James Clarkson: 'We want to be difficult to beat but we want to be able to take the ball off the opposition in their half and attack higher up the field'

Pressing Questions #7: James Clarkson

This interview with Houston Dash head coach James Clarkson was done in collaboration with Om Arvind as part of my ‘Pressing Questions’ series.

We’ve already collaborated on a chat with Real Madrid’s Caroline Møller Hansen. Be sure to check out Om’s work with in-depth analysis on the women’s and men’s game such as Real Madrid’s performance against Barcelona in the UWCL and Off-Ball Playmakers. He is one of the best analysts in the space right now.

Keep your eye out for more joint ventures down the road with more tactically inclined guests.

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James Clarkson has been with Houston Dash since 2019 and since become an integral figure at the club. Having guided them to the 2020 Challenge Cup, Clarkson has worked with some of the NWSL’s best players in Rachel Daly, Kristie Mewis, and Nichelle Prince to name a few. His ability to evolve them whilst improving his team’s small tactical nuances is profound.

Our interview with Clarkson comes in two parts. Part one resides here with a focus on his playing style and philosophy with the second component involving video analysis breakdown that can be found on WoSo Collective that he commented and analysed.

The insights Clarkson produced on the evolution of his style and players are intriguing and provide an insight into the mind of a top coach. We hope you enjoy reading his thoughts as much as we enjoyed listening to them.

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Abdullah: What, in your words, is your philosophy and style of play?

I think we want to be attack-orientated. We want to be difficult [to play against] and, in order to do that, one of our big philosophies is how we defend because we want to attack. We want to be difficult to beat but we want to be able to take the ball off the opposition in their half and attack higher up the field.

But, with who we are and the players that we have, there has to be an element of hard work and grit put into how we play. Being organised and maximising the team concept is vitally important. I think our build-up has to be a little bit better at times, but as I said, we want to be on the front foot and be an attacking team. We’re not really your classic counter-attacking team of sitting deep, but we want to be able to do it from within that medium block and create those fast attacks, where the opposition has made space for us from us stealing the ball, and we’re able to break out quickly from there.

Om: Building off of that, a question about your formation: how important do you see formations being to your overall style and identity?

You use a 4-1-4-1 or 4-3-3, however you want to call it, at Houston. Do you see this as a way to facilitate your philosophy or is it just a means to an end? If you had to, could you shape up in a different way and still achieve the same things?

I think, to a degree, we could shape up differently and achieve the same things but with the profile of player that we have in the system and style (4-3-3), we want to have one holding and two forward No. 10’s and we've got good wide players. So, trying to create that separation between the opposition's fullback and centre-back for the No. 10’s to be able to run into, which then isolates the wide players in 1v1’s. I think it’s going to be really important, especially this year, now that we've got Maria Sanchez, that gives us the balance on the left-hand side and also the flexibility to be able to switch her and Nichelle Prince and play with inverted wingers as well as traditional wingers. 

We don't necessarily have real attack-minded full-backs. That's not necessarily their strength; they're very good defenders, especially as 1v1 defenders, but to put the emphasis on those players to provide us with width and attacking threat isn't the profile that we have. So, that's why the roles of the No. 7 and 11 become even more important. 

Om: You mentioned the full-backs not necessarily being super offensive and not necessarily of that profile, so you don't see them bombing up the pitch all the time.

By having full-backs play more conservatively, you have better rest defence, you're able to contribute better in build-up with shorter passes, and you have better spatial occupation. Conversely, if you have the wingers high and wide and the full-backs pushing up, there’s a possible lack of balance.

In addition to their profiles, are those factors part of the reason why they’re positioned the way they are?

It’s two points really: one is to give us a better rest defence and be more organised as a collective; athletically we're not at the top within the league. So those transitional moments can really hurt us. Trying to reduce those transitional moments is big for us. So getting those full-backs and the No. 6 in rest defence with the two centre-backs is important for us, so we have that shape of five. Usually, it's a two-three [shape] – it could be a three-two, but usually, it's a two-three. That, ideally, is for us to prevent the transitional moments in the game from getting stretched and us having to play over 120 yards. If we can get organised behind the ball then that becomes vitally important for us.

What I noticed in 2019 when I first took the job - and I still see it within the league, with the full-backs - if there's space and time there's almost this ‘automatic’ set of going ‘I'll go high and wide’ and suddenly, they go high and wide, they kill the space. But if it breaks down, they're in no position to be able to deal with it if we lose the ball. So getting them into better positional areas, which makes them a little bit more conservative, does help with our build-up to get us in better defensive positions.

Abdullah: When you picked up Shea Groom, she was obviously a lesser-known quantity, and you converted her from a wide player to a more central player with really good qualities, going from box to box and knowing when to get into the dangerous areas. Her timing is also really, really good. 

What qualities did you see when you first acquired her that made you want to move her into a central position when you already had a couple of really key players in that position?

It was two things because I looked at how we struggled against teams within the league and what were key moments that really made it difficult for us to deal with. It was really the ability of a player to be able to dribble at the back line from a central area and we didn't have that. We had good passers, good runners with the ball, but they weren't necessarily dribblers and weren’t able to really drive at people. Shea played at Texas A&M University, where I've got a good relationship with a coach. I looked at what she did when she was at college and how she'd done in the league.

