By John Cartwright
The game has changed considerably in many ways over the past decade or so. With the improvement in playing surfaces it is disappointing to see important aspects of the game now being rarely or never used. These playing aspects formed a special place in the game at all levels but they have gradually drifted away over time as speed and simplistic ball possession now dominates the game world-wide.
- Take-overs: movement across the field with the ball to conjoin with a colleague moving across in the other direction to take-over possession from him.
- Wall Passes: Passes of this type, both at angled or forward situations, now rarely delivered with the outside of the foot and at different heights.
- Headed ‘knock-downs’ off crosses: This is due to the lack of forward players who are competent in the air. This lack of forward aerial ‘targets’ has increased ‘play-rounds’ in the attacking third when a cross would be more beneficial.
- ‘Dummy’ back-heels: A player moving across or forward with the ball and under pressure from an opponent, passes his foot over the top of the ball as if to drag it backwards but continues with his original run.
- Back-heels: The player on the ball runs with it and uses his heel to pass the ball to a colleague. This action often changes the direction of play and opens more attacking options.
- Forward Pass with outside of the foot: Too often in today’s game players fail to use the outside of either foot and prefer a pass using the instep. The use of the instep is a more obvious action — takes more time to perform — decreases movement capability for the player once the ball is passed. The use of the outside of the foot however, is less predictable for opponents to recognize – is quicker to perform – and allows the player to move quickly once used.
- Goalkeepers’ – half volley goal-kicks from the hands: ‘Rounded volley’ kicking by goal –keeper’s is now the norm throughout football. This type of delivery tends to be less accurate but produces more length. The actual kicking action tends to be more prone to poor contact on the ball causing the ball to be struck low on its surface and causing it to go high and often short. The half-volley however, tends to be easier to connect with ball as the distance of the kicking foot to contact with ball is much shorter than the ‘rounded’ contact method of the full-volley.
- Cross-field runs with the ball: For penetrative gaps in an opponent’s defence to occur their defenders should be directed ACROSS rather than pushed BACK . In so doing opposing players are taken away from their defensive areas and these spaces can be filled by attacking players. By running AT opponents, defenders are pushed back into tighter defensive space making penetrative attacks less likely to succeed.
- Central Defenders skilled in attacking ability: Too often the label of playing ability for Central Defenders is set on their defensive qualities alone. The game provides numerous opportunities for players to exploit important attacking situations from these positions — but very few seem to seize the chances —- not able to or not allowed to?
- Creating the ‘Diamond’ pattern in attacking play: This attacking formation of 4 players should be a regular occurrence in the game—but it isn’t! Too often there is a lack of correct positioning, poor deliveries of the ball and slow support. This important feature in the game should be taught from early days in the development pathway ——but it isn’t—-why?
- The ‘Lay-down—collection’ Sliding Tackle: Even with hugely improved playing surfaces the Sliding Tackle that players used so often in the past that ‘collected’ the ball rather than just ‘knocking’ it away — often out of play, has almost disappeared from the game. ‘Ugly’ and crude defending methods, often causing serious injuries, have become more apparent than the skilled timing and playing ability used so frequently when defending in earlier days.
- The attacking ‘Aerial Target’: Crossing of the ball has become more about deliveries that are ‘hard and low’ and not ‘high and chipped’. This change in delivery preference has been due to two things –(a) the increase of Possession Football(Stats.) and this has caused (b) a lack of talented, attacking players with aerial qualities. The high cross or chipped cross into the opposition’s penalty area for a header at goal or for a ‘knock-down’ to a supporting colleague are few and far between. ‘Play-rounds’ in the attacking third have become the norm when a cross to a well-placed ‘target player’ instead would make an immediate and possible, successful impact on the game.
These are my 12 ‘moans’ about the game. It has become over-controlled by ‘stats.’ and no longer provides tactical variations, artful decision-making or the impact of individualism the game should contain.
KEEP THE BALL 
Hi John, is that your thoughts on football world wide?
I have watched Bielsa Leeds use wall passes on many occasions.
Take overs I never see.
Hi John,
I stumbled across a You Tube compilation the other evening looking at Zidane’s ability to run with the ball exactly as you say across the pitch which causes havoc in the covering defensive positions.
‘Brazilian Ronaldo’ clips also show how runs across the field create spaces for others – it is easy to focus on these two outstanding players individual skills but on many clips if you take your eyes away from the player with the ball the background shows the vast open spaces just waiting to be exploited.
Of course Messi is a modern exponent of attacking defences using diagonal dribbles to similar effects.
Insightful post, as always.
Regards
Steve
Hi David. i watch foreign games and i don’t see many of the points i have made in the ‘blog’. There is a fundamental problem with the game at present both here and abroad —the effect possession football has on the game.
Players hardly look for opportunities to stay on the ball but look to pass it — often with negative outcomes. Simplistic football has become the norm too often whilst precise decision-making and individual flair have withered away.
Hi Steve. The points i made were regular items in the game both here and abroad. Staying witht the ball is a primary feature of the Premier Skills Coaching Programs i produced. Young players must be given the chance to be special –to be different and NOT be set on a development pathway that produces ORDINARY !.
The over-importance of ‘Stats’ on the game has wiped individualism from the game and replaced it with simplistics, Hence, the lack of the 12 points i make in the ‘blog’
I wholeheartedly agree. My reference to those three players was to help illustrate your point, especially, about runs across the field with the ball. I am familiar with and very much an advocate of the Premier Skills Practice Play Methodology
I agree that many of the skills listed in John’s article are less and less conspicuous in the game globally and not just here in Britain. I would, however, add the reminder of the recent comment made by Thomas Hitzlsperger, Head of Sport at VfB Stuttgart, that in his view, and also of many other German youth coaches, the best young players in Europe at the moment are English.
I repeat this statement having just watched the German Super Cup match, Dortmund – Bayern Munich, won 2-0 by Dortmund.
In the first half, Dortmund’s young English forward, Jadon Sancho, struggled to get into the game and not much that he attempted came off. At half time the commentators expressed the view that Dortmund coach, Lucien Favre, could quite possibly substitute Sancho during the break to add a little more verve to the Dortmund attack. But Favre sent out the same eleven for the second half, and within minutes his faith in the young Englishman had been vindicated when he ran strongly down the right flank, tricked his way past Bayern defenders, as he cut inside, before releasing a pass into the Bayern box for Alcacer to score Dortmund’s first goal. A little later Sancho scored the second goal himself, when he broke clear of the Bayern defence in a central position and hit a powerful shot which gave Neuer no chance.
Favre is to be congratulated for keeping his faith in a young player and getting the benefit for it. I can’t help thinking that had this situation occurred in an English game, then Sancho would have been substituted at half time and an older, more experienced, but less talented, player put on in his place.
The only way we are going to get the best out of the young players who are currently emerging, is to give them their chance in first team football and show them that we believe in them. The average age of players in the Bundesliga is way below that of those in the Premier League. But is it any wonder when we export our young talent to that League and import, at massive cost, international players from the rest of Europe and South America?
I would, however, draw attention to a Spanish player who has just come into the Premier League and on the evidence of a friendly which i saw earlier today, could make a lot of people sit up and take notice when the League starts next week. He is Pablo Fornals who West Ham have signed from Villarreal during the close season. He played the first half in a friendly against Athletic Bilbao and on numerous occasions used the outside of his foot. He played in a number 10, support striker role and on first viewing looks top class. He played in the Spanish team which won the UEFA Under 21 Championship during the summer.
I think one of the best players at using the outside of his foot that i have seen was Bobby Moore. His left foot was just for standing on and because he played for both West Ham and England on the left shoulder of his centre half in a covering position, when he intercepted the ball and came forward, the ball was on his left foot. Because his left foot was so weak Ron Greenwood got him to pass out from defence with the outside of his right. This became a devastating weapon because Moore was able to impart such swerve on the ball that it curled around opponents and into his front players, or else into space for them to run on to. Ron Greenwood got this idea from watching the great Real Madrid team, 1955-1960. They had a defender, Santamaria, who defended on the left side but predominantly with his right foot. Ron Greenwood noticed how he used the outside of his right foot to similarly great effect and imparted this knowledge with Bobby Moore. .
Another player who shone in today’s friendly, in the first half before all the substitutions destroyed the pattern of the match, was Jack Wilshire. He has so much ability that if he can finally steer clear of injury then he can walk back into the England team.
Hi John, Steven H and Seagull; picking up on a few points made… in reference to the suggestion that the best young players in Europe are English why would this be so? Not a case of coaching John? And perhaps debatable? However, it remains a point that some decent young English players are emerging, but do they possess the in-skills of the best of the Latin people and Europeans; that individuality that Premier Skills promotes.
What I like about Premier Skills is that is goes way-beyond the other ‘Official’ coaching schemes and incorporates the development of top-class individuality aligned with clever team play and variations such as the ‘Missing 12’ John is writing about.
Of course the very best do use much of what is missing – at times – in their footballing arsenal; Guardiola’s GREAT Barcelona used much of the missing actions – collectively and individually; albeit not the heading aspects especially and John has spoken of this as Guardiola’s blindspot.
I fondly remember the master of the back heel Socrates; Paulo Roberto Falcao etc and to create their-like then STAYING WITH THE BALL is in my view an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY in any sanctioned globally National FA Coaching scheme…unfortunately this is often and more regularly than not, from what I can tell, not occurring, particularly in those countries still influenced by the English FA.
The re-creation of coaching aligned with street football is crucial; coaching that produces the extraordinary player who has individual flair and can efficiently combine with their teammates. And where do we find this the Premier Skills Program.
Hi all. I do believe that many of the young players that have emerged recently here have come from local club football initially and ‘street-type’ Practice-Play areas areas in south London. It would be interesting to find out more about there development.
Jadon Sancho, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock had a street football type background.
Joe Willocks words.
I can remember Chris (brother) being there the first time I played football. We grew up in a place called Priory Court in east London and there’s a little concrete square with two goals. We used to put cones around the pitch and then all three of us would play, while my dad would go in goal for our knockout games. We used to practice every day and it’s because of my dad that we’ve become the players that we are today.
He would always make us focus on our technique. He never really focused too much on running or the physical side of the game, it was always about dribbling around cones and using the ball. I think that’s where the close ball control has come from, because it’s something we’ve worked on since we were very young. As there were three of us all around the same age, it was easy for us to learn from each other and push each other, and that’s how we ended up getting scouted by Arsenal.
It’s no secret that the streets and estates of London and other major cities around the UK have become very unsafe for young people to hang around in during the evenings, weekends and school holidays. This has led to the introduction of caged areas for playing ball games and they have the additional benefit of being close to densely populated areas. Children can access these cages within a short distance of their homes. The ball courts are often very tight and so the young players learn how to control and manipulate the ball in playing areas where space is at a premium.
Many of the children are of mixed heritage and they form clubs of players of the predominant nationality and play matches against other similarly formed clubs. Often these matches are played on a purely friendly basis without the necessity for League registration.
Hi Steve. Perhaps you might remember a ‘blog’ I wrote about the need for Local Councils to designate small areas when planning for new properties to be built or where there is suitable space that is of no use for building etc. It is in these areas that a football life ‘kicks off’. The Premier Skills method of development would fit the spaces perfectly.
Johan Cruyff “The problem today is that a lot of coaches are thinking for them” (the players)
Hi Brazil 94. You are correct. Coaching has become more about organisation than realistic practical methods. Coaches should not impose directives onto young players but should provide work that requires realistic situations according to the level of work being undertaken. Decision-making must be a priority throughout and coaches must be able to ‘steer’ players actions and not dictate coaching ‘ dogma’ to them.
Nketiah is just the latest in an increasingly star-studded list of talented south Londoners. Like Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Joe Gomez, he grew up playing on the streets and in the concrete cages where technical skill rules. “It was good competition,” he says.
“There were a lot of good players. A lot of the players in south London just play wherever they can. It’s a big part of growing up in south London and it was a big part of my childhood.
“You want to do exciting things. Watching the exciting players growing up, you just want to replicate it. It starts from there and the aim is to continue doing that on the big stage.”
Tried finding players doing take overs from games in the 60s but couldn’t find any so far. Could anyone recommend teams to search for?
Hi all . How do you think I feel after being a ‘loner’ for over 50 years arguing about the importance of ‘Street-type’ football in the development of talented players.
For decades we have had to accept unrealistic, over-organised ‘dogma’ and not common sense practical teaching and learning methods. What a waste!
John your solace surely is that you will have found some who agree with you and coaching companions among the Europeans – other side of Dover – and people like Cruyff. It may really only have been in Britain/ England per se where you confronted the opppo. ?:?
Hi Brazil94. I have great regard for those FEW who have recognised the importance of the ‘realistic Practice-Play method’ . But over the years there has been scant interest by football hierarchy to implement or show interest in using it in player development. We have had to see numerous ideas presented and employed in development that have failed to produce high quality players and a successful national playing style. We have copied rather than designing our own development and playing model and have followed ‘dogma’ rather than establish a suitable and historically proven development and playing ‘pathway’.
And we have suffered the consequences !
I have just spent ten days in the Bourgourne region of France. I saw five matches at different levels together with some training given to junior players. It was a good opportunity to compare the quality to similar levels in England.
The best match, not surprisingly, was the Ligue 1 match between Dijon and St. Etienne (1-2). St. Etienne are usually up among the leaders in France’s top division whilst Dijon just scraped clear of relegation last season. When St. Etienne took a two goal lead in the first ten minutes it looked as though the visitors were in for a comfortable win but Dijon showed plenty of heart and got their game together in the second half. They would have been worth a draw but an equaliser would not come.
There was a considerable contrast between the Ligue 2 matches – Estac Troyes v Le Havre (1-2) and Orleans v Clermont (0-1). In England we like to think that our Second Division, now known as the Championship, is superior to second tiers in most other European countries. On watching the match at Troyes it was difficult to disagree with that opinion. There was a lack of intensity that many coaches demand these days and it was walking pace football. But the match at Orleans produced all-important changes of pace into the game, rather than a constant high speed game, all too prevalent in England. There was quality on view and a methodical approach which is not often apparent in the English Championship. I certainly rated it a much better game than most games i have seen at that level in England. The variation in pace in this match came from the players who understood when and how to effect the change and it made for a better spectacle and more enjoyable match. It is something that English players must improve on.
A match between Auxerre and Beziers was for the French League Cup and saw Beziers win on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Auxerre play in Ligue 2 but Beziers are in National 1, having been relegated from Ligue 2 last season. National 1, 2 and 3 are the French equivalent of our Conference League and the players become part-time if they stay with their clubs after relegation into this level. Auxerre are now a struggling club in Ligue 2 after their glory days of the late eighties and early nineties. They have been badly hit by the Bosman Rule, like so many other small town clubs on a tight budget. So many top French players of the past, like Cantona and Blanc, came through the Youth Development at Auxerre but now promising players are snapped up by wealthy clubs before they have played more than a handful of matches. That coaching legend of French football, Guy Roux, is now retired after taking Auxerre from the amateur leagues in France to winning French Ligue 1 and playing in the Champions’ League against Liverpool and losing over two legs by just one goal. Guy Roux was Manager/Coach at Auxerre from 1960 until 2005, surely a world record in top level football.
An Under 17 match between Auxerre and Dijon (1-2) produced some interesting points but although i picked out one or two players i liked, the overall quality was fairly average. Both teams tried to play out from the back with defenders making themselves available to receive passes and play it accurately into midfield. But no defenders went forward to join in the attacking play in forward positions. The crossing was also poor, another similarity with much of what we see in England. There seems to be a lack of players who can bend or swerve the ball around defenders into the area and so if they can’t beat their immediate opponent in a 1 v 1 then a cross does not come in.
I did not see enough coaching to really form an opinion. I saw a session at Auxerre with players of about 14 – 15 years old. It was skill work but not sufficiently demanding in terms if intensity or with realistic opposition. The coaching area was not arranged to make the players deal with problems of space and therefore to avoid contact with other players.
It is always interesting to observe coaches and players of other countries playing and training, but the feeling at the moment is of a levelling down of standards rather than increasing them upwards.
Getting back to John’s original points… really coaches should have as their motto… ‘We want to create match-winners’, and by design match-winners are great(er) individuals… the Hazards, the Ronaldos and the Messis…all who can, when the deem it necessary, combine with their colleagues like the best of them… Imagine then, if WE set out to produce match-winner; individuals who entertain and make the difference.
Hi Brazil94….I think that it is important to remember that not every player is going to be a great individual like Messi or Ronaldo. It has been said that a football team is like a good soup – it takes a number of ingredients to produce the final product.
There has to be someone in the team who can win the ball consistently and keep supplying it to the game-changer. Aguero, Sterling, De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva are great players for Manchester City but Pep Guardiola knows they always miss Fernandinho when he can’t take up his holding midfield position. Similarly, would Leicester City have won the League a few years ago without Kante performing that vital role?
Players of this type rarely stand out alongside their more illustrious team mates but the rest of the team, and the fans, know that they never play as well when they are missing.
Hi Steve…What’s to remember… you are stating the obvious and you miss the point for the sake of making a point!
However, to pick up on your reference to the holder, let’s take Busquets, while he plays predominantly one, two, or three touch he has the ability to get out of tight situations as you are fully aware; and this individualism has been honed as a young player.
