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Michael Carrick Tactics Explained

29 Jan, 2026

Michael Carrick’s positive early days at Manchester United came with an important caveat: it’s difficult to judge whether a quick boost in form sparked by an interim coach will ultimately lead to sustained long term improvement. Wins against Manchester City and Arsenal understandably brought praise from various quarters; however, as supporters, pundits and reporters were quick to point out, former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also performed...

Liam Rosenior Tactics Explained

18 Jan, 2026

Chelsea’s recent decision to hire Liam Rosenior as their new head coach raised a few eyebrows. Partly this was due to the young coach’s lack of experience, with Rosenior only having managed 153 senior games before joining the west London club, none of those in the English top flight. Another factor that caused some controversy was Rosenior being snapped up from Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg, a club also controlled by Todd Boehly’s Chelsea...

Unai Emery Tactics Explained

12 Jan, 2026

At the start of the 2025/26 season, no one expected Aston Villa to be challenging Arsenal and Manchester City at the very top of the league, and entering the New Year just a point off Pep Guardiola’s serial title-winning side. Regardless of Villa’s eventual league position, it’s an impressive achievement, especially when combined with the other string of successes Unai Emery has spearheaded during his time in charge of the club. From...

The Impact of Professional Identity on Career Paths in Football

09 Dec, 2025

What makes some people thrive in football: their technical skills, their experience, or something deeper? Beyond tactics, training, and talent lies an often-overlooked factor in football career development: professional identity . Understanding who you are in your role, what drives you, what you value, and how others see you can shape not only your performance but the direction of your entire career in football. What is...

The Premier League Best Ever "Streets Won't Forget" Players

02 Nov, 2025

Traditionally, football in Britain was a weekly event: from Monday to Friday, fans would look forward to Saturday afternoon, when at 3pm they would visit their local ground and watch their team play. The match would be followed by celebrations or commiserations, a glance at other results, and some chat about the game, but attention would soon return to everyday life. Nowadays, technological advancements, huge cash injections into the...

What Does GF, GA And GD Mean In Soccer?

26 Oct, 2025

Learning how to communicate about football means understanding a wide variety of different words, phrases, acronyms, and abbreviations that might mean little to those uninterested in the sport. It’s almost like a brand new language; from initialisms like xG and PPDA to position-specific descriptors like inverted full-back , deep-lying playmaker or inside forward, more and more of these terms are entering the game as the importance of...

What Is An Inside Forward?

20 Oct, 2025

Gone are the peak years of the archetypal 'big man, little man' strike partnership, where Premier League coaches opted for simplistic attacking pairings based on a tall, physical forward focused on hold-up play, and another set on finishing chances and knock-downs. In the modern era, it's very rare to see a top-level manager utilising two centre forwards at once, not just because this approach can be predictable, but also because it can...

Andoni Iraola Tactics Explained

19 Oct, 2025

When Andoni Iraola was appointed head coach of AFC Bournemouth in the summer of 2023, he was a relatively unknown quantity for many Premier League supporters. La Liga fans were aware of the excellent job he did at Rayo Vallecano — and the same could be said for his stints at Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca and Spanish side Mirandes — but knowledge of his preferred style of play and specific methods was not widespread. Bournemouth's...

How Many Games Are There In A Premier League Season (And How It Compares To Other Leagues)

16 Oct, 2025

The English Premier League is viewed by many football fans as the most competitive league on the planet. If you're not on your game, you can be beaten by any team. Plus, the lack of a winter break and the congested nature of fixtures at certain points in the season means that it is an absolutely relentless league to play in. But how many games are there in a Premier League season? That's the question we'll be answering in this article, as...

The 10 Biggest Soccer Stadiums In The World

15 Oct, 2025

The power that matchgoing fans have in motivating and pushing on their team can be vast, and the more people actively getting behind the side, the better. Some stadiums are capable of holding an extraordinary number of supporters, and generating incredible atmospheres on matchdays as a result. In this article, we'll be diving into some of those locations in depth. We're going to run through the main contenders for the title of biggest...

How Do FIFA World Rankings Work?

14 Oct, 2025

The official FIFA world rankings are an important tool used to measure the respective quality of the 211 FIFA-affiliated nations around the world. However, the FIFA ranking system is known for throwing up surprises and confusing fans. Belgium, for example, have repeatedly been placed towards the very top of the leaderboard in recent years, despite often flattering to deceive at major tournaments and consistently failing to live up to the...

Mikel Arteta Tactics Explained

13 Oct, 2025

Mikel Arteta was still in his mid-thirties when he first started to gain serious respect in coaching circles. After retiring as a player, he took a job alongside Pep Guardiola as an assistant coach at Manchester City and rapidly started absorbing information from the influential Catalan head coach. In his second season at City, Arteta played a key role in helping the East Manchester team become the first side in Premier League history to...

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