also, theoretically, creates overloads, as you can have double-ups on the edges of the box (winger+wingback creating space for each other). The system is super reliant on having a good DM though - if the press is played through the DM is the difference between recycling the ball and giving away a counterattack.
I have no idea if Chiefy is going to do this but would be interesting to see him try.
Oh also worth noting that the formation doesn't have to start as a 5-2-3 - most of the time Bielsa uses this as the out of possession shape, but he's also used a 4-1-4-1, a 4-2-3-1, etc. Principles are the same no matter the passive formation though.
nice description! some other features:
- the wide forwards are often instructed to stay wide for as long as possible when attacking.
- the defence stay deep. the top forward stays high. this opens up the pitch and enables the team to play flowing football through the thirds
- players have to be next level fit
- the injury toll is typically significant
- a one player advantage is sought at the back. if the opposition play a front 3, 4 defenders are deployed. if facing a front 2, 3 defenders are deployed.
leeds fans will attest, they were a great watch under bielsa. personally i tried to watch them as often as possible because you were guaranteed a good game. it was noticeable that players burnt out after a few seasons of this. if the player intensity drops enough the system basically becomes defence-less.