Birmingham City Women left-back Adrienne Jordan is one of the best players in the WSL. She is also one of the most interesting players to do a scout report on, because of her strengths in defending and attacking, which are instrumental in her side’s performances. This tactical analysis will look at why she is so highly rated, and what she adds to Birmingham’s defence and attack. The analysis will also look at how Birmingham can make their tactics suit her way of playing, how the Blues’ opponents are affected by her style of play, and how she could be a huge asset to teams higher up the league because of this.
In Defence
Beginning with the defence, which is her normal position. As she is a left-back, she doesn’t have to be what some might call a “brick wall” (unlike a centre-back might by getting in the way of shots and blocking them). However, she is very good at slotting in there when needed, as shown below.
Here, you can see how, with Manchester City Women attacking, Birmingham City Women have been forced to revert to a temporary back five, with Jordan slotting in to play as the left-sided defender. This shows how she is a team player, and any team player who is prepared to do that is going to be a good signing.
But what she has most when defending is intelligence and an eye for predicting what will happen next. You can see below how, with Manchester City Women attacking up the wing, Jordan has seen the danger of the potential cross, and is now moving to close down the shot. This does two things for Birmingham City Women. Firstly, it means that the opponent can’t cross the ball in early, and it allows Jordan’s teammates to track back and mark the attacking options in the box, as you can see in the images below.