By moving her centrally and getting her on that ball, she was able to drive forward. That was the whole purpose of it. Last year, it was harder for Shea because people were much more aware of her qualities and closed some of the gaps. 

We're certainly seeing signs during preseason of her ability to be able to play in-between the lines, link up with a forward, and [contribute] in how we build up. We really want the ball to go into the forward to then come back into the No. 10s for them to be able to run at the back line, which should then free up space for the front three to be able to get in behind and Shea plays a huge role in it. 

Picking up Maria [Sanchez] gives us a different look as well. We can even move Maria into the No. 10 position and she has that ability to be able to pick out that pass. She's very good at 1v1’s, which gives us a bit more flexibility to mix things up if it's not working.

Abdullah: Obviously you've lost Kristie [Mewis] to Gotham now. Do you see Shea Groom or even Maria Sanchez taking up the Mewis role? 

It's tough because Kristie isn’t really a dribbler, but her timing and ability to run into the gaps – without getting picked – that we create in behind the backline – that was a real strength of hers and we are obviously going to miss that.

I don't think either of them replace that because I think that was a unique skill that Kristie had. We've got to look at different ways of exploring that space, but I do think Maria has terrific movement off the ball, she picks up some great spots and has a great quality of pass. Even her dead-ball deliveries are high quality. I believe they compensate for the loss of Mewis rather than being a straight replacement. It does give the team more balance but we've gained in some areas as well. I don't think we'd ever be able to replace Kristie Mewis, so we've got to make some adjustments. 

Kelsey Hedges has been a really good addition for us, but she has been injured a lot. She's a player that I think can have a big impact for us from that area, making those runs. She's another one that's very good on the ball, in the timing of her runs, and possesses the awareness of those spaces. 

Om: You've talked about Maria Sanchez’s dribbling and about what she can provide off the ball. Is it the summation of all those qualities that gets you excited about her or is it a specific quality, such as her dribbling?

She's not the quickest – it's not like we've got a track star that's going to burn past people with pure speed, but her technique is outstanding. So, in tight situations, her ability to change direction or play in 1v1, and then have a quality delivery after that, is fantastic and she's got it to a level where it's not necessarily about beating somebody and getting past them by five yards – she just needs to be able to create a yard or space for herself to be able to deliver that ball into the box. 

I think we're going to increase the service to Rachel [Daly] and clearly, the more service we get to Rachel, the more goals she'll score. I think Maria will be able to chip in with a substantial amount of goals as well this season. She's an exciting player to have on the team and I think everybody wants to see people that can actually dribble and we've got to get her in those 1v1 situations and let her do her thing in the final third. But then it's important, that from the deeper roles, those midfield players exploit that space that these 1v1 situations are going to create.

Last year we were a little bit one-sided. We had that with Nichelle [Prince] (she's another one that's very good in 1v1 situations). If you look at the data and you look at where the chances were being created, a lot of it was coming from that right-hand side. Now, with two players having a similar sort of ability, I think it gives us a much better balance and makes us a little bit less predictable. Hopefully, if we get the front three firing, we've got plenty of goals in the team.

Abdullah: We've just touched upon a few players already but can you, at a high level, break down each section of the team – defence, midfield, and attack – and talk about everybody's roles in general, and pick out key players from each third and who you think is most important to the overall system that you're trying to build here?

I’ll start with the goalkeeper. Jane [Campbell] didn't have her best season last year. She knows that. We know, we've discussed it, but she's a top goalkeeper. She has everything to be, I think, the best goalkeeper in the world. We've looked at a couple of key things that we think will help not only the team, but help her. We've really been working on her footwork, making sure that she's connected to the back line. We want her to play higher up the field to become that extra player to help us in possession. 

We’ve been really taking her out of her comfort zone and challenging her through preseason on this and the results have been excellent. I'm sure we're gonna give a couple of goals away during the season through it, but it's enhanced and pushed the team further forward and it's also pushing her further forward as well. So that's going to be a key element for us in how connected she is, how involved she is in our ability to maintain possession, but also deal with the ball over the top. That's something different you’ll notice in how we play. 

Then, you know, you look at the defenders, which is where we got some consistency there, you know, with the two full-backs: Chappy [Aly Chapman] and Hayley Hanson. Then, with Katie Naughton, who I think has proven over the last couple of years that she's a consistently high performer within the league. You know, she can't be too far away from getting into the national team. She's had a real consistency to her performances, we're going to move her to the right-hand side. She's played on the left for the last couple of years but with [Megan] Oyster leaving, it gives an opportunity for us to move Katie to the right-hand side. I think that she'll be more comfortable there. I think it also gives her a bigger chance of making the national team. That'll be a slight change. 

When does this go out? [We laugh] I can tell you some more stuff then!

Om: We get the secrets! 

So we're going to play Sophie Schmidt centre-back for a number of reasons. Obviously, she's got vast experience, but her composure and ability on the ball will really help the back line and will be important for us as we continue to move forward. So, that'll be the backline.

