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Get it Kicked!
The Battle for the Soul of English Football
Quote from Pep Guardiola
''It''s difficult to change what''s in your blood, in your body, all the history of playing that way, and you change it for what? It''s analysis the English people have to do,'' says Pep Guardiola, and he''s right.
English Football's Boom
Let''s do that analysis ... English football is booming. The world''s richest league has stars from around the globe. Lavishly funded academies produce technically gifted players and professional football in England is unrivalled in depth.
What Have We Lost?
But what have we lost? You know what ''English-style football'' means: fast, physical, no pointless possession, but in the Premier League you see a different game. Has the new technical, tactical game subdued what made people love English football in the first place?
Wealth and Tradition
Premier League clubs have amazing squads, but does the amassing of wealth at the top threaten the traditions and grassroots on which the English game was built?
Analysis by Jon Driscoll
Through interviews with people inside and outside the game, Jon Driscoll examines how English football professionalised and the challenges it now faces.
