Monolithic belief of Guardiolismo has fractured in new era for football tactics

The old ways are over and nobody is entirely sure what is to follow but football revolutions once experienced are never forgotten.

EVOLUTION: Pep Guardiola has stepped back from the radicalism of his Barcelona days. Pic: Joe Giddens/PA Wire.

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.