Description

A fully essential book for each and every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition. Back in 1992, English football was once stuck at the hours of darkness ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was once physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse., It was once the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was once the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically. And then, almost overnight, it all changed., The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the vital seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. All of sudden defenders had no-get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had as a way to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence., The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League, and take a long view of how the game has developed over the past quarter century. From Ferguson’s directness to Keegan’s relentlessly attacking Newcastle outfit, to Mourinho’s cagey, reactive Chelsea, the entire way to Ranieri’s counter-attacking champions, The Mixer is without doubt one of the most entertaining, rich and knowledgeable football books ever written.