ALEX FERGUSON

Bolton improved not only by increasing their number of technical players but also by perfecting their direct-approach play. This was partly inspired by a switch to a 4–5–1 formation, previously used by Allardyce as an occasional alternative to his 4–4–2 but which became his first-choice system...

Michael Cox is one of the most respected football journalists working today and he has made his name through writing highly entertaining in-depth tactical analysis. He is the editor of Zonal Marking, a football blog dedicated to tactics, and writes regularly for the Guardian and ESPN. The Mixer i...

Arsenal’s Invincibles, who achieved the historic feat of going the entire 2003/04 league campaign undefeated, are the most celebrated side of the Premier League era. That season, however, was simply the final move in a three-card trick.

in the fourth round, against Liverpool, Chelsea found themselves 2–0 down at the break. But Gullit introduced striker Mark Hughes for left-back Scott Minto at half-time, switched formation to a radical 3–3–1–3, and Chelsea won 4–2

These five words represent the simplest tactic in football: launch the ball into the penalty box, take advantage of the ensuing chaos, perhaps following a goalmouth scramble, and hope to pinch a scruffy goal.

Formation changes during the Premier League’s early years were primarily player-based evolutions, usually modifications to 4–4–2 in response to a foreign import’s unorthodox characteristics and positioning. The start of the 21st century, however, was dominated by the shift from two-striker sys...

In the decade immediately preceding the Premier League, English football specialised in direct football. While the most successful side of the 1980s, Liverpool, developed a passing game admired across Europe, English football gradually eschewed this philosophy and concentrated on route one foot...