Football has been a much-loved British organised sport since 1863. The Football Association (FA) was founded in October of this year, forming the basis for modern football. The first official set of rules was published, becoming the first step in standardising the...

Despite the excessive amounts of money that continue to flow throughout global football, the world transfer record hasn’t been broken for seven years now. This is the longest such sequence since Kaka’s £56 million move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, which came...

While the iconic Champions League dominates UEFA competition, it’s not the only European trophy up for grabs on the continent. There’s a second tier competition too, with this now known as the UEFA Europa League. However, this has experienced several different reboots...

England is home to many of the oldest professional football clubs in the world, including Notts County (who were founded in 1862), Stoke City (1863) and Wrexham (1864). Because of this, it’s no surprise that England was the first country to establish a fully...

2022 saw the 22nd iteration of the FIFA World Cup, with Qatar assuming hosting duties. This was the first World Cup to be held during the winter, and was ultimately won by Argentina on penalties after a pulsating final against France. Of course, 2030 will see the...

While the FA Cup remains England’s premier cup competition in England, the League Cup (or EFL Cup) is also contested every year on these shores. Unlike the FA Cup, however, this is only open to clubs in the English Football League, with non-league sides ineligible to...

The 2024/25 campaign will see the expansion of the UEFA Champions League, which remains the single most prestigious club competition in the world. It will now include 36 rather than 32 competing teams during the tournament proper, while the initial group stage will be...

The sport of football is synonymous with England, which is widely considered to be the home of the so-called “beautiful game”. Certainly, many of the oldest and most prestigious football clubs originated in England and the UK, while the world’s first professional...

In 1863, the recently founded Football Association (FA) published the first unified set of rules for the sport. It was around the same time that football clubs started to form in England, and in July 1871, FA Secretary C. W. Alcock suggested that a ‘Challenge Cup’...

Modern football is littered with jargon, with some terms often used interchangeably despite meaning slightly different things. Take positional play and positional rotation, for example, which share many similarities but are noticeably different from a coaching...

For recently successful managers like Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone, tactical flexibility was central to everything they achieved. However, they continue to work in an era where many coaches are apparently wedded to a single footballing philosophy...

Although Bayer Leverkusen’s treble charge and 51-match unbeaten run was ended by an inspired Atalanta side in the Europa League final, Xabi Alonso’s men have since added the DFB-Pokal to their historic Bundesliga triumph. ‌ This league and cup double has propelled...

The tactics deployed by elite football teams tend to influence the low-tier and grassroot levels of the sport. ‌ Recently, the success of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City has encouraged coaches to create position and possession-based systems, which require a certain...

Much of the recent criticism of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revolved around a perceived lack of team identity, with his side at times appearing to press high and simultaneously maintain a relatively low defensive block. ‌ Ultimately, the definition and...

While pressing has always been a part of football (at all levels pf the game too), it has arguably gained increased tactical importance in top flight leagues around the world during the previous decade. As players have become fitter, they’ve also become more adept at...

In many ways, football’s incredible history has been at least partially shaped by tactical trends and innovations. ‌ From Hungary’s iconic 3–2–3–2 formation and deployment of a deep-lying forward in the 1950s to the emergence of the iconic 4-4-2 shape midway through...

The UK is widely considered to be the home of football, and this is borne out by the fact that the 10 oldest football clubs in the world all herald from either England, Scotland or Wales. Of course, several of these clubs have laid claim to being the oldest football...

Whether you’re enjoying a simple kickabout in your garden or an experienced Premier League footballer, it’s crucial that you play with the right size balls that also have the correct air pressurisation. This can help to optimise the experience of playing football...

Given the tribal and emotive nature of football, it should come as no surprise that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and its associated technology has become a hot and often controversial talking point. However, many fans remain unsure about VAR and how it works,...

While most tactical setups that we see deployed in modern football are variations of the classic 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 shapes, each tend to be increasingly defined and dictate relatively specific roles to individual players. Take the 4-1-4-1 shape, for example, which has...

Ever since Sky Sports commissioned Opta to track Premier League team and player data ahead of the 1996/97 season, fans and pundits have been more tactically aware and more likely to use relatively technical terms. These include “passing through the lines”, which...

When coaching forums and discussions reference counterattacking, most of the focus is on how to execute this tactic rather than defend against it. However, counterattacking can be a devastating style of play, and one that’s particularly effective against offensive...

The tactical side of football is always evolving, although it can be argued that such trends tend to be circular in nature. For example, it wasn’t too long ago that players like Lionel Messi and even Kevin De Bruyne (briefly) were being successfully deployed as...

In days gone by, football managers like Sir Kenny Dalglish Sir Alex Ferguson were omnipotent at their respective football clubs, taking responsibility for everything from the organisation of the first team and handling player contracts to liaising with the canteen...

It seems that virtually every football side is playing with so-called “inverted fullbacks” in the modern game, with this representing one of the most significant tactical developments in recent times. This also continues the ongoing evolution of the fullback, who were...

Historically, counterattacking has been one of the great equalisers in football, enabling ordinary and largely unfancied sides to achieve unlikely successes. The Greece side that won the 2004 European Championship in Portugal built their success on a solid defensive...

If there’s one tactical trend that continues to dominate football, it’s the use of an increasingly compact defensive block. This applies to both high and low defensive blocks too, as teams look to squeeze the central areas of the pitch and optimise their chances of...

There’s no doubt that modern football teams are adopting increasingly compact blocks when in and out of possession, regardless of whether this is deep in nature or high up the pitch. This was in evidence during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where sides like...

Recency bias is something that often distorts football analysis, with records achieved prior to 1992 and the advent of the Premier League often disregarded by younger fans. Similarly, currently players and managers are often afforded reverential and disproportionate...