WHATS WRONG (OR DIFFERENT) ABOUT THE GAME TODAY COMPARED WITH THE ONE I GREW UP KNOWING?

Decision making, communication and off the ball movement – basics that are nor taught!

Blame FIFA (the game, not the organization)??
 

Over many years in the game I have picked up many tips and “cheats” from older, wiser players that have helped me develop as a player and particularly as a coach/manager – genetics stopped me being a great player! I never has real pace, bravery, and a lack of fear of making an error (I always worried about making mistakes) although I could “do” everything – run (distance), head, kick, control a ball.
 

A young player once said to me – “where did you used to play in your younger days?” – my response was “midfield by default, but I’d be a midfield player by choice in today’s game!”

 

He asked what I meant by that, and I explained – I was a cerebral footballer (i.e. I understand and read the game well) and when I played – there was a specialist goalkeeper, the best player was always centre forward, the best tackler/header was centre back, the best passer was central midfield, the fastest players were wingers and so on.

This led to the “rest” being selected as full backs or “wider” midfielders – I WAS PART OF “THE REST” – never “last pick” but certainly never “first pick”
 

SO, WHAT MAKES A BETTER FOOTBALLER, IN ANY ERA?

Although my fellow coaches may not agree I do not think that lots of “cone work” is the answer!

I can see the benefit of repetition and constant work on improving areas, but good coaching is, in my opinion, an art, not a science, and week in week out we play against people (with individual thoughts and processes) rather than cones (which are inanimate and “do as you tell them”!!)
 

This then leads to my own belief that the best form of coaching is SSG’s (small sided games) and stopping to coach that (or doing “drive bys”) and to educate.

In an environment where filming is accessible, then watching the “elite” players play and analyzing the game is the best possible solution.

However, at grassroots this is very seldom available and with junior football there are potential CRB issues if filming.
 

So……………... this forces us to use game play as a way to develop players and teams!
 

In this area I would say that the key areas to address are

· Communication

· Concentration

· Decision making

· Working off the ball

· Focusing on statistics!!
 

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So, let’s look at all pf these one by one!
 

Communication

I was at a football evening recently and an ex-top division player, Steve Perryman, was talking about the most important thing he’s ever learnt in his time at Spurs in the late 20th century and he said it was the importance of communication, to him and his team mates.

The basic aim is to make the game simpler – too often I observe players make great runs (often “busting a gut”) but not call for the ball, so wasting their effort and missing a chance for their own team to progress!
 

One of the most important, if not the most important aspects on the field of play is great communication in football.

Good communication is vital if a team is to be successful. So, players need to communicate effectively with each other to play well as a team.

If you listen to the players playing in a top-flight match, one thing you will notice is the amount of talking between the players, not only the instructional communication but also the level of encouragement offered between the players.
 

Communication not only means talking to each other, but non-verbal communication also plays an important part. Directing team-mates using hand signals and other gestures both with and without the ball is very important.

Verbal and non-verbal communication used together can be as effective as a well-placed pass, shot or tackle.

Playing football without talking limits the effectiveness of the team and makes winning the game doubly hard.
 

We all see players who are gifted with the ball, but sometimes let themselves down with their communication, failing to show their team-mates what their intention is with the ball but also what they expect from them.
 

What is worse, it is sometimes these very same players who because of their own ability expect the same level of play from the weaker players in the team, and when the ball goes astray, they get frustrated and call out negatively to their team-mate.

This is an example of how important positive chat is on the pitch, because negative communication not only gives out the wrong signals but also demotivates the other players AND often motivates the opposition.

How many times have you hear the opposition “rowing” with each other and one of your team shouts “we’ve got them lads, they are arguing with each other”?
 

Some young players can suffer from low confidence and this manifests itself in their ability to talk on the pitch.
 

It is important for the football coach to identify this as early as possible and encourage the player to use their voice.

If you have a player who lacks confidence, when it comes to instructing team-mates, you need to give them encouragement to improve their footballing self-esteem by doing drills that are primarily focused on talking.

This may not come naturally to some players, though over time and with practice this can be improved and cured completely. For these players it is also very important for their team-mates to take a responsibility and encourage them to use verbal communication as much as possible, after all - Football is a team game.
 

