“For a time, the orthodoxy was that the only way, at least for clubs that saw themselves as part of the elite, was the Barçajax way. Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona were seen as the model, producing football of extraordinary brilliance, pushing the boundaries of what had previously been thought possible in terms of control of possession. Others followed, many of them directed by coaches who had, like Guardiola, been at Barcelona in the late 90s and who represented the blossoming of Johan Cruyff’s ideals into orthodoxy.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

“When Greece won the UEFA European Championship in 2004, Otto Rehhagel had his side man-marking. Forwards brought up to play against zonal systems found themselves unable to cope, and over the six-game span of a tournament, no opponent was able to rediscover the art of bypassing man-markers. What Claudio Ranieri has done at Leicester City has a similar sense of invoking an old style of play and discovering that modern sides have no answer.” Bleacher Report

Claudio Ranieri: from inveterate tinkerer to do-nothing tactical master?
“Everybody had known the end was coming for Claudio Ranieri at Chelsea but the moment at which the decision seemed made – and, more than that, was made to seem justified – came in Monte Carlo in April 2004 when he presided over a substitution that appeared baffling at the time and proved disastrous in retrospect. It is easy to pick fault with hindsight but this was one of those rare occasions when everyone reacts as one. After 62 minutes the board went up: Mario Melchiot off and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on. What was he doing?” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Premier League Diary: Leicester City emerges from a sea of failure to win historic title
“There are ways to fail to win a title, and then there are ways to fail to win a title. Chelsea, for example, failed to win this season’s title by being, broadly, total garbage. Despite starting with the advantage of being champions — and so, in theory, as the best team in the country — they quickly started to look like a collection of strangers who actively resented one another’s company. Like the inhabitants of an overfilled train carriage that’s ground to a halt at the peak of rush hour, they squirmed and chafed and sweated against one another until it became too uncomfortable to bear, and then Jose Mourinho got sacked. That’s probably the equivalent of opening a window or something.” Fusion

“A thought experiment. Let’s imagine the rumblings from the elite clubs reach their most extreme conclusion. Let’s assume there comes a super league of quasi-franchises playing each other over and over again. There would be some sort of trophy at the end of it, to provide at least a veneer of competition, but really it would be about revenue generation. The sporting aspect would take second place to entertainment. With no relegation, there would be a lack of fear and the game would become increasingly about attack. Goals would bring eyeballs and that, whatever lip service was paid to the charms of silverware, would be the real battle.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

“It was only Muhamed Besic’s third start of the season but if he was anxious he hid it well. Standing in the tunnel before the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City, he yawned. He went on to produce his best performance in an Everton shirt, a cultured scrapper buzzing around the more sedentary solidity of Gareth Barry. It is easy to be carried along by Roberto Martínez’s ebullience – although not so easy as not to raise an eyebrow when he describes Barry as one the great players in English history – but the match provided much for Everton fans to be optimistic about, and nothing more than Besic’s performance.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

“There was a moment early in the second half on Monday when Wes Morgan jinked inside Pedro then found himself faced with Diego Costa. Through some sleight of the upper body, Morgan persuaded Costa to go clattering into space to his left and strolled away. This was Wes Morgan, the same Wes Morgan who last year became a byword for haplessness, a series of errors and moments of misfortune culminating in the moment when he slid helplessly across the turf against Liverpool and saw a penalty awarded as a cross hit his face.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

“José Mourinho swept a disgusted arm through the air, spun on his heel and disappeared down the tunnel, furious at Chelsea conceding an equaliser to Liverpool well into the third minute of first-half injury time. The majority of the 90 or so people packed into the courtyard of the Sebli Cafe laughed. Outside, a mule trotted past, followed by a man carrying the hide of a skinned goat on a stick. Smoke drifted across the doorway from the charcoal of the woman warming a coffee pot outside the cafe next door.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson