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The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines

Michael Cox

4.42 · Rating details · 2,772 ratings · 209 reviews

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

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Kindle Edition, 496 pages

Published June 1st 2017 by HarperCollins

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Oct 20, 2017 Bernard O'Leary rated it it was amazing

Oh god, what a joyous, near-pornographic treat for football nerds.

The Mixer really is just 400 pages about things like the difference between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, and why inverted wingers can lead to midfield congestion. By rights, this book should be quite boring.

Cox makes it interesting by spinning the whole thing into a narrative that's gripping all the way through. The basic plot is that post-Heysel British football decided in 1992 to reinvent itself, with money from Rupert Murdoch and driven Oh god, what a joyous, near-pornographic treat for football nerds.

The Mixer really is just 400 pages about things like the difference between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, and why inverted wingers can lead to midfield congestion. By rights, this book should be quite boring.

Cox makes it interesting by spinning the whole thing into a narrative that's gripping all the way through. The basic plot is that post-Heysel British football decided in 1992 to reinvent itself, with money from Rupert Murdoch and driven by the greatest manager in the history of British football, Alex Ferguson.

Football back in '92 was all about strength and passion. Nobody wanted to overthink the game, not the fans, not the media, and certainly not the players, who were still showing up to training sessions with hangovers. The last thing anyone wanted to do was to import fancy ideas like "tactics" from Europe. None of those short, clever passes, no building from the back, just stick it in the fahkin mixer.

Ferguson, who really is the most important figure in the history of English football, had other ideas and started to introduce new concepts, like getting Eric Cantona to play between the lines in a number 10 role (something that was decidedly foreign in the early 90s). Eventually, Number 10s became standard, with other teams bringing in players like Zola and Bergkamp, and the game became subtly more Europeanised.

Ferguson really is the heart of the whole story, the wiley old git constantly finding new ways to reinvent his team, and the rest of the league scrambling to keep up. After winning the treble with a very traditional 4-4-2, he experimented with 4-5-1, 4-3-3, inverted wingers, false 9s and basically whatever tactic that had recently defeated him in Europe.

He himself was locked in a kind of Sisyphusean tragedy, where he is utterly dominant at home but always a step behind the innovators of Europe. He won two Champions Leagues, sure, but both by the skin of his teeth. United never dominated a final, never absolutely battered their opponent, never proved Ferguson to be Europe's greatest tactician.

But he did keep trying, and his mad experiments forced the other teams in the league to adapt or get relegated. Game by game, the Premier league learned to stop lumping long balls up to a target man, and learned how to play football.

United's endless revolution dominated the Premiership until he retired, so almost every other team is relegated to a subplot in this book, but there are some crackers: a ruthless post-mortem of Keegan's Newcastle failure, the many moods of Brendan Rogers, the rise and fall of Pulisball, how Ruud Gullit failed to convince anyone that his ideal role was centre back, and why Makelele is the most important player of this century.

The Mixer connects all of these plots, making them all seem like a logical consequence of what went before. It adds up to single, epic story, spanning 25 years, 47 teams, 10,000 games, 25,000 goals, epic tactical battles, wet windy nights in Stoke, and the possibility this might finally be Liverpool's year.

By rights, the story should taper off with Ferg's retirement, but that was only the prelude to the maddest event in the history of all sport, Leicester's 2016 title win. Football. Bloody hell. ...more

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Jun 20, 2017 Ben Cullimore rated it really liked it

Michael Cox, founder of the Zonal Marking website and frequent contributor to the Guardian, has in recent years become the go-to guy for tactical analysis. His intelligent and accessible writing deserves to be commended for the role it has played in improving the standard of football punditry in Britain, helping to move it away from vacuous, hyperbole-laden sensationalism and towards a more in-depth and technical approach. Alongside Jonathan Wilson - arguably the country's finest football writer Michael Cox, founder of the Zonal Marking website and frequent contributor to the Guardian, has in recent years become the go-to guy for tactical analysis. His intelligent and accessible writing deserves to be commended for the role it has played in improving the standard of football punditry in Britain, helping to move it away from vacuous, hyperbole-laden sensationalism and towards a more in-depth and technical approach. Alongside Jonathan Wilson - arguably the country's finest football writer - Cox has helped to bring tactical analysis to the masses.

