Stevie Grieve Tactics At SJK Akatemia 2023: The Benefits Of A Tactically Flexible Coaching Methodology – Tactical Analysis

Two years on from achieving promotion to the second tier, SJK Akatemia came within touching distance of the Veikkausliiga Playoff Final versus IFK Mariehamn, who finished second-from-bottom in Finlands top tier.

SJKs first team earned a third-place finish in Finlands regular season before falling to fourth in the Playoff rounds. We analysed how their now-37-year-old coach, Joaquín Gómez, flourished, especially towards the beginning of the campaign, with the youngest squad in the league; they ended 2023 with an average squad age of 23.9.

Likewise, SJK Akatemia had the youngest squad in Finlands second tier, ending the campaign with an average squad age of just 20.3 — emphasizing how impressive their achievement of nearly reaching the Playoff Final was, just a couple of years after entering the second tier.

SJK Akatemia were led by 36-year-old Stevie Grieve from Perth, Scotland. From analysing their approach throughout the 2023 campaign, we can identify an overarching trend of tactical flexibility permeating their performances.

Tactical flexibility is a highly desirable trait in a modern coach. Back in 2018, during a campaign in which they earned 97 points, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp commended his sides tactical flexibility, stating: We are not that stubborn system-wise, we were never… We try to use the players in the best way and give them the position where they can shine.

Here at Total Football Analysis, Cameron Meighan identified tactical flexibility as a major trend within the football coaching landscape in 2020, explaining:

There are two ways of looking at tactical flexibility, with the first one being a teams ability to perform within a different number of shapes, formations and roles… [and the second being] decision making and a players/teams ability to solve a problem in a variety of ways.

Football can sometimes be analysed as if the coach orchestrates each minor movement. Ultimately, a coach cannot prepare instructionally for every single dual and single problem a player comes across within a 90-minute game. Every game will present unique challenges, and within a certain framework the coach sets up to put players in the best possible position and role to showcase the best of themselves and shine against that particular opponent, they must be prepared to think and solve the problems presented to them by the opposition.

At the same time, the coach will, of course, identify certain weaknesses and strengths in each opposition and prepare their team accordingly. However, a significant portion of a coachs worth lies in how they develop their players minds and prepare them to solve the unique problems they will encounter in the upcoming game.

In this tactical analysis piece, we will provide an in-depth analysis of SJK Akatemias 2023 campaign through the lens of tactical flexibility. We will provide examples of how Grieves side displayed tactical flexibility throughout their impressive campaign, highlighting the strengths and reasons behind different approaches they used on other occasions; this, ultimately, will shine a light on the benefits of being a tactically flexible team.

Early Possession Phases

Well start our analysis by examining SJK Akatemia in the early possession phases — specifically, the build-up and ball progression phases of play. The first thing to note is that Grieves side does not subscribe to any particular shape or formation at all, as will become clear as we proceed through this section.

Firstly, analyzing their clash with MP Mikkeli on August 5, we find an example of SJK Akatemia playing in a 3-2-4-1 shape in possession while deploying a 4-4-1-1 formation out of possession.

A notable point regarding SJK Akatemia in the 3-2-4-1 formation this past season is that they demonstrated a variety of different ways to create this shape in different games, depending on the shape they were transitioning from without the ball, the opponent they were playing against, and the players they had on the pitch.

Again, a fundamental principle of creating the in-possession structure is putting players in positions that best utilise their unique skill sets. As a result, depending on the players on the pitch and what weaknesses existed in the opponent that they wanted to target, the shape could be created in different ways.

Against MP, we saw them shifting the right-back inside to form a back-three behind the two central midfielders. Meanwhile, the left-back advanced to provide the width inside the final third, alongside the left-winger who moved into the half-space, the 10 who shifted slightly to the right, and the right-winger who remained out wide.

Expecting an aggressive press from the opponents front three, they created a structure that offered good passing angles into midfield, where the double-pivot would be prepared to receive, turn, and get their team moving forward into the next line.

Theyd look to draw the oppositions press via their initial short passing play, creating space behind those aggressive forwards that they could exploit.

If they didnt get that aggressive pressure, the midfielders could drop off slightly to become available in a somewhat deeper area, as was the case in Figure 2.