How Rotherham’s defensive tactics have put them on course for League One glory – tactical analysis

“Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.” This infamous quote from the great Sir Alex Ferguson has become somewhat of a timeless proverb in British football culture. A statement so conspicuous yet so palpably true, the Scot’s words are practically indisputable.

Scoring goals is like crafting a beautiful wooden coffee table while defending is like the coating of varnish. Without it, there’s no longevity. At Rotherham United, Paul Warne has certainly coated the team with some durable varnish.

This season, while the Millers challenge for their third promotion from League One under the club legend, sitting top of the table by six points, Rotherham have conceded merely 18 goals in 29 matches.

In fact, Rotherham hold the joint-second best defensive record across the top four tiers of English football with only Manchester City bettering it with all their exorbitant might.

Warne’s side are the joint-top goalscorers in the English third division but, referring back to Sir Alex Ferguson’s notorious quote, it’s the team’s defensive proficiency that has rocketed them to title favouritism. But how exactly are Rotherham so good defensively?

This article will be a tactical analysis of the Millers in the form of a team scout report. It will be an analysis of the side’s tactics, dissecting Warne’s strategic set-up in the defensive phases.

Formation consistency

During Rotherham’s failed quest for Championship survival last season, Warne sifted through a plethora of formations in order to find the one which would give the Millers the best chance to stave off relegation.

The 3-5-2 was Rotherham’s most frequent formation choice last season, being used in roughly a quarter of their games in all competitions. Looking at the visual above, it would seem that Warne deployed every formation known to man in the hopes of guiding his side to safety.

Unfortunately, Rotherham were eventually relegated, but a step down the English tier system has allowed the team to finally have some consistency with their formation choice.