You will probably see lots of technical answers to your question, but the truth is “it’s not fashionable”.

Ball retention and high action presses to turn the ball over, with what would used to be derided as “they are trying to walk it in” style of pressure play is the current in thing. The numbers back this up, and if everyone buys into it and you have a great manager to implement this (like Pep), it works brilliantly.

Thing is, the data still back up some of the older methods too and we are starting to see some “out of fashion” old style tactics creep back into the game.

Aston Villa for example have started to employ the tactic of playing the ball into ‘areas’ (notably inside forward area), with Watkins and Diaby pressing the area. This is seeing full backs and CDMs conducting a lot of turning and rushing into these areas, to then encounter Watkins it Diaby harassing them. It’s not a pretty tactic, but it wears defenders down and often leads to players voluntarily giving up possession by knocking the ball out for a throw in. This tactic had largely disappeared, but Villa have started it again and it has been creating real pressure for teams and has been effective for sure this season.

At some point in the not too distant future, someone is going to have the bright idea of a big man/little man forward line and it will cause havoc, coz defenders will be ‘trained out’ of how to deal with this scenario. Coz defenders train for the style in from of them and at the minute, this is a lot of speed work and agility for the defenders, tracking strikers as they drop deep etc, so when it changes in a few years, people will naturally be caught short.

Football works in cycles and the long ball and big man little striker set up will have its day again, I’m pretty sure.