FeedTheArf wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 9:24 am
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I've watched football all my life, but I find myself coming across terms like double-pivot and counter press and think I know absolutely nothing about the game! But really, a lot of it is just new names for old ideas.
Fully agree with this. Same with a lot of the so-called revolutionary/'new' tactics used by the likes of Klopp, Guardiola or whoever else. Teams having a different shape in and out of possession has been a thing for decades, it's just more popular in England now and in general because of improvements in sport science fitness, etc. City's formation and Klopp's favoured setup are just modern variants of the old 235/325 WM and MM/metodo formations.
I think some of it comes from a slight need by some fans to make football 'smarter'. Much as I do love data analysis, stats and all things academic/nerdy, the growing use of football data has IMO led to an increase in a certain type of fan who over-intellectualise everything and need to find more highbrow reasons for why they like football so get bogged down in a very pop-sci form of analysis- using lots of jargon or as you say, coming up with new jargon for old ideas to try and elevate football to the highbrow status they're after. It often comes with a weird purism as though only one playing style/approach is 'proper football' too, very much like the anti-stats oldschool fans they rail against. It's far from the only form of entertainment that this is happening in but just something I always find funny- very very little is truly new when the Football League is 135 years old, ideas come in and out of fashion, right now a return to ultra attacking formations and elements of Total Football is in, but then something will come along to counter & replace it which is probably just another old idea back in fashion with a new name.
claret2018 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 9:51 am
Are buy-back clauses often triggered? I’m struggling to think of a single example.
I think Bojan's was when he was at Barca.
Saying this aware I'm about to get the 'THATS NOT TRANSFERS' brigade biting my head off but- €12m for an 18 year old is a hell of a lot of money that generally speaking, only a few financial powerhouses like City, Real, PSG, or now Newcastle can afford. I understand it probably is inclusive of bonus clauses and will probably be staggered over the 5 years of his contract but given the club's apparently taken out a loan based on the PL revenue, it feels like we'll have spent all of this year's revenue up front and possibly even worked on subsequent seasons' cashflow whether PL rights or parachute money. Can't help but feel like it's a financial risk, but then I'm very play it safe with money so could just be me.
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