No matter your style, athleticism is a must in the Premier League
Edwards and Kompany have gone about trying to beat the odds to stay in the top tier in contrasting ways. The Luton manager has proven to be the quicker learner.
The different approaches of coaches who are dealing with the same pre-season expectations makes for a compelling watch.
I have never been an advocate of a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ tactical way for a recently promoted club to go about trying to stay in the top division. Brentford and Fulham have established themselves since promotion by adopting different styles, Thomas Frank more direct than Marco Silva. Last season, Nottingham Forest’s Steve Cooper was prepared to make numerous tactical tweaks from game to game depending on the opponent.
But all those who come from the Championship recognise there is one asset which is non-negotiable: physicality.
No matter what the preferred playing style, the spine of a team must be equipped to deal with the athleticism of the top players. That applies from top to bottom.
Look at Manchester City. There is no-one in world football playing a purer passing game, but their starting line-up is packed with as much height and strength as it is technique with Erling Haaland, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker.
Edwards has recognised and applied this more than Pep Guardiola’s student Kompany. Luton were astute to pick up experienced players like Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend on a free transfer, recognising how essential their experience and understanding of the Premier League is.
Burnley are trying to impose the Guardiola philosophy, but without the powerful and athletic footballers needed to make them competitive. That has been Burnley’s major flaw – a big reason why they have only 13 points.
Naturally, there is some criticism that Kompany is too wedded to his tactical ideas. The problem is not how he wants to play. If a manager is passionate about how his team shapes up, and that way yielded only three defeats in 46 games a year ago, he is hardly going to abandon it immediately. Burnley have suffered because they did not recruit enough physically-ready Premier League players to execute the vision.
Their 21-year-old goalkeeper James Trafford is a symbol of their inexperience. He is a very talented prospect who came through the ranks at Manchester City and has played at youth level for England up to the Under 21s. He should have a long and fine career ahead of him.