Unsurprisingly, The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines, his first full-length book, does not disappoint. Cox guides the reader through the history of the English top tier and charts the important tactical revolutions that helped create one of the most entertaining and fascinating leagues in the world. He - correctly, in my view - links each change in tactical outlook to the increasing influx of foreign players and managers, highlighting the ways in which new ideas and methods emerged with each passing year. This was particularly the case in the 1990s, when the arrival of Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola and Arsène Wenger helped to move Premier League football away from the "route one" tactics of the 1970s and 1980s and towards a more sophisticated, "continental" variety.

Reading The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines, one is struck by just how tactically diverse the 2000s were. Arsène Wenger revolutionised English football upon his arrival, but Cox rightly dedicates significant sections of his book to the important contributions made by José Mourinho and Rafael Benítez. He also pays close attention to those further down the table ("traditionalists" like Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis, for example), whilst describing how waves of what can be described as "consensus football" took hold of the Premier League due to the tactical ideas utilised by the leading managers of the time. The current widespread use of a three-man defence, as was evident last season, illustrates that point perfectly.

Whilst not quite as tactically in-depth as Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics - which arguably remains the best football book ever written - The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines is an offering so brilliant and fascinating that it deserves to be read by anyone with an interest in the Premier League. ...more

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Nov 22, 2017 Gumble's Yard rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

Michael Cox is the author of the football tactics website Zonal Marking

http://www.zonalmarking.net/

and a freelance football journalist, particularly featured in the Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/m...

This book is effectively a tactical history of the UK Premier League, based presumably on his years of analysis for his website supplemented by many hours of re-watching of past matches, and also (from the index) based on scouring footballer’s (auto)biographies and contemporary newspa ...more

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Mar 06, 2020 Tony rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction-other, non-fiction

A decent record of the English Premier League, or at least the top of the league, and how tactics have evolved largely as a result of European influences.

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Jul 02, 2020 Matthías Aron Ólafsson rated it it was amazing

Fucking brilliant, I absolutely loved it and already want to read it again.

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Feb 19, 2018 Joe O'Donnell rated it it was ok

Shelves: european-football, football, football-history, sports, sports-psychology, england, football-tactics, english-football, premier-league, english-premier-league

"The Mixer" is billed as a tactical history of the English Premier League explaining - across 25 years in 25 chapters - how English football evolved from being traditionally backward and inward-looking to become the most international and tactically-advanced league in the world. It takes 1992 as it's starting point - a year significant not so much for the formation of the Premier League, but for the introduction of the law banning the backpass to the goalkeeper (leading to a greater emphasis on "The Mixer" is billed as a tactical history of the English Premier League explaining - across 25 years in 25 chapters - how English football evolved from being traditionally backward and inward-looking to become the most international and tactically-advanced league in the world. It takes 1992 as it's starting point - a year significant not so much for the formation of the Premier League, but for the introduction of the law banning the backpass to the goalkeeper (leading to a greater emphasis on a short-passing game instead of 'route one' long ball).

But, "The Mixer" is a book which isn’t quite sure what it wants to be; it falls between two stools of being an analysis of the evolution of English football tactics, or a potted history of the English Premier League, and fails to deliver on either of those objectives entirely satisfactorily.

The success of Jonathan Wilson's books like "Inverting the Pyramid" and "Behind the Curtain" show there is an appetite - and market - for books on how football tactics have developed. The problem in this case is that the first 10 years of the Premier League involved little tactical innovation, making “The Mixer” a curiously lopsided book.