The many aspects of communication can be broken down in the different phases of play, both in defending and attacking. Players need to understand positions and the tactics required for the various phases, and the need to talk to each other, both for where the player should be in any given situation and where the ball should be or is expected to be.
 

Communication is the responsibility of every player, not just the captain or the GOALKEEPER everyone has to communicate as if they are the leader on the pitch.
 

Each player has a position and an area they are responsible for, and in that area they should play like a captain and communicate accordingly, calling players into their area as needed and advising them what they expect of them in their area.

In that zone they also need to take advice from other players who are perhaps better able to see a situation developing from afar.
 

Players need to indicate to each other where they expect their team-mates to be in any given situation, where the ball will be directed to and they should also be able to take instruction from any other member of the team, regardless of their perceived level in the team’s hierarchy.

It does not matter what the words used are, they may be the conventional calls associated with the ball, space on the field or the opponent, though the words used can be anything, if the whole team understands the code in use.
 

Young players need to focus on the team and must understand that the best players and most successful teams have a habit of communicating well. In doing so players need to follow these simple rules:

· Don’t be afraid to instruct and advise your team-mates on what you expect from them.

· Be responsive to instruction given.

· Don’t openly criticise your team-mates, and encourage whenever possible.
 

Wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to watch a junior match without hearing the coach or a parent shouting and screaming instructions at a player, and for all player’s to equally give and take important instructions and advice from each other.

 

Concentration

Too often concentration failures lead to goals so it is crucial to defend with concentration (helped by effective communication), after all more goals happen late in the game or in broken play, so many attacking options now focus on “transition” and “counter attacks”, and this is based on the fact the defence is disorganised and unable to concentrate.

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When defending, “parking the bus” is seen as unfashionable but is an effective way of defending, but all parties MUST concentrate fully to ensure it works.
 

Careless mistakes caused by distractions are all too common in football, and two important elements of attentional control

- selective attention

- concentration

are explained below, as well as tips for improving attentional control during games for players at every position.
 

Concentration is the ability to sustain attention for an extended period of time. Although this might appear to involve great strain and exertion, the reverse is actually true.
 

Effective concentration has been described as effortless effort, being “in the zone”, and a passive process of being totally absorbed in the present and fascinated by the object of fixation, clever huh??
 

Working on the mental skills in football may actually pay bigger dividends than physical training.
 

Concentration is a difficult skill to master because our minds tend to shift focus when presented with something new. A split-second loss of concentration during a critical play can spell the difference between winning and losing.
 

Careful planning and practice are required to gain supremacy over our attention levels.

Fortunately, selective attention and concentration are skills that can be learned, refined, and perfected just like razor sharp passes or perfect tackles.
 

Since few players, and even less coaches, invest quality time on attentional skills, there is an immediate and tangible reward for those who do!
 

Here are 10 ways of improving attentional control in football, in no particular order (but all important):

1. Avoid negative thoughts and feelings, as these are needless distractions which rob us of limited attentional resources. So, stay positive and help to achieve your objectives.

2. Remain focused on the present, attending to what is immediately important and blocking out past and future concerns. Following a mistake, briefly note any changes necessary then move decisively to the next play. In all sports the greatest players are able to “write off” errors and move on, whilst learning from the “mistake”, but not to “dwell”!

3. Recite key words or phrases to yourself prior to the play to remind yourself to concentrate (e.g. focus, attack, hit the hole).

4. Be task rather than outcome oriented. Thinking about the score or how you look are common distractions. The outcome only improves when you ignore it and attend to the immediate needs and circumstances.

An example of this is when defending (an attack down your opponent’s right wing), your right back should ignore the possibility of a ball to the opponents left wing and instead “tuck in” to defend the penalty area as a right centre back – it’s no good saying “it wasn’t my man” once you’ve conceded, it’s a team game which relies on all players supporting one another!

5. Slightly relax in between plays while avoiding external distractions. When the ball is out of play use the opportunity to rest the body but keep the mid alert.

6. Linked to this, recharge your batteries in between plays. Replenish your energy and calmly gear yourself up for another session of play.

7. Add a ritual, or consistent routine, to your performances. This might be the way you adjust your feet, tap the ball, or set your mind, and it all helps to fight off needless distractions and keep your mind from wandering.

8. Be particularly vigilant when fatigued. Players often lose their focus when tired and you can also exploit this fatigue in your opponent if you see it.

