Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth's surprising success in the Premier League this season defies the trend of possession-based football, offering a glimpse into an alternative playing style.
Manchester City’s slump has been the story of the first half of the season, while Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal will still be hoping they can become the story of the second by lifting the title. But how about two teams sandwiched between them all? Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth are in fourth and fifth spot respectively at Christmas, overachieving resources and expectations. What is most fascinating about that is not just that they have managed to do it but how they have managed to do it.
One of the criticisms of the Premier League in recent seasons has been a kind of orthodoxy of approach, undoubtedly influenced by the success of Pep Guardiola. The game has bent in the direction of his football as teams seek possession of the ball. It felt like 2024 was the year that the culture wars came to football. Everyone had to have a view on Ange Postecoglou. Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany, a Guardiola protégé, was appointed head coach of Bayern Munich despite being relegated with Burnley. Russell Martin seemed to view Southampton suffering the same fate as a price worth paying. 'We have to believe in something.' He talked not just of principles of play but values, ascribing almost a moral element to it. Style not as a means but an end in itself. Against this backdrop, the rise of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth feels as timely as it is revealing. Because these are two of that increasingly small group of clubs whose coaches appear prepared to play a different kind of football to the rest. In the era of possession, only Sean Dyche's Everton see as little of the football as Forest. Bournemouth are not far ahead of them in the possession statistics. They both rank among the bottom three for the number of pass sequences of 10 of mor
Premier League Nottingham Forest Bournemouth Football Tactics Possession-Based Football
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