So, the first half of "The Mixer" ends up as a fairly dry recitation of the key matches and pivotal transfer signings of the English Premier League in the 1990s, little of which will be hugely revelatory to anybody with a passing interest in football during that era. Rather than any great tactical insight, the early chapters of "The Mixer" cover well-trodden ground like how Arsene Wenger and Dennis Bergkamp revolutionised] Arsenal, the midfield battles between Patrick Viera and Roy Keane in the 2000s, and Alex Ferguson's attempts to move Manchester United to a more defensive, 'European' approach. All of this is relatively recent history - and as the English Premier League does not want for lack of exposure - little of it will be new for most football fans.

The latter parts of "The Mixer" are better, and there are a few interesting sections in the second part of the book analysing Tony Pulis and his use of long throw-ins at Stoke City, and the growing popularity of 'inverted wingers' like Gareth Bale. There is even a chapter giving a fairly clear explanation as to what a ‘false number nine’ might be.

Yet, it is hard to work out who the audience might be for "The Mixer". Fans with an interest in football data analytics are better off reading "Soccernomics" by Kuper & Syzmanski; tactical anoraks should check out the aforementioned titles by Jonathan Wilson. "The Mixer" is well-researched and competently written, but it is surprisingly found wanting when it comes to depth of analysis.
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May 05, 2018 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Not just tactics but descriptions of all the league winning teams, key players and managers and who didn't get on with whom.

A must read for every football fan ! ...more

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Nov 11, 2018 Jarvo rated it liked it

I thought that this was a bit like watching 25 years of MOTD highlights, including some fairly standard football punditry. You get to see some fabulous players, the big teams (a lot) and have the illusion of being better informed. Its enjoyable, but how in depth is it?
I had a seed of doubt in the opening pages when the author is making some disparaging comments about long ball football, and the fabled 'position of maximum opportunity'. Now I'm no fan of the theories of Wing Commander Hughes and ...more

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Aug 01, 2017 Niels rated it it was amazing

Shelves: football

It would be challenging to find a 470-page book describing football tactics, concepts, people (some of whom you've never heard) and their actions on field, and keep you hooked to the last page. Michael Cox's The Mixer effectively does that. There's a perfect blend here of an engaging writing style, whilst describing and analyzing that particular football issue the average fan and lover doesn't know (or care) about: tactics. From the abolishing of the back-pass to the keeper in 1990, to Antonio C It would be challenging to find a 470-page book describing football tactics, concepts, people (some of whom you've never heard) and their actions on field, and keep you hooked to the last page. Michael Cox's The Mixer effectively does that. There's a perfect blend here of an engaging writing style, whilst describing and analyzing that particular football issue the average fan and lover doesn't know (or care) about: tactics. From the abolishing of the back-pass to the keeper in 1990, to Antonio Conte's popular introduction of 3-man defences in England, and - maybe even more astonishingly as we will find out - the crushing of the EPL by Guardiola's system with inverted wingbacks. Football tactics have underwent extraordinary changes throughout the years (driven by players and coaches alike) always trying to counter-act some dominant features of contemporary play. So it is not only a great book to read, but also very instructive to think about game plans yourself.

In that respect, it is astonishing to find out that in one of the biggest leagues of Europe, tactics (and tactical managers) were considered a lesser part of the game (in favor of man-managing the best players) up until the mid-2000's. For me, this is further evidence of the large black hole that is gaping below the Premier League, and especially in other countries (barring the top flights in Europe). What "niche" is there, I wonder, in terms of tactically intelligent coaches to take (smaller) countries' top leagues by storm?

