Doing what your told and not deviating from your specific instructions is critical in prelofessinal sport. Nolan does it really well - he's reliable, dependable and desperate to win games. A team needs balance and be brings those sensible boring bits that free up others to do their thing. Do I remember you're an American football fan Fred? If that Green Bay packer chap had blocked his man instead of going for glory on the short kick off, Green Bay would be at the super bowl next week. The 'bare minimum' as you call it is a vital foundation to build on.