Who in the Celtic squad is primed for Rodgers' pressing?

Dominic Wells is an analyst supporting Leicester City. Wells explained in detail and with great balance many aspects of Brendan Rodgers’ time at the club.

One comment he made was that he considered Rodgers elite in his ability to organise and set up a press.

Given the current Celtic squad is well-versed in the art of the aggressive press given their experiences under prior manager Ange Postecoglou, who might catch the new manager's eyes with their pressing abilities, and who may have to stretch to keep up?

Pressures

A pressure is defined by StatsBomb as “the number of times a player pressures an opponent” and a pressure regain is “the times a players’ team wins the ball back within five seconds of the player pressuring an opponent”.

So, in essence, this is applying pressure once the opponent has secured possession. This is usually a coordinated team activity where the players should simultaneously activate the press once a trigger is sensed (e.g. a player receives the ball on their weaker foot; the ball is in the full-back position with limited space to operate; a player receives the ball with back to goal).

Pressures are the volume of pressing actions and regains measure the success of that action – i.e. how often the ball was won back by your team.

Here are the pressing volume and quality (regains) metrics for 2022-23:

I have marked each position in a different colour as this will have a significant impact on pressing responsibilities. Centre-backs are not included as they generally don’t press often. Full-backs and defensive midfielders will push onto a press less often than attacking midfielders and forwards.

So, each position needs to be compared within its own peer group.

Starting at the back, we can see that Alistair Johnston looks like he will fit right into the new Rodgers pressing model. One player who has been peripheral thus far but might become more involved is Alexandro Bernabei.

The young Argentine has had a mixed start to his Celtic career, with almost manic ball loss and turnover woes allied to aggressive running, pace, and an ability to disrupt the opposition with intelligent runs. In particular, his pressing ability is an outlier amongst Celtic full-backs, and it will be fascinating given Rodgers’ history of developing young players to see what he can do with Bernabei.

Anthony Ralston was given a new contract under Rodgers the first time around, but he is relatively lacking in the pressing data. And the new manager loves his “power and pace” so how will the ever-willing and intelligent pupil Greg Taylor impress? He does not fit Rodgers’ more athletic model of a footballer yet learned the inverted full-back role very well. Will his pressing relative to Bernabei be a concern?

In midfield, the two number sixes Tomoki Iwata and Callum McGregor have relatively lower pressing intensity than the eights as should be expected. Iwata has a slight edge by these metrics being the younger man and being more defensive-minded.

Of the more advanced midfielder, Matt O’Riley is a standout as regards pressing ability. Not particularly fast on his feet, he compensates by reading the game well, anticipating the opponents’ actions, and then using his size 14s to get a foot in and disrupt.

Aaron Mooy and David Turnbull, neither particularly aggressive runners, both score reasonably well by the pressing data. We do not yet know whether Mooy will fully recover from the injury that ended his season. With Turnbull, he is another young player who has been relatively peripheral but might be rejuvenated under the new gaffer.

Reo Hatate’s pressing data is of lower volume and with fewer regains than his peers. Can Rodgers develop him further in this regard?

Of the forwards, we know Maeda is an elite pressing machine – what will Rodgers make of such a player who is otherwise quite technically limited but with such high-end attributes in a key skill?

Did you all expect Sead Haksabanovic to be such an impressive presser? I will admit I did not but here is another quite young player for Rodgers to get hold of. In comparison, both Jota and Liel Abada are less energetic in the press.

So, some players like Bernabei, Turnbull and Haksabanovic who, whilst not often starters, may catch Rodgers’s eye as regards their pressing smarts.

READ MORE: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers' press conference in full

Counterpressing

The counterpress is defined as “pressure exerted within five seconds of a turnover”. So, rather than pressing which is (should be) coordinated pressure of the opposition in response to certain possession triggers, counterpressing is reactive in response to your own team losing the ball.

Similarly, we focus on the volume of counterpresses and their effectiveness as measured by regains as a result of the player counterpressing. In this context regains is where the ball is recovered within five seconds of the players’ counterpress.

Amongst the full-backs, it is a similar picture to the pressing data. Bernabei shows great potential in this regard and Johnston will no doubt become a Rodgers favourite.

What is interesting in both views is that Josip Juranovic was a bit of an outlier as regards his lack of pressing capability. He had other strengths especially his ability to get up the park with the ball quickly. An attribute he shares with Bernabei!

In midfield, Iwata seems to come to life in these moments just after the ball is lost and has the highest regain rate in the squad. It will be fascinating to see how Rodgers utilises him and McGregor.

O’Riley again stands out with the highest rate of attempted counterpresses in the squad. Hatate again lags his peers by these metrics.

Amongst the forwards, Maeda has the highest regain rate but Haksabanovic once more surprises with the highest counterpressing attempts.

Abada seems more comfortable reacting to ball turnovers than general pressing patterns. Jota is the least press-savvy of the starters.

A side not on both charts is that James Forrest, probably on the downward age curve, does not seem as well suited to a high-pressing strategy.

READ MORE: What history tells us about Celtic's European prospects - James Dailey

Conclusion

Simply looking at one key aspect of the game, an area Rodgers is renowned for coaching to a high standard, reveals that there are some players who have not been starters who might catch his eye.

Bernabei, Iwata, Turnbull, Abada and Haksabanovic all have pressing and counterpressing capabilities that compare favourably to their peers. Given all are still quite young players, could they all play more important roles going forward?

Of the current starters, as regards the pressing and counterpressing skills, the likes of Taylor, Ralston, Hatate, Jota and Forrest (and dare I say McGregor!) may need to improve in this aspect.

It is of course only one aspect of play, but a key one in Rodgers’ likely game plan.