Writing this as a frequent viewer of Belgian football, for example, it is increasingly unsurprising to see the best performing teams adapting - often as the only ones - concepts from other top leagues. For example, AA Gent's title campaign in 14/15 (never having won the league before) came with the introduction of a splendid 3-4-2-1 system (with great link-up play between a large centre forward, wide-drifting attacking midfielders, and hard-working wingbacks), taking every flatbacked 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 in the Belgian league by storm. They eventually reached the last 16 of the Champions League, being defeated 4-2 on aggregate by Wolfsburg. The year after, Club Bruges was most succesful in 'cracking the code' by (collectively) pressing extremely high on Gent's back-line, eventually overtaking them as champions. With a spare year in between, Club Bruges is again 11 points clear with a fluid 3-5-2 system utilizing a high press, and sometimes even counter-pressing concepts.

While Cox's theme is all about the mixing up of traditional English football with foreign revolutionaries and concepts, the book in itself is therefore further evidence of this spreading of tactical thinking towards a larger audience - including its impact on existing club's philosophies and ways of doing things instinctively. Not long now until even minnow European leagues will take a further step towards analysis, data and tactics, and steer away from managers who aren't tactically astute. Just as with footballers then, coaches will have to become universalists as well. I probably speak for lots of people, when arguing this won't come a minute too soon. ...more

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Dec 03, 2017 Siddharth rated it it was amazing

I've been a fan of Michael Cox since I started following his Zonal Marking site. Over the years he has progressed from a niche tactical analyst to a journalist who is able to simplify football tactics for the lay person. I couldn't think of a better person to write this book and it is by far the best football book I have read in a long time. Every chapter is to be savored. There are trends that he points out in the early years of the Premier League that you wouldn't even think of but make so muc ...more

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Oct 06, 2019 Kamila rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, translations, uk

This book made me feel nostalgic... And I learned so much about tactics! Every football fan should read it, it's a gem. ...more

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Aug 11, 2018 Andrewh rated it really liked it

Surprisingly, given the nerdy topic, I found this a really 'good read', although the author is no Brian Glanville stylistically. The conceit of the book is to examine the winners of the PL and see what tactical evolution each team brought to the table - although the writer notes early on that the key tactical innovation of the entire PL concept was to abolish the back pass, which then created the need for ball-playing defenders and, in time, sweeper-goalkeepers - hard to believe now that in the Surprisingly, given the nerdy topic, I found this a really 'good read', although the author is no Brian Glanville stylistically. The conceit of the book is to examine the winners of the PL and see what tactical evolution each team brought to the table - although the writer notes early on that the key tactical innovation of the entire PL concept was to abolish the back pass, which then created the need for ball-playing defenders and, in time, sweeper-goalkeepers - hard to believe now that in the old days, teams could simply keep passing it back to the keeper to stifle a game.

The main argument throughout the book is the unsurprising one that foreign teams/players/managers have been the biggest influence on PL tactical evolution. He goes as far as to say that there have been only two native-born 'revolutionaries' in that era - Rio Ferdinand and, er, Brendan Rodgers. The early parts of the book remind us that in the early days of the PL, teams still played good old 4-4-2, with big lumps at the back and big lads up front, battling it out in the 'air', with the midfielders main job being to win the ball and send it out to the flanks asap (ah, those great days). This was disrupted by the influence of such great European players as Cantona, Zola and Bergkamp (definitely the best player I have ever seen in the PL). Given the early dominance of Man Utd, who played fairly 'British' football for the most part, it took some time before the real tactical evolution set in - coming with the appearance of Arsene Wenger and the need for Ferguson to avoid being defeated in each European Cup tilt. The appearance of Mourinho and other foreign managers over time, as the PL money well deepened, hastened this evolution along, with each innovation spurring a counter-tactic. This is all quite interesting but the best parts of the book for me were the anecdotes, about games or inviduals, and slightly OT chapters (such as on the Tony Pulis era at Stoke, when he innovated the 40-yard flat throw-in, by Rory Delap, as a way of disrupting defences). In the end, successful tactics require intelligent, highly trained players with so-called 'quality' and that also requires large amounts of money - Swansea used to play very nice football but were never going to win the PL. The book ends with the great Leicester win in 2016, which the author explains in tactical terms but which was also, he notes, quite likely due to the transitional stages of the big clubs (and the referees' lenience on their defenders). In 2017, the standard oligopoly was restored, and a new period of tactical dominance is likely to set in, until Pep gets bored again.

