We need to impose our football identity in games. That means playing Zinchenko. In a typical game, Zinchenko is producing 80-100 passes and is responsible for a large part of our ball progression. It cannot be emphasised enough how much of our attack comes from the back, whether it’s Zinchenko, White, Saliba or Partey. These guys keep the ball moving forward and switching rapidly; and they also help compress the entire team with their on-the-ball skill.
A guy like Tierney breaks this compression because he goes outside and doesn’t have the ball playing ability of a Zinchenko. So he won’t be feeding Partey, Xhaka etc, which is fundamental to our controlled buildup and control of territory. White and Zinchenko give us that with their interior play. With them + our middle 3, you effectively get up to 5 midfielders with small passing distances and real control.
I like Tierney as a special teams kind of guy. If we have a particularly tough opposition right flank, worth putting him in. Also use him late in games because Zinchenko can flag. But he shouldn’t be the starter.
