After World War II, tactical change moved faster, at least outside England. A pattern emerged as new tactics were successful only to be countered by other innovations. This push–pull process, the struggle between offence and defence, played out slowly at first. It might have taken years or decades for a new way of playing to be adopted globally, but the advent of new technologies, especially in broadcasting, accelerated this process.
Change was slow to appear in English football. The Pyramid was the default tactic during the nineteenth century and survived until Herbert Chapman created the WM, which remained the dominant way of playing in the post-war period. The system favoured the use of a tall, powerful centre forward who could head in crosses sent by crafty wingers. Other nations’ managers had tweaked the system, including Meisl, who added movement and player interchange to the standard Pyramid. Tactically, the Hungarian team that beat England in 1953 inherited the Austrian emphasis on movement, as well as a modified WM structure from the Soviets. The manager, Gusztáv Sebes, moved the centre forward back to play more of an attacking midfielder role. This confused the English defenders, who were used to man-marking the forward. If the defender came out to cover the withdrawn forward, it left space behind him. If he stayed in place, it gave the attacker freedom to move, dribble, and pass. The formation was transformed into an MM that allowed the wingers to drive forward in attack and retreat into the midfield in defence.
The origins of football analytics
The shocking loss to Hungary’s Golden Team led to a shift in English tactical thinking. One influential figure was a former Royal Air Force officer named Charles Reep. He was not a player or manager but instead was one of the first people to use statistics to examine football games. He was an early advocate of what is today called analytics. By carefully watching games, Reep concluded that passing and possession did not lead to goals. He argued for a direct form of the game, one that stressed getting the ball upfield toward the opponent’s goal as quickly as possible. This style became known as route one football, or the long ball, because of the type of pass used to move the ball. Reep’s system was influential in England and became the dominant style of play there until the 1990s.
Alf Ramsey agreed with Reep, believing that the ideal attack involved just three passes. He incorporated elements of this thinking when he managed the England team that won the World Cup in 1966. One key player on the 1966 team was Bobby Moore. He earned 108 caps for England, most of them as captain. He suited up for West Ham more than six hundred times. Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer called him the best defender they ever played against. In 2007, a statue of Moore was unveiled at Wembley Stadium, the traditional home of the English national team. The inscription reads in part ‘Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal Hero of 1966. First Englishman to raise the World Cup aloft.
Liverpool, under Bill Shankley and Bob Paisley, took the traditional direct tactic and added pressing, or the technique of putting pressure on opposing players when they have the ball. In 1977, singer and Watford Football Club owner Elton John hired Graham Taylor as manager.
Inspired in part by Reep’s work, Taylor installed a high-tempo, direct style that emphasized pressing opposing players all over the field. The team was incredibly successful, moving from the fourth division to the first in less than five seasons. Although effective in league play, the tactic had limitations. Talented opponents who held on to the ball under pressure could break the press, leading to scoring chances. Taylor’s success and Reep’s analysis influenced Charles Hughes, the author of several books on tactics. After the FA made Hughes director of education and coaching, he installed direct football as the standard way of playing football in England. The emphasis on physical strength and effort over technical skill echoed the masculine values associated with the game since the late nineteenth century.
Such a model remained dominant until 1992, when the back pass law was changed. Up to that year, players could kick the ball back to the goalkeeper, who could pick it up as long as they stayed in the penalty area. Making such plays illegal changed football, which had become cautiously played and tedious to watch. It forced goalkeepers and defenders to develop better passing and ball-handling skills. Games were now played at a higher speed and required more stamina and athleticism. All these changes made football more attractive to fans, sponsors, and broadcasters.
Edited excerpts with permission from ‘The Shortest History of Football’, published by Pan Macmillan India.