Detailing The Pyramid

Looking at the current role of tactical analysis in football coverage

Producer:
Richard Farley

Executive Producer:
Christopher Harris

First Published: March, 2011.

Starring:

Jonathan Wilson (The Guardian)

Michael Cox (Zonal Marking)

Andy Brassell (BBC World Football Phone-In)

Bobby McMahon (Fox Soccer Report)

Grant Wahl (Sports Illustrated)

Richard Whittall (A More Splendid Life)

Oliver Kay (The Times)

Luke Moore (Football Ramble)

Part One: Meeting The Growing Demand

In part one of this three part series, Richard Farley interviews some of the leading experts on football tactics, such as how we got to where we are today with football tactics, the influence of Wilson’s book Inverting The Pyramid, and much more.

Part Two: Where We Are

You may be wondering what “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang has to do with soccer tactics or formations. I was too until after I heard part 2 of Detailing The Pyramid, the audio documentary series.

Producer Richard Farley delves into present-day football tactics and formations including whether mainstream media is changing the way they cover soccer based on the hunger for a football tactical discussion, how and why Zonal Marking started, the impact that social media and the blogosphere has had on elevating a discussion about football tactics, and clearing up the confusion between tactics and formations.

Part Three: Where We’re Going

The third and final part of Detailing The Pyramid, the audio documentary, focuses on the future of football tactics and formation coverage.

Produced by Richard Farley, he challenges the guests regarding what the future of football coverage will look like, where the holes are, the reliance on 4-4-2, how a 4-4-2 formation may not be as simple as a 4-4-2, how formations themselves are changing and much more.

Editor’s note: The above audio documentary series was originally published in March, 2011 to subscribers of EPL Talk Pro.