TECHNICAL VERSUS TACTICAL: Do players make the tactics or do tactics make the players? In 1997, as the infamous story goes, Steve Jobs went back to Apple. The place was in shambles: financially ruined, with a terrible corporate culture, bad products, misguided strategy, no clear vision and pack of elite talent in key areas. At one point in 1997, Apple was 90 days from going bankrupt. The crux of the problem was that the company was clinging to sweet yet toxic memories of its glory days - while also forgetting what had brought them glory. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it is familiar; at one point or another, it’s a destiny of many a great organizations and individuals. Jobs had a clear insight on what was fundamentally wrong, and out of that, his plan was hatched. You can call it his philosophy, vision, strategy or, in football terms, tactics. But the comeback started with a clear idea on what to do. Apple, he sensed, was trying to do to much - personal assistant gadgets, printers, a different zillion computer models - while doing none of it at a very high level. It was trying to pretend it hadn’t lost the computer war to Microsoft and that it was still a big company, the default choice for most consumers. Which then led to countless terrible product decisions. Jobs tore right through that dangerous illusion. Instead of running away from it, he embraced the underdog position; he cherished being the alternative and not the default; he wanted Apple to be different and to announce it was for people who think different. And everything he did stemmed from that simple, yet brilliant idea. He redefined the product lineup, simplifying it radically. He slimmed down the company. He fired bozos and clowns. He recognized and promoted internal talent in areas such as industrial design. He recruited key people to execute on his plan. And everything his Apple did post-1998 was in line with this new “we’re the cool underdog for cool underdogs” strategy. Every marketing campaign, product design call, every hiring decision, every word uttered on stage. Did he adapt his vision to what the company could realistically do, and to the skillset of people he found there? Of course he did - Apple did not randomly announce it would be building spaceships or phones. But he also knew where he wanted the organization to be in 1, 3 and 5 years. And that’s how the company knew who fits and who doesn’t; whom to promote and whom to recruit; what to absolutely do and what to avoid doing. And they prospered. Without a plan, they would have just continued to drift along, and away, trying everything, which usually means doing nothing. Which brings us to football, United, and the glorious debate of players versus the manager, the technical versus the tactical, the vision versus the intent. 👇🧵

@_AnusaJuma @olivyrr Subconciously, yes

@quawiyy05 Thank you. Not always right, but doing my best

@ITalks_ Never did I say they are not accountable. Merely explaining why they’re acting this way

@markrstats Great work, man!

@thePoS_007 @Muppetiers @AmorimBalll_ It’s a fact worth repeating. Over and over again.

@dancashworth With a transfer income of €255m this season, I think they might be able to navigate through some occassional misses.

@DanC261020 Yeah. Incredible

Morgan Rogers 👌

@TonyWeru3 Thanks!

@RichRedVoices @DavidRhysLewis9 Yeah. So toxic and pointless. It seems Mainoo is next for sure

@Finbauer Thanks man!

@BlkSwn98 Are you illiterate? I said the exact opposite.

This is something I flagged during our very first game under Amorim, the one against Ipswich - central pivot being easily marked out of the game. With small variations and occassional improvements, lack of central progression been an issue for months. It usually doesn’t happen against top teams that attack us more aggressively, giving us a chance to progress through traffic and exploit the space behind. But against teams like Ipswich or Leicester, where the onus is on us to create space & break lines, it doesn’t seem to work, at all. Part of it is down to personnel - we’ve lacked a press-resistant deep playmaker for years, our passing range is limited - but a lot of it has to do with structure and surroundings.

@ANVL007 You really don’t need “fancy tactics” to beat an outfit like Ruud’s Leicester