Thread by @jj_bull

I've got a lot of notifications today with people (could well be bots tbh) losing their minds over a fun wee video on a small tactical difference I've noticed of Pep Guardiola recently so I thought I'd add some context to the idea for fun

1. Correct: doing this with your full-backs is not new. Yes I have seen Liverpool do it before. No, Guardiola did not invent it. Also, Gary Neville and Dennis Irwin were doing this in the 90s. Also, Brazil were doing this in the 70s. etc

2. In Guardiola's first City team he brought in attacking full-backs so he could do something this at times. And again, I am aware it's not new 😂

3. This genuinely is something a little different from City, which they started doing last season, O'Reilly holding width (or underlapping) and Marmoush as a winger but also a central forward and attacking midfielder. But Alvarez did something similar before that too

4. Just because they've done it once doesn't mean that is suddenly the only thing they're going to do. Sometimes the LB will go inside and attack like a forward - Gvardiol did it last season. Cucurella does it lots for Chelsea. Dani Alves did it at Barcelona.

5. You can't really drag and drop the same tactics into each game. You can have principles that are the same, but every game is different. And every manager has their own ideas how to combat the opposition tactics, so things evolve pre/mid/post game to deal with that

6. Guardiola is the most influential manager in world football, to the extent that he has changed how football coaches at kids level run fun sessions, or how amateur 11aside or 5aside teams play. I've seen it happen in England and Scotland, it's a good thing

7. Therefore, when he starts doing something different to what he's usually done, and looks to be adding a new way of playing to his deck, it's worth looking at and talking about.

Which brings me to

8. To grab attention in short form video you need to hook people in immediately and there are ways that work better than others. Videos are meant to be entertaining (that's how I view them) so if I can tell a wee story in under 60 seconds (which limits how much info you include)

8.1 ... then that's what I try and do. I like to entertain. But dear reader/viewer: none of it matters. If I had 30 minutes to explain all of the moving parts and to describe the many reasons it could or couldn't be this or that, people wouldn't watch, it's boring

9. I have no idea why everyone is so aggressive all the time to each other but it really doesn't matter that much who moved a full-back higher up first. Guardiola influences others, if he's doing something slightly different to his usual, it's worth going 'oh I wonder why'

10. The way people consume football analysis is very different now to when I joined in 11 years ago. Articles with screengrabs didn't really exist, there were no youtube tactics board people. It is nice that these things exist now.

11. Some people go too far with it and spot things that just aren't real. Some go into overly meticulous detail on things that are just 'this player runs fast' or 'this player passes good'. Some get it wrong.

But lots more add really interesting points, new ways of thinking...

11.1 ... and spot things that I wouldn't spot. I like that, even if the lyrics to 'Losing My Edge' have grown louder and gotten closer the longer I've been trying to have fun doing analysis of games.

And those who I don't agree with, I don't feel the need to attack

12. At least they're making something and contributing to the world. Good for them. It's very easy to criticise though, and we have all fallen for that in the past.

But in terms of tactics stuff: chill out. Guardiola's full-backs aren't doing what he was doing 2 years ago

13. and finally, enjoy all the videos and articles and substacks and people who have gotten really good at analysing tactics. There are too many on here to list that I like. But it isn't a battle.

Now, I'm off to make up some amazing songs about Guti and Gabriel Batistuta