The debate over tactical fouls is raging again in the Mailbox, with Manchester City again the poster boys for one of the dark arts. Jose Mourinho attempted in 2017 to shine a light on Pep Guardiola’s penchant for breaking up the opponents’ play with a sly trip or a precisely timed tug (and who doesn’t like a precisely timed tug?), while Gary Neville also highlighted City’s ploy earlier this season after the champions’ 1-0 victory over Tottenham at Wembley.
“There’s a lot of the dark arts there in terms of the way they play,” said Neville, who later clarified that he meant the statement as a compliment rather than a complaint. The Sky Sports pundit was forced to respond after Guardiola took great exception to the observation that his side blend their silk with sufficient steel.
“Never have my teams been focused on doing something wrong against the opponents,” the City boss hit back.
“I completely don’t agree with those comments that we are a team that is looking for these kind of situations because it never happened in Barcelona. It never happened in Bayern Munich and it can never happen at City; and will never happen in the future in my career. Never.”
Guardiola’s defence is somewhat weakened by the testimony last summer of his former assistant Domenec Torrent. Discussing City’s defensive woes during Guardiola’s first season in charge, Torrent said: “It was not easy for Pep. Remember, Pep conceded more goals than ever before. Barcelona they conceded the fewest, the same in Munich, and then the same last year.
“When that happened in the first season we spoke a lot about it. We needed to change the transitions a little bit.
“When we lose the ball it’s very important for Pep to press high in five seconds. If you don’t win it back within five seconds then make a foul and go back. We had many problems when we lost the ball and the team didn’t react quickly enough. We were in trouble during many games.”
Not any more. City’s defensive record was the best in the Premier League last term and it ranks only behind Liverpool this term. Though their rate of infringement lends considerably more weight to Torrent’s admission, rather than Guardiola’s denial.
Though City have conceded the fewest fouls of any team in the Premier League, Guardiola’s side have again committed fouls more regularly than any other side while the opposition has the ball.
So what? While Guardiola is unlikely to be completely forthcoming with such a pragmatic approach to defending which contrasts so sharply with City’s sizzling attacking philosophy, nor should he be ashamed or as offended as he attempted to portray himself. As the stats below show, all the big clubs are at it, and the Premier League table reflects that it is a successful approach.
Guardiola tried to suggest that City’s intensive press would inevitably lead to more fouls, especially in contrast to the deep-defensive methods of lower-placed sides content to soak up pressure. There is some validity to that theory, but the regularity of City and their closest rivals being penalised suggests there is more to it than clumsiness.
Until the rules change, why should City? Infuriating though it may be to some observers, tactical fouls are rarely dangerous ones and referees already have the power to punish regular or serious offenders.
That perhaps doesn’t deal adequately enough with teams who ‘take turns’ to halt dangerous, dribbling opponents, like Eden Hazard and Wilfried Zaha. Peter Goldstein offered a suggestion which involved mandatory yellow cards for the third and any subsequent foul on any individual player, but does that not swing the advantage too greatly in favour of the attacker?
In the immediate term, it is a challenge for opponents to overcome rather than the authorities. City’s approach has been sussed but they are far from the only culprits. Rather than complain, coaches and players could focus on coming up with a counter to the ploy and find a way to play through, around or over the inevitable infringement.
Premier League clubs ranked on fewest minutes per foul conceded when not in possession
1) Manchester City – 3.436 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 32
Possession conceded (minutes): 835
Fouls conceded 243 (20th)
2) Arsenal – 3.437 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 42.52
Possession conceded (minutes): 1110
Fouls conceded: 323 (8th)
3) Manchester United – 3.53 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 44.86
Possession conceded (minutes): 1171
Fouls conceded: 331 (5th)
4) Tottenham – 3.55 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 40.5
Possession conceded (minutes): 1057
Fouls conceded: 298 (12th)
5) Chelsea – 3.63 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 35.85
Possession conceded (minutes): 903
Fouls conceded: 249 (19th)
6) Liverpool – 3.72 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 38.54
Possession conceded (minutes): 1006
Fouls conceded: 270 (16th)
7) Everton – 3.90 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 48.64
Possession conceded (minutes): 1270
Fouls conceded: 326 (7th)
8) Watford – 4.10 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 53.72
Possession conceded (minutes): 1402
Fouls conceded: 342 (2nd)
9) Fulham – 4.11 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 52.49
Possession conceded (minutes): 1370
Fouls conceded: 333 (=3rd)
10) Brighton – 4.13 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 57.88
Possession conceded (minutes): 1459
Fouls conceded: 353 (1st)
11) Wolves – 4.29 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 53.9
Possession conceded (minutes): 1407
Fouls conceded: 328 (6th)
12) Huddersfield – 4.30 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 51.72
Possession conceded (minutes): 1350
Fouls conceded: 314 (10th)
13) Southampton – 4.60 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 56.53
Possession conceded (minutes): 1475
Fouls conceded: 321 (9th)
14) Newcastle United – 4.76 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 60.72
Possession conceded (minutes): 1585
Fouls conceded: 333 (=3rd)
15) Crystal Palace – 4.77 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 55.21
Possession conceded (minutes): 1441
Fouls conceded: 302 (11th)
16) Leicester City – 4.81 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 50.25
Possession conceded (minutes): 1312
Fouls conceded: 273 (15th)
17) West Ham United – 5.29 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 53.7
Possession conceded (minutes): 1402
Fouls conceded: 265 (17th)
18) Burnley – 5.50 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 58.97
Possession conceded (minutes): 1539
Fouls conceded: 280 (14th)
19) Bournemouth – 5.68 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 55.1
Possession conceded (minutes): 1438
Fouls conceded: 253 (18th)
20) Cardiff City – 5.77 minutes per foul
Possession conceded (%): 65.23
Possession conceded (minutes): 1703
Fouls conceded: 295 (13th)