p.s. In the book's postscript, the author says that the only English thing about the PL is that it is played in England (and Wales), and that in future, it could also be played in other countries, like the NFL is. The geographical factor is probably the main reason for its runaway success though - without the crowds, tribal rivalries and traditions (including that of direct play), would the PL be as popular on Sky, and therefore be as rich and be able to attract the best foreign talent? . ...more

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Dec 09, 2019 Edwin Setiadi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: amusing, favourites

The smartest and most entertaining writing on football

This is to me the smartest, most entertaining piece ever written on the beautiful game of football. It tells the evolution of formations and tactics deployed in the Premier League, by English clubs and few European clubs in the European championships, and their effects on the national teams.

The author, Michael Cox, brilliantly narrates them all into several themes that define their respective eras, from the classic long ball tactics, to the The smartest and most entertaining writing on football

This is to me the smartest, most entertaining piece ever written on the beautiful game of football. It tells the evolution of formations and tactics deployed in the Premier League, by English clubs and few European clubs in the European championships, and their effects on the national teams.

The author, Michael Cox, brilliantly narrates them all into several themes that define their respective eras, from the classic long ball tactics, to the early number 10 role in the formative days of the Premier League, the evolution of the Makalele role, the usage of false 9, the tiki taka passing game, all the way to the current pressing game.

In between the eras, we’ll learn about the anatomy of Blackburn’s winning team, Liverpool’s several near champions, the treble winning Man Utd 1998/1999, the Arsenal invincibles, what the riches of Chelsea and Man City brought to the Premier League, the modern developments in football that fits Pep Guardiola's character perfectly, among many other analyses, from top to mid to bottom table clubs.

The book also analyses the brilliant tactics used by the managers, and shows exactly why they were masters at their craft. For example, why Alex Ferguson used Johnsen (instead of Scholes) alongside Keane vs Juventus at Champions League semi-final, how Sam Allardice’s Bolton Wanderers implements the classic long ball tactics, how Stoke City brilliantly utilise their long throws, how Brendan Rogers’ Swansea adapted to the passing game, the many roles of Fabregas at different teams, the military-like discipline of Rafael Benitez’s tactics, and the curious tactics built around Ruud Gullit in Chelsea.

Of course, we’ll also read about all the mishaps along the way, like how Diego Forlan never quite fit in at Man Utd but brilliant in La Liga, how that title losing Gerrard slip vs Chelsea was a culmination of several things going on few matches prior, how chaotic was Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United, the curious case of Georgi Kinkladze's rise and fall at Man City, how underrated Matt Le Tissier was and whether he would be phenomenal in today's passing game, how Leeds United spectacularly fall from their European heights, and the background stories of why the mighty England midfield quartet of Beckham-Gerrard-Lampard-Scholes never quite clicked.

The book also serves as a fond nostalgia, with the likes of Vieira vs Keane fights, the Michael Owen early Liverpool days, the Paolo Di Canio antics, THAT Aguero goal at Man City v QPR title-winning match, the tactics that allow David Ginola dance around several defenders, everybody’s favourite underdog Leicester City in their incredible 5000/1-odd title winning season, and many, many more.

It remains gripping from the very first word till the end, with the nice delicate touch of the very last word on the postscript chapter explains the brilliant meaning of the book’s title. Absolutely enjoyable to read! ...more

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Feb 27, 2018 Lol Scragg rated it really liked it

Like to think of myself as reasonably knowledgable about football even though I was a bad player, support a suffering Premiership 'giant' and have a season ticket for a lower league Scottish club, but this book gave me a fascinating insight into the tactical changes seen during my lifetime. I'd never really thought about tactics before but reading it made the things I missed seem obvious. I'm still not going to be up to Michael Owen levels of punditry, but I now have a better idea why formation/ ...more