You may though Bless you… be trying to keep the convo going ?! on this excellent of blogs.
Hi Brazil94….I don’t know what point you have in mind that I am missing. I am merely drawing attention to players who haven’t the individualism and flair of Messi, Ronaldo and Maradona but provide vital functions for their teams.
In the sixties and early seventies Ron Boyce was an invaluable cog in the West Ham team of that era. Look at old film of their matches and you will see that whenever a West Ham player was in possession but under pressure, then invariably the player on hand to get him out of trouble was Boyce. His support play was brilliant but he largely passed under the radar and it was a travesty that he never won an England cap. He was also great at intercepting opponents’ passes in midfield and so constantly turned defence into attack. No wonder his nickname was “Ticker” because he made West Ham tick.
Regarding your reference to Sergio Busquets, he was actually a forward in his early days. He was 16 when he joined Barcelona, long after Pep Guardiola had left the club as a player. His father was Carles Busquets who was one of Cruyff’s sweeper-keepers in the “Dream Team” and so the Barcelona way ran in his blood.
Steve, it’s patently obvious that you need to use the great Hungarian quote – ‘Players to play the piano and others to carry it”. The fact you mention Busquets being initially a forward suggests that he had a developed individual skill set before he moved into his midfield role… Work on the individuality and move them around into positions if need be, BUT follow John’s mantra of creating fundamentally the best individuals as are humanly possible.
When Rio Ferdinand joined West Ham as a youngster he was a centre forward.
As he went through the various age groups he moved back into midfield, full back and finally centre half. When he first appeared in West Ham’s first team as a centre half he several times moved out into midfield to support his forward passes and to supplement the attacks. His England debut against Cameroon at Wembley was notable for joining in attacks on several occasions and even getting into the Cameroon penalty area from which he nearly scored.
Unfortunately, after leaving West Ham and playing for Leeds United and Manchester United, Ferdinand’s game did not develop along those lines and he became a simple but effective stopper. He always displayed class and tried to pass the ball to feet, but his development as an extra midfield player and attacker did not continue. It was a great pity because he could have become an English version of Franz Beckenbaur.
Hi Steve…Now you are on the money!
Hi Guys, I was speaking with a stranger yesterday at a match – and we were talking about the recognised FA Coaching – and I mentioned Premier Skills as majorly important in taking the game forward in an innovative way where the focus is on the individual player and the decisions made. In saying this, watching the Liverpool – Arsenal match – I remember a recent blog and subsequent discussions John has prompted about crossing and the need for teams to have someone in their attacking armory to take advantage of this approach…Liverpool crossed and crossed often to no avail…albeit a little ironic that their first goal came from a corner rather than what we term open play… I was thinking back to the long ago days of John Toshack… but my point is that Roberto Firmino was special individually; some absolutely delighful skills: with improvisation, individuality and some of the missing 12 as this blogs title suggests… Dropping off into half positions and then going in allowed Liverpool to display the necessary skill adding to their magnificent intensity and made it for once a relatively balanced style once they got their noses in front. I can’t help thinking that after the opening few minutes they needed to be able to use ‘rolling’ subs – that is getting someone on for a short period to exploit the crossing spaces that Arsenal allowed… and then revert to the normal line up… You may say ‘Rolling subs!!!!’ but one day it may happen. The answer is the production of excellent all round strikers – wheres these days, it seems being top class on the deck and in the air… is like snow flakes in the summer.
There is no need for “rolling subs”, just more work on crossing the ball.
The standard of crossing is very poor. Many people seem to think that you have to beat your opponent before putting over a cross. The ball can be curled round the defender as he approaches to challenge, tempting the keeper off his line before swinging away for an attacking runner with the keeper stranded. West Ham used to spend hours in training doing this and it led to numerous goals. Ron Greenwood, during his spell as England manager, put on a session at the Surrey Football Coaches Association, coaching the near post cross and run, and said that the cross “should tease the keeper”.
Many crosses come in and there is no-one attacking the near post. The ball is kicked in with the laces of the boot, as if shooting, instead of wrapping the foot round the ball. The runner into the box often arrives too early, instead of waiting for the crosser’s head to go down to strike the cross. As the crosser’s leg is swung back to strike the cross the attacker should start his run, thereby arriving in the attacking space at the same moment as the ball.
It’s all about practice.
The reason for the crop of promising young players who are currently forcing themselves into the first team squads of Premier League clubs or, alternatively, into foreign leagues if the opportunities prove too limited here, in my opinion is because they have been experiencing the game in street-type play in rather cramped and tight areas which the cages provide.
For too long we have coached players in areas which have allowed too much room and don’t force the young player into twisting, turning and manoeuvring the ball with space at a premium. I still see a lot of organised coaching work done in areas in which the players have an unrealistic amount of room. Or, in grass roots football, often the technique is practised to get the mechanics right using plenty of space, but then a game is also played in plenty of space and so the young player does not practice the skill under realistic pressure. Adding more players or reducing the playing area will solve that problem.
Playing with the outside of the foot has become almost a forgotten skill. Also many young players want to hit shots from unrealistic distances. I think this is because ‘Goal of the Month’ type awards usually go to a player who unleashes a 35 yard thunderbolt and youngsters dream of emulating their heroes with a rocket shot which flies into the net from long distance. It therefore becomes a rarity for a player to look to ‘play himself in’ around the penalty area from a one-two, starting with a pass with the outside of his foot, disguising his intentions, as he threatens the defence, running at them at speed with the ball at his feet.
Frank Lampard is to be congratulated for giving young Academy graduates, Mount, Abraham and Tomori regular games in Chelsea’s first team this season.They are rewarding him with some fine performances.
Of course, Chelsea have been largely forced into this situation by the transfer ban which they have to serve. Had it not been for that punishment, it is unlikely that Lampard would even have got the Chelsea job. A top flight coach from Europe would have come in with a ‘wish list’ of high quality, but high cost, recruits. I never heard of any leading coach putting out feelers for the job, knowing that he would have to work with the squad that he was presented with.
I have noticed that Ademola Lookman has spent most of his time on the substitutes’ bench so far this season at RB Leipzig, after his permanent transfer from Everton. New coach, Julian Hagelsman, does not seem to be too keen whereas under previous management at the club, when Lookman was on loan, his appearances were much more frequent and he became a firm favourite with the Leipzig fans. It was a similar situation at Everton. Ronald Koeman gave him his debut and provided him with a fairly regular amount of first team game time. But Lookman found opportunities much harder to come by when Marco Silva took charge.
Coaches/managers must show faith and belief in their young players if their potential is to be fully developed.
Although it is very pleasing to see the recent emergence of talented young players in the English game, it has to be said that some of the football which Kosovo played against England last week at the St. Mary’s Stadium was breathtaking. That such a small nation, with a population of about one and a half million, can continue to develop players of such quality, speaks volumes for their development system and environment in which their young players learn the game. In addition, this was in the absence of several key players.
Admittedly, some of the defending on both sides was appalling, but the movement, close control and one touch play of the Kosovans was a joy to behold. It was a reminder of all the outstanding players which that part of the world, formerly Yugoslavia, has been producing for generations. They seem to have a natural affinity for the game, both technically and athletically.
I hope they qualify from the group but, like England, they must tighten up considerably in defence, to make an impression at Euro 2020.
Neymar is not always everybody’s cup of tea, with his diving and play acting antics, but when he scored the winner for PSG on Sunday, against Lyon, he showed why he is one of the world’s greatest players.
He was surrounded by three defenders when he received the ball just inside the Lyon penalty area, with two more close at hand. He received it with his left foot, turned like a squirming eel with two touches of his right, evading the snapping feet of his opponents and scored with a low left foot shot into the far corner of the Lyon net.
There were five minutes left of a dour match in which Lyon, although the home team, were playing for a 0 – 0 draw.
It was another example of how a truly great player confirms his brilliance by playing, not in inches of space, but in millimetres.
Did he do anything else…because Di Stefano, Messi and Maradona would have surely done!
Hi Brazil94….I would not include Neymar in that group you mention. As I said, he is not everybody’s cup of tea and I don’t think we have seen the best of him yet. However, he is a game-changer and though we have seen some English talent
emerge during the last few years, we still need to show that we can produce a player who can take a game by the scruff of the neck and win it by his own individualism and brilliance.
That’s what Neymar did against Lyon.
I definitely don’t include him in the group I mention; my point is how you can in your words state: “It was another example of how a truly great player confirms his brilliance”.
You’d surely – well I would – expect more….But have standards dropped!! Or do you think I’m being hyper-critical?
However, where you are correct is that the British Media continue over-state the ability of the emerging young players – John C I feel will have an opinion about this.
Hi Brazil94….The goal that Neymar scored against Lyon in a Ligue 1 match was like a shining light in a sea of mediocrity.
It neither elevated him onto a list of the all time greats nor placed anyone in any particular order.
Yes, we all “expect more” but to be a great player in 2019 is somewhat more demanding, in many ways, than it was, say, in 1959. The skill displayed by Neymar was of the highest order due to the minimal amount of space in which he performed it.
Steve; surely it’s easy for you to agree; however, you wrote: “It was another example of how a truly great player confirms his brilliance”, and I’m saying he doesn’t do enough to be called in your words truly great. That’s all…I’m not denying the momentary brilliance in any way…But MOMENTARILY ONLY …perhaps thank god he only needed to produce one moment to be the game changer!
I thought that Dinamo Zagreb defended brilliantly against Manchester City in the Champions’ League group fixture earlier this week. They plugged all the gaps and retreated to the edge of their penalty area to present a seemingly impenetrable wall in the face of almost constant City attacks.
But I was so impressed by the way that the home team never resorted to hopeful high crosses in desperation to score. They explored every possible avenue through and around the visitors’ defence with slick passing and constant movement and got their reward with two second half goals.
I believe that the breakthrough was a tribute to Guardiola’s coaching. Over the years I have seen on countless occasions, English teams launch an aerial bombardment on foreign opposition defences. But Dinamo showed they were well prepared for that type of onslaught and so City did not go down the road of so many English teams before them, where high crosses are pumped into the box time after time. They kept persevering with the ball on the floor, maintaining their belief that this approach, combined with the darting runs of their forwards, would ultimately result in a breakthrough.
It did in the second half and provided clear evidence of the extent to which City’s players have bought into Guardiola’s philosophy and work on the training ground.
Steve, if they didn’t Guardiola would ‘get rid,’ and being totally supported in this from behind the scenes. The players know this; as well as receiving a king’s ransom in the process to follow orders.; and learn – hence no sympathy for Joe Hart. Who went after he was unable to adapt.
Over and above that, Guardiola’s entire starting eleven were not born in Britain and while residing in Manchester hardly traditionally ‘English’ in their football mentality!
Hi Brazil94…..The English players at Manchester City have benefited and improved from Guardiola’s coaching just as much as those of other nationalities.Sterling, Stones and Walker are evidence of this. Foden could become a Premier League star during the next twelve months and Guardiola believes he can become one of Europe’s outstanding players. Sancho would have made the City first team but was not prepared to wait and who can say he was wrong, when he is already a regular in the Dortmund first team. He is the first to acknowledge the development he made under the City boss.
We must be careful when criticising our “football mentality”. The best performance I have witnessed from an English team against European opposition was in 1965 when West Ham beat TSV Munich 1860 2-0 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final, which is regarded by all who saw it as one of the all time classics. All ten outfield West Ham players had graduated from the club’s youth teams.
Two years later, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup and their ten outfield players had all been born within a 30 mile radius of their ground.
With England’s World Cup victory sandwiched between those two Finals, no one was questioning our “football mentality” then.
Well Steve, I’m going to suggest you know someone who did!
After the poor display against Czech Republic, England were much improved against Bulgaria, especially in defence. The back four played better as a unit and it looked as though some good work had been done in training between the two matches. Individually and collectively England produced a better performance, but the opposition was very poor and the hold ups in play following the racism incidents seemed to affect the home team even more than England.
It still remains difficult to judge just how much progress England are making between Tournament Finals when they are placed alongside such mediocre opposition in the qualifying groups. In Russia, the luck of the draw meant that their opponents were little better in England’s path to the semi final. Still, it would be unfair not to credit England with improvement when they produce it and to acknowledge the work done by the coaching staff when it becomes evident.
After Manchester United had shown improved form in holding Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, their former midfield player, Darren Fletcher, said in an interview that this was due to them getting the ball forward quicker, early passes for runners into the channels and looking to turn the Liverpool defenders round by switching the play with long diagonal balls.
A few weeks ago another ex-player now in the media, West Ham’s centre half for many years, Tony Gale, expressed the opinion during the Germany-Argentina international, that the reason for the Germans racing into a two goal lead and dominating the first half, was because they were moving the ball much quicker than their opponents and creating numerous goal scoring opportunities.
In both these examples we have northern European teams returning to an approach which characterised their play, and served them well, for many years.
Perhaps the copy-cat mentality of recent years is about to disappear. At both club and national team level, countries must never forget what they are good at and brought them success in the past. A coach should try to mix game styles when possible but he must always be aware of what his players can, or cannot, do, and shape the play around these considerations.
The Rugby World Cup has recently been taking up many of the sports pages in the national press.
I have never followed this game but I feel that football can learn a few things from the oval ball game. I have been impressed at times by the speed at which, in some games, the ball is moved. Of course, the ball can’t go forward but despite this, when it is passed square or backwards then space is made to release players to run forward into it and maintain the speed of the attack.. There is quick movement of both players and ball and that is how I believe football should be played. I don’t know if there is a rugby equivalent of third man running, but there certainly are overlaps.
On this point, I would like to mention that I was impressed with Stockport County a few days ago, in their Conference Premier game at Bromley. Before the match they were 17th in the table against Bromley’s first position and played on the counter attack. They gave their table-topping opponents plenty of problems by releasing runners with early passes and deserved their 2-2 draw.
The over emphasis on possession football has resulted in too many teams forgetting the benefits of quick play and Stockport reaped their reward.
Strikers always seem to have commanded the biggest transfer fees in the game for many years. This comes to mind when considering “cross-field running” among the Missing 12 which John highlights in the blog.
Strikers have always been expected to be the top goalscorers but where are the prolific scorers who play from midfield? If defenders are not being moved across the field, and therefore out of position, then there is less space for midfield runners to exploit in well timed sprints forward into the spaces created. No one timed his runs better through this space than Martin Peters, for both West Ham and England, but since Frank Lampard at Chelsea, have we really had our quota of goals from the midfielders?
The point with Peters was that so often the space he utilised was set up by the off the ball running of his striker Geoff Hurst. But everyone who watched football in that era will recall that Hurst scored even more frequently than Peters and so his unselfish approach was no detriment to his own goalscoring achievements.
As John explains, today we see defences being able to stay compact because of the vertical running, towards the opposition goal, of the forwards, allowing the defenders to remain in position.But there is no better sight of a player from midfield breaking forward into the space created by intelligent movement, with the defence powerless to prevent a goal.
Judging by the extended TV highlights, Maidenhead United gave a good performance against Rotherham United last Saturday, in the FA Cup 1st round, finally losing 1-3 after leading 1-0 for a large part of the match.
Maidenhead play in the Conference League, Premier Division, their opponents in Football League 1. But the part timers released quick passes into space behind Rotherham’s defence, where their front players timed their runs well to exploit their pace and anticipation. There was no “kick and rush” tactics and no negative back and square possession passing. Good, incisive attacks can be made by minimal passes, direct play if you like, but good movement and combination play can reduce the need for excessive passing if performed well.
Maidenhead are managed by Alan Devonshire, a West Ham player for many years under Ron Greenwood and John Lyall. Under their tutelage he learnt how to apply good habits and principles into his managing and coaching and it all showed last Saturday.
I recently heard the former Arsenal and England right back, Lee Dixon, comment on television that a full back had two important covering responsibilities: to get round on the cover of the centre back should an opposing forward threaten to break through, but to also be in the correct position, should the ball be passed to his direct opponent out wide, therefore positioned so as to be able to close him down as the ball arrives at the wide player’s feet, denying him the time to lift his head and pick out a dangerous pass or run with the ball.
I have thought for some time that whilst full backs have greatly increased attacking responsibilities, their defensive work has been neglected and defensive skills and good positioning given insufficient attention. Many full backs play very tight to their wide opponent when the opposition have possession, regardless of the position of the ball.This is particularly noticeable with teams that want to play with a high defensive line and are constantly looking to spring the offside trap.
I think that this is a dangerous tactic. I saw a game recently where the left back regularly adjusted his position by making a triangle shape between himself and the opposing right winger and their attacking midfield player, who was attempting to break through the centre of their defence whenever possible. The left back constantly adjusted his position so that he was ideally positioned to get round on the cover should this player break through the centre of his defence, but also close enough to his winger to pressurise the ball immediately should the opponents decide to switch the play.
Following the comments on present day full back play, it was heartening to see the performance of Djibril Sidibe for Everton at Leicester City on Sunday.
Urgently in need of points, Everton fielded a back five, with Sidibe in the so-called right wing back position. He got forward down the right flank whenever possible and it was his run and pin point cross which enabled Richarlison to put them ahead. But Sidibe was outstanding in defensive situations, covering the inexperienced Mason Holgate when he was drawn forward by quickly closing the door which had been left open.
