“A proven winner”: Why Fortuna Hjørring manager Brian Sørensen could be a shrewd appointment by Everton – tactical analysis

It is fair to say that 2021/2022 has not been a happy time for Everton Women and will not be a season that their fans will recall with much fondness. The initial excitement over high-profile additions like Italy midfielder Aurora Galli from Juventus Femminile, Sweden’s young star Hanna Bennison from Rosengård and ex-Atlético Madrid Femenino forward Toni Duggan was quickly ended after it became clear that they would not be challenging at the top of the WSL as hoped and would instead face a relegation battle.

Both Willie Kirk and former Lyon Féminin boss Jean-Luc Vasseur have tried unsuccessfully to arrest their poor form, and the club have now announced who will be next into the hot seat, with Brian Sørensen, currently in charge of Gjensidige Kvindeligaen side Fortuna Hjørring, being handed an initial two-year deal last week, taking over formally in the summer. This is a bold appointment by Everton and an interesting move for the Dane, given that Fortuna are currently on course to secure a place in next season’s Champions League, but he clearly feels that he is the person who can turn the WSL strugglers around and get them challenging for a place in the top four once again.

This tactical analysis will look in closer detail at what we can expect Everton to look like under his leadership, with a focus on Fortuna’s style of play during the current campaign. The article will focus on their attack, midfield and defence in turn, providing a comprehensive insight into Sørensen’s preferred tactics and coaching philosophy, and will also compare Fortuna’s and Everton’s statistics from the current season, seeing where the Dane will improve them.

Final third play

Despite having plenty of talented attackers in the squad, Everton Women have struggled in front of goal this season, having scored just 15 times in 19 WSL games. Therefore, something that Brian Sørensen will need to improve is his new team’s productivity and efficiency in the final third.

At Fortuna Hjørring this season, players have been encouraged to get forward and join attacks, with the full-backs regularly moving into dangerous areas of the field. It is often the case that they will have players both on the wings and in the half-spaces, and the full-backs and wingers alternate in terms of which has each role. In this case, Australia left-back Angela Beard is inside the pitch and she has become a pivot in Fortuna’s attack, with them now able to give her plenty of passing options in different directions, utilising the space available and making it harder for Nordsjælland in this case to get tight to the ball or any individual attacker. This is one reason that Fortuna have been so potent in front of goal this season, having netted 38 times in 16 games.

This theme of creating multiple passing options is reiterated here, with the ball this time on the far side of the pitch and three players once again making themselves available to receive it. However, the key aspect here is their individual positions, with Romania forward Florentina Olar getting in between the Brøndby defenders and becoming the main goalscoring threat, whilst Denmark midfielder Olivia Holdt has stayed back and taken up a playmaker role and Beard has made herself available for a longer pass on the nearside. With this setup in place, Fortuna have three different ways of shooting at goal, and Brøndby have no way of telling which of the three will be taken until the initial pass is made.