Ali Prisock will come back from France as her loan ends in March and she gives us a little bit more depth there. We've also added Julia Ashley to the squad as well. She can play on the outside or centrally. She's come in and added to the whole squad, so we've been pleased with her progress. But that starting lineup will probably be Hansen, Naughton, Schmidt, and Chapman across the backline. 

As we get into midfield, we've added in Marisa Viggiano from the Orlando Pride. She'll play in as a No. 6. She’s a very clever player and will link up things for us. She's had a really good impact as we've got into it. We've moved Brianna Visalli back into a holding midfield role and seen really good progress from her, playing with more discipline and breaking things up. Her technical ability to be able to receive the ball under pressure has been very important in how we want to continue to build up through the lines.

I spoke about Kelsey Hedges and Shea Groom. We have Makamae Gomera-Stevens.

She came in halfway through the year – last year – and made an impact considering she was coming straight from college. We're expecting big things from her this year. She's another one that's very good on the dribble – that's her real strength, which is getting on the ball in dangerous areas and really committing the opposition, which is going to be vitally important for us. She just needs to be a little bit more consistent on both sides of the ball but I think there's one that can have a real impact on the league this year. 

We also added Joelle Anderson. We drafted her two years ago, but she's now come in and is another skilful player who has good vision, is very good under pressure, and can pick out that final pass. 

We're a much younger-looking team and we've tried to maintain the same sort of profiles.

We've got those players that are good in possession. So, I think it’s more important that we keep the ball [now] than perhaps we have done in the past, but also continue to be more effective defensively. 

We missed the playoffs by a point last year and we kept four clean sheets. North Carolina kept eleven. At a minimum, there's a seven-point swing straight off the bat. We scored the most goals in the Dash’s history but we ended up with a goal difference of zero. 

I've said all along that, as long as we have a positive goal difference, we'll make the playoffs. We missed it by a point. I think we can continue to score more goals but we've got to get better collectively – not just the goalkeeper and back four. All ten outfield players collectively need to be better defensively. I think, with the makeup of the midfield now, it’s a whole new midfield.

We’ve lost Gabby [Kessler], Kristie, and Sophie from the midfield. I think we'll have more energy, will be better off the ball, and, I felt last year at times, even within the medium block, we were too easy to play through and too many vertical passes eliminated all of our midfield. We've worked on things already in preseason on how to prevent that and I think there's a little bit more energy in there that will make us more effective when we don't have the ball. 

The forward line. We talked about those three (Daly, Sanchez, Prince). Obviously, we're going to miss those three in the summer with the Euros and CONCACAF qualifying. So, we're expecting Michaela Abam to step up and really participate with more goals. 

Our draft pick this year is Ryan Garies. She's a left-sided player. She's got exceptional pace and, technically, she's very good and she’s one that I think, if it clicks for her and she fully embraces what's required to push her game to another level, she could be a fantastic talent.

We've got Paulina [Gramaglia] from Argentina. She's young but she's adapted really well. She's made the change to the US and she's making really good progress. So it's an exciting project that we've taken on to see what we can do with a younger player that basically would be coming out of high school in the US. So that one's good, but it's going to take a bit of time to really see her fulfil her potential, but the early signs have been very promising. 

Om: So just real quick, because you've talked about buildup and about the necessity to improve defence: I'm wondering if the idea of getting Jane more involved and keeping possession – whether those two are linked?

Obviously, you want to improve the medium block, but is it also about just being able to put your foot on the ball, calm things down, and regain control, which could lead to better defence? Or is that more offensively related in your mind? 

No, I think the two are very much connected. I think if we can be a little bit more composed in possession, that allows our attacking players to get into better positional areas, which can only help us as we go forward and then try to create more goal-scoring opportunities. 

At times, especially during the summer, where the weather's quite extreme in Houston, it's really important that we have possession of the ball, or else we allow teams to bunker and hold the ball and gain momentum. I've seen it too often: we've been behind and we're having to chase things. When we are behind, we've got to make sure that there's still that composure to it and that we're consistently creating big chances. Then it's up to the players to put those chances away. 

Certainly, last year, when we were able to put together one or two more extra passes, especially in that final third and not force it, we were able to create much bigger chances then if it had gone wide and we just put a cross into the box. So, that ability to have a better shape to be able to keep the ball and circulate a little bit more to be able to create much bigger chances, I think, will be hugely beneficial for us.

Abdullah: So I have a two-part follow up very, very quickly. Is there a plan from you now – do you want Rachel to stay more in the box and not link up as much going forward this season? If that distinction is gone? What happens? Do you want her to stick to the box and not move around too much?

No, no. This is a double-edged sword really. We need her to link the play up but, what we need more of this year is, whether that’s Shea, Joelle, or whoever, to run beyond when she does drop in. She'll drag a centre-back out of position, which will create that space we need our runners to [identify and attack] in behind. Then we need the wide players – the No. 7 and No. 11 – to be able to identify if that space is on for them to fill. We want to see those diagonal runs into that space if she's dropped in to link up, but, once we get into the final third, that's when we need to see Rachel get into the box and spend more time in front of goal.

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