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Spent the last few days watching Mason Mount, so here's a little something breaking down all I could pick out from the half-a-dozen performances from this season that I watched of him.
https://wp.me/p8mNMd-QM
https://wp.me/p8mNMd-QM
I also, here, wanted to dive more into some specifics to do with Mount’s approach to receiving the ball, which can be used as a small comparison point for when looking at others, especially those who are able to receive predominantly on the half-turn instead.
1) Offering whilst facing the ball.
+ve: draw space behind or to the side + greater initial protection v blind-sided opps
-ves: requires more scanning, harder to turn with, limiting in tighter areas + easier to misidentify operating space
+ve: draw space behind or to the side + greater initial protection v blind-sided opps
-ves: requires more scanning, harder to turn with, limiting in tighter areas + easier to misidentify operating space
2) Taking it in his stride.
Best way to adjust is by using your 1st touch to take it on the spin, which Mount does really well. Adept at using either foot to turn inwards or outwards to maintain the fluency of the pace of the ball.
Best way to adjust is by using your 1st touch to take it on the spin, which Mount does really well. Adept at using either foot to turn inwards or outwards to maintain the fluency of the pace of the ball.
Whilst this is good, there is a lot of energy fixated on executing this one move, which means little-to-no focus is being placed on where his teammates are and how much space he has to attack directly afterwards.
All of which can lead to missed opportunities and loose touches.
All of which can lead to missed opportunities and loose touches.
3) Opening body to normal-paced passes.
This is a stumbling block for him technically. Intention to let the ball run across him is good but he’s guilty of cutting the ball, impacts his immediate line of vision and his speed of release.
This is a stumbling block for him technically. Intention to let the ball run across him is good but he’s guilty of cutting the ball, impacts his immediate line of vision and his speed of release.
Him being ball-facing there means he's having to kill the ball's momentum to control it, so needs further touches to regather that pace and to push it into space.
It’s a minor aspect overall, and this thread doesn’t go over every single part (some more stuff in the piece), but even just those already mentioned above can be make or break for central players in their manipulation of space, which can be crucial to breaking down deep blocks.
So it’s important to strike a balance between being ball-facing and starting on the half-turn.
And, although Mount leans towards the ball-facing side, many others that do the same (ESR & Ødegaard, for instance) don’t take on the ball on nearly as swiftly and smartly as he does.
And, although Mount leans towards the ball-facing side, many others that do the same (ESR & Ødegaard, for instance) don’t take on the ball on nearly as swiftly and smartly as he does.