Nothing escaped Sidibe’s notice and his reading of the game was immaculate. There can be no under-stating the benefit that such experience and know-how can have on the younger players in the Everton team. We are used to seeing full backs “bombing on” as they support their attacks from wide positions. But keeping their team defensively tight and well balanced is just as important and, in spite of the emergence of talented English forwards in the last few years, we have seen the National Team concede goals which will make dreams of a successful Euro 2020 a forlorn hope.
West Ham United and their manager, Manuel Pellegrini, badly needed the three points which they obtained with a one-nil win at Southampton yesterday. It was a much improved team performance and one of the reasons for this, it seemed to me, was the combination up front of Sebastien Haller and Michail Antonio.
Playing two strikers, as in a 4-4-2 formation, appears to have lost its popularity. At one time it was the standard formation for most teams in the English leagues. But if you have two strikers who complement each other well, as Haller and Antonio did yesterday, then it can still be very effective. In recent matches which I have seen, either ‘live’ or on TV, Haller has looked an isolated and unhappy figure. But against Southampton he was able to concentrate on his prime function of target man, the focal point of the attack, whilst Antonio made runs beyond him, and he was put clear with well struck passes from midfield following Haller’s lay offs. Antonio made runs into the space behind the Southampton defence, not too early but just after the pass was made after Haller had set the ball back.
These were third man running movements which have been an essential part of West Ham’s armoury since Ron Greenwood introduced the concept in the early sixties. Of course, you don’t have to play the 4-4-2 formation to release third man running among the players, but the key to West Ham’s improvement at Southampton seemed to be in fitting Haller and Antonio into positions where they could be most effective and third man running was the net result of reverting to this team shape.
It would be in the best tradition of the club if West Ham, in the next few weeks, could pull away from the Premier League relegation zone by using third man running as the essential ingredient for the improvement.
I was most impressed with Brighton’s performance against Crystal Palace in the televised match last night. Their new coach, Graham Potter, looks to be doing some good work. Brighton have a positive game style, where they move the ball around quickly and well, playing it forward whenever possible.
Brighton, up until now, have fallen into that category of teams who seem destined to have a season long struggle to retain their place in the Premier League. But the quality of their football at Selhurst Park, which deserved much more than a 1-1 draw, showed they could have a very promising future.
It has been clear for a long time that the average British fan has no love of the slow, deliberate build up in play, even if the pass count for a move reaches double figures. Brighton pass the ball with smoothness and accuracy, but the pass they seek is the one which goes forward. The result is fast, attacking football and the Brighton players display both skill and imagination.
Having coached and learnt his trade abroad, Potter is another example of someone who is succeeding in coaching, having emerged from a relatively ordinary playing background.It is also good to see a young English coach establishing himself and i hope that when a ‘big’ job comes up, club owners will recognise that they don’t necessarily have to import someone from overseas. But first I think that Potter should take his work at Brighton to a conclusion , because he looks to be laying the foundations for something really exciting on the south coast.
Martin Peters, who passed away at the weekend, provoked the remark from Sir Alf Ramsey that “he was ten years ahead of his time”.
That was quite an accurate prediction, because in the decade following England’s World Cup success we had the emergence of Holland, built in the image of the brilliant Ajax club team, as a real international force. Peters was a multi purpose player, able to perform at a high level in practically every position on the field. During his time at West Ham, he played in every shirt number, including goal, when shirt numbers related to the specific job for that number. Wearing usually the number 11 shirt for England, and often for his club,he lined up at outside left for the kick off but then moved around the field where ever his brilliant reading of the game took him. It would have been fascinating to see him playing in the same team as Johann Cruyff and how they would have combined in a “team of all talents”.
Martin Peters possessed superb technical skill and this was exhibited one day at West Ham’s training ground at Chadwell Heath. At the end of the session Peters remained behind to put some extra time into polishing up his range of skills. A West Ham director had been present that morning during the training session, and seeing Peters on his own, with another player acting as a server, he said “if you can hit a shot against the crossbar on the volley from outside the penalty area from a cross, in three attempts, then I’ll give you £500.”
Peters positioned himself on the edge of the ‘D’ on the outside of the area. Three high crosses came into him and three times he smacked the ball against the crossbar, bang, bang, bang, with perfect volleying technique – dropping his shoulder towards the ground as he fell away on that side, the kicking foot raised high to strike the ball perfectly as it came through the air.
West Ham spent hours on honing techniques such as volleying and no one perfected it better than Martin Peters.
What John has cleverly illustrated here is the detail of linkage variations that are part of an exciting game style and more importantly that the junior coach must include in their development programme .John has always emphasised in the Premier Skills work the necessity for the coach to observe, assess and deliver the skill and tactical variations that constantly pop up in the modern game.This is based on preparing young players with the skill and understanding to do so.
Yet another great article for the thinking coach.
It is no surprise that Manuel Pellegrini has been sacked as manager of West Ham.
The final straw came in yesterday’s 1-2 home defeat against Leicester City. It was not that West Ham played particularly badly, because on occasions they produced moments of skill. But there is no clear identity to West Ham’s play and no game style. This is a team which for large parts of its history produced players with the technical skill and game understanding that often played other more illustrious opponents off the park.
Pellegrini had success in La Liga in Spain as well as at Manchester City in the Premier League. But he did not have the knowledge or experience to reproduce the type of football which would bring stability and then relative success at West Ham. Unless the people behind the scenes who wield the power at West Ham recognise this fact, then the same mistake will happen again, if the names being bandied about as Pellegrini’s successor are anything to go by.
Player recruitment at West Ham has resulted in a number of expensive acquisitions from both South America and Europe. I can only conclude that Pellegrini was attempting to build a jig-saw team, that is good individuals who would fit together naturally into a cohesive unit. This has failed and the result is a collection of individuals who are all playing their “own game”.
When West Ham are playing well and effectively, they play early passes into players breaking forward into spaces which have been created by good movement. This only comes from many hours of hard work done in training which at West Ham used to be the norm. At the moment West Ham have many players who do not have these “habits” and, instead, dwelling on the ball and passing square and backwards comes into the players’ thinking as the first consideration.
It will be a long process to revert back to these old methods but unless they do then I can’t see much of a future. The process could be speeded up though if greater willingness was shown in establishing young players more quickly into the first team instead of loaning them out to lower division clubs for excessive periods, after they have already displayed promise in West Ham’s first team.
I am aware that relegation would bring considerable financial difficulties to West Ham with the demands of playing at the ground in Stratford. An interim British manager until the end of this season, such Pulis, Moyes or Alardyce to hopefully prevent this happening could be the answer, but after that a long term vision for West Ham in its true traditions should be the priority.
We seem to be hearing a lot recently about the heavy workload placed on our players.
It’s a fact, however, that during the Christmas and New Year holidays there has always been a full fixture list every few days. Most people are off work and in Britain it is traditional to play at that time of year, even though that is not the case in most other countries. I also think that foreign fans like this tradition as well because, certainly in London, it is noticeable how many foreign visitors take the opportunity to watch a game in the capital at this time of year, and not just at Premier League grounds either.
I think that there could be psychological factors at work when we hear managers and coaches complain about tired and over-worked players. In the past it was commonplace to hear players exclaim that they would be delighted to play every day of the week if possible. You heard this from players with teams that were winning and playing well. The next game could not come soon enough and players in this country always preferred playing to training.
I think that the training issue could be the key point here. I have often heard players from the George Graham era at Arsenal, especially defenders, remark that in their day the training during the week was harder than the match on Saturday. The defenders in training had to play four or five against eight or more attackers which resulted in the great defensive strength of that team. Lee Dixon has said that when you have done that for between one and two hours in training from Monday to Friday then so often the match was a comparative rest!
It is also instructive to look at the vast improvement in pitch conditions at this time of year compared to what it used to be. Today’s pitches are as immaculate as bowling greens all the year round. At this time of year in the past, they would either be ankle deep in mud or frozen solid. I recall the Christmas in 1963 when West Ham played Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day at Upton Park which was a sea of mud. Blackburn won 8-2 and straight after the match both teams travelled up together on the train to play at Ewood Park the next day. Ron Greenwood made just one change to the West Ham team, (Eddie Bovington for Martin Peters), and West Ham won 3-1!
Peters lost his place to Bovington in the West Ham team for the rest of the season, including the Cup Final against Preston, but he was back stronger than ever the following season and became a great player.
Psychology plays such a big part in football and no more so than when we hear talk about tired players.
The campaign to ban heading from the game in junior age groups is gaining momentum due to the increasingly strong evidence that it may lead to the onset of dementia in later life. I understand that it has been banned in the USA for some time until players reach the age of 13. They are now proposing to raise the age limit to 16 and Scotland have followed their lead by excluding heading from under 13 football and below.
It is a fact that heading was a strong point in the British game for many years but we seem to have lost our way in this regard in recent years, at least in the case of forwards who would score prolifically from headers. On Sunday centre half Virgil Van Dyke set Liverpool on their way to victory over Manchester United when he came forward for a corner and scored with a powerful header. But there is no forward with the aerial qualities of John Toshack, Joe Jordan or Geoff Hurst in our football at the moment and so it is often left to big central defenders to come forward at set pieces and attack the ball with powerful headers.
Here in England I feel that we could benefit considerably from a heading ban in the younger age groups, not only in the aspect of serious long term damage to the brain but also from a technical viewpoint. I see the real chance of an improvement in skill levels if young defenders are forced to deal with crosses and passes made in the air by intercepting the ball with the chest, thigh or foot, rather than using the head to thrust forward and powerfully head the ball clear.
We have always marvelled at the superb technique of South American defenders, in particular, who prefer to take the high cross on their chests, bring the ball down to their feet and play it away skilfully to a team mate looking for a pass.
Our young defenders have been brought up on the orders of headed clearances with the emphasis on power and height. There is obviously a time for those priorities but on other occasions, the ability to instantly control the ball and either stride forward with it into midfield or pass accurately to a colleague, would be a much greater benefit to a counter attack.
A very interesting book has recently been published : “Jimmy Hogan – The Greatest Football Coach Ever” by Ashley Hyne.
Jimmy Hogan was a very influential coach from the north of England who helped spread the game’s popularity overseas from the early years of the 20th century until his death in 1974.
A number of books have been written about him in recent years but this is a more critical view of a famous coach. Ashley Hyne does not dispute the selfless hard work over many years which Hogan put in around Europe, especially in Hungary, but he does question some of the successes which have been attributed to Hogan in other publications.
The subject which I found most interesting was that which related to the great Hungarian team of 1953/54 which thrashed England 6-3 at Wembley and then by 7-1 a few months later in Budapest. The position switching and off the ball movement which so mesmerised the England players in those matches, Hyne believes, was as mystifying to Hogan as it was to all those connected to the England team that day. He scoffs at the idea, promoted in some sections of the English press following the match at Wembley, that England’s humiliation had been plotted by an Englishman.
What really interested me in Ashley Hyne’s study of these matches between England and Hungary was what he had to say about a contribution made fifteen years after the Wembley match in a special editorial article in an annual of the time: “International Football Book No. 10” published in 1968.
This article was printed with no byline but i have always known that it was written by Eric Batty. His name was printed on the title page of the book as a Contributing Editor. Eric and I were good friends for many years until he passed away in 1994.
The article was a study of the methods and secrets of that great Hungarian team and the fact that a current English team, in that 1960s era, had a coach who had seen and understood what the Hungarians had been doing all those years before and was making those methods work with his own team.
This coach was Ron Greenwood and the team was West Ham of that decade, following his appointment as their manager in 1961.
In the article Eric explained that Hungary had worked on the “Third Man Theory”, what we now refer to as “Third Man Running”. He pinpoints exactly how the methodology works and Ashley Hyne also quotes it: “Update this idea to the West Ham team of (1968). Left back John Charles passes up to left winger John Sissons, Sissons moves inside with the ball (screened from the full back) towards Geoff Hurst, taking the full back with him. Once inside, Sissons plays the ball to Ron Boyce at inside right. Boyce puts the ball over the heads of the defenders to the left wing – where there is no Sissons, but Charles. Charles is the ‘third man’, the ‘one put in from behind’, not occasionally or accidentally, but as a matter of training or habit.”
Eric went on in the article to draw attention to vital pieces of play which England’s three West Ham players, Moore, Hurst and Peters provided in the 1966 World Cup success, further evidence of the dynamic effect of the third man.
Eric Batty himself was an exceptional coach. He was manager/coach of a club in south east London, Penhill Standard FC, which progressed from junior football into senior amateur football in the London-Spartan League. I worked alongside Eric, and other fine coaches, at this club for thirty five years.
In 1969 Eric had a book published called “Soccer Coaching The Modern Way”, which explains coaching practices for numerous third man movements.
Finally, Steve you write about Eric and third man running. Amen to that.
Hi Brazil94…..Third man running is widely known through most good levels of football but there are not as many examples of it as there ought to be.
Eric Batty used to say that this was because at most clubs insufficient training time was devoted to it. It was the cornerstone of the Penhill Standard coaching delivery and thus became a habit with the majority of players.
In the present Premier League, Norwich City produce as much third man movement as anyone and they are in bottom position! Their centre forward Pukki is key because he lays off quality balls which are then played forward to a third man runner. This is where we are possibly falling short in the English game: we produce strongly built strikers who can compete and score goals in the penalty area hurly burly, but lack the finesse and touch to provide the midfield support with passes that can be immediately put forward for a runner going into space in the opponents’ defence.
To commemorate Jimmy Greaves’s 80th birthday, BT Sport screened a film detailing his life and career. I thought the best bit was an interview with Glenn Hoddle when the former Tottenham and England midfield player described the effect Greaves had on him when he had been a young apprentice at Spurs and often watched him play in training matches with other first team players in a tight little gym in which they practised at that time, often in games of 13 or 14 a side. No matter how little space the crowded area provided, the young Hoddle was struck by the way in which the goal-scoring maestro was never rushed in his play. He noticed how Greaves’s head appeared to be on a swivel, looking this way and that when he was not in possession, so that when he got the ball he knew exactly where he was on the pitch and where team mates and opposition were in his vicinity. This “knowing where you are” was his secret in scoring numerous goals during his playing career, so often in crowded penalty areas where he would slip effortlessly into space on so many occasions and effortlessly pass the ball into the net.
About fifty years ago I recall being present at a West Ham training session at Chadwell Heath. It was towards the end of Greaves’s playing career at the top level, which he finished off at the east London club. They were playing a training game similar to the ones which Hoddle watched in his early days at Tottenham. Greaves received the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, surrounded by defenders converging on him. Without stopping or controlling the ball, Greaves hooked the ball over his shoulder with his first touch and through the tiniest of gaps between defenders into the goal. There was a stunned silence and then applause broke out all over the pitch for this breathtaking example of vision from a goal-scoring genius.
Liverpool paid the price for having an inadequate back-up keeper when they were eliminated from the Champions’ League by Atletico Madrid. Adrian’s weaknesses had been apparent when he was at West Ham and so it was very surprising when Jurgen Klopp entered the transfer market to take him to Anfield. Had Alison not been injured for the Round of 16 second leg clash, then it is most unlikely that Liverpool would not have safely negotiated what was admittedly a tricky fixture against awkward opponents. That’s a harsh statement to make, but I think that most Liverpool fans would have returned home with that thought in their minds.
The second leg provided fast attacking football from Liverpool, but the defensive discipline displayed by Atletico had to be admired. The best piece of play, I felt, was the work of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain when he laid on Liverpool’s first goal for Wijnaldum. This highlighted a piece of play which I believe we see all too little of in the game these days and that is the blind side run. When Chamberlain produced his masterpiece the score on the night was goalless, with Atletico leading 1-0 from the first leg. With two to three minutes of the first half remaining Liverpool were in possession out wide on the right, not far away from the Atletico penalty box. Chamberlain had spotted space behind the left side of the Atletico defence. He started to make a run off the back of an opposition defender but this player was checking his shoulder and dropped to pick up Chamberlain’s run. The Liverpool midfield player broke off his run and dropped back into the crowd where he had run from. The Atletico defender switched his attention back onto the area around the ball. Chamberlain spotted this and now he saw his chance. He made a second sprint forward, across the back of the defender, who was momentarily concentrating on the ball. The pass was released at just the right moment, as Chamberlain arrived in space. He crossed immediately, before anyone could intervene, and Wijnaldum put away the chance without fuss.
This should have been the breakthrough that would help Liverpool through to the quarter finals. But nothing is predictable in football.
I saw Chamberlain make these blind-side runs when he was at Arsenal and we need to see more of them in the English game. It is up to the coaches to work on this great technical skill with the players, which will benefit not only the clubs but also the England team with higher performance players.
With football, and sport in general, having come to a standstill due to the Corona Virus crisis, it has been interesting to see that the TV companies have delved into their archives to screen some matches from the past.
