Football is moving on so quickly at the moment that you can be left behind if you are not on the ground – on the grass or at games – to feel what is happening.
You realise that when you step out it, however briefly, like I have done since leaving West Ham at the end of last season. You think you know a lot, but actually things are changing all the time.
I’ve taken on a role as a technical observer for Uefa at Euro 2024 because I wanted to see for myself what is going on, and what new ideas are out there, in all aspects of the game.
I’ve been a manager for more than 26 years, and I want to pass on my experience and help the next generation learn the same way I did, but I still have that thirst for knowledge myself too, to continue picking up bits and pieces as I go along.
Still learning, after 1,000+ games
During the 1998 World Cup, when I had just started out as a manager with Preston, I went to France to try and learn as much as I could from the teams at the tournament.
I had written to all of the 32 countries involved beforehand, asking if I could come and watch them in training, but the only ones who said yes were Scotland.
I knew their manager Craig Brown well, so I went to see them in Avignon where they were based and luckily the Scottish Football Association got me some tickets for a few games.
I hired a small car and drove around the south of France for a few weeks, watching the matches down there. I was given some funding by the Professional Footballers’ Association but staying in hotels was still not affordable for me, so I slept in the car some nights.
That was when I was in my development phase as a coach or manager, when I was trying to watch as much football and learn as much as I possibly could.
I am still doing the same in Germany now, though, just with a bit more access this time.
I am very fortunate because of the work I do for Uefa to get to speak to so many other people in the game to hear how they see things.
It was the same when I was working for the BBC earlier in the tournament too, listening to the other pundits to understand their point of view.
I am a manager and ultimately I have my own thoughts and principles about how things should be done, but that does not mean I am not adaptable or willing to change – you have to be both if you want to stay in football for very long.
Image source, Getty Images
Along with people like Fabio Capello, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rafa Benitez, I am part of a group of 12 Uefa observers who are going to games in Germany and talking about what we’ve seen.
We look at a lot of analytical data and also explore any general tactical trends – so, if there is anything new going on, or anything which isn’t happening any more that has done in the past.
The idea is to try to see where the future of football is heading, and what should be fed back to younger coaches at all levels of the game down to the grassroots.
Those are the places where people need to see what changes are coming, so they can try to implement it into their ideas as well.
I have been to a few games with Rafa and ex-Romania midfielder Ioan Lupescu, and have travelled around with former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Packie Bonner too, feeding back what we’ve seen to try to build a picture of what Euro 2024 has been about.
On the tactical side, there is nothing really new that has stuck out as being different or surprising, but some of the smaller details have been interesting.
Teams aren’t trying to beat the press
Lots of teams are doing lots of pressing, but there are also a lot of longer balls out from the back, perhaps because people are recognising that it is not a great idea to try to play out when teams are pressing you so hard and so high, and are so good at it.
There is also a different emphasis in how teams are trying to develop and build play when they get on the ball – whatever shape they might start out in, it often becomes a 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 in possession.
Another thing we have noticed is that there are not so many runs being made in behind defences by number nines, but other players are making more – the number 10s are doing it more, and the wide attacking players.
It is the impact of those wide players that this tournament will probably be known for. I was at Spain’s win over France on Tuesday, but even before then Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams had obviously stood out, and Georgia’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and England’s Bukayo Saka have too.
That kind of individual skill has decided a few matches, and players who like going one versus one and taking defenders on have done a lot of good things in the competition.
It’s been exciting to see that sort of talent coming through and we feel it’s a consequence of the way young people across Europe grow up watching football now.
They can go on YouTube and watch closely the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or any of the top players in the world, and how they do things, whenever they want to.
Even just that on its own is probably helping develop better players from other, smaller, nations, and it is great to see.
Spain have stood out since the start
As a team, Portugal probably tried the most different things tactically. They played very well when I watched them in their quarter-final, but despite having a lot of possession they could not really hurt France.
Along with Germany, they were probably the team most disappointed not to go further than they did and make the semi-finals, but there were other, less fancied, nations who also acquitted themselves well even if they did not necessarily go deep into the tournament.
Georgia, Albania and certainly Turkey fall into that category, as sides that showed how much the standard of football has risen across Europe.
They did not just try to copy the approach of the bigger teams, either. Instead, they did it their own way. Along with Austria and Switzerland, they are some of the sides who I would say had a successful campaign.
Still, I think everyone has been in agreement since their first game that Spain have been better than everyone else, so it is not a surprise to see them in the final.
I am back in Berlin for that game, and it is going to be fascinating to see if they can finish the tournament the way they started it.
England, in contrast, have maybe not hit their top form yet, but they are still here, and they could still have the last word.
David Moyes was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan in Germany