The old ways are over and nobody is entirely sure what is to follow but football revolutions once experienced are never forgotten
If you want a picture of the future, imagine Michael Kayode winding up to take a long throw – forever. Or at least that was how it seemed in October. Already, though, the picture has begun to change. This was the year of the backlash, and then a bit of a backlash to the backlash.
For almost two decades football had accepted the guardiolista consensus. Football was about possession, about the press, but most of all about position, about the careful manipulation of space. Much-improved pitches meant first touches could be taken for granted: players receiving the ball didn’t have to focus on getting it under control but could instead be parsing their options. The game had become chess with a ball, a matter of strategy more than physicality.
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© Photograph: Cody Froggatt/Alamy
© Photograph: Cody Froggatt/Alamy
© Photograph: Cody Froggatt/Alamy
Unai Emery had to tear up the plan. Aston Villa had started this game in a compact 4-2-2-2 formation but they were desperate for much of the first hour. Their passing was lethargic, they had no width, they were 1-0 down to a dominant Chelsea and it seemed the story was going to centre on Emery’s decision not to start Ollie Watkins up front.
Yet few managers are as effective as Emery when it comes to altering the flow with a few smart tweaks. The Spaniard never stops plotting, never stops hunting for weaknesses in his opponents, and perhaps it was not a surprise when Villa’s tactical mastermind found a way to ensure that the travelling fans were belting out songs about winning the league at full time.
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© Photograph: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC/Getty Images
© Photograph: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC/Getty Images
© Photograph: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC/Getty Images
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