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In March 2019, Manchester United faced Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Round of 16. They were down 2-0 after the first leg, but by half-time, they were leading 2-1. In order to advance on away goals, their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær made a surprising decision: he chose to sit back. For the next half hour, there was little action on the field as PSG struggled to find a way through United’s defense. Then, in a strategic move, Solskjær unleashed his team’s attack on the panicked PSG players. This resulted in a penalty for United, which they scored to secure their spot in the next round. The penalty was controversial, as it was awarded for a handball that was deemed unnecessary in modern European football, but it ultimately led to United’s victory.
Solskjær was at the peak of his performance, achieving a result that impressed Gary Neville enough to ask where he would like his statue to be placed. At that time, Solskjær’s record showed 17 games played, 14 wins, 2 draws, and only 1 loss. He was still riding high on the excitement of not being compared to José Mourinho. His difficulties in implementing offensive strategies had not yet been revealed. However, he had demonstrated his skill in understanding and influencing the emotional momentum of a match.
It was a risky tactic, undoubtedly. If PSG had managed to hold their lead, people would have questioned why Solskjær had opted to play conservatively and shorten the second half to just 15 minutes. However, his strategy paid off because he recognized that PSG had a history of crumbling under pressure due to past failures, while his United team had complete trust in his ability to channel the spirit of their 1999 comeback.
They would wait and go when he told them, and do so with a greater ferocity and belief in that final quarter-hour than they could have managed over the full 45 minutes, when each thwarted attack might have dented self-confidence, when a successful counter might have doubled their task.
In recent years, the importance of emotional intensity in a match has decreased in English football, as the focus has shifted towards strategic systems and tactics. However, it seems that this shift has now gone too far, as there is now an excessive fixation on following a specific process.
Information is revealing interesting observations about the game, enabling the development of tactics in pressing and improving overall performance on the field. However, there is a risk that the players’ human elements, such as their emotions and fluctuations, may be overlooked, despite the fact that these are not unavoidable.
The data suggests that the striker’s performance has been inconsistent, but it is possible that they will eventually improve and score one out of every 10 chances throughout their career. However, if the player is going through a rough patch, should the manager simply wait for their performance to return to average? Or should they take action to address any issues and provide support, discipline, or guidance in order to potentially increase their success rate to one out of every nine chances?
The belief that self-assurance and effort are predetermined and unchangeable, possibly even deceptive, is a major falsehood of the statistical revolution in football. Information does not determine outcomes. However, this concept applies not only to individual players; as demonstrated by Solskjær in Paris, matches also have their own energy that can be utilized. Players can reach new heights when conditions are favorable, but even the most skilled can falter under pressure.
For example, let’s consider Brighton’s recent 4-2 victory against Tottenham or Liverpool’s 2-0 triumph over Burnley. In both matches, the winning team was clearly in control, had opportunities to score more goals, and then became surprisingly anxious when the seemingly defeated opponent fought back. However, this was not the case for Crystal Palace when they managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit and draw against Manchester City. The tying goal was the outcome of a rushed and careless play by Phil Foden.
In football, there are very few definite truths; most things are dependent on other factors. Philosophies serve as important guidelines but cannot be deemed the ultimate solution; football is not a puzzle to be solved. What may work well in one scenario may not be suitable in another.
Aston Villa has been successful with their strategy of playing with a high offside line this season, but it backfired at Old Trafford. Since the second half of their game against Arsenal, they have appeared fatigued. Despite being 2-0 ahead at Manchester United, they were unable to maintain their high pressing intensity to stop their opponents from finding space behind their defensive line. This could be due to physical exhaustion from the busy Christmas schedule, making it difficult for players to follow specific positional instructions and make complex tactical decisions, which are crucial in today’s game.
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“I am no longer focused on coaching,” stated Jürgen Klopp prior to Liverpool’s 4-2 victory against Newcastle. “Now it’s just about recovery and meetings, that’s how it goes.” This could clarify the erratic pace and effort, the unrelenting but imprecise style, of Liverpool’s matches since the goalless tie against Manchester United (although it could also be attributed to repeatedly playing Darwin Núñez).
The excitement of Christmas football lies in the limited time for preparation. This results in a lack of control and a rawness to the game, causing even composed players like Rodri to make basic errors. On the other hand, there is a higher chance of getting injured and a potential decrease in perceived quality if that is a concern.
It seems to have cost an increasingly exhausted-looking Arsenal, whose dependence on Gabriel Martinelli and, especially, Bukayo Saka has been exposed. It’s an oddity of Mikel Arteta’s time as Arsenal manager that every season they have suffered a miserable run of four or five games beginning in either December or January. Arteta famously once drew a heart and a brain holding hands as part of a team-talk but the sense is that the head, the process, has been over-prioritised.
The ultimate goal is for both parties to collaborate effectively, with managers adapting the brain’s processes to align with the emotional and physical state represented by the heart. Klopp has succeeded by recognizing the limitations of coaching during this season, while others have not. It’s important to note that even the most efficient processes can be affected by external factors.
Source: theguardian.com
