Manchester City’s slump was the story of the first half of the season, and Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal will still be hoping to lift the title and be the story of the second half. But what if there are two teams sandwiched between them?
Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth exceeded their resources and expectations, finishing fourth and fifth respectively at Christmas. The most interesting thing is not only that they did it, how They did it.
One of the criticisms of the Premier League in recent seasons has been its somewhat unorthodox approach, no doubt influenced by Pep Guardiola’s success. The game tilted in his direction as the team tried to gain possession of the ball.
2024 seemed to be the year the culture war arrived in the world of football. Everyone had to have an opinion about Ange Postecoglou. Meanwhile, despite being relegated to Burnley, Guardiola’s junior Vincent Kompany was appointed as the head coach of Bayern Munich.
Russell Martin seemed to see Southampton suffering the same fate, at a price they deserved. “We have to believe in something.” He gave play an almost moral element, talking about its values as well as its principles. Style is not 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 two clubs are one of a growing group of smaller clubs whose coaches seem prepared to play a different kind of football than the rest.
In the possession era, only Sean Dyche’s Everton sees less football than Forest. Bournemouth aren’t that far ahead of them in possession statistics. Both ranked in the bottom three for number of pass sequences of 10 or more.
Manchester City and Southampton are the slowest build-up and most patient teams, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest and Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are the two most direct teams in the Premier League.
speaking sky sports Commenting on this in October, Iraola said: “The first thing we try to do when we win the ball back is to play against the number 9, because that is usually the moment when the opponent is in a less good position and can find better space. “He said.
Don’t wait for the opposition to get Iraola back. His team quickly passed what some called a vertical game. It could be shocking for the opposition and thrilling for supporters. Ask anyone who has traveled to Manchester United.
Another interesting thing is that while some of Forest and Bournemouth’s numbers are similar, other aspects of their play are vastly different. Both move the ball quickly up the pitch, but their method of catching the ball is different.
Bournemouth win the ball high up the pitch and take more shots than anyone else.
Iraola’s side press is high. “This season we are winning a lot of balls back high up the pitch.” They have already applied pressure and found the goal with high turnover rates 35 times this season, more than any other team in the Premier League.
Nuno’s side does not press high. In fact, Forest have allowed their opponents to advance the ball up the pitch more than any other team in the Premier League, another of these two teams being exceptional. Opponents travel an average of 15.5 meters before being stopped.
Forest concede more passes per defensive action than any other team, and they are happy with teams holding the ball in areas they cannot attack. Nuno’s plan is to get the ball into areas where they can ultimately win and then attack quickly.
He is a natural pragmatist. In 2024, Nuno said: sky sports: “It’s not a matter of who gets the credit. I might have a really good idea, but do I think it’s going to work? Do I have the people to execute what I’m thinking of?”
When asked what improvements the team had tried to implement, he explained that they had tried to make Forest more compact. “Our organization needs to further reduce the distance between players when going to retrieve the ball.”
Iraola sees it completely differently. He wants to open the game, not close it. “Most of the games we win are the ones where we’re more open, have more opportunities, take advantage of one-on-ones from the outside and find more space.
He added: “The better the opponent, the more risks you have to take to press them. Sometimes people say, ‘They’re so good that you have to wait a little longer to press them’.” “But if you do that, there’s absolutely no chance of getting that ball back.”
Iraola’s Bournemouth have a rare intensity and like to make the field big by turning contests into running games. Only Ipswich have covered more ground than Cherry so far this season. Only Tottenham average more sprints per game.
“We want to prioritize this kind of volume in our runs because we feel we are not that good in very close games, games where one small chance can make the difference.” forest? In contrast, Nuno’s teams are the kings of close football matches.
No team has won as many games with just one goal. No team has had fewer losses. Keeping it tight is the mantra and this is reflected in his running statistics. They are in the bottom three for sprints. Only Leicester have done less than them in matches this season.
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WATCH FREE: Highlights from Nottingham Forest’s win over Brentford
Two teams with contrasting approaches but equally impressive results. And the fact that they are behaving differently to anyone else in the Premier League is cause for celebration and runs counter to the homogeneity of modern football.
The lessons of David and Goliath are so deeply rooted in our culture that they are included in the Old Testament. You can’t beat stronger opponents by doing the same things they do. The success of Nuno and Iraola is new proof of that old fact.
