A new era for English football?

Is it just me or are we starting to see a general shift in playing styles within English football?

It's not so much the top 10 clubs in the Premier League that i'm referring to but those teams that might expect a Premier League relegation battle and even a number of teams in the Championship and League One.

The change in style i'm referring to is a move away from the defence-focussed, direct style of play that for several years, most teams below the top-10 in the Premier League felt the need to use. The style of play synonymous with Sam Allardyce, Gary Megson and even David Moyes early in his Everton career. At the time it was seen as the most effective way of achieving results on meagre resources.


However, looking down the Premier League today I see more and more teams that want to get the ball on the deck and play some football. Bolton are transformed under Owen Coyle (proven by Arsene Wenger's willingness to let Jack Wilshere join them on loan last season), West Brom always look to pass it, even Wolves and Wigan play some decent football these days. Stoke are just about the last of the old school since Allardyce left Blackburn.

Ian Holloway's Blackpool side are the one that really brought this shift home to me. Not only are they looking to play football but they have an extremely attacking mentality and have used a very bold and interesting formation all season (detailed brilliantly here). I remember a few years ago, there used to be an adage that you needed one team playing one style of football to get promoted from the Championship and a completely different team and approach for the Premier League. Well Blackpool have proved that is no longer true as they have thrived using the majority of their promotion winning team and playing the same way.

It's not just the Premier League though. Look at QPR, Watford, Norwich and Swansea in the Championship and Brighton in League One. Attacking, skillful, passing football is en vogue and is getting results.

So why might this shift have occured? Well I would argue that it's at least partly idealogical as football fans in this country have come to appreciate the way that Barcelona and the Spanish national team play. I also think the change has come due to more practical reasons. As the top 5 or 6 teams in the Premier League have used their Champions League millions and billionaire benefactors to increase their stranglehold on the domestic league and cups so the chances of any kind of success have diminished for everyone else. For a few years teams and supporters felt that it was possible to win things, to smash the top 4 and spent big trying to do so, but as the economic crisis bit and the biggest teams mover further and further ahead the less likely this has become. The likes of Portsmouth and Hull fell into financial difficulties chasing the dream so an alternative was needed.

If you can't entertain your fans by winning trophies then instead you could entertain them by playing attractive, skillful, attacking football. I think supporters have grown tired of watching unattractive, functional football just to play with the big boys for another season. Gary Megson's sacking by Bolton was a result of fan pressure for this very reason. So if the desire of fans to see a more attractive style of football is what started the shift, it might just be the case that the success West Brom, Burnley and Blackpool had in the Championship and Blackpool are having in the Premier League, has encouraged others to follow suit.

The change might have knock-on effects as well. If the pervading style of play between the country's leagues harmonises there is less need for wholesale changes of personel after promotion and relegation. This would lead to more stable squads, saving teams a whole sack of money in transfer and agents fees. It could be the start of English football adopting a far more sustainable business model, something that all fans deep down know is absolutely vital.

It could also have knock-on effects for the national team. For years people have bemoaned the lack of technique amongst English players. Whilst only a handful of Premier League teams were interested in playing 'sophisticated' football it meant that only the small number of English players within these teams gained experience of playing this way. It's no coincidence that for long periods in the 2000s the England team was mainly made up of players from the 'big 4' regardless of whether they were first team regulars or not. If a more sophisticated style spreads throughout the Premier League and to the Championship, the number of English players that the England manager is able to see playing this way will increase. A call up for Jay Bothroyd to the last England squad was seen by many as a sign of the dearth of English talent available but it might actually be a sign of the rising quality of football to be found in the Championship.

Finally, if this trend continues managers of Premier League teams will increasingly be able to find players with the attributes to perform at a higher level amongst the lower leagues. If the number of transfers between English teams increases, more of the money that English football generates will stay in the country, flowing down the pyramid and further improving the financial state of the game in England as a whole. Late developers released from Premier League academies and dropping down to a lower division may genuinely still have a chance of making it in the big time. Adam Hammill's transfer today to Wolves and the rumoured move by Everton for Dale Jennings of Tranmere are two good examples of this in action.

I find this scenario genuinely exciting, in fact it might just be the dawn of a new era for English football.