Pep Guardiola’s ideology is dead. So where does football go next?

On Premier League training grounds right now, there’s a complaint that more and more players are expressing. That is that the game is no longer primarily about finesse, speed or even transitions, as was the case as recently as 2022-23.

It’s about “duels, duels and duels”, as one high-profile defender privately grumbled. That is one of a few reasons that long throws per game have doubled from 1.52 last season to 3.03 now, and from just 0.89 in 2020-21. The method forces more…