Michael Cox

How Rosenior rotated Chelsea’s midfield to cause Arsenal problems – and how Arteta adapted Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez initially had Martin Zubimendi chasing shadows but couldn't capitalise on Arsenal's confusion

Chelsea had quite a good gameplan to get Palmer in space. Arsenal adjusted quite well. The goals all came from set-pieces, but I enjoyed all this anyway.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Thanks a lot mate. Weirdly two years ago a mate brought this up at a Kingstonian game - four players were all on the same side of the D and the player went that way - and I refused to believe it was deliberate. But I do love this level of complexity.

Yes good point!

Why don’t more football teams place players on the side of the box for penalties? A tweak that a handful of teams are using could result in a curious marginal gain

Niche content: Corinthians Feminino put a player on either side of the box at penalties, rather than having everyone behind the box. I used Pythagoras’ theorem for the first time since my GCSEs and watched 50 saved penalties to see if others should do it too. ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

How Arsenal adapted to Igor Tudor’s tactical system much more effectively than Spurs did It was an impressive performance from the league leaders – but no other Premier League opponent will afford them this much space

Arsenal seemed better prepared for what Tudor wanted from Tottenham than Tottenham did themselves. Little pressure on the full-backs meant Arsenal could easily advance down the flanks, and their out-of-form attackers suddenly looked like world beaters.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Are referees and broadcasters converging in a strange, new way? Referees have taken on three new roles over the past year or so, making them a more prominent part of broadcasts than ever before

An article on the strange convergence of officiating and broadcasting. RefCam. Refs announcing decisions in increasingly dramatic ways. Commentators revealing what decisions are about to be made. What's the next step?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

USA v Iran must have been a great one to be at!

How Brazil won the 2002 World Cup: Unleashing the brilliance of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches 2002 and Brazil's fifth time lifting the trophy

World Cup 2002
www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

Thomas Frank’s dreadful Spurs spell is latest example that managers simply can’t change style Tottenham's decision to sack Thomas Frank isn't just bad news for Thomas Frank, it's bad news for managers like him too...

Thomas Frank at Tottenham: another manager who has previously done well with direct football struggling to adjust to the demands of a bigger club. It basically never works, and clubs should probably stop trying it.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Michael Carrick knows the importance of being boring – and that’s a good thing The former Manchester United midfielder knew the value of risk-free football as a player and is the same as a head coach

Michael Carrick was often considered 'boring' in his playing career. But there are lots of benefits to being considered boring, and that might work well in his managerial career too.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

The Champions League group phase has merits but it’s bloated. This is how to fix it The 'Swiss-style' format produced last-day drama but still feels bloated - a compromise is needed

The old Champions League group stage was a bit dull. The new one is too mad to understand what's happening. How about a compromise?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/700...

Great article, this. Sorry but this bit really made me laugh

I do actually agree with this joke, if such a thing is possible. He is truly brilliant.

read this as if you meant Olivier Giroud

Can Arsenal win the Premier League without an outstanding attacker? It feels like Arteta’s side will require a burst of brilliance from an attacking player if they are to fend off their title rivals

Football is more of a squad game than ever, and there’s no particular need for one prolific goalscorer, but it’s tough to think of a Premier League title winner who didn’t have an attacking player in top form at some point.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

Beth Mead still has huge value to Arsenal, despite questions over her future Mead scored her first WSL goal of the season, as Arsenal won at Chelsea for the first time since 2018...

Chelsea v Arsenal often feels like the biggest match of the WSL season. Not this time around. But it had the biggest away following of the season, and it felt right that Beth Mead was the one to score the crucial opener.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

How France won the 1998 World Cup: A resolute defence, Zidane’s headers and a fanbase who fell in love Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches 1998 and France's triumphant victory on home soil

World Cup 1998
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

The key to being a top-level manager? Being slow as a player The fact that Mikel Arteta and Michael Carrick are facing each other as managers on Sunday makes stylistic sense

Arteta v Carrick tomorrow. There's a pattern to the type of players who become managers: their game was not about speed.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...

Does Arsene Wenger really get football? Wenger's offside proposals reinforce the fear that as FIFA's chief of global football development he might be doing more harm than good

Sorry to have to say this about one of the greats, but the more Arsene Wenger talks about potential law changes, the more you have to question whether he actually *gets* football.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/697...

How Brazil won the 1994 World Cup: Parreira’s pragmatism and Romario’s goalscoring genius Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches USA '94 and a fourth title for Brazil

World Cup 1994
www.nytimes.com/athletic/693...

How West Germany won the 1990 World Cup: Brilliant Brehme, magnificent Matthaus and an Argentina meltdown Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches Italia 90 and a third title for West Germany

World Cup 1990
www.nytimes.com/athletic/686...

How Argentina won the 1986 World Cup: The relentless brilliance of Diego Maradona Michael Cox's history of World Cup winners reaches 1986 and a memorable tournament for one of the sport's greatest-ever players

World Cup 1986
www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

Is this season’s Premier League ball enabling more spectacular goals? The new Puma ball seems to be encouraging precise, well-judged finishes that reward technique and invention

Tough to prove this with numbers, but I'm convinced this season's Premier League ball moves more dramatically than the old Nike ball. In particular it seems to dip more than I (and more significantly, goalkeepers) anticipate.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...

The story of Futbology – the app that allows football fans to tick off stadiums Be warned: if this convinces you to get involved, the Futbology mindset is not just for Christmas, it’s for life

I've been meaning to write about the glorious/disastrous Futbology app since 2019, when I found myself at a Danish second division game for no real reason, other than the app told me there was a match close to where I was. So here it is!
www.nytimes.com/athletic/690...

A small contribution to my favourite football blog ⬇️

Why are leading Premier League teams getting narrower? Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa are all playing with 'wide players' - or are they?

How Man City, Liverpool and Aston Villa have (to varying extents) improved: going narrower in midfield/attack
www.nytimes.com/athletic/691...

The football word of the year, 2000-2025: Park the bus, raumdeuter, prawn sandwich brigade With 'ragebait' the Oxford English Dictionary word of the year, here's a look at what footballing equivalents might have been since 2000

The Oxford word of the year is RAGE BAIT. After calming myself down, I tried to work out what the football word of the year would be, 2000-25.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...

This was the most ‘Chelsea’ Chelsea have been under Enzo Maresca This was the day when Maresca finally felt like a proper Chelsea manager.

51st from his 51 games in terms of completed passes, 1st from his 51 games in terms of aerial duels - yesterday was the the day when Enzo Maresca finally felt like a proper Chelsea manager.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

How Arsenal unlocked Tottenham: Merino as a false nine left Spurs defence with no one to mark Arsenal didn’t have a permanent penalty-box threat, but this helped them put constant pressure on Spurs, who barely got out of their half

Arsenal played yesterday very well before even before Eze took charge. Merino deep - rather than as a fixed No 9 - left Spurs three centre-backs redundant. The runs came from everywhere else. A good gameplan.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...

Celebrating the chaotic variety of Premier League club commentary: ‘Have some of that!’ There is no standard way for football clubs to narrate highlights of their games – and that's a very good thing indeed

I have long been fascinated by the sheer variety in commentators on Premier League clubs' YouTube highlights. You might get Martin Tyler. You might get the local BBC Radio feed. And you might get Gentleman Jim, always just about stopping himself from swearing.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...