Why Modern Managers Have Ruined Football

Why Modern Managers Have Ruined Football

In 2025 we have gotten to a point where the tactical side of football has been the best it has ever been. Managers have learnt and adapted from what their predecessors taught them, and have turned it into their own unique style of coaching and play style. However, fans across the board wcontinue to say that the enjoyment level has reduced from the early 2000s. So, how have modern managers ruined the beautiful game?

I watch a bit of football. My personal opinion is that football is at an all time low in terms of entertainment. People laud Peo Guardiola, but his influence, no matter how successful it’s been for City, has led to the most mind numbingly football I’ve experienced in 50 years

— Paul English (@paulenglish1961) April 29, 2025

Over-coaching

When watching many teams now, they seem more like robots than actual players. The systems are so drilled into players that everything is predictable, and there is very little space for anything unique to happen. One particular type of player close to becoming extinct as a result of this are those considered as ‘joga bonito’ (play beautifully) players. The overcoaching has stopped them from being able to do what they do best - play the game with creativity, flair, and fun.

The strict rules that many managers now have in their systems stop players from showing flair and personality due to the increased risk factor. They don’t want to risk players being out of shape for the system, as it would break down. Moreover, due to the fact that the danger of losing the ball is much higher than the success of keeping it, they would rather play a system that waits for the defence to make a mistake or fall asleep to create a chance than have someone create one out of nothing.

Many coaches now don’t want players to take risks or attempt to dribble past someone, something that made the game interesting. One of the last players who truly made the game enjoyable to watch and played with a smile on his face was Ronaldinho, who never had his style coached out of him, as none of the key men who developed and made the foundations of modern football never got the chance to manage him.

Possession-based football

This leads us nicely onto the observation that managers have an obsession with keeping the ball in modern football. While it is somewhat true that you can’t win a game without the ball, some teams have found it hard to even win while having the ball. Modern managers would rather play a slow build-up style than a style that shows risk and daring. The idea of taking risks is something that very few managers want to do these days.

Over the past 10 years in the Premier League, the champion has had over 60% average possession for 9 out of the 10 years; the only team that didn’t have that was Liverpool last season. While it does show that possession-based football is working and is successful, it kills the enjoyment of the game, as the style in general is slow. Side-to-side passing and building up from the back, as seen many times, players don’t look to take risks; the idea of carrying the ball past a player and looking for a lethal pass doesn’t exist anymore, as the risk is too high.

The style feels stale and repetitive, as no one is looking to change it and show some of their own personality on the pitch; players have become too robotic for anything else to happen; they fear the result of losing the ball rather than thinking about what they could do if they keep the ball.

🗣 Gabriel Agbonlahor: “Chelsea’s football – when you watch it, it’s so boring. Players staying in the exact right positions they’ve been put in, no freedom.

When it’s not working, I don’t blame the fans when they’re moaning. Stop playing from the back when we’re not getting… pic.twitter.com/mZAVy6GBgp

— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) April 15, 2025

Same tactical ideas

The man who has revolutionised football, Pep Guardiola, has many assistant-turned-coaches who learnt their trade at his side, especially at Manchester City, and this has caused the label ‘Pep clone’ to be created. It is hard to disagree with this when there are only 2 formations used in the majority of football games. These formations are 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1.

The formations have taken over in the modern era and have helped it to become stale. When the majority of teams in the Champions League use the same formation as the other team, football becomes dull, as it becomes a mirror match and is less about the players and more about which team is more comfortable with the tactics.

However, it isn’t just the formation that they start with that is the same; most teams use the exact same tactics while in the game, converting into a 3-5-2 when in possession and a 4-4-2 while pressing. Having both teams use the same type of play style is not what fans want, as there is no longer anything that makes your team special or different from any other team.

In general football has become less of a game where the team with the better players and ability wins and more about which manager can outthink the other. It has become closer to a game of chess than a true sport where the players who can do anything with the ball at their feet win the game.

Youth-level football

This issue is not just limited to the senior level. The players coming through the academy level also face the same hurdle. It is very difficult for players to show personality in senior football when it has been coached out of them all through their career in youth football.

Players get so used to playing in a system that they can no longer think for themselves or make decisions when outside of the system. The mavericks and artists can no longer thrive or be developed, as they take too many risks and cost the team too much while still developing that they get it coached out of them. The natural talent that many players used to have isn’t as important as knowing how to play in the system, especially if they are looking to break into the first team.

Have modern managers truly ruined the fun in the beautiful game?

In general, the modern game has become more boring to watch, as it is more 90 minutes of watching two teams pass the ball around and build from the back rather than have someone try and make something happen. There are very few players who are able to change a game by themselves, and this has caused the game to become boring, especially when playing a low-block style of team.

The players who once made the game enjoyable to watch and made everyone actually want to pay to watch them have started to fade as they took too many risks. Managers no longer give players the time to be able to do this, as they don’t want to run the chance of losing the ball and getting punished for it. In the modern game for a manager to allow you to do that, you need to be doing it at a high level straight away to even have a chance.