Is the false nine an updated version of the Revie plan

[petrusha]

I've asked myself this question and came to the following answer.

Revie was a true centre forward, who played a little deeper. Our false 9 is a midfield player, so I'd say the answer is no.

But Revie was never a centre forward. Throughout his career, he played mainly as an inside forward, and occasionally as a half back. He only featured as a centre forward in this set-up at City.

So surely that suggests the system involved playing what in modern parlance was a midfielder as nominally a striker and expecting to drop deep? In other words, it's surely the false nine of its day?

On a different note, I recall Billy Bremner after Revie died from motor neurone disease in the late eighties recalling visiting his former manager in hospital. Bremner used to visit and talk about their successes at Leeds with that great if rather brutal side that the Scot had captained.

He said that Revie enjoyed the reminiscences but would always change the subject after a while. His favourite topic was his playing time at Maine Road and he loved to recollect those days alongside Bert Trautmann, Ken Barnes, Roy Paul, Bobby Johnstone et al.

 

[Big Swifty]

Brilliant mate thanks a lot.
Only City eh :-) :-)

My pleasure.

I love talking about the old days.

 

[Corky]

But Revie was never a centre forward. Throughout his career, he played mainly as an inside forward, and occasionally as a half back. He only featured as a centre forward in this set-up at City.

So surely that suggests the system involved playing what in modern parlance was a midfielder as nominally a striker and expecting to drop deep? In other words, it's surely the false nine of its day?

On a different note, I recall Billy Bremner after Revie died from motor neurone disease in the late eighties recalling visiting his former manager in hospital. Bremner used to visit and talk about their successes at Leeds with that great if rather brutal side that the Scot had captained.

He said that Revie enjoyed the reminiscences but would always change the subject after a while. His favourite topic was his playing time at Maine Road and he loved to recollect those days alongside Bert Trautmann, Ken Barnes, Roy Paul, Bobby Johnstone et al.

Strikers did play a bit deeper than the CF, like Paul Walsh or Sheron to Niall Quinn. Or Serg with Mario.

 

[petrusha]

Or, say, Beardsley with Lineker for England, Aldridge or Rush for Liverpool, and Cole at Newcastle. Yes, I know. But that was in the age of twin strikers, which was a very different set-up. Not what we're discussing here.

I assume that when Revie was in his deep-lying role at City, the onus was on the inside forwards (Bobby Johnstone or Joe Hayes, say) to get into more advanced positions. That's a different way of playing from the variant where one striker of two came deeper.

 

[Corky]

From footage he was one of the five to come deeper if the ball was being played along the floor. If he played in #10 shirt with 9 and 8 in front of him, he would probably be seen as an early purveyor of the classic 10 role in a 2-3-1-4 rather than a false 9 in a 4-3-3-0.

 

[IBlue]

A very good read is the book by Jonathan Wilson, Inverting the triangle. It covers the changing tactics and formations down the years. It does cover the Magyars and Revie plan. It highlights how the original FBs were what we now label CBs. I did think our 2017 to 2019 reverted it back with Silva and De Bruyne as inside forwards supporting the front 3

 

[old blue]

Did anyone know that Les McDowall is City's only Indian-born player.

His father was the well known jockey Tonto O'Neil.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Did anyone know that Les McDowall is City's only Indian-born player?

Fancy you remembering the Marsden Plan.

It was not like the Revie Plan - it consisted of the then revolutionary idea of actually having two central defenders - "twin centre-halves". The defence would then be impregnable.........

The two were Dave Ewing and a journeyman forward converted to centre-half, called keith Marsden. In 1957, City travelled to Preston, and lost 6-1. The next game was away at WBA, and we lost 9-2. So much for an "impregnable" defence!

To his credit, McDowall scrapped the plan and the next match we beat Spurs 5-1. The infamous Marsden plan was well and truly buried.

Was that the same season we lost 8-4 to Leicester?

 

[Norman kneejerk]

The thought of Cliff Sear overlapping is boggling.

Cliff Sear was past his best when I started going and normally Stan Horne played but I remember him coming in for 1 game, Bolton I think, a 4-1 win and he was absolutely storming forward. Loved his display and was very popular I recall.

 

[KS55]

One difference : the game was played at half the pace that it is now!