The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines
Written by Michael Cox
Narrated by Colin Mace
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
An absolutely essential book for every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition.
Back in 1992, English football was stuck in the dark ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse. It was the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically.
And then, almost overnight, it all changed. The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the most seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. Suddenly defenders had no-get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had to be able to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence.
The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League, and take a long view of how the game has developed over the last quarter century. From Ferguson’s directness to Keegan’s relentlessly attacking Newcastle outfit, to Mourinho’s cagey, reactive Chelsea, all the way to Ranieri’s counter-attacking champions, The Mixer is one of the most entertaining, rich and knowledgeable football books ever written.
Michael Cox
Michael Cox is a writer of many non-fiction and fiction books for children including titles in the Dead Famous series, Johnny Catbiscuit and How to Drink From a Frog and Wild Things to do with Woodlice for A&C Black.
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Reviews for The Mixer
76 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic book that is both highly informative and extremely interesting.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5omg ,that owsam
the way to talk is Absolutely brilliant. just love it dear
I used to listen to football related podcast from footylight.com
but You like it better than there. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brilliant. Captivating. Insightful. Thorough. I highly recommend this!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For the first few chapters I found this journey through the tactical evolution of the Premier League to be enthralling. Reading about how, when you think about it, the back pass rule was at least as important as the creation of the Premier League itself was mind-expanding, and the discussion of how Bergkamp, Cantona, and Zola all had massive impacts on the game was wonderfully put. But then the writer's style began to grate; it almost seemed towards the end as if the editor had fallen asleep. You will not find the tight editing of a Jonathan Wilson here, sadly, but rather repeated occasions of players being credited for their 'footballing intelligence', an over-reliance on the words 'wonderful' and 'bonkers', and clangers such as 'he took advantage of his height advantage.' Shame really, because Cox is delightfully insightful, and his criticisms of the way teams played - and how their line-ups and tactics were misunderstood by the majority of fans - proved particularly eye-opening.
1 person found this helpful