The opportunity to have another look at past Champions’ League matches featuring Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and AC Milan has been great, but I think the opportunity exists to be even more imaginative and go back further in time. There must be tens of thousands of football fans who have never seen the full ninety minutes of the iconic 1960 European Cup Final, Real Madrid 7 Eintract Frankfurt 3, the 1958 World Cup Final, Brazil 5 Sweden 2, the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final, West Ham 2 TSV Munich 0, and practically any match which Brazil and France played during the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
All these matches, and many more of a similar vintage, are in circulation as either DVDs or videos. The belief seems to exist within the TV industry, however, that to appeal to a younger audience you can’t go back too far into the sands of time. I would disagree because you learn from the past, in football as in anything else. The pace of matches in previous eras may appear much slower, pedestrian even, but the skill level and playing intelligence is of the highest order.
Past masters of the game should not be forgotten by those who saw them and gain new admirers from those who were born too late.
There could be very serious repercussions for clubs below the Premier League with the present suspension of League and Cup matches as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. All the clubs which rely on match day revenue to survive are already finding their cash reserves running very low.
If a number of clubs go out of business then this will have far reaching effects on the game in this country. Only a few of the youth and schoolboy players who progress through the Academies of Premier League clubs, actually sign as a professional at those clubs when they reach 16, 17 or 18. Many of those who are released, join clubs in lower divisions of the EFL or the semi pro clubs in the Conference (National League). Harry Kane came through Tottenham’s Academy but went out on loan to a whole variety of clubs like Millwall and Leyton Orient before establishing himself with Tottenham and eventually England.
Progressing from the opposite direction, Michail Antonio started in non-league with Tooting & Mitcham before being spotted by Nottingham Forest and then achieving his dream of playing in the Premier League when he was signed by West Ham.
If we lose a substantial number of clubs at this level, as is feared, then young players who hope to progress, as Kane and Antonio did, will find these stepping stones have disappeared. Even fewer talented English players will appear in the Premier League, their pathways blocked by foreign imports who will be signed in even larger numbers.
I am not in favour of lower league clubs being attached to the bigger Premier League clubs and operating merely as “feeders”. I believe that all clubs deserve their independence and harbouring the hope of one day achieving their dreams. But the big clubs could help by treating the cups, both the FA Cup and League Cup, with respect. We hear enough of too many matches but it’s the constant interference from FIFA and UEFA, introducing more half-baked international competitions in what should be the close season. In July and August the big clubs go off to Australia, Malaysia, USA etc. to play in so-called Tournaments, but which are money making ventures, aimed at selling even more shirts. Sometimes I wonder how much training, i.e. coaching, has been done in those pre-season weeks.
If we lose a substantial number of smaller clubs during the next few months then I think it won’t be long before the giants of the Premier League realise that they are the losers too.
I can recommend two recently published books ” The Names Heard Long Ago” by Jonathan Wilson and “Magical Magyars” by David Bailey.
Both books concern the emergence of the great Hungarian team just after World War 2 which famously humiliated England 6 – 3 at Wembley in late 1953 and then by a 7 – 1 scoreline in Budapest seven months later. The only defeat this great team suffered during those years was against West Germany in 1954. The bitter disappointment of this solitary defeat was that it occurred in the Final of that year’s World Cup in Switzerland. So possibly the greatest team in the history of football never laid hands, as it surely deserved, on the game’s ultimate prize.
One of the coaches involved in the emergence of Hungarian football in that era was Bela Guttmann. He was a globe-trotting coach who took charge of teams in many different parts of the world, stretching far into old age. One of his most successful club sides was Benfica. Until he took over, they were an unknown team but under his command they reached the final of the European Cup three years in succession, from 1961 – 1963. In the Finals of the first two they beat Barcelona 3-2 and Real Madrid 5-3 and then suffered a narrow defeat, 1-2, against AC Milan at Wembley.
Having had the opportunity to look at video tapes of those matches, which are still available, it is noticeable that Benfica produced a style of football that was ahead of its time. The ball is moved around quickly and the players switch positions constantly, passing and moving into space as they do. This is also the brand of football exhibited by Hungary at Wembley in 1953, which is also still available on video. As is only to be expected, the picture quality is grainy and faded but there is no doubting the vastly superior movement, of players and the ball, compared to the England team. England had players with skill and ability but the Hungarians were thinking ahead of them all the time as they played.England’s players wanted to get the ball and then decide what to do with it: Hungary always knew in advance and always had options.
A few years after the football lesson handed out at Wembley, the Hungarian coaching manual, “Soccer” by Arpad Csanadi, was translated into English and was readily available in this country. There were many exercises in the book involving players moving after passing the ball. Frequently this would involve moving from one position to another and so there was constant interchanging of position. Often these exercises would be for the purpose of practising a particular skill, passing, dribbling, heading, receiving etc, but always bringing in this element of place changing.
It was years before the more enlightened coaches in our game really influenced the rest and the days of Hungarian supremacy were by then long since over. After the Uprising and Revolution of 1956 Hungary has achieved virtually nothing in the game but the influence of their great team from 1945 – 1954 will never be forgotten.
With no football currently being played due to Covid-19, ITV showed a re-run of the 1987 FA Cup Final: Coventry City 3 Tottenham Hotspur 2.
This was a game full of incident where the result was in doubt until the last kick of extra time. But it was two goals, one for each side, which interested me the most and both had the same essential ingredient.
Tottenham took the lead within the first few minutes. Chris Waddle received the ball out wide on the right, confronted by two Coventry defenders and checked back away from the Coventry goal as if setting himself to put the ball into the Coventry box with his left foot. But quick a a flash, he chopped the ball with the inside of his left foot to wrong foot the Coventry defenders and made himself just enough space to cross the ball to the near post with his right foot where Clive Allen was running in to score with a header. Allen timed his run perfectly, but the quality of Waddle’s cross was key.He curled the ball around the defenders so that he did not have to attempt to beat them and the quality on the cross meant they had no chance of cutting it out.
In the second half and losing 1-2, Coventry equalised with a similar goal. Again the ball came from the right wing. Coventry’s Dave Bennett curled his cross around Tottenham left back, Mitchell Thomas, and Keith Houchen met it with a full length diving header.
Both goals came from crosses which were curled around defenders. England’s Stanley Matthews and the Brazilian Garrincha took the ball up to the full back, threw a feint and went round him before delivering the cross. As defences became stronger there was more than one defender waiting for the skilful wide man. The ability to bend the ball around a defender who is closing down, requires a lot of practice and there seem to be fewer players now who have that in their locker. Also, not only does the ball put the opposing full back out of the game as it curls round him, but it also goes into the near post and then swings away as the keeper commits to it.
When Arsenal won the League and Cup ‘Double’ in 1970/71 (1st Division Championship and FA Cup) this was only the second time in the 20th century that this had been achieved, their north London neighbours, Tottenham, having won both ‘pots’ ten years previously.
The Tottenham team contained legendary names like Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, John White, Bobby Smith and Cliff Jones. But Arsenal did not receive the same universal acclaim and there is a general view that they were a rather functional, if not boring, team, happy to win games by a single goal.
I was recently looking on You Tube at highlights of Arsenal in that period and I was surprised at the quality of some of their play. They knocked the ball around in fine style at times, looking for early passes to split defences and release runners going into spaces. They clearly worked on third man running and scored a number of goals from those kind of movements. They also showed, contrary to popular opinion, that playing out from the back was not an unknown tactic in England fifty years ago. How could it have been when they had Bob Wilson in goal and he was always looking to start a counter attack with a quick throw to someone darting into space, when the opposition’s attack had broken down and they had players out of position.
One goal that Arsenal scored from a Wilson throw came when he collected a high cross from Arsenal’s right side and immediately looked to the left and threw the ball out to George Armstrong, dropping deep down Arsenal’s left wing. Armstrong came inside with the ball, bringing an opponent with him. This opened up space for left back Bob McNab to run into and Armstrong slipped a square pass to Peter Storey whose first time pass out to the left wing put McNab away as the third man runner. A one two and then a pass which set up Ray Kennedy for a goal.
In another match a combination of first time passes ended with midfield player, Eddie Kelly, getting clear through the middle and another Arsenal goal from third man running.
Don Howe was the Arsenal coach at this time and had clearly worked hard on the training pitch to produce this attacking play, as well as building a cast iron defence. I think that perhaps not enough credit was given to this team outside of their own patch of north London.
Away team RB Leipzig beat FC Cologne 4-2 in entertaining Bundesliga match on June 1st, shown live on BT Sport, as are all matches in the German top tier following the suspension of fixtures due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
The matches are being played in front of deserted stands with no spectators being allowed in. The only way the fans can follow their teams is by tuning in on TV and the situation will be the same in England later this month when the Premier League attempts to complete their fixtures.
Opinion seems to be divided on watching football played with no crowd noise in empty stadiums. Many people do not like it and say that it is not real football. Of course, the crowd make the atmosphere, with their noise of shouting, singing and chanting. But I think you get used to the eerie silence and certainly the away teams like it in Germany, because results so far are going heavily in favour of the visitors. The referees say they feel less pressured, especially in the closing stages of matches, when the home team are searching desperately for a late equaliser or winner and the absence of noise, from what would normally be heavily partisan home spectators filling the greater part of the ground, makes for a less febrile atmosphere.
On the field of play in the match in Cologne, the highlight was a goal which provided an example of when direct play is a correct and justifiable tactic for a team which varies its approach with players who can adapt to the circumstances at any particular time. Leipzig were 2-1 ahead when Cologne were awarded a free kick out wide on the right. The ball was hit high into the Leipzig box but keeper Peter Gulacsi came out and comfortably plucked it out of the air with perfect handling. In an instant he had checked the situation downfield and having spotted Timo Werner pulling away from his marker around the half way line, he launched a perfect kick from his hands, landing the ball into the space ahead of the Leipzig striker, who was able to time his run and get onto the ball well clear of the defence and put it firmly into the back of the Cologne net.
Gulacsi, a Hungarian, looks a good keeper every time I see him. His starting position is good and so he combines well with his defenders. He was with Liverpool from 2007 until 2013 but never made a first team appearance. He had loan spells at Hereford United, Tranmere Rovers and Hull City.He has played 31 times for the Hungarian senior national team.
This was an excellent piece of quick thinking on the part of both Gulacsi and Werner and showed when direct play is the correct choice.
This week should have seen the start of the 2020 European Championship but of course Covid-19 has put the brakes on that.
Would England have built on the unexpected progress to the semi finals at the World Cup in Russia or would it have been more disappointment as in the defeat to Iceland at the 2016 Euro in France?
It has to be said that until meeting Croatia in the semi finals, the opposition in the World Cup was, at best, mediocre. Until the 2016 Euro, the overall standard of the tournament had for a number of years been higher than that of the World Cup because UEFA had previously restricted the number of competing nations to 16, as opposed to FIFA’s quota to 24 for their competition. So no team could hope for a helping hand when the draw was made and get opponents of the standard of Panama, as England did in Russia. But the standard of football noticeably dropped four years ago with the addition of teams who were never going to win it.
My hope is that if the 2020 tournament is finally played in 2021 then England should concentrate on doing the things that they do well. England, over the years, have regularly exited from tournaments out of fear. This is the fear that England regularly show against opponents of higher technical quality but a fear that stops us doing the things we are actually good at. We are good when we stay on the front foot and move the ball quickly. The spectators in England want to see the ball passed forward whenever possible and playing in a slow possession manner does not suit our style or temperament.
Playing out from the back is fine but it is not always on, especially when the opponents are pressing high. We simply do not have players, especially defenders, with the skill that those of Barcelona exhibited a few years ago, and so we must play beyond and over pressure when necessary.
Gareth Southgate believes that we must develop a generation of defenders who can work the ball from defence with the skill of Barcelona’s Pique, Busquets and Alves but we don’t have them yet. Although the time available to Southgate on the training pitch is extremely limited, I feel he should use his training time with the players to coaching third man running. We are capable of producing this in matches and most teams in the Premier League show indications in match play that they work on it in training with their clubs. But when they come to England matches the group is different and so every available minute should be devoted to third man running to build the understanding with a different set of team mates.
Too much football is played in fear. It makes sense to do what we do well.
When the 2020 European Championship is played next year after a twelve month delay due to the Corona Virus, I wonder if the name of Dominic Calvert-Lewin will find its way into the England squad?
His movement in the Liverpool penalty area, ten minutes from time, almost won Everton a defence-dominated Merseyside derby last Sunday. Richarlison delivered a low cross and Calvert-Lewin evaded the close marking of Virgil Van Dijk, by moving two steps towards the near post, checking back to ‘lose’ the Liverpool centre half and then darting back across in front of him to clip the ball towards goal. Allison could only parry the ball, but Davies’s follow up shot hit the post and Liverpool escaped with a point, which has now contributed to their well deserved Premier League Title.
Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment as Everton manager seems to have had a positive effect on Calvert-Lewin. The striker was a member of the England under 20 team that won the 2017 World Cup and in fact scored the only goal in the Final against Venezuela. More experienced strikers than Calvert-Lewin have failed to escape the close attention of Van Dyke as he did last Sunday and so that speaks well of Ancelotti’s coaching skills and also of his staff. But i understand that former centre forward and long-time coach at Everton, Duncan Ferguson, has done a lot of one to one coaching with him.
If Calvert-Lewin continues his development then this will put some pressure on the strikers regularly in the England squad, preventing anyone from thinking that their place is safe.
West Ham are now making a decent attempt to preserve their Premier League status and the 4-0 win over Norwich last Saturday will have done a lot for their confidence. Their fans should not go overboard about this result, however, because since the resumption of fixtures Norwich have looked a very poor side indeed and their relegation into next season’s Championship is now confirmed.
Nevertheless, some credit is due to Hammers’ Manager David Moyes. The defensive organisation and shape have been improved and against Norwich and the recent encounter with Chelsea, they have displayed an increased attacking threat.
This is largely due to the displays of striker Michail Antonio, scorer of all four goals at Norwich and the chief architect in the win against Chelsea.
I have argued for the increased attention of English teams, and especially the National side, to be given to coaching third man running, because when we do this then we do it well. This is particularly the case with West Ham because in past decades the east London club were the prime instigators of this method.
At the moment Antonio is acting both as a link-up player, making himself available to receive passes from midfield and defence in order to attract team mates into support positions to receive his lay offs, who then play an early forward pass to another player as he sprints forward into space behind the defence on a third man run.
In my opinion, Antonio is actually better suited to the role of third man runner, rather than target man, and in the match at Southampton earlier in the season, the combination play between him and Sebastien Haller, as the target man, provided many examples of third man running moves. Unfortunately, Haller, in most games apart from Southampton, has appeared almost totally devoid of confidence and the massive transfer fee paid to Eintracht Frankfurt for him last summer, has seemed to be a millstone round his neck.
Unless coaching and good management can produce the player that Haller was in Germany, then improved recruitment in the transfer market or, better still, a young striker from the Youth Academy, would appear to be necessary to solve the problem. But if the money is not there and no young striker ready at this time, then Antonio will have to continue in his present role.
It is important to note that new Czech midfield player, Tomas Soucek, from Slavia Prague, looks an excellent player. The same must also be said of Jarrod Bowen, a young player from Hull City. Both of these recent buys are breaking forward regularly into the space behind the opposition defence. So I’m sure that work is being done on third man running and therefore the right man in that target player role is vital.
West Ham’s twenty year old right back, Ben Johnson, had a fine match last Friday in their vital 3 – 1 win against Watford.
I thought that Sky Sports’ co-commentator, Gary Neville, made some interesting points to underline just how promising the young defender is. He emphasised that Johnson “understands how to play the position”. He explained that he was making his marking position on his wide opponent on the inside of him, which is something that has become important in recent years with the trend for wingers to play on the side of the pitch which does not correspond to their strongest foot. These wingers want to come inside whenever possible when in possession, in order for their shot to be taken with their strongest foot. Johnson’s marking position cut out this threat for the whole ninety minutes. Similarly, when a pass was delivered to the Watford winger down the outside, then Johnson anticipated this and got round the other side of the opponent to intercept the ball and set West Ham off on an attack before Watford had time to recover.
Johnson was also very alive to the dangers in the centre of the West Ham defence when Watford were attacking down the opposite wing. He therefore ensured that every time these situations arose, he got round the back of the West Ham centre backs to give cover but also, by constantly checking his shoulder as he did so, he ensured that he was fully aware of the situation on the side of the defence, which he had just vacated and was therefore able to immediately recover back into his original position, when the danger had been averted.
In contrast, Watford’s full backs were uncomfortable and uncertain throughout the entire match. They failed to close down on West Ham players in possession in wide areas and so they were vulnerable to all crosses and of course from Declan Rice’s long range shot for the third Hammers ‘ goal. When they did get tight on the West Ham wide player, it was often by getting to close to his back, so the winger rolled off him as the pass was made, with the full back left stranded.
Ben Johnson is another highly promising young player from the West Ham Academy. If they can keep producing these players and keep hold of them, then the Hammers’ future is bright.
Ben Johnson is also a young player who will make mistakes but will learn from them. On Wednesday night, West Ham were a goal ahead against Manchester United at Old Trafford early in the second half, and Johnson was supporting a West Ham attack down the right, just outside the Man United penalty area. He was found with a cross-field pass and elected to pump a high cross to the far post where Michail Antonio was moving in but the United defence had spotted the danger and cleared the ball. Unfortunately, Johnson had chosen the wrong option. Mark Noble was ahead of the West Ham right back, towards the corner of the penalty area, and about to run into the space behind a United defender. A little pass down the side and Noble would have been free. He could have gone in to shoot or cut a pass back to Jarrod Bowen, who had also spotted the situation and was directly in front of goal.
