Writer and presenter @TheAthleticFC. Out of possession is nine tenths of the lore. Order my book now - https://nitter.gq/t.co/o2tbJxCpwz
Joined September 2011
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If you want to know why the Premier League feels like such a strange place tactically already this season, I wrote a book about it and you can buy it here:
geni.us/TheSpectreOfPep
A nice analogy to help you understand this is that you can't read a book to help you learn to ride a bike - you can only learn to ride a bike by getting on a bike and finding out through doing.
As time has gone by, we've become better at conceiving these ideas as more dynamic entities which are always embedded within material reality and which often have to "emerge" through playing.
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I read the idea that tactics "don't exist" as a semantic sleight of hand which attempts to say something about the nature of tactical ideas rather than the (non-) existence of tactical ideas or not.
By saying "tactics don't exist", I take it people mean "these more formal ideas about how football should be played can't be reduced down to purely abstract concepts".
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If you've not come across our shows on YouTube before, this is a nice intro, taking you through our recent exploration of Unai Emery and his capacity as an elite coach.
nytimes.com/athletic/7770009…
Jon Mackenzie retweeted
Una serie di esempi su quello che dicevo ieri: l'aggressività iniziale dell'Inter ha messo molto in difficoltà sia i passatori (penso a Perrone o Kempf) che i ricevitori (soprattutto Baturina).
I ritmi più bassi dopo il 2-0 + gli aggiustamenti di Fàbregas all'intervallo (Smolčić - anziché Perrone o Milla - come terzo giocatore nella prima linea di costruzione/progressione, Álex Valle + Couto in ampiezza al posto di Baturina + Da Cunha, un 532 in blocco medio-basso) hanno permesso al Como di avere più controllo, ricavandoci però pochissimo a livello di opportunità/occasioni (0.21 xG a fine partita).
È un ragionamento che funziona soprattutto a posteriori (l'Inter ha inibito subito ogni forma di controllo con un'ottima intensità difensiva nei primi 20 minuti, oltre a poterla vincere almeno 4-0 con tutte le occasioni avute), ma in mancanza di Chalobah (nonché di Kean e Diao come sbocchi in profondità), penso che al Como avrebbe convenuto iniziare con 3 terzini in campo di cui uno bloccato (avvicinando subito Nico Paz e i centrocampisti in mezzo invece di abbassare Perrone o Milla per ricevere tra i centrali, oltre alla possibilità di gestire meglio Dimarco e Spence difensivamente).
Jon Mackenzie retweeted
A small (non-football) announcement: we've started a book club with @Jon_Mackenzie.
Everyone's welcome! Jon and I (@tomocurr) would love to build a small community of people keen to read more, connect with others, and generally curate a warm space offline.
Whether the last thing you read was the 2021 Scouted Football Handbook (😭) or you're a seasoned classics vet, we'd love to see you later this month in London.
Sign up here: luma.com/e3tfyny7
Jon Mackenzie retweeted
Manchester United's creaking defence saw Aston Villa take a two-goal advantage twice at Old Trafford on Sunday — but their bravery when pressing and in possession offered them a route back which they just about managed to take...
📼 @jon_mackenzie
Jon Mackenzie retweeted
#AVFC have never been the most active pressing team, but they are even less so now. Not winning the ball high means an emphasis on being solid in deeper areas defensively. Yet Villa are conceding a high number of chances and Zion Suzuki is being forced into a high volume of saves. Old Trafford laid bare those frailties.
Free to read: nytimes.com/athletic/7765029…
There is a Did You Notice? video dropping in the next few hours but there will be no written piece on the website this week.
Instead, accept this very niche micro DYN? thread from the game yday...
One thing I noticed from the Man Utd - Villa game that is too niche to do anything with is how they moved the ball in settled possession (they've done this fairly regularly under Carrick iirc) [mini thread]
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One thing I noticed from the Man Utd - Villa game that is too niche to do anything with is how they moved the ball in settled possession (they've done this fairly regularly under Carrick iirc) [mini thread]
I think we may start seeing it a little more in settled possession to give better access from one side of the pitch to the other.
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