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May 19, 2020 Cyrus Molavi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

This has been the only soccer book that I have genuinely enjoyed. I suppose that good writing and sports analysis don't often go together. This one tells the story of the Premier League, year by year, with buttery smooth transitions, explanations about how tactics led to success for each big team, and bits of the story not seen on YouTube highlight reels. :) ...more

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Jul 17, 2018 Vishrut Garg rated it really liked it

Shelves: football, non-fiction

Fantastic book detailing the tactical journey of the Premier League from 1992 till 2017, when Chelsea won with Antonio Conte. The only reason I'm not giving it the full 5 stars is that sometimes the book segwayed into history and the drama of the league at the time, while hashing over the tactical revolutions in play. This undeniably made the book exciting, since I have been a regular spectator of the EPL since 2007/08, and remember about 10 years of those anecdotes, and have read about the othe ...more

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Oct 30, 2019 Nopadol Rompho rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sports

If you love football, especially English premier league, I think that this is one the best books you should read. It tells also tactics teams use during 25-year of EPL history. It also had some very interesting opinions and observations.

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Jan 28, 2020 Darren Douglas rated it really liked it

Having grown up through the Premier league and been an avid fan of football since I can remember, this is a wonderful book which reflects perfectly on memory and nostalgia. Particularly poignant are the authors insights into how the English game has evolved through foreign managers, and how certain players impacted the game. Being an Arsenal fan, I do feel, however, that not enough focus was spent on Wenger's contribution. Overall, a solid read for any football enthusiast. ...more

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Jun 27, 2020 Bill McFadyen rated it it was amazing

If you want to read and digest the changes and developments of Premier League football this book could be for you. Structured in a understandable and interesting fashion this book is maybe the best I have read on football over the last few years. I am now going to search out the podcasts from 2017 to add some cherries to this tasty cake.

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Oct 17, 2020 Janina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Me in 2011: I’ll read anything by Michael Cox;

Me in 2020: I’ll read everything by Michael Cox

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May 20, 2018 Gerard Noipann rated it it was amazing

A must read if you are a football enthusiast.

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Jun 02, 2019 Nv rated it really liked it

The ultimate example came in the dying seconds of Rangers’ European Cup first round tie against Dynamo Kiev in 1987. With Rangers 2-1 ahead on aggregate and building an attacking move, midfielder Graeme Souness received the ball midway inside the opposition half, immediately turned towards his own goal and thumped a 70-yard backward ball to his goalkeeper Chris Woods. Souness, incidentally, would later suffer from the back-pass change more than most.

Cantona was unlike anything England had previo ...more

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Jul 03, 2017 Vinay Badri rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sports, 2017-read

A fabulous book, a must read for Premier League fans and also for those with even a passing interest in football

Having spent enough time reading through stuff on Zonal Marking, its no surprise that the same level of insightful analysis is applied here at a broader level rather than at an individual game level and the themes work out pretty well

There is a lot of history, a lot of past matches and a whole lot of fond memories of games and this is truly a fantastic read

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Jun 12, 2017 Tom Wåkkéførd rated it it was amazing

Fun trip back through Premier League history.

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Sep 11, 2017 Nigel Kotani rated it really liked it

This book is ostensibly the story of Premier League tactics, but it would be far more accurate to describe it as a history (with my use of the indefinite article being deliberate) of the Premier League with a particular emphasis on its tactical development.

Amazingly for a book focused on football tactics the author manages to pull it off without it becoming turgid, without it becoming obscure and, most impressively of all, without having to resort to the use of diagrams. That might make it a li This book is ostensibly the story of Premier League tactics, but it would be far more accurate to describe it as a history (with my use of the indefinite article being deliberate) of the Premier League with a particular emphasis on its tactical development.

Amazingly for a book focused on football tactics the author manages to pull it off without it becoming turgid, without it becoming obscure and, most impressively of all, without having to resort to the use of diagrams. That might make it a little superficial or trivial for the more technically-minded fan, but it makes it perfect for most.

