Why aren’t English players as technically gifted as their South American counter-parts? How has Russian socialism shaped their footballing style on the pitch? Does the beautiful football of Brazil’s samba style find its origin with the Scots’ decision to implement a passing game? Wilson answers all these questions and more. Fascinating too, are the long enshrined attitudes to the game, which Wilson exposes, explains, and charts. The breadth of his discussion is refreshing, drawing in influences from right across the world, gladly encompassing the contribution of nations outside of the game’s ‘heavyweights’. The research that has gone into this book is staggering (the healthy bibliography attests to this) as too is Wilson’s commitment to the objective evaluation of contributions to the game.
The text is supplemented by numerous diagrams and images – an excellent way to conceptualise some of Wilson’s points, and also break up what might otherwise be rather dense chunks of text. Exploring different formations and positions, this is an insightful, scientific/historical look at the game and its development. From the origins of the game to its current genus, Jonathan Wilson objectively measures the contribution of individuals globally, from the powerhouses of South American football like Argentina and Brazil, to countries whose history is less synonymous with the beautiful game – Belgium, Austria, and the like. Sometimes the novels chosen are new, often they are from the backlist and occasionally re-issued from way back.Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics (2008) by Jonathan Wilson is an analysis of how football tactics have evolved over the years and how the attitudes of different nations and coaches have helped shape the style of their nation’s teams. But to keep ourselves on our toes, we have a rule that author gender is alternated, girl-boy-girl-boy, and the continents always rotated (with occasional glitches). Too good to be true? The catch is that the bookshop gets to choose what the book group reads. Each month the discussion is lively and unpretentious, with naughty snacks and plenty to drink. You don’t even have to have had read the book. The title to be read and discussed is sign-posted and on sale for the whole of the previous month (with a discount for those who make it known they intend to come) and everybody is welcome, whether first-timer, part-timer or regular-timer. With rare exceptions such as bank holidays, the book group meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm. Now past its tenth year the Crow Book Group has grown into a regular social event.
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