Is the Winger a Dying Breed?

In modern football, players are required to play complex roles, which involves them doing more than just 'what it says on the tin'. An example of one of the now few simple roles is that of the winger's. There has been many great names made on the chalk of the touchline, from Ryan Giggs to George Best.




Their popularity grew when the majority of the World of football switched to the 4-4-2, a formation which relies a lot on play down the flanks to get forward. With the decline of the 4-4-2 to more advanced systems, traditional wingers are becoming less common, as wide men are now preferred to cut inside as an inside forward, in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. Now when you think of wingers who are key players in their respective sides, only a few come to mind (to mine anyway) with Gareth Bale and Jesus Navas playing important roles for Spurs and Sevilla.

The downfall of the winger hasn't just come around because of an increase in requirements for their role, I think they have also become out of favour because of a similar thing happening to a player that the winger formed such a good partnership with. The voice of the traditional number 9 has also become quieter, with only a few springing to mind, Falcao being the first.

Without anyone to be on the end of crosses, the winger would be useless in many systems, as a lot now utilise small and intelligent strikers who can drop deep into midfield and get involved in the build up play, not be lurking in the box awaiting a ball in from out wide.

Analysis of a Traditional Winger

The winger plays a simple role on the touchline, and this is one of the reasons it is second choice to players such as inside forwards, the don't get involved in build up play which isn't on the wing.

As you can see on the diagram on the right, Antonio Valencia played just simple passes in the winger role when his Manchester United side came up against Sunderland in the 2011/2012 season.

This meant the amount of chances he created was small (2). It was a small number because he was supporting a short (5'9) deep lying forward in Wayne Rooney up front. Since couldn't get on the end of many crosses due to his height, Valencia created few chances for him as one of his only aspects to his game is his crossing ability, being a traditional winger.

The ex-Wigan player also only just had two shots in the whole match, with just one being on target. A modern wide man is expected to play a much bigger role in scoring goals, especially if the striker is one of the creative types in Rooney, and you won't get that in a traditional winger.

To recap the problems a winger has in the modern game that was shown in the analysis; they don't contribute enough to scoring goals, they only get involved in build up on their wing, wingers need a tall target man to be fully effective and they can be stopped fairly simply (as shown in how the majority of passes were square or behind [only 8/43 forward] due to a solid Sunderland defence.

Analysis of two Variations of Inside Forward

The most common variation of the winger is the inside forward. Used by some of the best players in the world, this role is much more versatile and effective than it's predecessor. It still has a rather simple role, but works much better than the tactically rigid winger, as one cuts inside with a look to take a shot on goal or supply a through ball to an overlapping wing-back or forward.

An example of how it is versatile is the fact it can be played in a few different ways, such as David Silva sometimes plays as an inside forward as a playmaker for Manchester City, whereas Christiano Ronaldo plays it as more of a supporting striker for Real Madrid.

1. Supporting Striker - Example: Cristiano Ronaldo

Straight away you can see a big difference in the amount of shots taken between the inside forward and the winger. Ronaldo looks to dribble inside a lot whereas Valencia prefers to take the outside route down the touchline, this leads to the former having many more shots than the Ecuadorian winger.
 
Ronaldo has scored a great 273 goals in 472 matches throughout his career, averaging just 1.7 games per goal - an incredible feat for someone who has played out wide for the majority of his career.

You can see on the 'Stats Zone' diagram that his shots were mainly from outside of the box. These long shots are one of the inside forwards most powerful tools, to not only score goals but manipulate the opposition. For example, when a player cuts inside, taking a shot or passing the ball are his two main options, but when the defender sees he can take a shot, he will instinctively move forward in an attempt to block the potential shot, leaving space behind him from where he left his position. Also, the inside forward is usually accompanied by an attacking full-back, who once his teammate has dribbled inside can make an overlapping run and make himself available for a through ball down the wing. Another thing to point out from the diagram is that in this match, Ronaldo scored the two goals that gave Madrid victory over their German opposition.

However the supporting striker does come with some negatives, throughout the whole 120 minutes, Ronaldo made just one tackle as you can see in the diagram above. Against a team such as Bayern Munich who posses great quality out wide, defensive work from your outer players is required, something Mourinho won't get from an inside forward, no matter how well he can coach a player.

On the other hand, Antonio Valencia made a much better defensive contribution with 4 tackles, 1 interception and 2 aerial duels despite being against a weaker opponent in Sunderland, this is one of the albeit it few advantages a winger has on an inside forward.

2. Playmaker - Example: David Silva

Another variation of the inside forward is the playmaker, who is less attacking-minded than the supporting striker and looks to contribute in the build up play more, as you would expect from a number 10. To see a playmaker in an inside forward position is less common than one in a role similar to Ronaldo's but it can be just as effective.

The big difference between the passing stats of Silva's and Valencia's is obviously the range and origin of their passes. The United winger's were all down the right hand flank and short, whereas Silva's were more ambitious and from a few areas of the pitch. Compared to Valencia's 8 forward passes, the Spanish number 10 was much more inventive with 46 attempted passes forward, which he made whilst creating double (6) the amount of chances.

Silva also had a much bigger influence to his side than Valencia did to his as well, notice how the Spaniard was seen predominantly in a central position as well, opposed to Valencia's wide slot. Though this is typical of a playmaker, another reason as to why he saw more of the ball is that he came inside to collect it off of his teamates, something Valencia wouldn't do as he sticks to the touchline.

Thanks for reading guys! You can follow me on Twitter if you don't already do so and now you can follow the blog via emaiil! Just enter your email address into the box on the top right of the page. If you would, please tell me what you think of the chalkboard analysis, it's the first time I've used them and would love to hear some feedback about them. I used the FourFourTwo 'Stats Zone' app on my iPod - you should check it out on the App Store if you don't have it!