This season has been a fun season for Sam Allardyce and, as usual when things are going well for him, explaining the secrets of his success is half the fun. In October, Allardyce basked in the glory of West Ham's 2-1 win over Manchester City by favourably contrasting his approach to management with the hidebound dogmatism of Manuel Pellegrini and certain other coaches.
“There are two types of coaches,” he said. “There’s coaches like me who weigh up the opposition and ask the team to adjust. Fergie was similar. Jose is similar. Then there’s Arsène, who won’t adjust. There’s Brendan, who looks like he won’t adjust.
“There’s Manuel Pellegrini, who looks like he won’t adjust, even in the Champions League. He seems to favour what he’s got. City are quite open. Their philosophy is different to ours. Ours is more about who we are playing against. Their philosophy is more, ‘We always play this way’ and they won’t change, they carry on doing the same thing. That’s why you can beat them.”
The glow of victory had evidently erased Allardyce’s memories of West Ham’s four matches against Pellegrini’s City the previous season, which produced four City wins by an aggregate score of 14-1. City scored so many goals in one of those games that Edin Dzeko lost count, speaking afterwards about how proud he was of City’s 5-0 win when the score had actually been 6-0.
Rigid adherence
When Allardyce implies that he is the same kind of manager as
Jose Mourinho
and
Alex Ferguson
, it’s plain that the materials of comedy will not be lacking. But Allardyce enjoys the theme of pragmatists vs gurus too much ever to leave it aside. Last week he placed
Roberto Martinez
in the “won’t adjust” category alongside Wenger, Pellegrini and Rodgers, and even hinted that the Everton manager’s rigid adherence to certain principles was largely the result of his inexperience.
“I’m a little bit more flexible than Roberto – he is a total believer in one style. You become flexible as time goes on. Flexibility teaches you that you have a philosophy in the way you want to play, but if that way of playing doesn’t suit the players you cannot keep that philosophy.”
For all Allardyce's renowned tactical flexibility, he's never yet produced a team that plays the sort of flowing football we've seen from the sides managed by the rivals he criticises. Still, the accusation that certain other managers struggle to adapt their tactics when required is one that has haunted Arsene Wenger, in particular, for years now.
Arsenal’s victory away to Manchester City defied every negative preconception and stereotype that has built up around Wenger and his players. Arsenal conceded the initiative to City and struck on the counter, they conceded 65 per cent of the possession and 16 corners, but nevertheless they looked much the better side in a 2-0 win.
This was a different Arsenal, composed and confident, steely and streetwise, watchful, ruthless and cunning. They weren't the innocents we've seen mugged so many times at so many Premier League grounds. What happened at the Etihad was a standing rebuke to Allardyce and his suggestion that Arsene Wenger cannot adjust.
Considering the importance of the win, Wenger might have been expected to be euphoric. Instead he struck a modest tone, apparently unwilling to accept too much credit for finding a tactical solution to Arsenal’s weakness in the big away games. He knew there was an obvious question coming: why did it take you so long?
When that question eventually came, Wenger appeared to dismiss the suggestion that Arsenal had done anything different from what they usually do. “People are very quick on the judgment,” he scolded. What was he talking about? It had been more than three years and 12 matches since Arsenal had beaten any of the current top four sides away from home.
Going on forever
Arsenal fans have seen their team concede eight at Manchester United, six at City and Chelsea and five at
Liverpool
. The last time they beat City at the Etihad, the Arsenal goals were scored by
Samir Nasri
,
Alex Song
and
Nicklas Bendtner
. There are more members of the Arsenal team that day currently playing for Manchester City than there are remaining at Arsenal. This run has been going on forever.
Does the victory at the Etihad signal that Arsenal have finally cracked the riddle of how to play in these games? Not according to their manager, who is insisting they merely did what they’ve been doing all along.
It could be that Arsenal’s victory owed less to a fundamental shift in their tactical emphasis, and more to some brilliant individual performances, most obviously that of Santi Cazorla in central midfield. Pitted against the physically imposing figures of Fernando and Fernandinho, Cazorla demonstrated that in football, two-footed skills and a clever appreciation of space count for much more than power and athleticism.
He worked quick combinations with team-mates, frequently held onto the ball under impossible pressure and even dived into a few tackles and blocks. It was a midfield performance of a style and quality not often seen in the Premier League and it’s doubtful whether even Cazorla can play like that too many times a season. We’ll have to wait until the next time to see whether Arsenal’s win was a bolt from the blue, or the first step in a new direction.
