Academy coaching, foreign influence and end of rigid 4-4-2 have cleared a path for talents such as Grealish and Foden
‘You have to be willing to try something a little bit different and you don’t want to have the fear of failure,” said Matt Le Tissier in 2014.
For those who watched the Southampton attacking midfielder in his prime in the mid-1990s, even now it seems incredible that his international career amounted to only eight appearances. In an era when English
Football was largely dominated by the rigid 4-4-2 formation, the player known as “Le God” on the south coast because of his penchant for spectacular goals always seemed destined to join the long list of mavericks, including Rodney Marsh, Alan Hudson and Glenn Hoddle, who won fewer caps than many thought they deserved.