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The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
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The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines
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Summary
An absolutely essential book for every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition.
Back in 1992, English football was stuck in the dark ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse. It was the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically.
And then, almost overnight, it all changed. The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the most seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. Suddenly defenders had no get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had to be able to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence.
The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League and take a long view of how the game has developed over the last quarter century. From Ferguson's directness to Keegan's relentlessly attacking Newcastle outfit to Mourinho's cagey, reactive Chelsea, all the way to Ranieri's counterattacking champions, The Mixer is one of the most entertaining, rich and knowledgeable football books ever written.
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Critic reviews
"Michael Cox provides brilliant tactical context to our favourite moments of Premier League nostalgia. The Mixer is as entertaining as a Wanchope dribble, with the authority of a Shearer finish and the panache of a Cantona celebration. And you may even learn to love Tony Pulis a little bit.' (Ben Lyttleton, author of Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty)
"This is more than the impeccably researched and authoritative account of the English game's tactical evolution over the last quarter of a century you'd expect from a master of the genre. It is also packed with anecdotes and stories - some familiar, others far less so, a number of them hilarious - which give it flesh and ensure this book will be revisited many times, not just by those looking for imaginative and sometimes profound analysis, but by any football fan who enjoys a good tale well told." (Philippe Auclair, author of Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King)
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What listeners say about The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hedgehog
- 27-06-17
One of the best books about football ever
The book is really good because it manages to capture all the elements of football success. Books about football tactics can just lapse into being about as exciting as a drum solo - great for afficionados but mind-numbing for others. Michael Cox though, while showing that tactics are important, weaves them wonderfully into a narrative ground in reality. The events, peronalities and luck are all there in the mix with tactics.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joe Brookes
- 01-08-19
outstanding book
I have never learnt so much about anything as this book has taught me about football. a must buy for any football fan looking for a history lesson an a brief and easy guide to understand modern football tactics featuring your favourite Premier League players of the last 25 years.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Oye
- 18-08-17
Excellent review of Premier League history
This was very informative and quite humorous. Really enjoyed listening to it. Fans of several teams, especially Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool will learn a lot about their teams' tactics over the last 25 years.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Giles E.
- 19-01-21
Not bad at all
It’s interesting enough, a snapshot of tactical development from the premier league. Not the encyclopaedia of the inverted pyramid but perhaps better dip in for the topic .
But... I really struggle with the accents and impressions of every quoted voice. I don’t need a faux Italian accent for a quote from Zola !
Otherwise well read and good speaking voice but the jumps in accent weren’t really needed..
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- christian
- 30-04-18
well read
the voices were excellent and gave the listen a great feel. a talented reader who I would listen to again no matter what the story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- aml
- 09-09-19
Great story, but the accents are embarrassing.
A comprehensive history of the Premier League, and how the football philosophies have ebbed and flowed over the years. But the narrator is awful - doing tacky impersonations of the players and managers instead of just relating their quotes. (His Mourinho is dreadful.) A terrible decision that cheapens a great book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Philippe Jean-Christophe
- 06-05-18
Brilliant content! Narration needs research
Really really good listen and the content’s really engaging. The narration by and large is decent but when it’s wrong, it really grates.
I would assume that Mace isn’t a football fan, which is fine but maybe then do a bit of research instead.
Cases in point; Mark Hughes isn’t a gruff Londoner and is in fact Welsh & therefore has a Welsh accent, Bobby Gould in spite of having managed Wales is in fact English, Leon Britton who gets profiled considerably is English & not Welsh in spite of playing largely for Swansea. And finally, most Dutch players aren’t the caricature liberal Amsterdam cops from Harry & Paul.
Focusing too much on the negatives here as Michael Cox takes you on a brilliant, sweeping journey through the history of the PL equipped with some priceless quotes from some very interesting figures. Whilst it is a bit petty to be focusing on the accents, the book was presumably written for people with a certain basis of knowledge of the subject matter and so it mars the overall experience a bit
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-11-20
Brilliant!
Cox has created many coherent threads to illuminate the evoloution of tactics in the wider game through the story of the Prem. All the while touching on the key incidents and characters of England's top league over a quarter of a century.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- GP
- 08-07-17
very Good
The book is well written and insightful although he is clearly not a lover of Manchester City.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mr
- 10-08-17
tactics
being a football coach i am always looking for more knowledge on the sport this book was probably the best for tactics and info and I have listened to at least 15 books from players and managers.
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