By way of example, the book opens by going into the effects of the abolition of the back pass rule, explaining how the removal of one of their outlets encouraged defenders to become more comfortable in possession, gradually leading to a reduction in the number of old-fashioned cloggers and an increase in the number of more rounded generalists playing in defence. That kind of explanation simply doesn't need dot-and-arrow diagrams.

The book is very well-researched. I read a lot of website and newspaper stories about my team, but the book gave me a lot of background information about major events concerning my team which I had never come across before.

There was a lot about the book with which I disagreed, such as his excessive praise for Ferguson and his trivialisation of Mourinho's achievements, but ironically - in the same way that there is a modicum of satisfaction within the anger when one feels that a referee is favouring the other team - that actually added to my enjoyment of the book. It made the book thought-provoking, rather than just one which supplied answers.

I also found the book surprisingly gripping, finishing it inside a week despite it being close to 450 pages. It's been a while since I've got to the end of a chapter and said to myself "I'll just read on to the next page break", but I found myself doing so throughout the book.

If you like football and follow a Premier League team or the Premier League generally, I strongly recommend this book. (Obviously, if you have no interest in football, don't touch it with a barge-pole.) Possibly the best book I've ever read about football, and probably the most enjoyable. ...more

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May 17, 2020 Tacitus rated it liked it

As coronavirus swept the globe and daily headlines, I decided to learn about a human activity that people enjoy, as opposed to my usual nonfiction reading matter (WWII). So, as a welcome diversion, I turned to soccer.

Being somewhat a sports generalist and not a die-hard fan of anything, I knew little about specific leagues and matches. The Premier League seemed like a good place to start, inasmuch as I can see occasional broadcasts on TV for free in the USA, they speak English, and a guy I know ...more

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Aug 24, 2019 Tosin Adeoti rated it really liked it

This afternoon, I finished 'The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines' by Michael Cox.

The book is about the evolution of English football from a lowly sport to one that is remarkably unrecognizable from its humble start. The book covers 25 years of the intriguing spectacle people around the world witnessed.

This book is entertaining! Full of eye-opening detailed analysis into matches and behind-the-scenes which fans are not often privy to.

Right now, the Premier ...more

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Apr 26, 2019 Russell George rated it really liked it

I really liked this. While I wanted to like Jonathan Wilson’s ‘Inverting the Pyramid’, that seemed to lose its way when talking about actual tactics, not helped by the historical scope. But this book focuses on the Premier League era, and though my hackles rise whenever anyone suggests that football started in 1992, Cox makes some very good points to illustrate how seismic the changes have been since Sky got involved. True, not every side played in a route one style before then – think Liverpool ...more

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Oct 08, 2017 Andrew Jaden rated it it was amazing

A fascinating insight into the first quarter-century of the English Premier League, and absolutely a book for those interested in football tactics.

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Nov 24, 2017 Michael Sedor rated it it was amazing

If Inverting The Pyramid is the football tactics Bible then The Mixer is its New Testament companion, full of insight, lively, exciting, promising and a much much more rewarding and interesting read

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Goodreads Librari...: Two Errors	3	25	Jul 21, 2017 10:17AM

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Zonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football

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Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King...

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“A year before Wenger’s appointment, Leyton Orient manager John Sitton had been the subject of a Channel 4 documentary that recorded him threatening to fight his own players in a famously bizarre dressing-room outburst. ‘When I tell you to do something, do it, and if you come back at me, we’ll have a fucking right sort-out in here,’ he roared at two players. ‘All right? And you can pair up if you like, and you can fucking pick someone else to help you, and you can bring your fucking dinner, ’coz by the time I’ve finished with you, you’ll fucking need it.’ That was the 1990s football manager.” — 0 likes

“the use of cheerleaders was short-lived, possibly after concerns from the presenter over their understanding of the offside rule.” — 0 likes

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The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines

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