IT seems impossible in an era when football managers are subjected to more intense scrutiny than Winston Smith was in the dystopian George Orwell novel 1984.
Yet, there has been a major tactical change at Celtic, the dominant force in Scotland once again this season and a club whose fortunes are followed by millions across the globe, in the past few months which has gone unnoticed.
In the modern day game, every contentious tackle is replayed afterwards from a dozen different angles and debated for days, team formations and game plans are dissected in forensic detail by journalists, pundits and online bloggers and graphic heat maps determine how active a player has been in each area of the pitch.
Analytics metrics, too, have exploded in popularity among the younger generation in recent years and resulted in terms such as xG (expected goals), npxG (non-penalty expected goals), PSxG (post-shot expected goals) and PPDA (passes per defensive action) entering post-match appraisals.
The mention of xG at Firhill, Ochilview and Rugby Park on a Saturday invariably draws an xR (expected response) from cynical old dinosaurs like your correspondent. What a lot of absolute drivel! Psychobabble hipster nonsense!
I must admit to being primarily concerned with the AGS (actual goals scored) during the course of a 90 minutes (and keeping track of that can even be a challenge at times). But what do I know? I am increasingly in the minority in this data-obsessed age. The is no aspect of football, or so it seems, which cannot be fed into an algorithm.
So it is surprising there has been a switch as unexpected as, well, Hibernian winning their SFA appeal against the red card Jimmy Jeggo was shown against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park last weekend which has failed to register in the public consciousness.
Ange Postecoglou has altered his MDC (match day clobber) and ditched his jumper.
Ange’s iconic black sweater has been the subject of much discussion and no little amusement since he arrived in this country nearly two years ago now. At a question and answer session with fans towards the tail end of last season, his deployment of inverted full-backs was not what those in attendance were itching for him to talk about. No, he was grilled about his technical area garb.
He explained that not having his wife present to guide him had led to his fashion faux pas. He confessed that it did not go down well with his better half when she tuned in to see how he was faring in his new surroundings. “I don't want to tell you what the text message was when she saw me,” he said. “But basically she said: ‘What are you doing?’”
Still, supporters lapped it up. And his woolly jersey didn’t prevent him from enjoying a successful debut campaign and silencing his doubters in some style. When he thanked the crowd for their backing after receiving the cinch Premiership trophy in May, he said: “You’ve embraced me, embraced my family, embraced this jumper!”
He made one delighted young supporter’s year following the St Johnstone game just before Christmas when he whipped off his famed garment and handed it over as an unexpected early present. Top that Santa!
But times change. And so does big Ange. He turned up for the league encounter with Aberdeen at Parkhead back in February dressed as usual. A few days later he attended a press conference to preview the Viaplay Cup final against Rangers at Hampden wearing his trademark attire.
Since then, though, he has always looked the epitome of sartorial elegance in a light grey suit and official club tie.
The reasons for this seismic strategic departure are shrouded in mystery. Maybe his jumper shrunk in the wash. Perhaps Mrs P put her foot down and ordered him to raise his game. Could it be that he was feeling a little hot under the collar as the Scottish title race intensified? Is this further evidence of global warming?
Possibly Postecoglou has realised the myriad advantages of donning more formal clothing in a work environment. By all accounts, wearing a suit bolsters your self-confidence, promotes an image of importance, enables you to gain respect from your associates, gives you a sense of credibility and fosters success.
It certainly seems to have worked a treat for the Celtic manager. His men have retained the League Cup and increased the size of their lead over Rangers in the Premiership. If his charges beat their city rivals in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden tomorrow they will edge closer to their fifth clean sweep of domestic silverware in seven years.
How has he improved on his double-winning debut campaign? Could it be more XL than xG? Postecoglou confessed last year after Benfica analyst Antoine Ortega had joined his backroom staff that “the analytics thing is well beyond me”. He said: “The one that gets me is XL - because that’s all my clothes!”
Does a coach going old school and cutting a dash on the touchline have any bearing on how a team fares? Does the probability of a shot resulting in a goal really matter? It very much depends on your age and outlook. But the scoreline when the final whistle blows will always remain the key factor in football. No BS.
