Jamath Shoffner’s Tactics & Coaching Style At KV Oostende – Tactical Analysis

When Jamath Shoffner was appointed as Oostende’s new manager at the beginning of the year, he was brought into a situation that looked all but doomed.

The club had just accrued another six-point deduction for failure to pay wages, and it looked likely they would go bankrupt and fold, rooted to the bottom of the Challenger Pro League. 

However, fast-forward to the present day, and Oostende is alive and well.

The club is reportedly getting closer to new ownership and getting confirmation of staying in the second division after beating already relegated Standard Liège II on the last day of the season. 

A lot of this success has come from Shoffner, with the 45-year-old American able to galvanise the squad and win some big matches in the Belgian second tier, as well as winning against Pro League side RWDM and advancing to the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup before losing valiantly to current Belgian Pro League champions Antwerp.

The following tactical analysis will examine some of the tactics the former Dudelange manager has implemented at Oostende and how he may be able to guide the team up the table in the 2024/25 season. 

Jamath Shoffner Formations 

Looking at formations, since Jamath Shoffner’s appointment at the beginning of January, he has normally set Oostende up in a back-five formation, typically a 5-3-2.

This shape tends to shift to a back three when the Belgian side is going forward, as the wing-backs tend to push forward to advance attacks and provide width in the attacking half. 

However, Shoffner has also looked to alter shape on occasion, with Oostende opting for a back four in some matches, most notably deploying a 4-1-4-1 against Challenger Pro League champions Beerschot.

This showed an example of Shoffner displaying his tactical flexibility.

Shoffner opted for this formation to control the midfield, the 45-year-old wanting to force Dirk Kuyt’s side to play long and eliminate the strongest area of Beerschot under the Dutchman. 

Direct in attack, prioritise attacking with width and long balls centrally 

From an attacking perspective, Oostende is a side that does not look to play much with the ball under Jamath Shoffners tactics.

Their 44.8% average ball possession this season is the joint second-lowest in the Challenger Pro League.

They will have spells where they hold the majority of possession in a match, but these moments are few and far between, with Oostende normally looking to skip out of the midfield entirely. 

KV Oostende Progressive Passes Map

The graphic above shows a more detailed look at Oostende’s progressive passes under Jamath Shoffner’s coaching style.

As we can gather from the data, the central areas in the attacking third and middle third of the pitch do not see much ball progression, with the wide areas being where the ball tends to be played when it is in possession of the centre-backs. 

This is where the wing-backs in Shoffner’s system are so important.

If the ball is not played directly to the forwards