Football is not just a game of skills, but it is also a game where managers experiment with different tactics to gain an edge. Some of these innovative tactical moves are etched in Premier League history, while others are just forgotten fads that never caught on. For newly promoted sides or outfits with a much smaller budget than their more illustrious rivals, that edge can be crucial in ensuring that they are competitive in the English top flight.
Over the years, some tactics have taken the Premier League by storm and have become a staple of the footballing landscape. In this article, we will take a stroll down memory lane and revisit four tactical innovations that rocked the greatest league in the world.
Stoke City’s Long Throw
The long throw is not an entirely new concept in football, but Stoke City’s Rory Delap made it an integral part of the playbook at the Britannia Stadium. The English midfielder’s cannon launch was a lethal weapon that allowed the Potters to play to their strengths, namely size and brute force. It may have been a scrappy approach to the game, but it was so effective that it forced teams to start putting the ball out of play for a corner kick rather than a throw-in.
The tactic helped them gain multiple shocking victories against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool and once the club chose to part ways with long-time manager Tony Pulis in an attempt to rebrand as a more possession-based team, they were immediately relegated to the Championship. The technique was simple yet effective, and it also served as a psychological weapon against the opponents, nostalgists still remember the iconic image of Delap hurling the ball at the opposition’s penalty area.
Sheffield United’s Overlapping Centre-Backs:
Overlapping centre-backs were the brainchild of Chris Wilder, the manager of Sheffield United. It involved the two centre-backs, Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell, moving ahead of their full-backs to create space and overload the opposition’s defense. It was a complex but effective strategy that saw the Blades claim a number of shock victories during their return to the top flight in the 2019/20 campaign. In fact, the tactic was so impressive that – prior to global events halting their progress – the South Yorkshire club were on the brink of European qualification.
The Blades were relegated in their second season back in the top flight, but they recently returned back to the top division this season. Despite struggling throughout the opening weeks of the campaign, the club have just brought Wilder back to Bramall Lane, and the home faithful will be hoping that he can inspire an upturn in form to somehow revitalize their season.
Manchester City’s Inverted Full-Backs
Inverted full-backs is a modern tactical innovation that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola often uses. The concept behind the tactic is to allow the full-backs to move inside and create overloads in the central areas of the pitch. The full-backs would move inwards, creating space on the flanks for the wingers to be more productive. It was a revolutionary concept, and it changed the way full-backs were perceived. Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, and Joao Cancelo were some of the players who played in this position, and they flourished.
With the iconic Spanish manager at the helm, the Blues have become an unstoppable juggernaut. They romped to a historic treble last season, securing the Premier League, Champions League and the League Cup. This term, they have dropped a number of points in fixtures they were expected to win comfortably, but that hasn’t stopped soccer betting lines from making them the overwhelming -400 favorites to win the English top flight once again this season. Arsenal look set to be their biggest rivals and they too have implemented the tactic, with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White operating in roles similar to those that Guardiola asked of his players at the Etihad.
Leicester City’s Throwback Title-Winning 4-4-2 Counter-Attack
Leicester City defied all odds by winning the Premier League title in 2016. Their tactical innovation was less of a game-changing futurist concept and more of a throwback to simpler times. the tinkerman himself Claudio Ranieri implemented a counter-attacking 4-4-2 formation, which was considered outdated, but they made it work. They absorbed the opponent’s pressure and broke out quickly with central midfielder Danny Drinkwater quickly searching out the lethal Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who then led the charge. The former of those two broke the league record for most consecutive games scored in, while the latter scooped the PFA Player of the Year award.
With stalwart defenders Wes Morgan and Robert Huth proving to be a reliable last line of defense, the Foxes dominated the Premier League as 5000/1 outsiders, finishing a whopping ten points clear of second-place Arsenal. It was a timeless tactical innovation that brought about one of the greatest upsets in football history.
