Football has a habit of copying winning teams. Twenty years of Premier League trends bears this out:

• This season, Arsenal’s set piece success has inspired clubs, with league-wide long throw rates and set piece chance creation soaring
• Since Pep Guardiola’s first title-winning season, passes per game have increased significantly as teams have adopted a greater focus on possession
• In 2016/17, Antonio Conte’s use of a back three to win the league with Chelsea saw usage of the system quadruple that season
• There has been 1000 goals in every season except five since 2001 – José Mourinho won the league in three and finished second in one other

Clubs often assert that they must adapt to a trend, but rarely assert that they should set one. This requires conviction in a plan. Whatever success looks like for a club, being a trendsetter means differentiating, and differentiating well creates a competitive edge.