The Premier League’s set-piece renaissance took a new twist on Tuesday as Everton and Brentford showed off a new kick-off routine that left viewers flabbergasted.
Both teams flicked the ball up and booted it high into the air at kick-off in their respective games against Burnley and Bournemouth.
And we might get used to seeing this after the rugby-like strategy paid off for Everton – though Brentford fans were left scratching their heads.
At Everton’s kick-off, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall received the ball and smashed it forward, with Burnley’s Joe Worrall struggling to deal with it.
He could only head it as far as James O’Brien, meaning Everton had advanced almost halfway into Burnley’s territory within 10 seconds of kick-off.
Brentford had the same idea in their trip to Bournemouth, but Mathias Jensen’s hoof went straight to goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
The intention is obvious: hoping that the defender either misjudges the flight of the ball or heads it into a compromising position.
It is actually something that Thomas Frank did occasionally while in charge of Brentford.
He explained in 2021: ‘I think that football is a kind of entertainment and it is good to do something different. Sometimes kick-off routines are so boring, with teams always doing the same thing, so we are trying to do something new. But it is very difficult to defend a ball coming down from the sky.’
But it has been dormant for a while and is the latest innovation in a season where set-pieces have prompted heated debate.
We are, of course, used to seeing teams use kick-off in a quizzical way. Many are now accustomed to booting the ball towards the corner flag or out for a throw so they can hem the opposition into a tight space.
Gone are the days when teams try to keep the ball regularly from kick-off – they’re often more bothered about territory than possession.
Former England and Watford manager Graham Taylor, one of the major proponents for direct football from the 1970s to the 2000s, often got his teams to hoof the ball out for a throw in near the corner flag straight from kick-off.
Paris Saint-Germain used the tactic several times on their way to winning the Champions League last season, and English sides cottoned on to that.
It may well be effective, but there is a pervasive feeling that football is becoming more like rugby and American football. The emphasis on physicality and routine is increasing at the expense of beauty in the eyes of some.
That led to Liverpool manager Arne Slot complaining on Monday: ‘Most of the games I see in the Premier League are not for me a joy to watch, but it’s always interesting because it’s so competitive and that is what makes this league great – because there’s so much competitiveness.
‘Everyone can win against everyone, but just as someone who loves to watch football, without being interested in who’s winning or losing it, just to be enjoyed, I think there’s a big difference now between three or four years ago in the Premier League.’
He also said: ‘You have to accept it. I think it’s mainly here in the Premier League. If I watch other leagues, I don’t think there’s so much emphasis on set-pieces.
‘If I watch an Eredivisie game, which I still do, I see goals being disallowed and fouls on goalkeepers being given and I think “wow, that’s a big difference”. Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says “just go on”.
‘Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it. If you ask me about football, I think about the Barcelona team from 10, 15 years ago. Every Sunday evening you were hoping they would play.’
He added: ‘It’s not only about the set-pieces, it’s also because so many teams have become very strong. But we’re not going to change.
‘Maybe in five or 10 years’ time things will change again but I wouldn’t be surprised if you went to an under-16s game somewhere, Sunday League football, if you see teams completely being focused on set-pieces. That’s the new reality.’