Noble pointed to where Johnson could have played the pass and I’m sure he would have spoken to the young right back after the match where the better option had been. The Hammers’ skipper knows from his own long career how learning from the experience of senior players is invaluable in improving your game and taking on board such advice can only enhance the young player’s performances.
All young players make mistakes and sometimes make the wrong decisions. Senior players can help the coaching staff by pointing out errors in quiet moments during the match or afterwards in the dressing room.
Mikel Arteta noted that Chelsea’s high defensive line was leaving them exposed to long passes into the space behind their defence in the FA Cup Final against Arsenal. So he exploited the speed of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down Chelsea’s right which got the Gunners back into the game with the equaliser and eventually the winner.
Arteta has been a keen student of the game whilst he has worked along side Pep Guardiola at Manchester City but he proved that he can switch to a direct approach when the situation demands. We often read that a coach favours a so-called short passing game, whilst another plays a game based on longer passing . But Arteta showed that you apply your tactics to fit those adopted by the opponent, especially when they have gained the upper hand, as Chelsea did in the early part of the match.
Guardiola himself never had the intention of turning Bayern Munich into Barcelona Mark 2 when he became their coach in 2013. He knew that Bayern’s strengths were not those of Barcelona and it was the same when he eventually went to Manchester City.
It will be interesting to see how Arteta now develops the Arsenal team over the next few years, but the early indications are promising.
Manchester City and Manchester United were both knocked out of European club competitions this weekend, the Champions’ League and the Europa League respectively, but I think the greatest cause for concern was the defensive errors which were crucial factors in both matches.
Transfer fees are going through the roof but the lack of understanding in some aspects of defensive play would shock some of the old Managers and Coaches. I read an interview with Martin O’Neill recently in the “Daily Mail” and he was making some interesting comments about his old boss at Nottingham Forest, Brian Clough.
It was put to O’Neill that Clough was a great motivator but did not contribute too much on the training ground as a coach. The Irishman disagreed with this assertion: “He (Clough) made comments which stood the test of time, like telling full backs the first job they have to do is shut the winger down, or prevent him for as long as possible from crossing the ball. Then at least it gives the centre backs a chance to recover.”
Sevilla’s winning goal against Man United saw their central defenders, Maguire and Lindelof, all over the place, out of position in the penalty area, when the cross came in and right back, Wan-Bissaka, was not in a covering position either. If left back Brandon Williams had shut down on Navas and delayed the cross with only De Jong in the middle, then surely United would have averted the danger, which they should have done anyway.
The second Lyon goal against City, which put them on the way to the semi finals, revealed weaknesses in basic defending. Garcia vacated his central defensive position in a vain attempt to engage a Lyon player with the ball, Laporte reacted too late to drop and cover and the French exploited the situation with quick passing and movement to score.
Pep Guardiola is receiving criticism in the media that he is over-thinking the tactics and team shape in these European club tournament matches and not having won the Champions’ League since 2011, this could be the reason. Clough was a great motivator, but part of his approach was reminding his team regularly what made them both successful and very good players.
The performance of Florian Thauvin in the televised Ligue 1 match for Marseilles against Brest on Sunday showed what a talented player he is. In Marseilles’ 3-2 win, Thauvin scored the first when he cut in from the right wing and curled a beautiful left foot shot beyond the Brest keeper into the top corner of the net. He laid on the next two goals with perfect crosses into the Brest penalty area for the Marseille centre half to convert each time.
Everything he did had the stamp of quality. He signed for Newcastle United in 2015 but only lasted six months and never scored a goal. He went back to Marseilles on loan and completed a return transfer in 2017.
He is a full French international but has not yet properly established himself in the team. He was a member of the victorious French World Cup squad in Russia but made only a total of one minute’s substitute appearance in the Round of 16 against Argentina. Last season he was badly injured in the first match and with the season in France finishing in March due to covid-19, he did not play again until preparations began for the start of 2020/21.
On Sunday Brest were made to pay in the first few minutes when, in conceding the first goal, they allowed him to come inside with the ball on his left foot. But he displayed a fine array of skills and did not shirk the necessity to dig in and work hard in the closing stages when Brest were looking for an equaliser. I think it is worth noting that observation, because during his spell at Newcastle, Alan Shearer was critical of Thauvin’s attitude when he turned up for a match wearing a tuxedo.
Whether Thauvin did not have the stomach to survive in the Premier League or simply chose the wrong club, I do not know, but on the evidence of Sunday’s match there is no doubting his ability and at the age of twenty seven he must now prove his doubters wrong.
It was a scrappy and somewhat fortunate win for England in Iceland last Saturday. But I was interested to hear a comment that the TV pundits, Ashley Cole and Alex Scott, made at half time when they discussed what would improve the England performance.
They said that England’s play was too slow and predictable and the Iceland defence was not having much trouble in soaking up their pressure. It was suggested that more questions would be put to their their opponents if England introduced some third man running movement into their play.
I was fully in agreement with this comment because apart from a wrongly disallowed goal in the first few minutes, England had shown few ideas in opening up the home rearguard. However, there was little improvement in this regard in the second half, but I did not hear any ideas put forward to explain the short-comings.
In my opinion we are lacking forwards with the ability to make themselves easily found with quality passes from midfield or even further back down the field. A front player with this ability will provide the trigger for a third man movement because when he sets the ball back, then that is the signal for the third man to make his run. Harry Kane is England’s main striker but his form is somewhat patchy at the moment and he had a long injury absence during the covid-interrupted season.
But, in truth, I have never been very impressed with his link up play which would result in his ability to play a target man game. He seems to regard himself chiefly as a goal-scorer, but if he had the ability to be easily found with passes by his supporting colleagues, and then lay off quality balls, then it would greatly increase his effectiveness.
There seems to be a belief that the role of target man belongs to the days of direct play and long ball football, more often seen during the eighties. I think this line of thought is quite wrong and we need to have a greater mixing of styles. English strikers from previous decades, such as Geoff Hurst, Mick Harford and Peter Withe, were built to withstand punishing physical challenges, but they laid off some superb passes for numerous third man movements for both their clubs and England.
It’s my belief we are not producing these type of strikers any more and that’s a mistake.
England’s performance against Denmark last night in the 0-0 draw, has been roundly condemned on TV and in the press as not being good enough. England’s formation, selection of players in certain positions, and unbalanced team shape with a lack of left footed players, have been given as reasons for a poor performance.
In my opinion it was a continuation of the poor display produced against Iceland last Saturday. Again we see the ball being moved around far too slowly and a lack of movement from the players. All the other factors which are put forward by pundits and writers are relevant, but if the team plays and moves the ball at a pedestrian speed, then that sort of performance is what you are going to get.
In the 34th minute England, in my opinion, produced the one piece of quick, creative football seen in their play over the whole of these last two matches. Gomez received a pass around the half way line from Dier and saw Sancho dropping short looking for a pass to feet. Gomez delivered his pass perfectly as Sancho was coming towards it and, with Rice in support, he laid it with his first touch to the midfield player who played a first time pass down the right where Alexander-Arnold was sprinting forward just as the pass was made.
At last a third man movement, but England should be producing this time after time, not once in two matches.
The key point was Sancho dropping short and making himself available at just the right moment and then the weight of his lay off to Rice was perfect. Kane does not do this and though he works prodigiously hard to get goals, and nearly scored the winner near the end, I do not see those third man movements being produced with him as the central striker.
The question is whether Sancho can produce that service in a central position.The example from last night was towards the right flank, so there is a little more space out there, but working it through the middle where it is more congested is more difficult, but the end product can be a shot on goal.
It was therefore a pity that Gareth Southgate did not take the opportunity to switch Sancho into the middle in the second half because then something could have been learned about him. I think that Dortmund have worked hard with him on delivering good layoffs and dropping short at just the right moment. It is time to find out if he can do it in the middle.
“When I come here I have to adapt to the way that Gareth Southgate wants to play. I’m always needing to improve building up from the back, offering myself off the ball, little angles off the ball to play bounce passes. There are definitely things I need to work on.”
This was a quote by Declan Rice which I read in the Daily Mail during the recent international break. It highlights a problem that faces all international team managers when they want to implement an approach to the games, which is perhaps not totally embraced at all clubs. In my opinion it has always been a problem for England compared ,say, to Germany where the National Association lays down a coaching methodology which all clubs must follow.
If we did have a national playing style, which John Cartwright has long campaigned for, then it would make Gareth Southgate’s job much easier and with less need for the players to adapt.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of football in the Pitching In Isthmian League, which I have seen during the early weeks of the season. This is the highest level of football that can be watched “live” in the south of England at the present time, together with other leagues of that grade around the country, due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
The National League Premier Division promotes directly into League 2 of the Football League. But from what I have seen, in my opinion more teams try to play good football in the Isthmian League. There are a number of teams that attempt to play out from defence, keeping the ball on the floor and playing constructively through the thirds. It was particularly noticeable last Saturday at the Sevenoaks Town – Hastings United match (0-1), even though much of the game was played in rain and a driving wind.
Most of the clubs run academies and give early first team opportunities to young players who have come through this route. There is some good football to be seen in the Isthmian League.
Manchester City recovered some of their true form on Tuesday when they beat Marseille 3 – 0 away from home in their Champions’ League group match, but really it was painfully easy.
From what I have seen of the French side this season on TV, their best two players are Dimitri Payet and Florian Thauvin. But before the match started I was astonished to see that Payet had been left on the substitutes’ bench. However, once the match kicked off it was clear what the Marseille manager, Andre Villas-Boas, had in mind. He had no higher ambition than hanging on to a 0 – 0 scoreline for as long as possible, but when City finally opened the scoring then the aim was purely damage limitation. Consequently, when Payet joined the match, it was to replace Thauvin!
It took Marseille just under half an hour to put together a good move, and it was the only good piece of attacking play they produced in the whole match. They broke Manchester City’s press from around their penalty area and moved the ball quickly down the left. They switched the play to the right and a dangerous cross had City in trouble until they cleared the ball.
This move was proof that Marseille had it in them to trouble their visitors and I cannot understand why a team does not focus on doing what they do well. They may finally finish the match going down 6 – 3 or 5 – 2 but surely it is better to compete in a match having asked their opponents some questions.
There may be nobody attending Champions’ League matches at the moment due to the virus, but the public are being asked to fork out for television subscriptions to see the games. Coaches like Villas-Boas should remember this and that the game is part of the entertainment industry. UEFA’s flagship competition is in serious danger of disillusioning the public with any more matches like that.
The present publicity being given to the dangers of heading and its part in the onset of dementia for many former players as they approach old age, is long overdue.
I would support the reduction in heading practice given to players in training and delaying it in junior football until children are well into their teens. But I think that this particular skill must not disappear from the game because it has always played a crucial part and provided much excitement in match play and was for years one of the strengths of British football.
I have thought for some time that glancing headers seem to be less prevalent in our football than they used to be. From a safety angle, the ball does not thud against the forehead like the conventional header with the risk of long term damage and from a technical view point, it is more of a deflection header at goal, where the keeper is often wrong footed when he finds himself going in one direction as a cross comes over, but then the ball travels into the opposite corner of the goal after an attacker has met the ball with a turn of his head.
One of the most memorable glancing headers I have ever seen was the one which won England’s 1966 World Cup quarter final against Argentina. In a West Ham double-act, Martin Peters crossed the ball to the near post and Geoff Hurst met it with a glancing header which sent the ball into the opposite corner of the goal. Photographs taken of that goal show Hurst facing the opposite side of the pitch than he had been a second earlier, before he glanced away as his forehead made contact with the ball. By diverting the ball to a different point in the goal there is less full contact of the forehead to the ball and so a safer means of using the head to score a goal.
Sky Sports have produced an interesting documentary, “Lawman”, on the career of Scottish forward, Denis Law.
The film clips of Law playing for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, Torino, Manchester United, and Scotland, really brings back memories and reminds you just how good the Scotsman was. For those too young to have seen him during his playing days, it must have come as a shock to see First Division teams made up entirely of British players. But closer scrutiny revealed that though practically all the players were British, the key players in most leading teams were so often Scottish. So even then, English clubs were importing players, but in that era they were from the other side of Hadrians’ Wall.
The footage of Law in match play showed how dangerous he was in the penalty area. The way he evaded the close attention of rugged defenders to score bundles of goals is how, all these years later, coaches work for hours on developing their attacking players to make that priceless yard of space in and around crowded penalty areas. Law appeared to have a sixth sense of where the space was, or how it could be created, as he made darting runs or flashed across a defender at just the right moment to score yet again.
This was an aspect of the documentary which unfortunately was not investigated. How did Law develop this ability to find and make space for himself and escape the clutches of savage marking? Law, during interview, actually supplied evidence himself of how he became such a dangerous predator of the penalty area. During the early part of his career, after his first spell at Manchester City when he made a name for himself, he was transferred to the Italian team, Torino. He soon realised he had made a big mistake with the move, finding Italian football not to his liking with its negative and very defensive style.
It wasn’t long before he was back in England, joining the other Manchester club, United. After what he had experienced in Italy, playing again in the English First Division was a breeze. After what he had experienced in Serie A, it felt now as if he wasn’t being marked at all because he seemed to have so much space and time, compared to games in Italy. So although his time with Torino had been miserable, it could in fact have been the making of him as he now had years of success with Manchester United.
It was a pity that this period of Law’s development was not investigated. An insight into the coaching he was given at Torino could have revealed how his skills and vision were developed in order to play against reinforced Italian defences. Or did he work things out for himself with his own speed in thought, movement and anticipation?
I recall that in 1963 Law played for the Rest of the World against England at Wembley in a Centenary Match. There were players like Di Stefano, Puskas and Yashin in the World Team and Greaves and Moore for England. But who did “World Soccer” critic, Eric Batty, nominate as “easily the man of the match” ? It was Denis Law.
Hi steve I was just searching to see if penhill standard were still going and stumbled across this thread. I remember yourself and Eddie saying how quick the playing days fly by ,and it’s true I miss them.i remember playing my Ist game for the reserves aged 14 I couldn’t wait for Saturday to come.in read your posts about the third man runs and remember that from the training sessions at penhill standard, it keeps the ball moving quickly and players moving about to make space. Arsenal scored a great goal in the recent premier league game away to West Bromwich albion with emile Smith Rowe quickly passing to saka who played into striker lacazette who spotted Smith rowes 3rd man run and turned ball to him in the area he looked up and spotted saka had continued his run and crossed it for a simple tap in.what a play it was .
Hi Scott……I nearly fell over when I saw your post. How are you? Hope you’re well, I’m fine.
Penhill Standard folded in 2008, largely due to finance and ground problems. I can’t remember if you were there right to the end but I think you were. Now I coach in the Dynamo Sport Foundation and in primary schools for Charlton Athletic Community.
I’m so pleased you have good memories of Penhill Standard. It’s great that the coaching you received at the club, especially third man running, has stayed in your brain and you were able to properly appreciate that excellent piece of play in the Arsenal match. It’s a sad day when you have to hang up your boots, but have you ever thought about coaching? In my opinion third man running is still the deadliest move in football.
I haven’t seen Eddie for some years but keep in touch with occasional phone calls. He isn’t actively involved these days but I think he would be if he found the right environment.
Keep well Scott and give the idea of coaching some thought. You clearly thought deeply about the coaching you were given as a player and this is the mark of a future coach.
The Premier League match between Manchester United and Southampton produced so many examples of confused and unclear refereeing decisions that it seems as though a watershed moment has been reached, when those charged with updating and clarifying the Laws of the Game have to sit down and unravel the mess that has now resulted.
VAR has become a monster and it’s controlling the game and, more to the point, it’s controlling the referee. 0 – 4 behind and playing with ten men, in the early stages of the second half Southampton started to get their game together and they scored what looked a perfectly good goal to reduce the arrears. But VAR thought otherwise and the goal was disallowed for offside by the smallest fraction.
VAR was introduced to decide an issue in the case of “a clear and obvious error”. James Ward-Prowse had taken a quick free kick and Che Adams was bright and alert to the situation and scored a fine goal. There was no “clear and obvious error” and Southampton would have been back in the match. The referee must trust himself and his linesman in that situation but, OK if he must, take a quick glance at the pitch-side monitor. If there was any suggestion of offside then it was so marginal as to be non-existent, so a goal should have been awarded and on with the game.
But instead the game was held up for several minutes and finally the goal was disallowed for offside which was not visible to the naked eye and was almost certainly not within the capabilities of the VAR equipment. It has been admitted that the frame speed of the film is insufficient to give a true picture of such microscopic situations. It was a goal and so all that off-field machinery was totally redundant in that instance.
Southampton were reduced to nine men in the closing stages when Manchester United were leading 6 – 0. An accusing finger must now be directed at a player, United striker Anthony Martial. He took a tumble when Southampton centre back, Jan Bednarek, came in to tackle as Martial closed in on goal. But the Saints’ defender pulled out of the tackle when he realised that he was in danger of fouling and never touched the striker. Martial conned the referee, got the penalty and Bednarek received a red card. Down to nine men, Southampton were totally demoralised and so in the last few minutes the scoreline went from 0 – 6 to 0 – 9. This is not a scoreline you expect to see at that level of football and it gives their Manager a demanding task in the weeks ahead to repair the mental, if not physical, damage to his players.
