It is 125 years since the first false nine and its history since is fascinating as much for its failure to become a dominant tactic as for its many successful applicationsAt times it feels in football there is nothing new, merely the reinvocation of old ideas. It is well over 100 years since GO Smith started operating for the Corinthians as what we would now term a false nine and yet still the idea of a team operating without a fixed focal point in the centre of their attack can cause chaos. It is 63 years since the England centre-half Harry Johnston spoke of the sense of “utter helplessness” he felt in facing the deep-lying Nándor Hidegkuti as England lost...
The Norwegian’s man-management at Manchester United has been top class – but the game against Tottenham will show whether he has the tactical nous to beat the bestNobody realistically doubts that Manchester United’s game against Tottenham on Sunday represents a new level of challenge for Ole Gunnar Solskjær but equally it would take a particularly cussed soul – or Nemanja Matic – not to acknowledge the change of mood he has already enacted.Perhaps his role is simply to be a palate-cleanser but Solskjær has United playing with a sense of enjoyment that arguably has not been there since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Related: Ole Gunnar Solskjær will build up United players, not break them down | Jonas Giæver Related: Solskjær:...
Press and possess is the method of many leading teams but Didier Deschamps’ side in Russia and Real Madrid before them picked up the biggest prizes playing in their own mannerThe same basics everywhere: it would be easy to believe that football in 2018 was about the victory of press and possess. Manchester City do it, Liverpool do it, Tottenham do it, Chelsea do it, Arsenal do it, Barcelona do it, Juventus do it, Napoli do it, Bayern Munich do it, Borussia Dortmund do it, even Paris Saint-Germain have been showing signs of doing it under Thomas Tuchel. Manchester United didn’t do it and José Mourinho was sacked after a grim opening to the season in which his ideas had...
The goalkeeper’s form has been vital for Jürgen Klopp’s team but is part of a tweaked approach that could pay rich dividendsA cross from the right. Two defenders jump and can’t quite connect. Dejan Lovren, startled that the ball has got as far as the back post, realises too late that Arkadiusz Milik has stolen behind him; he cannot get to the forward in time. Time slows. Milik is in form; he has the best goals‑per‑minute ratio in Serie A this season. Eight yards out with just the goalkeeper to beat, it seems he must score the goal that will put Napoli through.But Milik doesn’t score. He jabs without conviction. Alisson does everything he can, springing from his line, spreading...
All Mourinho’s instincts will be to kill the game but going for broke represents his best chance of another famous winWhen people said they wanted José Mourinho to make Manchester United more like Alex Ferguson’s treble winners, this, presumably, isn’t quite what they meant. The capacity to fight back, to score late goals and to win games that have seemed lost is undoubtedly a useful one, but it does raise major questions about how Mourinho should approach Sunday’s Manchester derby.Wednesday’s victory at Juventus was the third time in the last six games that United have found a winner in the final five minutes, but it was also the fifth time in those six matches that they had conceded the opening...