The Number Ten role remains iconic. It’s the position in which many of football’s
legends were born and, yet, in the modern era, it has been steadily marginalised.
But that’s changing. An increasing number of Premier League sides are succeeding with
a 10 and some of the systems where 10s easily find a home are making a comeback.
But why?
In positional terms, a Number 10 is an attacking midfielder who exists between the midfield
and defensive lines of the opposition. More anecdotally, though, that player is also the
source of craft and imagination. The fantasista, as it’s known in Italian football.
10s were often excused defensive duties. They were a luxury made possible by hard-working
teammates and that’s where the culture clash occurred. Modern football prioritises pressing,
work ethic and – of course – defensive responsibility. In this new context, such
luxuries became scarce.
And less necessary, because creative responsibility is now spread much more evenly. False Nines
became popular, full backs evolved into part-time playmakers, and deep-lying midfielders and
centre-halves also became proper ball-players, and no longer the destroyers they once were.
Collectively, it reduced the need for a single source of craft, furthering the idea that
the No.10 was an unnecessary indulgence. In addition to which, the 4-3-3 formation, which
has no natural home for the role, became almost a default for top sides, with managers in
thrall to the numerical advantages it offered in midfield.
And yet in spite of all this logical evolution, No.10s are mounting a comeback.
Part of the explanation for why lies in the 4-2-3-1 system, which has really superseded
the 4-3-3. But it’s explainable also by the change in the position itself - in what
it actually means to be a No.10 and how, unlike in previous generations, the role is now an
extension of a system, rather than set apart from it.
Contemporary No.10s have to be hard-working and they’re expected to get back to help
a midfield. In addition to which, the wide players alongside them are required to track
back and tuck inside.
It’s a layer of protection which could potentially negate the virtues of the 4-2-3-1, eliminating
the free man it creates between the opposition lines. But modern full-backs are more also
aggressive, are far better athletes and – crucially – much more tactically flexible. They can
supplement a midfield, drop into a defensive line as a third centre-half, or push high
as an auxiliary winger.
In other words, they’re able to compensate for space left by a No.10, allow for more
numbers to be safely pushed forward and, increasingly, occupy positions which take advantage of that
player’s creativity – wide on the touchline, for instance, or with runs beyond the defensive
line
It’s a best of both worlds’ situation; a variation which takes the position’s original
essence, but surrounds and supports it with more modern thinking.
And Bruno Fernandes’ role at Manchester United provides a good example of that, showing
the extent to which some teams are willing and able to base their play around a 10.
Fernandes is United’s most passed-to player per 90. He often occupies space between the
lines, but also roams, producing incisive, imaginative contributions that can exploit
weaknesses in an opposing defence.
To provide the platform for him to do this, United use their full backs to tuck inside
and cover, and also deploy the workmanlike pivot of Fred and McTominay behind. United
also play a kind of contract and expand style of counter attacking, which requires great
energy from the wide players and forwards, but allows Fernandes to stay relatively high.
Fernandes isn’t the only one. James Maddison performs a similar function at Leicester City
and, increasingly, Emile Smith-Rowe is doing much the same at Arsenal. They take up positions
in the half-spaces or drift deeper, adopting passing or receiving positions in areas of
the pitch other than the central between-the-lines spot inhabited by former 10s.
That new breadth describes the athleticism now associated with the position, but also
the increased positional and tactical flexibility which teams are now equipped with. Footballers
haven’t become homogenous, but there are far fewer physical and attributional differences
between them. Allied with greater tactical education, that allows individual players
to comfortably fill more roles and, consequently, grant more license for the creative types
without damaging the team’s structure.
But these mechanics aren’t confined to a 4-2-3-1; the creative players in a 4-3-3 can
also function as No.10s.
Manchester City move between the two shapes but, in the latter, often push one or both
of their 8s forwards, creating what looks like a jagged line of five in attack. This
allows for runs beyond the defence, plenty of passing options, but with the failsafe
of a full back staying deeper.
The mobility of the so-called free 8s like Kevin De Bruyne is crucial. They inhabit the
space and function of a 10, while also being very difficult to track, but then drop back
if possession is lost.
Occasionally this is also seen with one of the wide attackers in a 4-3-3. At Everton,
for instance, James Rodriguez will drift infield from his starting position while in possession,
while the other wide forward - usually Richarlison - will either stay wide to threaten the full
back or tuck infield to make a 1-2 shape.
In a way, these are No.10s hiding in plain sight. Players like De Bruyne, James, Maddison
and Fernandes have starting positions and defensive responsibilities which allow them
to conform to modern football’s imperatives, but while still performing many of the traditional functions.
Football is cyclical. The game is always evolving – and that includes its positions too. The
No.10 hasn’t disappeared, it’s just been reinvented in a way that suits a new environment.