I made this point in June, that football at the elite level was becoming more tactical homogenous. That said, when there’s an orthodoxy then heterodoxy can flourish as a practical alternative. - ThreadSky

afhstewart.bsky.social • 82 days ago

I made this point in June, that football at the elite level was becoming more tactical homogenous. That said, when there’s an orthodoxy then heterodoxy can flourish as a practical alternative.

Reposted from Colin Millar

This excerpt from a very good piece is an extraordinarily revealing insight into modern football.

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sonofchelsea.bsky.social•82 days ago

Do feel a backlash or resentment growing towards a “progressive” style or everyone seemingly wanting to make to play a similar style.

But as you say, football will naturally breed counters to that

afhstewart.bsky.social•82 days ago

Also, fans don’t care as long as you’re winning. Which is fine. But that’s style agnostic, almost entirely

sonofchelsea.bsky.social•82 days ago

I agree with this mostly, however Chelsea with Sarri is a pretty good example of this not being case. Given it was a decent season and fans didn’t connect with coach.

afhstewart.bsky.social•82 days ago

There are odd cases where it feels more personal yes. I wonder if that was style or him?

sonofchelsea.bsky.social•82 days ago

I think it was a combination. Losing at Spurs is a black mark and then the lack of charm, or willingness to try and connect with supporters did not help.

Think a technocratic approach combined with a perceived “high brow” style is a bad combo.

sonofchelsea.bsky.social•82 days ago

I was in a minority who liked Sarri and where Chelsea were going under him but culturally it was just an awful fit

afhstewart.bsky.social•82 days ago

I also feel the “has data ruined football” argument pretty lazy. Data are just things, and it’s how they’re used which can be positive or negative or neutral. If anything, it’s a) financial inequality and b) lack of imagination and innovation in the face of that that are causing issues. But mostly a

afhstewart.bsky.social•82 days ago

That said. The article does show what is happening in a very clear and thorough way, which is interesting and helpful.

colinmillar.bsky.social•82 days ago

Yeah this is a really interesting question and think I agree with your analysis. There needs to be more unorthodox thinking. Maybe also a fear within coaching that not following the standard methods limits job opportunities.

afhstewart.bsky.social•82 days ago

Yes I do think the latter is definitely a thing. Every young coach needs a positional game model or they rule themselves out of what owners think they want (play like Pep, yawn)

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