That’s cool. Personally, I want sustained success over prettyball. And I don’t want my team burning out from trying to open up a game against an opponent that’s sitting deep. Romanticised pre-gegenpress memories of an era where we weren’t a serious title contender more than we were isn’t a good argument unless you really don’t mind being a runner up. Because that’s all we were in those times, at most.

You can provide all the quotes you want but this is a sport first and foremost and its about results. And the era of your Rosickys, Hlebs and whoever was one where fans were routinely unhappy. Nobody cared about aesthetic when our season was over. We bemoaned a lack of bottle, injuries and throwing away games due to errors. I see a dramatic improvement in all of that these days and nothing suggests to me we won’t crack the formula in our attacking phases just like we have in the defensive ones.