The 3rd Circle

Jamie embarks on a solo mission into The 3rd Circle to weigh up the risk vs reward of central attacking. Why are coaches so hesitant about playing through defensive blocks? What are the assumptions influencing tactical...

This is the second part of Jamie and Martin's discussion around Karl Marius Aksum's implementation of a perception-based coaching methodology with Swedish champions Mjallby. Despite the meagre resources of the small...

In David Cronenberg's body-horror cult classic "Scanners", members of the public with special psychic and telekinetic powers are recruited by weapons manufacturer ConSec. Jamie and Martin do not mention the Canadian...

In a recent post-match interview, Manchester City playmaker, Rayan Cherki, dared to let slip that he had gone against his manager's wishes. Pep Guardiola is arguably football's greatest ever tactical mastermind, but on...

The 3rd Circle shines its analytical lens on Glasgow to investigate some unusual happenings in the city's East End. Jamie and Gorka piece together the logic behind the playing style of Celtic's divisive new Head Coach...

Like Santa returning from his annual eleven-month luxury cruise, The 3rd Circle is back just in time for Christmas. And what better gift for the well-behaved kids of the tactics-sphere to receive than this brand new...

With the match analysis done and dusted, Jamie and Martin delve into the broader narratives surrounding the current footballing moment. The 3rd Circle cross references perspectives and reaction from Rio to Catalonia and...

Jamie and Martin delve into the details of Paris Saint-Germain's historic 5 - 0 victory over Inter in the 2025 Champions League Final in Munich. What were the tactical aspects that allowed arch-controller, Luis Enrique...

Jamie and Martin take The 3rd Circle's para-academic football research unit down to the deepest level of the game's atomic structure. Forget the God's Eye View, the truest creative forces are inside football's base...

Jamie and Martin get meta in this episode of The 3rd Circle as our ever-intrepid hosts try to sketch a more detailed outline of the dominant tactical paradigm. Could it be that the reality we perceive as real is nothing...

It's who we are, mate. So, who are you? Who are we? Who made who? Who's next? In this episode, Jamie and Martin tackle one of the most prevalent concepts in contemporary football tactics - Identity. Ralf Rangnick...

In perhaps their most complex assignment so far, Jamie and Martin enter The 3rd Circle to interrogate how Time constrains the reality in which football is played. Our hosts find themselves in a race against the clock...

William S Burroughs wrote that "'Never go too far in any direction' is the basic rule on which England is built". Could it be that Burroughs' observation is as pertinent now as it was back when it was written in 1975...

In this first full length excursion into The 3rd Circle, Jamie and Martin try to make sense of the complex tactical landscape that we find ourselves in today. Our hosts trawl through obscure old newspaper articles and...