For five seasons, squeezing the pitch was the safest way to defend. A new generation of runners and passers is turning that space behind the back four into the most valuable real estate in football.
A centre-back, a holding midfielder and a striker, all borrowed. The economics behind football's newest squad-building habit, and who really carries the risk.
Dead balls decide roughly a third of top-flight goals. Clubs have noticed, and the specialists who design corners are being recruited like centre-forwards.
The crowd is louder and the tackles are later, but does the home side actually win more often? We went through fifteen seasons of local rivalries to find out.