Fran Kirby 2019/20 – scout report

Much has been written about Chelsea Women this season, from their incredible form to their incoming transfers that have taken the league by surprise. From the arrival of Sam Kerr and the upcoming transfer of former Bayern Munich captain Melanie Leupolz to their incredible form against the top sides of the FAWSL, Chelsea are proving themselves as worthy contenders for the title. During this time, one player has missed a considerable chunk of the second half of the season having played a part between September and December: Fran Kirby. The English playmaker has always been reliable for Chelsea but her injury has kept her out for an extended period, however, once the leagues resume, there is a chance that Kirby could play a significant part of the run-in. Her return will give Emma Hayes a tactical dilemma due to the number of excellent options she has in the forward areas. Throughout this analysis, we will go over Kirby as a player and examine how Chelsea can line up upon her return.

Using tactical analysis, we will discuss the potential systems Hayes can employ to incorporate Chelsea’s best options once Kirby returns from injury. Through this scout report, we will also remind ourselves of the skillset Kirby has and how that can affect the team’s tactics positively.

Playmaking using passing & movement

Kirby’s role has always been one of an attacking playmaker occupying the number 10 position. Both for England and Chelsea, Kirby has been the team’s primary playmaker and link player supplying service for strikers. In recent times, she’s become much more involved in and around the penalty area by being deployed as a centre-forward last season. However, even though she was moved up to a striker role Kirby has retained her style for the most part. She is equally comfortable playing in both roles and can be used in a variety of systems but is most comfortable being the main creator.

Part of Kirby’s repertoire of skills is her passing and movement that makes her a vital player in the final third. It’s important to look at where she’s played in this time, and as we mentioned, her influence has mainly originated from the centre-forward or attacking midfield position. To put this into context, last season she was used as a striker 82% of the games she played (22). From the four games, she’s played this season, she has been used as a striker in 59% of the games. Knowing this, it’s important to understand how she was able to affect games this way. First, we’ll look into how her movement on and the ball plays a part in her game.

According to last year’s statistics, Kirby attempted 2.90 dribbles per 90 minutes with 1.87 dribbles completed successfully. To give this stat a bit more substance she averaged 1.96 for the number of players dribbled past, meaning for every 3 dribbles attempted, she was able to drive past 2 players a game (FBREF). Putting this in context of Chelsea’s tactics, the team looks to play on the counter-attack against more dominant sides such as Arsenal and Manchester City to take advantage of their high line and spaces they leave in behind. Being able to pick up possession in midfield or defence and make progressive runs into the final third without being tackled increases the chances of leading to a goal-scoring opportunity both for herself and her teammates. 

As I had eluded to in the previous section, Kirby’s movement is not complete without her adept passing range. The English playmaker is excellent on the ball and is complemented by her range of passing skills. Through balls, crosses, and long-ranged passes are the types of passes that are regularly seen when she plays using them to great effect when playing in her teammates. Kirby’s passing comes into it’s strongest when she picks up possession in midfield and drives forward with players making runs around her. During this phase, she uses her vision and creativity to find pockets of space to pass into. Just like threading a needle. Once she makes the pass, she will make her way into space to receive a potential return pass.