Manchester City’s slump has been the story of the first half of the season, while Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal still hope they can become the second story by winning the title. But what about the two teams caught in the middle?

Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth finished fourth and fifth respectively at Christmas, exceeding resources and expectations. What’s most fascinating is not just that they managed to do this; how They have successfully done so.

One of the criticisms of the Premier League in recent seasons has been an orthodox approach, no doubt influenced by Guardiola’s success. The game has moved in the direction of his football as the team seeks possession of the ball.

It feels like 2024 is the year a culture war breaks out in football. Everyone has to have an opinion about Angie Postkoglu. Meanwhile, Guardiola protege Vincent Kompany has been appointed Bayern Munich manager despite being relegated with Burnley.

Russell Martin seems to think Southampton suffering the same fate is a price worth paying. “We have to believe in something.” He spoke not only of the principles of the game but also of values, almost placing a moral element into them. Style is not a means in itself, but an end.

Against this backdrop, the rise of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth feels both timely and instructive. Because both clubs are getting smaller, their coaches seem prepared to play different football than other teams.

In the possession era, only Sean Dyche’s Everton saw as little football as Forest. Bournemouth are not too far ahead of them in possession statistics. They all ranked in the bottom three with more than 10 passes.

While Manchester City and Southampton are the slowest (some would say most patient) teams to attack, Nuno Espiritu Santo’s Forest and Andoni Illaura’s Bournemouth Serie A are two of the most direct teams in the Premier League.

talking sky sports Speaking about the incident in October, Illara said: “When we win the ball back, the first thing we do is go to the nine because that’s usually when the opponent is not in a good position and you can Find a better space.”

Elora doesn’t have to wait for her opponent to recover. His team breaks out quickly and some like to call it a vertical game. This could be devastating for the opposition and exciting for their own supporters. Just ask anyone who has been to Manchester United.

Another interesting aspect is that while some of Forest and Bournemouth’s statistics are similar, other aspects of their games are quite different. They can both move the ball up the court quickly, but their methods of handling the ball are different.

Elora’s high pressure from the wing. “We’ve recovered a lot of balls on the pitch this season.” They have had 35 shots on goal from high-pressure turnovers this season, more than any other team in the Premier League.

Nuno can’t press too hard here. In fact, Forest allow their opponents to pass the ball up the pitch more than any other team in the Premier League, with the other of these two teams being the outlier. Opponents traveled an average of 15.5 meters before being stopped.

Forest allow more passes per possession than any other team, content with these possession teams getting the ball into areas where they can’t hurt them. Nuno’s plan was to eventually move the ball into areas they could win and then attack quickly.

He is a born pragmatist. Nuno said of 2024 sky sports: “It’s not about the amount of possession. I can have a great idea, but do I think it’s going to be successful? Do I have the personnel to execute my idea?”

When asked what improvements he was trying to implement in the squad, he explained that he was trying to make Forest more compact. “Our organization, the distance between our players when we go to get the ball back, we need to close those gaps further.”

Elora sees things completely differently. He wants to open up the game rather than close it down. “Most of the games we win are more open games where there are more opportunities and we can take advantage of one-on-one opportunities on the outside and find more space.

He added: “The better the opposition, the bigger the risks you have to take if you want to put pressure on them. You know, sometimes people say, ‘They’re very good, so we have to wait longer before we can put pressure on them.’ Press. ‘” But then your chance of getting the ball back is zero. “

Ella’s Bournemouth side have a rare intensity and like to turn the game into a running game and make the pitch bigger. Only Ipswich have covered more ground than the Cherries so far this season. Only Tottenham average more sprints per game.

“We like to prioritize that kind of training volume in games because we feel like in very close games where a small chance can come into play, we don’t perform that well.” Forest? In contrast, Nuno’s team is the king of football matches.

No team has won so many games by one goal. No team has lost less. Keeping it tight is their mantra, and it’s reflected in their own running statistics. They finished in the bottom three in the sprint race. Only Leicester City have run fewer games than them this season.

The two teams had very different approaches, but both teams’ results were equally impressive. The fact that they are doing it differently to the rest of the Premier League is something to celebrate and breaks the homogeneity of modern football.

The teachings of David and Goliath are ingrained in our culture enough to be included in the Old Testament. You can’t expect to defeat stronger opposition by doing the same thing as them. The success of Nuno and Elora once again proves this age-old truth.