9. Attention and excitement are closely related.

Avoid becoming overly excited while remaining focused on executing and implementing your strategy to football perfection. Brief breathing and/or relaxation can help prepare the way for great focus on the play.

10. Football coaches should make practices interesting by frequently varying the drills and routines in a realistic manner.
 

This variety usually increases motivation which also leads to improved focus. Yelling rarely helps focus, as, once a coach has to shout, concentration has usually been lost already!

 

Decision Making

I often observe, as a coach or referee, younger players make poor decisions, especially when defending or competing for the ball – too often they are concerned with bumping and/or barging, at the expense of winning the ball, but the ball is what counts in the game!

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It has become one of the hottest topics in coaching today. Skill, speed, and power are no longer enough for success if they are not used effectively.

Spanish playmaker Andres Iniesta recently said, “Speed of thought and speed of the decision making separates the best players in the world from the rest.”

Watch a Champions League game and you will see what he is talking about.

Intelligence is now a key part of the game and will continue to be, as the demands on players grow.
 

The rewards today are higher than ever and the margin for error is becoming smaller. As a result, the challenges for coaches are simple:

· Firstly, we must understand every aspect of decision making and

· Secondly, we must be able to both coach it and influence our players’ lives in the right way
 

The training environment is vitally important when developing decision makers. Decision making and execution of skill are closely related and can only be learned when training at a high intensity, again in a game scenario – against “live” opponents, not cones and poles.
 

We must challenge our players to learn fast.

So, if they are not making mistakes in a session, it is too easy and we must change the tempo or the conditions to bring them outside their comfort zone.
 

If practice is always the same, players get used to routines and it becomes easy. Research the methods used at the Barcelona academy and you will find players being exposed to multiple types of decisions in every single practice. So how can we bring this into our training?
 

The first step in improving decision making is therefore to identify what we are looking for, and how we can improve it.

KEYS TO DECISION MAKING:

1. Technique – Without mastery of the ball, a player’s options become limited and they become a decision taker rather than maker.

2. Timing – How to create a yard of space is very much an under-taught skill in the game but is critical in decision making. If a player has more space, they have more time in which to select the right option.

3. Positioning – Being in the right place with your body facing the right way can give you a huge advantage. Players like David Silva and formerly Andres Iniesta have a unique appreciation of space and excel in this area.

4. Communication – Once a player gets in a good position, how can they receive the ball? Being loud and vocal can really help younger players be constantly involved in the game, as well as helping teammates lift their heads.

5. Reading Play in Real Time – In the Premier League, 80% of passes are one and two touch. But at all levels the game is now played at great speed, so players who can focus, refocus, and maintain high levels of mental intensity will be at a huge advantage.

6. Tactical Repetition – This is a player’s conditioned response to a situation that arises in the game. An example would be a holding midfielder opening up in possession to switch the point of attack. It seems effortless, but he/she sees the same picture every day in training and can therefore perform it automatically. Again, doing it “game related” is more effective than playing against cones or no “real” opposition!!
 

The importance of decision making on a player’s development does not only apply to the football field.

 

There are no more important decisions to make than who our players are surrounding themselves with, using as role models or how they are looking after their bodies.

 

No matter how good the training is, if the player is hanging out with the wrong company or failing to get the required amount of rest and correct diet, they will not maximize their talent.

As coaches, we have a role here also. We should not turn a blind eye after training but instead take an interest in their life off the field.

The company a player keeps will shape attitude and long-term success more than any other element. Most coaches focus on helping players avoid making bad decisions whereas the top coaches focus more on helping them making the best decisions.

Every player knows the difference between right and wrong, but few know the difference between good and great.
 

Another aspect of decision making involves teams rather than individuals. If your team cannot make key decisions at key times, they will implode under the pressure of competition.

 

The most successful coaches can manipulate their environment to make the players feel like they have important roles and responsibilities, without the coach themselves relinquishing control.

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It takes both work and imagination. They constantly put their players in situations where they have to work together to solve little problems. This will help them to solve big ones.
 

By way of explanation, Jose Mourinho has handed team talks over to players in an attempt to get his team to take ownership of their performance because if a team decides to take responsibility, the rewards are huge.

The culture becomes player-driven, concentration levels rise dramatically and communication on the field drives every single player towards getting the desired result.
 

Why did Sir Alex Ferguson always focus on stoppage time in big games and not team tactics?

