Marco Silva Tactics At Fulham 2021/2022: Rapid Transitions And Vertical Possession – Tactical Analysis

Amid the extensive managerial merry-go-round in Europe at the moment, one of the most intriguing, if not surprising, appointments has been Marco Silva to Fulham on a three-year deal.

The Portuguese boss has had mixed results in English football and tends to undergo a Jose Mourinho-type self-destruction with every club he has been with so far.

At Hull City, the young coach arrived from Greece having won the Greek Super League with Olympiakos with a 79 percent win record over the course of the 2015/16 season.

At Hull, things got off to a flier.

It seemed as though the Tigers would miraculously stay up for another season until it eventually fell apart, and they were ultimately relegated under Silva.

Then, at Watford, the Hornets were shooting up the table early on after some truly excellent results, and Silva found himself heavily linked with the Everton job.

Within the next few months, Watford fell off the boil, and Silva was eventually sacked.

Finally, there was Everton, his most recent job in football.

In the 2018/19 season, Everton finished eighth, a very respectable position, but, as always, by December of the 2019/20 campaign, the club was sitting in the relegation zone, and Silva was relieved of his duties.

The 43-year-old still has a lot to do to prove his critics wrong, and helping Fulham to bounce back up to the Premier League following their feeble relegation last season would be the perfect way to do so.

This article will be a tactical analysis in the form of a managerial scout report of Marco Silva.

It will be an analysis of the tactics he tends to use as well as how he will implement his philosophy into the Cottagers.

Fulham starting eleven and main formation

Predicting Fulham’s starting eleven will be quite difficult considering the fact that Silva was appointed as the manager of Fulham on July 1, just over two weeks ago, meaning the Portuguese boss has had very little time to get a full understanding of his squad’s capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

However, in terms of what formation he is likely to deploy, Silva has typically stuck with a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 throughout his career.

When in possession though, it is difficult to pinpoint which midfield system Silva’s sides are playing with as the three central midfield rotate constantly.

Sometimes, his teams use a ‘6’ with two more advanced ‘8s’ who push between the opposition’s midfield and backline, but merely a few minutes later, they could be using a double-pivot of two ‘6s’ to receive the ball from the backline and one ‘8’ pushing between the lines.

The midfielders can be classified as the most important aspect of any footballing system, and this is certainly the case for Silva’s teams.

The three central midfield players in the manager’s systems always have different player profiles.

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