Players must take responsibility for actions that lead to a referee being conned. They all belong to the same Union and it is unreasonable that members of the same Union are taking actions to the detriment of their fellow members. Diving and feigning injury have got increasingly worse over the last twenty years. Heavier punishments are the only way to stamp it out and the VAR film of the incident, which should be used retrospectively, shows clearly that there was no contact.
Finally, after the match, in the TV studio Glenn Hoddle raised the bewildering issue that had Bednarek attempted an unsuccessful tackle on Martial, but brought him down as he feared, he would only have received a yellow card but because he pulled out and made no attempt to win the ball, but was adjudged to have fouled Martial, he was given a red card.
All these issues must be addressed with the utmost urgency because it seems to me that new Laws and tweaks to the Laws are introduced with insufficient forethought.
Eberechi Eze is a talented forward, come midfield player,for Crystal Palace. Aged 22 he is skilful and quick. But as was evident in the away match against Leeds United on Monday night, televised by Sky Sports, he tends to neglect his defensive duties. Leeds play fast, attacking football with players surging forward from defensive positions. Their right back, Luke Ayling, is particularly dangerous and with Eze stationed on Palace’s left for much of the time, the visitors’ defence on that side was exposed more than it should have been.
West Ham had a similar problem until this season, when Felipe Anderson played on the left side of their midfield. His inability, or unwillingness, to chase back when the opponents threatened Aaron Cresswell, created difficulties for the left back when he found himself in a two versus one situation. The Brazilian had bundles of skill but his value to the team was diluted through not supplying the required work rate when West Ham were out of possession. Anderson was sidelined when new Manager, David Moyes, strengthened the team with fresh blood, both from transfers and the Under 23s. Cresswell himself has been a prime beneficiary with his performances this season, and is rumoured to have a chance of breaking into the England squad.
Football is a game of skill and intelligence but the value of putting in the running and hard work must never be under-estimated. They have always been basic requirements in English football and I don’t see that ever changing. The game in Brazil is slower and more deliberate and maybe Anderson was never cut out for the English League. But Eze has been capped for England in the under age groups and also the England Under 21s. He should have a great future ahead of him and it would be a great shame if that future was jeopardised by a shortage in work rate.
The unlikely scenario of West Ham challenging for a place in next season’s Champions’ League is the result of good player recruitment and team organisation by David Moyes, plus a number of promising young players showing what they can do in first team football. Moyes did a steady, if unspectacular, job over a number of years at Everton and his work at West Ham is following a similar pattern.
For his first spell in east London he was hired to save them from relegation and he did just that. The decision of the owners not to extend his contract was both a huge mistake and shameful. Loyalty has to work both ways and the least the owners could have done was to allow him time to continue his work with a team that he had rescued from the drop. His successor, Manuel Pellegrini, had achieved Premier League success with a Manchester City team of outstanding individuals, which would never be within the financial capability of West Ham. There did not appear to be a plan, nor the understanding of what the qualities are to succeed in English football, when the playing strength was considerably inferior to what it was at City.
West Ham were lucky that Moyes agreed to return and save them from relegation for a second time. Now he has the chance to take them on to the next level and perhaps the rate of progress so far, has surprised even him.
The performance in the 3 – 0 win over Sheffield United on Monday was a clear illustration of how he is setting up the team. Again, there are similarities with the way he had Everton playing a few years ago. West Ham are very much a counter-attacking team, retreating into their own half to defend deep when the opponents have possession and then attacking with speed and directness when they retrieve the ball.
The strikers, Lingard and Bowen, against Sheffield United, are located well up the field when the ball is regained and their runs are quick and well timed, looking for a ball into the space ahead of them. Lanzini, because he is the most skilful player, plays deeper than these two and makes himself available whenever possible for a pass to feet from a team mate in either defence or midfield. Then a pass from him is the most likely one to accurately find a striker running into space, through or behind the opponents’ defence.
Moyes has clearly been influenced by the ‘defend in depth and counter attack at speed’ approach, which has served Italian teams well for generations. He has put together a group of players who can go out and put this plan into operation and he knew the type of players he needed.
He has now got the players and they have responded well to how he wants them to play, so well done to him for that. But Sheffield United, although not without ability, were easy prey for a counter-attacking team. Other teams will now be ready for how West Ham play and it will be interesting to see how they and the Hammers respond.
David Moyes has deservedly received the plaudits for their vastly improved performances this season but I think he got it wrong in their latest match against Manchester United.
He should have backed the players and approach that got West Ham into the top five of the Premier League, but he seemed to lose his nerve when faced with a match at Old Trafford. United may be second in the table, but they are miles behind Manchester City both in points total as well as actual ability. They came out on top in the match with their neighbours the week before but they caught City on a rare off day.
Courage and belief were called for in Sunday night’s encounter but West Ham were lacking in both. It was a blow that Lingard was unavailable for this match because of the terms of his loan from United, but this affected Antonio in particular. Although he is full of running and enthusiasm, Antonio’s hold up play will never be great, when he is employed as a lone striker. If he can’t retain the ball long enough, when it is passed forward, for players to join him from midfield, then possession will not be retained long enough to produce any meaningful attacks. It was only when West Ham went a goal behind in the second half that the performance improved and this was because two players of real ability, Lanzini and Benrahma, came off the substitutes’ bench.
Now West Ham had to go for it and their performance went up several notches. But it was too late and because they had adopted a negative approach for so long, this week they did not deserve to get anything from the match. However, this jolt to their ambitions can have a beneficial effect if the Manager and his staff see the danger of stifling the players with different tactics to those that had previously led to such a great improvement.
I have been reading “Natural; The Jimmy Greaves Story” by David Tossell. This is a fascinating biography of the great England goal scorer and would be of equal interest to both younger followers, who probably know the “cheeky chappie”
mainly from old film and videos, as it would be to older fans who were privileged to view him live from the terraces.
Something that caught my eye ,however, was a reference to the Ipswich Town team which won the First Division Championship in 1961/62. This was the season following the one in which Tottenham Hotspur won the historic “Double” of League Championship and FA Cup, and became the first team to achieve this feat in the 20th Century. It was also Greaves’s first season at White Hart Lane following his transfer from AC Milan.
Tottenham never achieved the consistency in the League that had underlined their success the year before, although they won the FA Cup and reached the semi final of the European Cup. Ipswich surprised everyone by taking advantage of Tottenham’s change in priorities and won the League Title. They had only just been promoted to the First Division and were widely tipped to go straight back to the Second. It was a shock equal to that of Leicester City winning the Premier League in 2016.
Ipswich were shrewdly managed by Alf Ramsey and his success with the team from Suffolk led to him getting the England Manager’s job a few months later. Key to his team’s success was the way in which he adapted the role of his two wingers, Ray Stephenson and Jimmy Leadbetter. In an era when wingers stayed well up the pitch to provide a constant flow of high crosses for a big centre forward, Ramsey instructed his pair to play much deeper, getting involved in winning the ball and being available to receive it in what we now call midfield. It was a rough form of 4-4-2 and so perhaps he was already forming a team in his mind that would be very similar to the formation which he used to win the World Cup a few years later with England.
What is interesting and explained in David Tossell’s book, is how Tottenham reacted to these methods when they played Ipswich the following season. Tottenham beat Ipswich 5-0 in the FA Charity Shield at Portman Road and on Boxing Day
they put another five goals past them at White Hart Lane. In each game Tottenham Manager, Bill Nicholson, using WM terminology, placed right half Danny Blanchflower and left half Dave Mackay in wider positions so that they could mark the wingers Stephenson and Leadbetter. This prevented the Tottenham full backs, Peter Baker and Ron Henry, from being exposed too far forward because the Ipswich “wingers” were operating for much of the time in areas where Blanchflower and Mackay were located . Instead Nicholson brought Baker and Henry inside to mark the Ipswich inside forwards. Team balance was maintained and Tottenham dominated the new league champions.
It is fascinating to learn how Bill Nicholson reacted to Ipswich’s novel tactics with changes of his own. When you consider that Pep Guardiola at Manchester City has received much acclaim for shifting his full backs on occasions to play in front of the defence and moved his midfield players around to change the formation, then the Tottenham Manager seems to have been thinking along the same lines about sixty years ago.
I thought that Paris Saint-Germain played some brilliant football against Manchester City in the first half of the Champions’ League semi final first leg. The way they played under pressure in tight areas was reminiscent of Barcelona ten years ago.
Although City improved in the second half, their goals were avoidable. The winner from a free kick just outside the PSG penalty area was typical of many that we see from direct free kicks these days. I cannot understand why the players in the wall do not link arms to prevent anyone moving as the ball is struck and leaving a gap for the ball to go through. This used to be the accepted policy years ago, but it seems to have disappeared.. For an indirect free kick, the players must stay loose in order to break from the wall as the ball is usually passed short and square to a team mate to shoot and the rush of players aims to charge the shot down. But for a direct free kick you want the wall to be solid and firm
Some players are good enough to hit the free kick over the wall and then make it dip into the opponents’ net. So we see the players in the wall jumping as the ball is kicked and another player is lying sideways on the floor behind the wall in case the ball is struck low and it passes under the jumping wall.
So coaches are still giving plenty of thought to defending these free kicks around the penalty area, but have neglected the old way of preventing a lack of courage causing chinks to appear in the wall. Linking arms seems the solution to that.
There are many highly quotable passages in “Natural: The Jimmy Greaves Story” by David Tossell, which I have referred to in a previous post.
One which I particularly like is recalled by his son, Danny, who the author interviewed, among many others, in the writing of the book:
“Dad summed it up like this,” Danny continues. “When he played, they were footballers who had to try to be athletes. Now they are athletes who are trying to be footballers. That is the way the game has gone. You have got to have this power and strength and now it is too much of a science. But the best players are still the most gifted, not the most athletic. Players like Ronaldo, Messi and Scholes were not man-made; they had their own gift that was nurtured. Just let them play football.”
Jimmy Greaves was an instinctive player who learnt his football in the street in the years following the Second World War. My own favourite memory of his brilliance was not in a game but during a pre-season training session at West Ham. It was in 1970 and Greaves had joined the East London club the previous season, in a transfer deal which took Martin Peters in the opposite direction to Tottenham. His career at top level was winding down, but in a full-scale training match, involving first team versus reserves, he produced a moment of genius. Receiving the ball in the opposition penalty area, surrounded by defenders with his back to goal, Greaves calmly hooked the ball over his shoulder through the narrowest of gaps into the net, the keeper motionless.
I recall the silence that hung over the pitch for a number of seconds until a crescendo of spontaneous applause broke out from all the players, manager, coaching staff and people like myself who had been allowed to watch the training.
Afterwards Ron Greenwood, who had enormous respect for Greaves’s gifts, explained the “secret” of his genius. Whenever Greaves played, it was as if his head was on a swivel. He was constantly checking the whereabouts of space, team mates and opponents. He retained images of what he saw in his head, like a camera taking photographs. When the ball came to him in that crowded area, his back to goal, he knew from the photograph in his head where the gap in the defence was and placed the ball straight through it.
Instinctive and brilliant, yes, but also coachable when players are taught the habit of “knowing where they are” at all times during a match.
Ron Greenwood worked hard on this element of the game during his years at West Ham and Trevor Brooking was another great example. But in terms of an instinctive goal scorer, Jimmy Greaves was probably the best in the English game.
England made the best of starts in their Euro 2020 Final with Italy on Sunday, taking the lead within the first few minutes, but gradually Italy came more and more into the game until they were controlling midfield, where games are won and lost. Their coach, Roberto Mancini, reads the game well, reorganised his players where necessary and made effective substitutions. England have a number of very promising young players and if they continue to develop during the next few years then England can break into the top bracket of international teams. But at the moment they are just falling short.
During the tournament I read a press article which contained some interesting quotes by Luka Modric, the Croatian midfielder. Former Tottenham player, Jermaine Jenas, recalled that when Modric arrived at White Hart Lane, he left his new team mates, Jenas in particular, in no doubt that he wanted the ball moved around much quicker, rather than just knocking it about, even if they were comfortably in the lead.
Even now, too many of our players want to play in straight lines. We look for the easy pass, square or backwards, to an unmarked player. It’s the easy way to play, but it’s easy to play against. In the closing stages of extra time in the semi final against Denmark, and 2-1 in the lead, England kept the ball for several minutes at a time, to see the game out. I read newspaper reports extolling this play by England, as evidence that we can now play top foreign teams at their own possession game and beat them with it.
But this praise failed to acknowledge that keeping possession to run down the clock in the last few minutes is totally different to what you require to create scoring chances and open up defences, when you need to score goals in order to win. Kane’s movement was often effective in pulling central defenders out of position and creating space for Sterling and Saka to run into and score. But there were occasions when an England player in defence or midfield was putting the ball into touch because they could not find someone available for the forward pass.
These are aspects which need to improve if England are to make that final step towards international success.
Manchester United made a fine start to the season with a 5-1 trouncing of Leeds United at Old Trafford. Leeds were hardly a shadow of the team which gave a good account of themselves last season, after promotion had seen them back in the top tier after many years in the wilderness of the Championship and League 1.
Leeds were off the pace throughout the match, apart from a brief period at the start of the of the second half when they scored to make it 1-1.
So United did not have to be great to run up the impressive score line, but it was their early passing style which caught my eye. In this respect midfield man, Paul Pogba, was most impressive with his one touch passing and this enabled quick attacking players like Fernandes and Greenwood to be constant thorns in the Leeds defence. The first United goal in the 30th minute was a good example with the ball arriving at Pogba’s feet in the centre of the pitch and his first touch chipped pass found Fernandes moving into space behind the Leeds defence at just the right moment, to put United ahead and the opposition defenders were left standing.
This set the pattern for the match, with quick, simple passes and off the ball running, regularly opening up Leeds. Pogba set up Greenwood for number two with a pass that broke their back line and set up a similar goal for Fernandes to make it 3-1. Lindelof provided the assist for Fernandes to complete his hat trick and then Pogba pulled the ball back along the ground for Fred to score a rare goal.
Pogba does not always use his talents as productively as he did last Saturday but in this match he gave fine examples of effective one touch play. It was an invaluable lesson for anyone who coaches young players who, in grass roots football, often resort to hopeful kicks forward. The lesson is to be aware of your passing options before actually receiving the ball, by constantly checking the area around you so you know where you will move the ball before you receive it.
England’s win over Andorra was a comfortable 4-0 but it should have been at least double that score. It wasn’t because England’s young reserves don’t have talent but they need to move the ball more quickly. They need to improve their one touch play.
England struggled to open up the heavily reinforced Andorran defence in the first half but as the visitors tired in the second period they were there for the taking. A good example of England’s failings was when Jesse Lingard took two touches of the ball to play Bukayo Saka through. The result of the extra touch was that Saka was just offside when Lingard’s pass was made. The Arsenal forward had held his run, needing a first time pass. The extra touch on the ball by Lingard resulted in Saka running just too early into the space behind Andorra’s defence.
Jack Grealish produced a very good moment when, receiving the ball out on the left, he picked out Mason Mount sprinting between two central defenders in the Andorran penalty area. But his run was away from the goal which prevented the pass from resulting in a scoring chance.
Grealish is clearly very talented but it is to be hoped that he listens carefully to the coaching ínstructions he will now be receiving from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. When he appears on the touchline in England matches ready to come off the substitute bench, there is a buzz of excited anticipation from the crowd. They want to see him produce some magic and leave defenders trailing behind him as he glides past them. He certainly has the talent to do this, but it is equally important that the option of seeing a pass with the first touch is also developed. Many talented young players have had their better judgement influenced by the excited demands of the crowd.
With the benefit of hindsight, many people have criticised England manager, Gareth Southgate, for not using any of his substitutes during the 1-1 draw in the World Cup qualifier with Poland on Wednesday evening. With Harry Kane having put England ahead with twenty minutes remaining, many feel that England should have kept the pressure on the Poles and looked to add to their goal, making the three points safe.
When interviewed immediately after the match, Southgate expressed the view that everything was going well and he saw no reason to make any changes.
It has often been said that no two people see a football match in exactly the same way. Before Kane put England ahead it looked to me as though the game was heading for a goalless draw. The goal changed the whole complexion of the game and it had a psychological effect on both teams. England’s players had themselves perhaps thought that 0-0 was the likely outcome, so that when they scored they thought subconsciously that the three points were in the bag. They dropped deep too easily and Poland were encouraged by this. They found that they could throw players into attack without England playing passes into the spaces behind their defence, which did exist. Kane himself dropped into deep positions, too deep, but England persisted in playing passes into him, usually now in a crowded midfield where he had no effect, instead of into the back of the Polish defence for someone such as Raheem Sterling to spin away from his marker into space and threaten their goal.
As I have said, it is always easy to express views with hindsight. But certain things happened in the last twenty minutes which required a calming influence to settle the team down. Kane has many fine qualities which make him an inspirational captain. The problem is that in his position of striker, it is difficult to affect all parts of the team, which probably results in him coming back deeper than his position in the team requires. The steadying hand that could have maintained England’s 100% record in the group, could have been provided by Jordan Henderson, and it has been reported in some newspapers that in the second half he looked to be receiving detailed instructions from the England coaching staff on the bench, but he never came on.
