On "the next five actions," the hidden layers of football athleticism, what happened against Liverpool, Arsenal’s new midfield geometry, box arrivals, fresh defensive tweaks, and the Return of the Kai
Billy, that first section on athleticism is one of your most insightful pieces of writing - an incredibly high bar. Any tracking data providers reading should be paying you to demonstrate it with their data. I can’t thank and praise you enough for it.
A deep, rich work of art and empirical facts. I must first give credit to author who put their experience, expertise, perspective, philosophy, and observation down in a coherent and impactful manner.
Excellent work from you, Billy Carpenter. You nailed this one, as always.
Great as Trossard is, it is true that even he has his limitations. He selects his moments very carefully due to his physical deficiencies and protects the team by simply recycling if he cannot make progress. But as you have said, Eze provides us with much more dynamism on that side. I hope that we see more of him.
You spoke on cheap giveaways/technical insecurities. For example, the miscommunication between Skelly and Zubimendi vs Liverpool. The first instance of this was vs Manchester United - our first game of the season. I chalked it down to fitness but the theme has reoccurred multiple times across different phases of the season.
Despite being a team willing to defend, I find that clearing the ball mindlessly scarcely ever works in our favor.
Hopefully, it is just the team forming new patterns, as you have said.
I may have to read this masterpiece two, three, or four more times to fully understand it.
In the meanwhile, do you mind recommending books.? I'd love to notice these things both as they unfold and after a rewatch.
Again, wonderful work. Perhaps, the best compliment I can pay it is that reading it just once is a tantamount to the sin of blasphemy.
I love the Space/Time/Physical/Mental analogies…for me, the player I got to see in the flesh who most obviously had the gift of bending the fabric of the universe to his will was TH14.
Wonderful compliment, and I appreciate it more than you know.
I read a lot of other stuff, but honestly don't seek out football books too much, so I don't have the best list there. It's hard to beat Inverting the Pyramid for getting a one-shot historical understanding of tactics. Based on your request, though, "How to Watch Football" by TIFO might be exactly what you're looking for (haven't read yet, but trust them).
Been reading for a few years now and can't believe just how consistent the quality of your writing is. Pure love of the game and the club, and it always takes us on a journey. The club is lucky to have you as a fan!
Your writing has leaned away from the squad-building aspect, mostly because our last few transfer windows have fixed almost all issues (I think back to your 2023 blogs, and damn, we've come a long way!). However, just because it's always quite exciting, I do wonder how your thoughts have developed in terms of opportunities in the market to unlock options in the squad that may not be obvious.
I'm sure you have plenty brewing and looking forward to getting to read it.
Yes, I remember how we've come a long way when I was writing this. Even in those first clips, we were top of the table and it was an Elneny/Tierney pivot
Incredible work Billy, just want to leave a comment here to acknowledge that.
Of all the takeaways from this piece, seeing greenshoots from Eze is perhaps the most encouraging. He has such a low-touch interpretation of his role that I feel like I'm often missing what he's offering other than shot volume/quality. I hope we get to see him establish a consistent role in the team - be it on the wing or in midfield.
Thank you as always Billy! Really enjoyed the insights on deceleration and athleticism. When Arteta recently said (I'm paraphrasing) that lack of training was leading to some bad habits, I instantly thought of cohesive runs into the box. Hopefully that will improve because we have the players to consistently get to the byline.
Billy, that first section on athleticism is one of your most insightful pieces of writing - an incredibly high bar. Any tracking data providers reading should be paying you to demonstrate it with their data. I can’t thank and praise you enough for it.
Appreciate that so much coming from you, Jake.
A deep, rich work of art and empirical facts. I must first give credit to author who put their experience, expertise, perspective, philosophy, and observation down in a coherent and impactful manner.
Excellent work from you, Billy Carpenter. You nailed this one, as always.
Great as Trossard is, it is true that even he has his limitations. He selects his moments very carefully due to his physical deficiencies and protects the team by simply recycling if he cannot make progress. But as you have said, Eze provides us with much more dynamism on that side. I hope that we see more of him.
You spoke on cheap giveaways/technical insecurities. For example, the miscommunication between Skelly and Zubimendi vs Liverpool. The first instance of this was vs Manchester United - our first game of the season. I chalked it down to fitness but the theme has reoccurred multiple times across different phases of the season.
Despite being a team willing to defend, I find that clearing the ball mindlessly scarcely ever works in our favor.
Hopefully, it is just the team forming new patterns, as you have said.
I may have to read this masterpiece two, three, or four more times to fully understand it.
In the meanwhile, do you mind recommending books.? I'd love to notice these things both as they unfold and after a rewatch.
Again, wonderful work. Perhaps, the best compliment I can pay it is that reading it just once is a tantamount to the sin of blasphemy.
Another banger from Billy.
I love the Space/Time/Physical/Mental analogies…for me, the player I got to see in the flesh who most obviously had the gift of bending the fabric of the universe to his will was TH14.
Wonderful compliment, and I appreciate it more than you know.
I read a lot of other stuff, but honestly don't seek out football books too much, so I don't have the best list there. It's hard to beat Inverting the Pyramid for getting a one-shot historical understanding of tactics. Based on your request, though, "How to Watch Football" by TIFO might be exactly what you're looking for (haven't read yet, but trust them).
Would highly recommend Coaches' Voice on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3YY7PY-IH0
and https://spielverlagerung.com/
Is this your longest yet? 😂
Couldn't put it down.
P.S: Loved the intro on A. Flemming😅
I've done longer!
Been reading for a few years now and can't believe just how consistent the quality of your writing is. Pure love of the game and the club, and it always takes us on a journey. The club is lucky to have you as a fan!
Your writing has leaned away from the squad-building aspect, mostly because our last few transfer windows have fixed almost all issues (I think back to your 2023 blogs, and damn, we've come a long way!). However, just because it's always quite exciting, I do wonder how your thoughts have developed in terms of opportunities in the market to unlock options in the squad that may not be obvious.
I'm sure you have plenty brewing and looking forward to getting to read it.
❤️
Yes, I remember how we've come a long way when I was writing this. Even in those first clips, we were top of the table and it was an Elneny/Tierney pivot
Thank you Billy! This is as close to an altruistic service as it gets in the business of elite sports education.
Your articles greatly enrich my life in what are immensely challenging times here in the states. Thank you, Billy!
Your work is the Bible to me, Billy ❤️
Legend has it #17 Marek Suchý is still sliding and getting up and sliding again, trying to dispossess Iniesta.
That clip is absurd
Incredible work Billy, just want to leave a comment here to acknowledge that.
Of all the takeaways from this piece, seeing greenshoots from Eze is perhaps the most encouraging. He has such a low-touch interpretation of his role that I feel like I'm often missing what he's offering other than shot volume/quality. I hope we get to see him establish a consistent role in the team - be it on the wing or in midfield.
Appreciate you very much. Admittedly may be prone to wishcasting with Eze, but there's something there with he and Øde combining
I really want it to work with Eze, even if it takes another season for things to fully set in
Meeee too.
Thank you as always Billy! Really enjoyed the insights on deceleration and athleticism. When Arteta recently said (I'm paraphrasing) that lack of training was leading to some bad habits, I instantly thought of cohesive runs into the box. Hopefully that will improve because we have the players to consistently get to the byline.