Michael Cox

The 2024 version of The Mixer is out now. The most comprehensive account of the Premier League’s on-pitch development over its first 32 years. Amazon link ⬇️ amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/000870…

@L2894451067 That's surprising. One more extra-time period, i guess...?

@Zonal_Marking How did Germany manage to make more passes 4 years later? Always surprised me when i first seen that several year ago, 6 more i believe.

the World Cup winners:

@VinnyMourinho Bang on, to be fair

@Zonal_Marking Reporters & pundits in all field sports should be taken off the sidelines.They can express their expertise from a studio. It’s become a backslapping, palley, im still best buddies with the dressing room grandstanding circus with little or no relevance to the game or its build up.

just a relentlessly funny little sport

@Gibbington9 It’s fine. I just hate the carry-on. No-one likes this rubbish.

@Zonal_Marking What's funny is quite how much a sport you have nothing to do with triggers you. Is everything ok?

@EamonnDonohoe @pyjamas_black 😂😂

@Zonal_Marking @pyjamas_black What happened to respect the kicker? Rugby has lost its way.

@ChillOspreay No I just hate the carry-on

@Zonal_Marking Did a rugby player bully you as a child?

@johnmcfadian I always enjoy the “at any level” here

@Zonal_Marking About as funny as someone who’s never played the sport at any level he pronounces on like some kind of ‘expert’.

@EdTilley1972 2012 I agree. 2010 I don’t think it was quite on that level

@Zonal_Marking “A bit dull”. A great team but the worst team to watch I’ve ever seen. They didn’t allow the opposition a kick but did very little themselves except pass, pass, pass, pass until we’d all gone to sleep.

@jessyjph I heard that and did the maths three times to check I hadn’t missed something…

Comms still talking about our title hopes

Spain, 2010. The most easily definable style of all the World Cup winners. 8 goals scored in 7 games was a bit dull, but keep 4/4 clean sheets in the knockout phase and you’ll be alright. nytimes.com/athletic/71469…

Italy, 2006. An outstanding defensive base, and then the right attackers used at the right moments. nytimes.com/athletic/70934…

@3menandabebe Not really. All these games are legally available which isn’t the case for most PL weekends.

@Zonal_Marking This is fans truly hate the international break. The access compared to league football is atrocious.

Amazon surely missing a trick by putting these playoffs (all 7:45s) as separate PPVs...? Today (& Tuesday) are perfect for flicking between. Can't imagine people will pay for more than one, but throw them all in together and potentially you've got a legendary football TV night.

@toontoon999 @nufcscott1968 BBC NI / iPlayer

@Zonal_Marking @nufcscott1968 Where is the NI game on? Missed a trick not staggering them though.

@nufcscott1968 It is. But five are on Amazon

@Zonal_Marking Is the NI v Italy game not on the BBC?

@obutler for sure, but there’s another five games too!

@Zonal_Marking Well, with Wales and NI each available on iPlayer, you can mix it up

@IntwalaSufian I know he's had fitness problems and has looked rusty at times but I do think Calafiori would be very useful in helping Arsenal unlock sides at times (often in a similar role to the one O'Reilly played!)

@Zonal_Marking Definitely an uphill battle for Arsenal without Eze or Odegaard and Havertz still finding his feet in this new look Arsenal team. Could Arsenal have played Calafiori and packed the middle a bit more making the game become a physical battle.

Man City's two goals at Wembley stemmed from their clear plan to overload the right flank - Silva and Cherki theoretically playing centrally but often overlapping Semenyo. Nice gameplan, carried out well. nytimes.com/athletic/71403…

@ArmouryAFC Thanks for reading!

@Zonal_Marking Great piece

@lemons1110 I think the game became so quick that it became hard to do that role for 90 minutes. But to be fair I think there's more players doing (roughly) that role than 10 years ago when midfielders who contributed nothing in attack were more popular

@Zonal_Marking Players arriving late in the box are hard to deal with. What hapoened to box to box midfielders? Robson, Lampard, Scholes, Gerrard.

Interesting variation

not surprised Christmas television ratings were so low - how can linear TV possibly compete with something like a 4-min compilation of Lewis Dunk chesting the ball back to the goalkeeper? youtube.com/watch?v=Nk-JP9…