Had Henderson gone on, then you would imagine him shouting and cajoling England players into position, moving the ball quickly and getting everyone up the field as a compact unit whenever possible.
The two points dropped, however, should have no damaging effect on a comfortable England qualification and I’m sure that Gareth Southgate will study the match recording for any lessons to be learned.
Hungary proved to be difficult opponents for England at Wembley in the World Cup qualifying tie and fully deserved the 1-1 draw. . They were almost unrecognisable from the side which England beat comfortably by 4-0 in Budapest a little over a month before. This time they were well organised, with a highly drilled defensive system and dangerous in counter attacks.
Their coach, Marco Rossi, had clearly done a lot of work on the training pitch and they were ready for anything that England threw at them.
It was a familiar tale for England after the heady days of the Euros in the summer and the World Cup in Russia. A lot of pressure and ball possession but little creative play. Gareth Southgate was applauded before the match for selecting a higher quota of creative players than normal by playing Declan Rice on his own in the holding midfield role. This was not a success because in spite of a number of “flair” players in the team, not enough imagination was displayed to unlock the Hungarian defence. Rice did not look happy without a partner and was occasionally outnumbered in the middle of the pitch when Hungary broke forward.
In the final third England looked particularly poor and did not give the Hungarian defence anything like enough problems. Too many crosses were aimed for the far post, with it being a rarity for anyone to attack the near post. This allowed Hungary’s defence and goalkeeper to concentrate their attentions on guarding the far post without the danger and distraction of a near post runner.
England’s goal was a typical English goal because it came from a free kick out wide put in high into the Hungarian area. At least it was this time to the near post, although the ball inadvertently deflected off Rice’s back for Stones at the far post to score.
Raheem Sterling almost got a second just before half time when he peeled off his marker into space at the far post but could not force the ball home. In the second half Harry Kane produced his one piece of quality to make a good pass to put Sterling into the space behind Hungary’s defence, but keeper Peter Gulacsi was quick off his line to make a fine save.
These were isolated cases of England creating anything tangible in the Hungarian area. Although Hungary’s defence was equal to practically anything England could throw at them, they were asked very few questions by their much vaunted opponents. But the lack of movement of the players by the players and slow movement of the ball made it a much easier night for them than it should have been and they were well worth their point.
It used to be customary for a player to be stationed on each post when defending a corner. This has ceased to be the norm and it is now rare for even one post to be covered. Yet there are still occasions when a goal has been conceded and it was apparent that had a defender been on the post then the goal could have been prevented.
Leicester won 2-1 at Brentford last Saturday but after going behind in the 14th minute the home side stepped up the pressure and equalised on the hour mark from a corner kick. Brentford are a big side and known for the danger they pose with set pieces and high crosses into the penalty area. So I was surprised that Leicester had no one on the back post when Brentford equalised from Matthias Jorgensen’s glancing header, which went across goal and entered the net just inside the far post. A well taken goal which Jorgensen met on the run, but easily cleared had the visitors stationed a defender on the back post.
It wasn’t a critical incident because Leicester grabbed the winner, but watching the game, that had seemed the most likely way that Brentford would score. But I just wondered if managers are giving sufficient thought to varying their tactics, depending on those of their opponents?
The arrival of foreign coaches and managers, as well as players, has resulted in English football being played more on the ground than it was, say, 20 – 30 years ago. We do not, for example, see the same use of the long throw to the near post, as was once the case, which was a potent weapon with Stoke City under Tony Pulis. The key point was the low trajectory of the throw, by Rory Delap, which was back-headed at the near post by the tall striker and finished off at the far post by a team mate sprinting in the meet the ball.
Similarly, a corner kick, dropped at the near post for a player, arriving at the right moment, has the same effect with a header back across goal as an assist for a colleague, or, as in the case of Jorgensen’s effort, directly into goal.
It would not surprise me to see this tactic make a regular reappearance at some time in the future, and would coaches then find that reintroducing defenders on the posts is essential?
Following the previous post, two more headed goals were scored from corners in the Premier League last Saturday, with the ball entering the net just inside the undefended back post.
Leicester City were again caught out by this tactic when Arsenal centre half Gabriel took advantage of slack marking by Johnny Evans and no one on the back post, to give the visitors an early lead, which laid the foundations for an away win, and was identical to the goal Leicester conceded at Brentford the previous Saturday. Andrew Omobamidele of Norwich City, also exposed Leeds United’s lack of a player on the back post to defend a corner to equalise, although the visitors claimed the three points when they scored the winner two minutes later.
It seems that most managers and coaches are prepared to take the risk of conceding goals in this fashion so that they can use all their players to take up marking responsibilities in and around the penalty area, as well as placing others in counter attacking positions.
It is also noticeable that the defending team look to sprint out from their area much quicker these days, to close down any attempts on their goal resulting from partial clearances and also to leave opponents offside. Also, in the past the defenders on the posts were instructed to remain in those positions until the ball had been cleared from the penalty area, so as to be on hand to cover their goalkeeper by clearing a goal attempt off the line if he was beaten by a follow up shot. But as football gets increasingly quicker, personal responsibilities increase and the “high risk, high reward” element of modern football takes hold.
However, I cannot imagine that Leicester manager, Brendan Rogers, will be happy about conceding a headed goal at the back post on two Saturdays running and will be taking steps to eliminate this weakness.
In my opinion there are unmistakable signs that the standard of refereeing in the English leagues is on the decline again. With the 2022 World Cup now a little under 12 months away, this may have repercussions for England and the other Home Nations who could qualify via the play-offs.
One example of a lack of strictness by the match referee came in the Tottenham-Liverpool Premier League match. Harry Kane really should have been shown the red card for a terrible over the top challenge for the ball against Liverpool’s left back, Andy Robertson. Kane may well have been wholly committed to be going for the ball, but a player of his experience should not be mistiming his tackle so badly and in such an uncontrolled manner. It was only thanks to Robertson’s evasive action, in seeing the wild challenge coming, that contact with his leg was avoided, thereby avoiding the very real possibility of a broken leg.
Only the referee knows why he failed to send Kane off the field. It has been suggested that Kane’s status as England captain led to the official keeping his red card in his pocket. If so then he would not be the first in English football history, in failing to administer marching orders on the captain of the National Team. I seem to remember that even Bobby Moore stayed on the field in one league match, after he brought down an opposing forward who had broken clear of the defence with only the keeper to beat.
However, the plain fact is that in the World Cup in Qatar, any foul such as the one by Kane will undoubtedly bring about an instant dismissal from the field. Over indulgent refereeing in domestic football has, in the past, seen British players sent off for fouls which at home would have been punished by merely a free kick or caution. In recent years there has been greater strictness in the English leagues, but the frequent criticism by some managers of referees has led to backward steps being taken. If there is not a toughening up on what is is allowed and what is not, then we shall suffer in the long run when foreign referees are in control.
With reference to my above post, recent incidents have indicated that refereeing standards are on the decline abroad as well as at home.
The AFCON Final between Senegal and Egypt last night provided a good example. During the second half Sadio Mane was guilty of attempting to win a free kick with a blatant dive which did not deceive the South African referee, Victor Gomes. Mane had already been cautioned in the first half and a second yellow, followed by a red, seemed inevitable for Senegal’s star forward. But at the decisive moment Gomes lost his nerve and kept his cards in his pocket. Mane stayed on the pitch and became a national hero by scoring the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
This is a trend that I am noticing more and more. Key matches, especially cup finals, are seeing star players escaping either red or yellow cards, which should have resulted in them being expelled from the pitch, when similar fouls or attempted cheating in routine league matches, would have had the player leave the pitch with barely a murmur.
I seem to recall not long ago that a number of high profile matches were deemed to have been spoilt by one team going down to ten men relatively early, with the result that the game failed to live up to expectations. My suspicion is that FIFA, UEFA and other organisations controlling the game, have instructed referees to keep twenty two players on the pitch if at all possible.
Like anyone else, I want to see eleven players against eleven but, above all else, the laws of the game must be adhered to. Results are being affected by failing to hand out the correct punishment. Nobody knows what would have happened if Senegal had been deprived of their star performer for half the match. But we know he would not have been on the pitch to score the winning penalty and the thought will always be in the mind that had the referee carried out his duties correctly, then it could have been Egypt, and not Senegal, who would have been returning home with the cup.
I saw three matches from different levels over the Easter weekend in League 1 of the Football League, National League South and Isthmian League South East Division.
There was one aspect of play that was evident in all three games and that was the willingness to move the ball from one side of the pitch to the other in an effort to shift the opposition around. Unfortunately, in my opinion it was done too slowly and so the objective of creating a change in direction of play and achieving an overload on the opposite flank, was rarely achieved.
It could have been had the ball been passed more quickly. There were occasions when the ball was received by a support player inside and simply given back again which achieved nothing, by just returning the ball into an already over-crowded area of the pitch. But there were plenty of instances when the receiver of the pass had the willingness to start a “play round” passing movement, but the movement of the ball was too slow and the opposition had sufficient time to readjust and snuff out the danger.
These were not matches at the highest level of course, and had they been Premier League matches then it would surely have resulted in more dangerous situations being created. But even lower down the pyramid it is reasonable to expect sufficient training time and talent to be available, so that a wider range of attacking possibilities are achieved. Opening up the body and constantly scanning the pitch as preparation before receiving a pass, would enable these situations to be recognised and exploited.
Manchester City spent a reported fee of 100 million pounds when they signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa shortly before the start of this season. There is now a fair amount of press conjecture that City have not received value for money from the deal and his place in the England starting line-up for this year’s World Cup is in no way a certainty.
I share the doubts about Grealish. When in possession he slows the game down and often seems more intent in winning free kicks and penalties and failing to exploit situations with the ball, since he always wants to take on opponents. Dribbling is a skill that can create dangerous openings, but not on every occasion. Sometimes the situation requires rapid transference of the ball between players, and City are at their best in those circumstances.
I’m sure that Pep Guardiola was aware of the potential problems in this regard when he signed him because, after all, they were apparent in the England matches in which Grealish played during last summer’s Euros. I suspect that the Spanish coach took a chance and hoped to broaden the player’s football knowledge and intelligence by working with him in training.
So far there has not been a very big big improvement and, increasingly, Grealish starts big games on the bench. I think that Guardiola will continue to persevere with Grealish because he is a talented player, but until the former Barcelona coach had him in training then he had no real idea of how the player would respond to his coaching.
This is always the gamble when a club spends heavily on a star name. The fans get excited when another “golden boy” joins their squad but the coach knows all the pit falls that could be waiting if the new player cannot, or will not, respond to the new coaching. To find out there is no choice other than to cough up the huge fee.
Bromley, of the National League Premier Division, won the FA Trophy on Sunday when they defeated high-flying Wrexham by one-nil at Wembley.
It was a good goal as well, resulting from a third man running movement with Corey Whitely, picked out with an early pass, as he sprinted into the channel down the left side of Wrexham’s defence. The angle was rather narrow for Whitely to score with a shot himself, but his head was up and he picked out Michael Cheek in the Wrexham area with a superb pass and the Bromley striker did the rest.
I am noticing more and more examples of third man running in the semi-professional game. The ball is being moved about more quickly and I suspect that those teams which produce examples of third man running are working on training games of one touch, together with third man running practices.
With the emphasis on early forward passes and good player movement, this can only lead to an improvement in attractive, attacking play.
Liverpool made all the early running in the Champions League Final last Saturday but could not score. Real Madrid got more into the game as it went on and, in the end, they deserved to win. Their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, intimated afterwards that it was relatively easy for them to plan for the match because Liverpool play a certain way and rarely divert from this. The high defensive line that Liverpool employ, has been the cornerstone of their success, but it will be interesting to see if Jurgen Klopp now becomes a little more flexible in his approach. Ancelotti remarked that they were conscious of not allowing space behind their defence for Liverpool to exploit, but the Reds themselves became vulnerable to quick attacks from Madrid in the second half.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is a fine full back with great passing qualities, but when he “lost” Vinicius in the Liverpool penalty area, from Valverde’s cross, for the winning goal, then this is not the first time it has happened.
It seems that before the match, Ancelotti had given more thought to what could happen than Klopp had done. These days many teams are labelled. We say that Team A is a passing team, Team B plays direct, Team C mainly plays out from defence etc. Ancelotti said afterwards that if they had elected to play out from defence then it would have encouraged Liverpool to apply their high press. So by hitting more long balls than Madrid would normally have done, this resulted in Liverpool’s press in their opponents’ half of the pitch lessening. So Real got more control of the match in the second half and it was not a great surprise when they scored the winning goal.
Most people outside Wales were hoping that Ukraine would emerge victorious from their World Cup play off match as a reward for the incredible bravery that country has shown in the face of the Russian invasion.
Alas, it was not to be and largely due to the brilliance of Burnley’s reserve goalkeeper, it is the Welsh who will be travelling to Qatar in just under six months time and lining up against the world’s elite. But few would deny Wales their place when remembering that their only other appearance was in 1958. Looking at the game from a purely football angle, I was sorry to see the Ukrainians fail in their bid because in Cardiff , and also their previous play-off tie against Scotland last Wednesday, they had shown a pleasing style of one-touch football with the priority to pass the ball forward at every opportunity.
I hope that other coaches were taking note. Also, last Wednesday Argentina came to Wembley and made short work of Italy by 3-0. Again, Argentina gained the upper hand and stayed on the front foot. The ball was passed forwards regularly and the players’ runs, either with the ball or without in third man movements, were made in forward directions. Lionel Messi was their trump card of course. On the evidence of Wembley, the little genius is far from finished. He perhaps starts in a slightly deeper position but requires little encouragement to break forward. Argentina looked a good bet for the 2022 World Cup.
Let’s hope that a corner has been turned and more coaches will inject a spirit of daring into their teams’ play. The World Cup is the big event of the football year, so let’s hope that whoever emerges with the coveted trophy sets the standard that inspires everyone involved in the game.
If the mediocre Nations League match played yesterday between England and Italy proved anything, it was that women in televised football are now proving as enlightening as most of the men in their analysis and reading of the game.
I am referring to the comments made at half time by Jordan Nobbs. Her observations of the third man running employed by Italy in the first half were spot on in my opinion. As a result, the Italians were much more imaginative and varied in their attacking play than England and they carried on in a similar vein in the second half.
With only three more matches left to play before the opening World Cup match against Iran on November 21st, England are running out of time to fine tune their attacking play. Gareth Southgate is right to look at as many squad players as possible, because he knows that untimely injuries suffered during a tournament to key players can scupper the best laid plans. So he has to have a replacement ready to fill a position which becomes vacant due to an untimely injury.
But this was where there were unfavourable comparisons between England and their Italian opponents, who of course have flopped badly in failing to qualify for Qatar 2022. Their starting eleven was almost entirely experimental, with only keeper Donnarumma a regular in the national team. But the fact that they combined well on a number of occasions to produce third man running movements, must have given food for thought to the England manager and staff.
With such an inexperienced and experimental line up capable of producing bright and intelligent movement based on third man running, then why cannot England produce a similarly cohesive performance with a side much less untried and untested than the Italians?
It leads to the question: are the majority of the clubs in Serie A working along similar lines so that a recognisable way of playing is ingrained throughout the league, enabling a national eleven to be put together with greater success than if the players are taken from various diverse playing styles, as in England?
The national teams of both England and Italy spend just a few days together preparing for a match. There is only really time to work on basic organisation, team shape and set pieces leading up to an international. The way that Italy were looking for the third player breaking into attacking space had to have the seeds sown in their clubs. It seems most likely the result of movements and understanding being put together in their daily training schedule . Maybe also, a similar coaching methodology through each age group in the Italian Youth Team system.
Whatever the reason, it seems as though Italy are doing something which we are not and I think we should find out what it is.
If football is played at all levels with skill and a positive mind-set by putting the emphasis on an attractive, attacking style, then I have always believed that people will go along to their local ground and happily pay the entrance money to watch it.
Charlton Athletic have started the season with four points out of a possible six from their first two League One games. It is much too early to start seriously thinking about the chances of promotion after years of disappointment and relegation, but the early indications suggest that their newly appointed manager, Ben Garner, wants to give the supporters a decent brand of football for their money.
Garner is a young manager in his third managerial appointment. His second, at Swindon Town last season in League Two, almost brought promotion but they lost in the end of season play-offs. His first job, at Bristol Rovers, was an unhappy experience for Garner, but he used it as a learning curve and came out of the experience stronger and wiser.
Last Saturday, against Derby County at home, Charlton struggled in the first half and were lucky to go in at half time with the scoreline goalless. Derby, hoping to bounce back into the Championship at the first attempt, could have been out of sight with the chances they created and the panic which had spread through the Charlton defence.
But from the start of the second half until the final whistle, Charlton were unrecognisable from the side who had struggled so badly during the first forty five minutes. They now moved the ball much more quickly and played with much greater conviction. Garner had clearly got through to his players just where they were going wrong and how they should put it right.
