One of the biggest talking points in the football world of late has been Norwegian outfit Bodø/Glimt’s performance in the Champions League.
Kjetil Knutsen’s team has defeated the likes of Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and, most recently, they eliminated Italian giants Inter from the Champions League at the knockout play-off stage.
It was only a matter of time before somebody successfully reproduced Knutsen’s tactics, which is exactly what the guys at FM Blog have done with their tactic, Knutsen’s Bodo. This was a tactic we had to try for ourselves, so we decided to test the tactic. It produced some solid results.
How is the tactic set up?
As is usually the case, we used Everton to test the tactic. We loaded the tactic, didn’t make any transfers and went on holiday for a season. This is usually enough to see how effective the tactic can be.
The team set up in a pretty standard 4-3-3 formation with a positive mentality. The formation starts with a goalkeeper, as most tactics do, funnily enough. Nothing fancy, just a goalkeeper in and out of possession.
On the flanks of the defence are one full-back, in and out of possession, and a wing-back in possession, but a full-back out of possession on the opposite flank. Sandwiched in between the full-backs are two centre-backs, both in and out of possession.
Protecting the back four is a defensive midfielder, both in and out of possession. The pair in front have slightly more complicated roles, though.
One is an attacking midfielder in possession and a central midfielder out of possession. At the same time, his partner is an advanced playmaker in possession, but also drops slightly deeper when out of possession, becoming a central midfielder.
Out wide in attack are two wide forwards in possession, but out of possession, they become wingers. The focal point of the attack is a poacher in possession, who becomes a centre forward when his team has lost the ball.
The set-up looks to have the perfect balance between attack and defence, which is likely why it produced such solid results, which we will get to in our next section.
How did the tactic perform?
When it came to media predictions, Everton were predicted to finish ninth in the Premier League table. The team outdid that prediction by a considerable margin, finishing in third place.
The league table shows that the team were highly effective in both defence and attack. Everton scored the fourth most goals in the Premier League, having scored 77 goals.
At the other end of the pitch, the team conceded just 36 goals, which meant that the Toffees had the joint-best defensive record in the division with league leaders Manchester City.
Unsurprisingly, the team had both the third-best home record and the third-best away record in the Premier League. The team finished their league campaign on a high note by winning three of the last five games.
Unfortunately, this tactic didn’t help the team win silverware, as they struggled in the cup competitions. They exited the FA Cup in the fourth round, losing 2-1 at Manchester United. The team also exited the EFL Cup at the same stage, suffering a 3-1 defeat away to Arsenal.
Which players performed the best using this tactic?
This tactic and roles were well-suited to many of Everton’s players. For instance, the wide forward roles suited Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye, who like to take on their opponents.
Grealish scored eight goals and also produced 13 assists, while earning a season average rating of 7.04. Meanwhile, Ndiaye scored 13 goals and produced three assists. It was a solid return from both players.
The attacking midfield role in possession for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall suited him perfectly, as did the central midfield role out of possession. These roles suit him, as in real life, despite playing as a number ten for much of the season, he had a habit of dropping deeper into a more conventional central midfield role.
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Dewsbury-Hall was one of the most effective players while using this tactic, scoring ten goals and producing 12 assists, which is an impressive return from his central midfield role.
Another player who has impressed this season in real life, James Garner, also produced a stellar campaign. Despite playing as a defensive midfielder, the former Manchester United star scored 11 goals and produced 15 assists.
Not many defensive midfielders produce those sorts of attacking numbers. His season average rating of 7.20 was also the second highest in the team, with full-back Vitaliy Mykolenko’s 7.26 the only higher over the campaign.
Both forwards, Thierno Barry and Beto, produced the same attacking returns: nine goals and two assists. However, Barry started 29 games, compared to Beto’s 13.
What is our conclusion of this tactic?
This feels like a very good representation of how Bodø/Glimt play. It seems relatively simple, but the tactic can also be flexible in and out of possession, perfectly illustrated by how the two central midfielders play.
For me, this tactic strikes that difficult balance between attacking football and solid defensive football, just like the Norwegian team in real life.
This is actually a tactic I have used on my personal save, and it worked really well. My team is very good, and it produced even better results than the test. I would recommend using this tactic for any team at any level.
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