Because he trusted that if he could ‘buy’ his team an extra minute or two, they could deliver under the pressure. There is no greater trust than that from a coach.

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Here is a summary of how coaches can help:

– Variety in the training program

– Decision making exercises every day

– Competition – If there is something at stake, decisions will matter

– Regular conversations with players about life on and off the field

– Team challenges that involve problem solving

– Occasional ‘controlled chaos’ in the team environment where problems have to be solved
 

So, when talking about decision making within the game, a coach should not just simply scrutinize what option the player chose in a certain situation and instead look deeper.
 

Decision making is a result of so many factors and everything a player does every day either strengthens or weakens their ability to do it in a game.
 

The irony of course, is that coaching decision making requires the same principles for the coaches.

We must look closely at how we work:

· Do we decide to do what we have always done before because it is convenient?

· Do we assume that players know how significant lifestyle choices impact performance?

· What are our players social habits?

· Is our team practicing decision making every time they are together?
 

In my opinion, decision making will soon become just as important in the coaching world as it is on the football field.
 

We, as coaches, can have more impact on developing decision makers and we can have an even bigger impact on improving them. And if we fail to change and evolve with the times who knows…the game might decide to leave us behind.
 

An example where this comes in is the use of the word leaders!

Too often the only leader on the pitch is the Captain, but the successful teams through history have many leaders, the captain is a token role in this set up, they simply toss a coin and wear an armband, nothing more!
 

Players who leave leadership to the Captain only will never make the team stronger as leadership is EVERYONES responsibility on the pitch!

 

Working off the ball (not a big part of the game - FIFA!!)

A player at every level of the game (including premiership) only has the ball at his/her feet for less than 2 minutes in every match, and football is played over 90 – so what is happening for the other 88.

 

I often ask junior players this (most guess that a player has the ball for 5-10 minutes per game when asked) what are the players doing without the ball (I often joke “are they busy waving at their parents”) and this aspect is something that FIFA (which many of my generation “blame”) cannot teach you – FIFA is all about what you do with the ball, but that only makes less than 2.5% of the game, so whilst the technical ability is still crucial, it’s not the whole picture!
 

Off the ball work is what makes a good team, and why a player with great skills does not necessarily end up on the winning side every time.

You can be the greatest passer of the ball in the world, but there needs to be someone there to receive the ball.
 

Many teams have signed great "older" players. They still have the vision and skill to make, and receive, the incisive passes, but the rest of the players aren’t always good enough to read the game and are rarely in the correct positions.
 

I think "off the ball movement" is a hard skill to teach, based on its perceived “lack of glamour”, but it must be focused on if your team is to be a success!

It is much easier to teach fitness and individual skill than teamwork which involves coordinated movement between a number of players.
 

With some players who are brought up playing the game, it seems to become instinctive and perhaps this is what is sometimes described as 'football intelligence'.
 

My favourite question to young players in respect of this aspect is

“I’m 55, old, slow and bald, Lionel Messi is a multiple Ballon d’Or winner and to some the Greatest Player of All Time, so without a football who is the best player?”

Invariably they reply “Lionel Messi” but the truth is that without a ball, he is no better than me!!

So, it’s vital to his team that he works hard OFF the ball in order to become effective ON it!!

 

Focusing on statistics

TV pundits and the like love to talk about possession stats, territorial stats, shots on and off target etc. but ultimately only one stat counts – how many have you scored and how many has your opponents got?

 

People need to realise that football is very much a “quantity game” not just “quality” – whilst its lovely to score “superb goals”, it’s more important to score more “scruffy goals”, after all, when you look at a score in the paper from 5 years ago it does not say you scored one beauty and the other team scored two “tap ins”!! It just says you lost!!
 

One statistic to remember is that the difference between scoring a goal and stopping a goal is basically “bragging rights” – unfair though it is!!

 

After all a forward who misses 20 chances but scores one is a “hero” but a keeper or defender who makes 20 great stops, but concedes one is seen as the “villain”!!

 

Yet their performance stats are, to all intents and purposes, identical – such is football and, going back to the start of this blog, the reason your best players were always centre forward in my youth!
 

That said, possession IS important, as you can only score when you have possession, so its not just a case of having possession, its what you do with it!

AND……………………………… if you’ve got the ball your opponents cannot score, so it helps defensively too!!