If this is right, then the next question is, is it just chance? And if we reject that cop out then, what actually has changed in the way the teams are playing football?
Basically, we are looking for as general explanation for why the leading teams are not as dominant as they have been in previous seasons. My guess is that this has come about because the leading teams have been playing in a similar way to each other, and the other managers have now worked out effective ways of playing against it.
Liverpool's success is evidence in favour of this thesis. Maybe Klopp saw the change coming or maybe Slot just arrived at the right time, but by altering the way Liverpool play, Slot has undone the work of the other managers and set them a new problem.
I think it's also down to the post-Covid financial world of football, where top players and managers will come to the Premier League itself as an attraction, not just flocking to top teams. So you can have e.g. Kudus and Paqueta playing for a mid-table side.
Ok. Yes that makes sense. Players and managers with more pride might also have another effect - they won’t save themselves for more winnable fixtures by just rolling over for the top teams.
If this is right, then the next question is, is it just chance? And if we reject that cop out then, what actually has changed in the way the teams are playing football?
Basically, we are looking for as general explanation for why the leading teams are not as dominant as they have been in previous seasons. My guess is that this has come about because the leading teams have been playing in a similar way to each other, and the other managers have now worked out effective ways of playing against it.
Liverpool's success is evidence in favour of this thesis. Maybe Klopp saw the change coming or maybe Slot just arrived at the right time, but by altering the way Liverpool play, Slot has undone the work of the other managers and set them a new problem.
I think it's also down to the post-Covid financial world of football, where top players and managers will come to the Premier League itself as an attraction, not just flocking to top teams. So you can have e.g. Kudus and Paqueta playing for a mid-table side.
Ok. Yes that makes sense. Players and managers with more pride might also have another effect - they won’t save themselves for more winnable fixtures by just rolling over for the top teams.
Probably a measurable effect. For example, when a bottom 6 team meets a top 6 team, how many changes of player are there from the previous game?