According to Jonathan Wilson, Jürgen Klopp is correct in stating that the ability to manage individuals is being overshadowed by the focus on data.

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In March 2019, Manchester United traveled to Paris Saint-Germain for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-0 deficit from the first leg. However, by half-time, they had managed to narrow the gap to 2-1. In order to secure the needed goal and advance on away goals, their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, made a surprising decision to sit back and defend. For the next 30 minutes, there was little action on the field as PSG cautiously tried to push forward, initially confused and later becoming anxious. Then, in a sudden move, Solskjær launched an attack on the panicked opponents, resulting in a penalty for United – a controversial handball call in the modern European style – which ultimately secured their victory and advancement.

Solskjær was at the peak of his success, prompting Gary Neville to ask where he would like a statue in his honor. At this point, Solskjær’s record was P17 W14 D2 L1 and he was still riding high on the thrill of not being compared to José Mourinho. His difficulties with implementing attacking strategies had not yet been revealed. However, he had shown his ability to understand and control the emotional momentum of a match.

This approach carries a high level of risk. If PSG had been successful, people would have questioned why Solskjær held back and turned the second half into a short 15-minute match. However, it proved to be effective because Solskjær recognized that PSG was still affected by past failures and were likely to crumble under pressure. At the same time, his United team had complete trust in him as a leader who could recreate the comeback mentality of 1999.

They would patiently wait for his instructions before proceeding with a stronger determination and conviction in the last 15 minutes, compared to the entire 45 minutes where failed attempts may have affected their confidence and a successful counterattack could have made their goal twice as difficult.

In the past, English football placed a great emphasis on playing with heart and passion, but now it seems that this attribute has fallen out of favor. It appears that there has been a shift towards focusing solely on systems and tactics, with a tendency to downplay emotions. This overcorrection may be seen as an obsession with following a strict process.

The data is providing interesting information about the game, helping to improve pressing strategies and increase efficiency on the field. However, there is a risk of losing the human element of players, including their emotions and fluctuations in performance – which are not always guaranteed.

The data indicates that the striker has consistently performed poorly, but it is possible that they will eventually improve and score one out of every ten chances throughout their career. However, when the player is struggling, should the manager simply rely on a return to average performance? Or should they take action to address the issue, offering support, criticism, or making changes to improve the ratio to one in nine?

The belief that confidence and effort are fixed and unchangeable, possibly even deceptive, is a major misconception of football’s statistical evolution. Data does not determine destiny. However, this not only applies to individual players; as demonstrated by Solskjær in Paris, matches also have their own flow that can be utilized. Players can reach new heights when things are going their way; even the most talented can falter under pressure.

Take, say, Brighton’s recent 4-2 win over Tottenham or Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat of Burnley. In both, the team that went on to win were utterly dominant, should have been further ahead, and then became unexpectedly nervous as the apparently beaten opponent showed signs of resistance. In neither case was it enough, but it was for Crystal Palace when they came back from 2-0 down to draw at Manchester City, the equaliser the result of a panicked hack by Phil Foden.

In the world of football, very few things are guaranteed; most aspects are dependent on other factors. Philosophies serve as valuable guidelines, but can never be deemed as universally correct; football cannot be approached as a puzzle with a single solution. What may work in one instance may not necessarily be effective in another.

Aston Villa have been successful with their strategy of playing with a high offside line this season. However, when they faced Manchester United at Old Trafford, it backfired on them. Since the second half of their game against Arsenal, they have appeared fatigued. Despite being up 2-0 against Manchester United, they were unable to maintain their intense press and prevent their opponents from making passes into the space behind their back four. This may not have solely been a physical issue. It is understandable if players who were tired from the busy Christmas schedule struggled to follow detailed positional instructions or make complex tactical decisions, which are crucial in modern football.

Jürgen Klopp stated that coaching is no longer the main focus, as the team is now focused on recovery and meetings. This may explain the roughness and intensity, as well as the lack of accuracy, seen in Liverpool’s matches since their goalless draw against Manchester United. However, it could also be attributed to repeatedly using Darwin Núñez in the lineup.

One of the positive aspects of Christmas football is the excitement it brings. Due to limited time for preparation, there is less control and a more unrefined nature to the games. This can lead to even skilled players like Rodri making simple mistakes. However, there is also a higher chance of injuries and some may perceive a decrease in overall quality.

It seems to have cost an increasingly exhausted-looking Arsenal, whose dependence on Gabriel Martinelli and, especially, Bukayo Saka has been exposed. It’s an oddity of Mikel Arteta’s time as Arsenal manager that every season they have suffered a miserable run of four or five games beginning in either December or January. Arteta famously once drew a heart and a brain holding hands as part of a team-talk but the sense is that the head, the process, has been over-prioritised.

The goal is for the two to collaborate effectively, with managers adapting the methods based on the mind to align with the emotional and physical state represented by the heart. Klopp, recognizing the limitations of coaching during this time of year, has seen success. However, others have not. It is important to note that even the most effective methods are dependent on various factors.

Source: theguardian.com