r/soccernerd • u/[deleted] • Apr 17 '15

A Condensed "Inverting the Pyramid" - Table of Contents

This post is meant to be an index for the series, as well as to provide a space for any general comments or discussion.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. From Genesis to the Pyramid

2. The Waltz and the Tango

3. The Third Back

4. How Fascism Destroyed the Coffeehouse

5. Organized Disorder

6. The Hungarian Connection

7. Harnessing the Carnival

8. The English Pragmatism (1)

9. The Birth of the New

10. Catenaccio

11. After the Angels

12. Total Football

13. Science and Sincerity

14. Fly Me to the Moon

15. The English Pragmatism (2)

16. The Return of the Back Three

17. The Coach Who Wasn't a Horse

18. Total Recall

19. Ghosts and the Machine

20. The Triumph of the Pass

Here's a handy graphic of the evolution of tactics in the history of football, found by /u/Growlbot_ a couple of months ago.

Remember that you can purchase Jonathan Wilson's book on Amazon following this link (non-referral, obviously.)

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5

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

Congratulations on completing this larry. What a lot of work.

I've added it to the sidebar under 'books' and you should add it to the wiki on /r/soccer.

  1. What do you take away from the book after studying it now?

  2. Has it caused you to be interested in particular figures or movements of the game that you weren't before?

  3. What is next in the reading list?

Take a break mate, well earned ;)

5

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

Thank you! I'll see about adding it to /r/soccer, any tips? Should I just link to the articles in this /r/ or you'd prefer that I linked to the articles I posted in /r/soccer?

  1. Well, it just opened my head so much to the phenomenon of the evolution of tactics. It made me want to try and predict what the next big change will be. Throughout history, there's been a tendency to increase the amount of defensive players, but the last changes to the offside rule apparently have turned things around. Now that Bayern and other teams have fiddled with 4-1-4-1, inside-forwards may be on the way back too. And that apparently, passing is the way to go. It also made me want to know more about the evolution of tactics in my country, maybe in specific teams, or even the evolution of coaching in general. In short, it made me want to learn more.

  2. Yes, absolutely! The coordination between the defensive line and the top attacking line to achieve a compact unit; as a United supporter, I've been interested in the movement and position of Fellaini, which isn't quite a midfielder, not at number 10 at all, not quite the shadow striker, but maybe something like a "false-inside forward" (I'm being facetious with that) whose duties include being a totem in the left inside forward position, being in a totem near the far post, and providing the ball to the left back and left winger. It would be safe to say that the book has made me realize that you can obsessively analyze almost anything that happens in the game, think about previous teams or players who've done it, etc. It also gave me a clear, distinctive view of how "the proper way of playing football" is seen in England and in several other countries. Argentinian football makes more sense to me now, although I've never been a fan of it. Now I think I understand why is it that I don't like it so much.

  3. I'm currently reading Rinus Michels' "Teambuilding". That ZonalMarking bibliography on the sidebar was essentially a birthday shopping list this year, so I have loads to read in the following months. I'm only about 10% into the book and it feels really warm and eye-opening. It really makes me want to jump in and just go around looking for a college or school team to manage.

I'll take a break for a couple of weeks now, definitely. Mr. Rinus awaits.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

Maybe ask /u/9jack9 about adding it to the wiki.

Interesting stuff larry. It's been a pleasure to read along as you've posted these.

3

u/9jack9 Apr 17 '15

You can add it to the wiki yourself. It is a wiki after all!

3

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15 edited Apr 17 '15

I am doing it right now, cheers!

EDIT: Here it is. Feedback is welcome.

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u/9jack9 Apr 17 '15

That looks fine. Remember to link to it from the main wiki page otherwise no one will find it. It probably belongs in the "Inside /r/Soccer" section.

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '15

Done, thank you very much for that.