The only goal of the match which gave Charlton the three points summed up the improvement perfectly and was a good insight into Charlton’s game style under their new boss. Charlton successfully repelled a Derby attack through Steve Sessegnon’s intervention. He played the ball into Scott Fraser in midfield, who carried it forward. He passed it to Charlie Kirk on the left touchline, who opened up his body to play a first time pass down the left into the path of Albie Morgan who was breaking forward on a third man run. He cut inside into the Derby penalty area, hit a shot that Derby keeper, Joe Wildsmith could only parry away and Corey Blackett-Taylor was following up to score from five yards.
What was impressive was the movement and the players’ awareness with early passes. From what I have seen of Charlton so far this season, this is what they have improved upon and no doubt indicative of the work being done on the training ground. The season is long and Charlton rode their luck on Saturday as I have said, but the early signs are that Ben Garner is trying to produce quality football that could bring success, and at least gives the paying customer value for his/ her admission money.
The Nations’ League match between Italy and England in Milan last Friday was met with fierce criticism by the British press as England slumped to another defeat. The general opinion was that England had their moments in the sun at World Cup 2018 and the delayed Euros of 2021. It’s all downhill from here.
In my opinion, the match with Germany on Monday at Wembley, with England fighting back to secure a 3-3 draw, provided evidence that all is not yet lost as the “Winter World Cup” in Qatar looms into view. There is probably no truly outstanding team on the world stage at the moment. Argentina and Brazil are a lot of peoples’ favourites, and I would agree, but neither goes into the category of truly outstanding.
England put their game together much better in this match and if Gareth Southgate can convince his men that if they produce that form, then England can again go deep into the later stages of the competition.
Against Italy, Harry Kane hardly got a meaningful kick. But he was almost totally lacking in support. Against Germany, the wing backs, Reece Jones and Luke Shaw, pushed on up the sidelines from the first whistle. As a result, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling were able to come inside from their wide positions to ensure that Kane was given constant and regular support. Declan Rice and especially Jude Bellingham, came through the centre of midfield and won regular possession in that central area. Bellingham was particularly outstanding at looking to produce forward passes at every opportunity.
It was such a pity that central defender, John Stones, had to leave the field with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the opening minutes. He had already shown his class and skill by breaking forward into midfield with the ball, starting attacks and providing the extra man by continuing to push forward into enemy territory even after releasing his pass.
This is the type of player that English football has been crying out for, for so long. In fact, he picked up his injury by receiving a knock after breaking up a German attack, coming out with the ball and passing and moving again as he entered the midfield area. We have the coaching skills of Pep Guardiola to thank at Manchester City, for providing this “gift”. We need coaches in clubs throughout the League to provide more of these players.
Contrast this improvement with the performance against Italy on the previous Friday. Walker, Dier and Maguire were stationed like guardsmen at the back of England’s defence. They dealt with an Italian attack, cleared the ball and then let their team mates further forward continue with building the play further up the field. They hung back as if they were marking fresh air.
Getting the team up the field so that it operates as one unit is vital. Against Germany, the back line was pushing forward immediately possession was gained, the wing backs got high and Foden and Sterling, each wide of Kane, were always within support distance of the England striker.
There is no guarantee of success in football, but courage, knowledge and discipline play vital roles in the team armoury. Gareth Southgate and his coaching staff have a huge part to play in convincing their players that they have the possibilities to succeed once they arrive in Qatar, but I believe that, as in Russia, a semi final position can be achieved.
Reading Manager, Paul Ince, was right to be annoyed with his players when the they conceded a late winner to Queens Park Rangers in the televised Championship match at Loftus Road last night.
I believe that we still have a lot of work to do when coaching good defending to our young players.
Basically, Mamadou Loum panicked when Tim Iroegbunam ran onto a through pass played into the Reading penalty area.
Loum did not adjust his position or attempt to block the route which the QPR midfielder was taking, as the gap was exposed in the Reading defence. Too many young defenders think that it’s now panic stations, instead of applying a cool head and shepherding the forward into a less favourable position.
The defender must have it in his defensive tool kit that winning the ball immediately an opponent threatens his goal, is not a sacrosanct law of the game. Because the game is played at a ferocious pace these days, there are are too many players who do not give themselves time to think.
A defender should be giving himself as much thinking time as a gifted midfield player. First, he must manoeuvre the opponent into the least favourable position the defender can envisage. Then he applies the necessary pressure and leads the attacking player into what he considers to be a more negative, or least dangerous position.
It’s a battle of wits. Bobby Moore, among many others, was an expert but he had no special speed, except what was inside his head. Lets hope that we shall see a return to intelligent , patient defending in the near future.
In my opinion, England’s chances of achieving a successful World Cup campaign would be greatly increased by the the inclusion of West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell at left back.
In recent years, Cresswell has improved considerably. His use of the of the ball, his runs, with and without it, and his constant support of colleagues, is excellent. He constantly seeks to pass the ball forward, it is his first pass of choice whenever possible. This is in an era when so many players make sure that possession is maintained. This leads to a lot of negative play, the ball being shifted around in a square or backwards direction.
If you watch Cresswell closely, then you see that he gets into forward positions to support or provide options whenever possible. He wants to pass the ball forward whenever possible, and he tries to provide opportunities for others to pass the ball forward to him if that is also possible.
Cresswell tries to break past a team mate in possession at just the right moment for the pass to be released as he sprints down the outside, putting opponents out of the game by the timing of his run.
This is all simple in conception and method but we have fallen into the trap of “safety first” football and too much play does not lead anywhere.
It just requires a different emphasis in training. Every movement in the attacking play must be aimed at creating a shooting/scoring opportunity. The objective must be to run forward with the ball, or pass it forward, whenever possible. If team mates are running forward into space, then those opportunities will regularly present themselves. The players must have the courage to make these runs and coaches at all levels must encourage them to do so.
“Football is now very different, the rules are different. It was very difficult to play back then, (in the seventies and eighties when Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa played). It’s easier today.
You can make twenty passes just to go a few metres forward. This football bores me! I believe it’s inferior football.
I haven’t had a great impression of the football at this World Cup. In my opinion, it was a World Cup without great technical quality, without many great players, but it’s the World Cup and it’s the football of today.”
This is a quote made by Ricky Villa during an interview with himself and Ossie Ardiles, in the “Mail on Sunday” on the day of the 2022 World Cup Final.
Both Villa and Ardiles were Argentine greats who helped their country win the World Cup in 1978.
The obsession with “possession football” has been prevalent for a number of years now, but I have always felt that it is out of step with the way the British public like to watch and play their football.
The crowds in Britain like to see the ball either moved forward quickly or for a player receiving a pass to go on a positive forward run. Instead, we see too many square and backward passes, wasting time and allowing the opposition to recover back into position.
I was speaking to a very knowledgeable coach who had given many years of service to a Premier League club, and when I asked him if there had been a fundamental change in philosophy at this club, he replied that during his time the philosophy was, on gaining possession, to pass, or run with the ball, forward if at all possible. But now, the golden rule was to keep possession and on no account to give it away. Consequently, the possession stats were high but the playing style produced a much higher number of backward and square passes. An observation in line with Ricky Villa’s quote above.
But, appropriately, the second Argentina goal in the Final was a superb example of a swift counter-attack, fashioned by one-touch passes and concluded with a superb run and finish by Angel Di Maria.
I also really liked Japan in the Tournament, particularly in their very fine, but unexpected wins against much stronger football nations, Germany and Spain. They always tried to be positive, even when their opponents seemed to have the upper hand. They stuck to their tasks and whenever they regained possession, they moved the ball forward in an attempt to take the game to their opponents. They won both those games, in my opinion, because of that positive mindset.
In contrast, England played far too many passes across the pitch. Even against the USA, England played the “safety first” game. The Americans have improved, it’s true, but does the country that invented the game have to play like that against comparative novices? It’s the mindset I’m afraid, but the opposite one to that of the Japanese.
I believe that the time has come to scrap the VAR system, as an aid and assistance to the referees. It was thought that the use of modern technology in arriving at correct decisions would be to the game’s advantage, but my belief is that it is creating more problems than it is solving.
Almost every week there are debates and arguments over decisions arrived at by the referee in Premier League matches. It is the same in the top divisions of other countries where football is the leading sport and also in the international tournaments.
But, in my opinion, VAR does not sit well with the pace, skill and intensity of football in the same way that similar use of technology does in sports like rugby and cricket. The delay that is so often being caused, in arriving at a decision on the validity of goal, with players standing around whilst the referee consults someone sitting in front of a screen miles away from the ground at which the game is being played, and then often goes to a pitch-side monitor to see for himself, is ridiculous.
So I have concluded that the decision should be decided there and then by the officials in charge of the game on the pitch. There are two linesmen, now known as “assistants” anyway, and the fourth official observing from the half-way line. That is enough and their decision, through the referee, is final.
We have arrived at this situation because over a good many years, discipline has been enforced with not nearly enough strictness. The recent incidents where players have laid hands on an official should result in an immediate ban of at least six months, with a heavy financial penalty also imposed on the club.
I think that the referees should also be allowed to revert back to making judgements on their own initiative. The confusion that has been caused by the authorities pronouncing that a penalty or free kick should be judged by a hand or arm being in an “unnatural” position has resulted in some ludicrous decisions. If a shot from point blank range strikes a defender’s arm as he makes a last gasp tackle, whilst clearly making it with his foot or full front of his body to block the shot, then his arms are clearly being used to propel himself into that last gasp situation, with no intention to use his hands/arms if the ball strikes those body parts. It’s the referee’s judgement, there and then, and those are the criteria on which he should judge it.
In addition, some of the offside decisions are so marginal that, in my opinion, they are against the spirit of the game. The fact is that when the offside decision is upheld on the basis that the tip of the offending player’s boot is in the offside position, as shown by the the lines drawn down the screen, then this actually proves that the player was not in an offside position when the ball was last played. This is because there is no camera frame in the world that can work at that speed and so when it is so marginal then the player should never have been given offside.
But I find perhaps the most upsetting aspect in this offside element, is a player given offside when his upper body is leaning forward, as it should be, to beat a tight marking defender to the ball, having got on his shoulder and doing everything right to break their offside trap. Again, this comes down to the less than perfect accuracy with the freeze-frame, but I would like to see the laws amended here with it being necessary for the whole of the body to be beyond the defender for it to be given offside.
In conclusion, it has been clear for many years that referees must have the courage to officiate strictly, but they must be backed up by all the governing bodies and greater clarity is vital for adherence with the Laws. The game itself is bigger than anyone and those who think otherwise are disrespecting the game.
Chelsea’s second match of the season was a visit to West Ham United and resulted in a 3-1 defeat. But they had enough of the play to have come away with at least a draw and in the second half especially, the home team were relying on their defence for long periods. The Hammers had the excuse of playing with ten men for the last half hour after Nayef Aguerd had received a second yellow card, but the Hammers understandably often had their entire team back in defence to ensure they took all three points.
It could have been a very different story had Enzo Fernandez not had his penalty saved saved by West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola a few minutes before the break, which would have given the visitors a 2-1 half time lead.
Nevertheless, the match highlighted a number of promising features in Chelsea’s play which could indicate that the good days may be returning to Stamford Bridge after the disappointments of last season.
Prominent among the improvements in their play was the display of Raheem Sterling. He seemed to have recovered his sharpness and skill and on this form he should be knocking on the door of the England team again. I also liked the look of their new striker, Nicolas Jackson, a Senegal international signed from Spanish side, Villarreal, and he has pace, intelligence and aggression. It looked as though he has been central to a lot of the work which manager Mauricio Pochettino has been doing on the training ground. A number of times he operated as the third man runner in attack as the ball was passed forward from midfield to Fernandez, set back and then, as Jackson ran laterally across the front line, the next pass was hit dangerously into space into which he was running.
I can see this piece of play, and other variations, being an important aspect in their attacking armoury this season. Jackson looks like a player who could do well in English football and hopefully Pochettino will find that his coaching skills can be put to better use than they were at PSG.
In recent years some coaches have felt that if they play with inverted wingers, that is a left footed player on the right and a right footed player on the left, then when they cut inside from a distance of about 25 yards from goal and let fly with a fierce shot, the chances of scoring are somewhat greater than building up a move down the flank and finishing with a cross.
Bayern Munich had some success with this approach some years ago. Arjen Robben, a left footed player played on the right and Franck Ribery, who favoured his right foot, operated down the left. Some other teams followed suit but Bayern were usually considered the most successful with the ploy.
There are still quite a few coaches who set up their attacking plans with this method, but it has now been pointed out that the stats reveal there are still considerably more goals scored from the traditional cross delivered into various parts of the goalmouth than there are from fierce shots hit from distance as the winger cuts in from out wide with the ball on his best foot.
I believe that the teams which work hardest at perfecting the orthodox cross reap the benefit. A cross is a pass, as has been pointed out on many occasions. Passes which go astray prevent smooth, controlled football and that is also the case, if a a team is continually failing to put the ball accurately into dangerous areas when crossing. Many crosses fail to clear the first defender, or they are over hit and go harmlessly out of play beyond the far side of the goal. Many young players are not getting their heads up early enough to check the situation in the opposition area and thereby recognise the options which all the attacking players should be aware of.
Getting round the back of a defence spells danger to most teams and defenders chasing back in an attempt to retrieve the situation have been “turned round” and they don’t like that. The space between the defenders and their goal is often referred to as the “corridor of uncertainty” for good reason and many own goals are the result of a defender diverting the ball into his own net when he knows that unless he makes first contact then an opposing forward will finish it off.
Chelsea’s recent televised match with Luton Town, provided very good examples of how good wide play and well executed crossing can create chaos to an opposing defence.
The first goal was the result of brilliant individualism by Raheem Sterling. He came in with the ball from the right, put three opponents out of the game with magical ball control and “passed” the ball into the net with his left foot.
The second and third goals illustrated that the Chelsea players have received high quality coaching in their development years and are most likely continuing to receive coaching of similar quality now that they are first team players at Stamford Bridge.
Sterling was again the scorer, and he timed his run into the Luton area without the ball to perfection. Malo Gusto had received a pass a from Moises Caicedo and with his head already up as he received the ball, he knew Sterling was running towards the penalty spot and picked him out with a perfect low cross. Sterling had a simple job of scoring.
Sterling then turned provider to complete the scoring for Chelsea. From close to the Luton dead ball line, he put a low cross into the “corridor of uncertainty”. A desperate Luton defender managed to make first contact but could only help it into the path of Nicolas Jackson, who was coming in on the sprint to make it 3-0 for Chelsea.
Crossing has always been a big part of the British game, but high performing teams like Chelsea have reached the level of performance that they displayed in this match by countless hours spent on the training ground.
I have commented previously on this blog after seeing old ideas being resurrected when they appeared to have died out, with dramatic consequences.
Last Saturday I saw Welling United defeat Slough Town by 4-3 in a dramatic encounter in the National League South. With the match going into the final minute of stoppage time with the score standing at 3-3, Welling won a free kick out on the right flank, midway inside the Slough half. Predictably, Welling sent men forward into the Slough penalty area to contest the expected high ball from the free kick. Similarly, Slough pull back most of their team into their area to defend this assault and the scene looked set for the heavy “bombardment”.
But now the scenario took on a different appearance. As Welling prepared their final assault on the Slough goal, two Welling players, Josh Chambers and Lachlan Byrd, peeled away from the rest of their team mates in the goal mouth, just before the kick was taken and got clear of the other Slough defenders with their sudden movement beyond the far post. This had the effect of turning the Slough defence around as the ball was threatening the visitors’ penalty area, something that defenders do not like. Byrd got possession close to the Slough dead ball line, looked up and clipped a lovely cross back to the edge of the goal area, finding Taylor Curran unmarked and his header gave Welling their fourth and winning goal.
The movement of Byrd and Chambers, the sudden change in direction of the delivery, threw Slough into disarray. What looked like being a contest for a “fight” ball changed into a battle of wits which Welling won. Whether this was the result of work done in training or simply two players seeing the possibility of doing something smart on the spur of the moment, I do not know. But players pulling away from the line of sight of defenders and getting on their blindside, is nothing new but seems less evident in matches these days.
Full marks to the Welling United players for smart thinking.
Frequently I see players in the National League who I think would have a good chance of making it as full-time professionals in the Football League. Step down a level to the Isthmian League and the picture is the same. This situation has come about, I feel, because of the disappearance of reserve team football, and after spending years in the Academy, playing in various age group teams, the young players are badly in need of testing themselves against senior players where the result is of prime importance. The young player has to show how badly he wants to become a professional player and the ability to protect the ball and the space around him, is now essential.
Louis Collins is a 22 year old striker with Eastbourne Borough who I saw play recently in an away match at Welling United. He is not very tall but he was quick, with good speed off the mark. He made intelligent diagonal runs, looking to get across the backs of defenders into spaces which he had identified. He showed a constant appetite for hard work, by closing down relentlessly when an opposing defender had possession. He looked for opportunities, whenever possible, to “set traps”, by delaying his press by seconds to lull an opposing defender into believing he had time to control the ball, and then sprang to pressurize at the moment the defender relaxed.
Eastbourne is Collins’s eighth change of club during the last four years, with Sevenoaks, twice, Dover, Margate, Tonbridge, Cray Wanderers, and Whitehawk the others.
It is always interesting to follow the progress of young players and see how high they can progress in the game and from what I saw, Louis Collins had both the ability and the willingness to work.