East Wake Goals

The camera doesn't lie. Let's check our egos, look at some still pics (click to enlarge), and see how we can improve:

Here we see a completely unmarked player beyond the far post. Our widest players here appear to be even with or only just beyond the far post. This player most certainly should have been accounted for prior to the kick being taken, and should have been tracked once the ball was in the air.

We are not playing the ball here - we've been suckered into jumping with/challenging an opponent who has no chance of reaching this cross. Always play the ball, not the man.

Just prior to the header which makes it 1-0, you can see the spacing between the goal scorer and our two closest players. This is obviously way too much space, allowing him to not only win the ball, but direct his header at goal without fear of challenge or collision. You can also see that he's actually ducking to head this ball, not jump. If there had been anyone within two steps of him, he would not have scored.

This is the second goal:

We see three distinct clusters of players here. Four of our players to the right, two of our players to the left, and three of their players directly in front of our goal, unmarked. One of them scores. Much like the first goal, we allowed a corner to be played over us to the far post to a player who collected it. At that point, too many of us overreacted and ran towards him, even though he did not have a good shooting angle and was looking to cross. We chased the ball, rather than tracked and marked runners.

Third goal was a fluke. Won't happen again.

Fourth goal:

Blake, you're coming to help Sean here, and though he does get beat, his man is going outside him. We don't want to step and help in this situation, unless the player immediately cuts in on goal. Instead, let's drop centrally and help with the cross, while Sean recovers. This situation came about because we tried to take a player on deep in our end and lost the ball. We should be looking to pass in this area.

Fifth goal:

Another free header. Way too much space. Another player ducking to head the ball, meaning if anybody had been close, they could have easily prevented this.

We'll work on it and get better.

Crossing Runs - the Perfect Example

From Bayern v Arsenal comes the best example of crossing runs you could ever hope to see. The first goal, from Toni Kroos, is great - but pay attention to the second. Watch how Claudio Pizarro runs from left to right in the penalty box, dragging Per Mertesacker with him and opening space for Thomas Muller to slip into the vacated space and head home.

It's important to understand that Pizarro was intentionally running away from the danger area in front of goal  and was not expecting the ball to come to him. He is making a decoy run, looking to open space for a teammate. Why not just stay there himself and wait for the ball? Because he was stationary, and marked by the (very tall) Mertesacker. He wasn't dangerous, and he knew it - so he did something about it.

Support Play - How to be an Option for Your Teammates

**note - click the pictures to enlarge them, so you can really see and understand**

Keeping the ball requires having someone to pass to. Look at this picture:

The player with the ball has only one realistic option (the player ahead, on the right), or a long ball towards the middle, where three white players (Fulham) are marking two red players (Manchester United). Even the 'safe' ball to the right is going to leave that player with two Fulham defenders to deal with.

Wouldn't you rather have this next situation?

The player with the ball now has three realistic options, and just as importantly, whoever he passes the ball to will also have options. This is Bayern Munich (red) against Manchester City (blue). An important thing to note is that the support players are close, but not too close. They are also not running straight at the player with the ball, but holding in a good position to receive a pass.

Again, we see the problem Manchester United have below. This one is a real mess:

The closest support player is not in a good passing lane for the player with the ball. There are not one but two Fulham players in the way. There is nobody 'showing' for the ball at what should be the third point of the triangle, in that big area of space in the blue circle.  Instead, everyone has just rushed straight into the penalty area. Worse, the four attacking players are occupying just two positions, basically, since they are standing so close together, in two pairs, making them easy to mark. One of those players needed to drop out into a support position for the player with the ball, especially as that player is not in a good position to carry the ball to goal himself, with three defenders within ten yards of him. 

Now we see Bayern again, and how well they support the player with the ball:

Two good options, one square and one further forward, and another player who is not in good position to receive the ball right now, but will be in great support position once it is passed to either teammate. 

Again below, Manchester United players are too concerned with running into the box, instead of supporting the player with the ball. And again, they have two players occupying the same space. One of these players should be making a crossing run; the other should be showing for the ball.

Bayern:

The player with the ball has three good, short options. The one ahead of him is occupying two defenders. There is also a 4th teammate behind him to offer immediate defensive pressure in the event they lose the ball.

Bayern again:

 Again, it's not just a case of the player with the ball having options; it's that whoever he passes to will also have options. That's how you keep the ball. That's how you overwhelm the opposition. Bayern won this game 3-1. Watch this short clip from the game to see how this kind of positional dominance plays out:

(click this link if embedded video doesn't work: http://vimeo.com/76244286)

Does it look like the Manchester City players were having a lot of fun?  Those players make a million dollars a month, and they couldn't wait for that game to end. Nothing kills the opponent's belief and will to compete like chasing the ball.

If all the above seems harsh on Manchester United - who are still trying to settle into a system after changing managers for the first time since the 80s - watch what they can do when they get players in good support positions around the ball:

Keep in mind that the way Bayern (and Barcelona and Arsenal and - note to '00 girls - CASL Elite) play is just one way to play. You can also sit deeper, invite the opposition into your half, and then counter-attack at speed, like Chelsea or Real Madrid, or press all players high into the opponent's half and play a very high-pressure, high intensity pressing game, like Liverpool. But you need exceptionally great athletes for both of those systems. You don't need to be super-athletic or technically gifted to play like Bayern; you just have to be smart. Smart enough to constantly evaluate the ever-changing situations in a game, moment to moment, when your teammates have the ball, and understand where you can go and what you can do to help them keep it. It takes a player with soccer smarts, discipline, and creativity.

Wouldn't you like to be described that way?

Defensive Principles

If you defend well, you have a chance to win every game.

Some teams sacrifice attack, play with two holding midfielders, and don't allow the fullbacks to get forward or the midfielders to overlap. They play long balls out of the back at every opportunity. They 'park the bus,' to use the common phrase. Not many people enjoy playing this way, even when it works.

The shame is that a team needn't do any of those things to defend well. We are not going to, no matter who we play. We're going to follow these six basic principles at all times.

1) Press and cover. The player closest to the ball presses, closing space, and tackles if (and only if) the opportunity presents (bad touch, etc). The next-nearest player covers by tucking into a space anywhere from 6 to 10 yards behind him.

If you press and cover every time, all over the pitch, you'll be ahead of 75% of the teams you ever play, in your entire life. I am absolutely astounded by how infrequently teams and players are taught this.

2) Individual defending. Stay in good 1v1 body shape, side on, with your feet constantly moving and adjusting. Do not dive or lunge into tackles. Show the attacker the direction you want him/her to go (away from goal, into already crowded space, etc).

3) Track runners. Don't chase the ball, and don't chase the runner. Track the runner. Chasing is not tracking. If you're chasing, that means you didn't track when it mattered, and are now desperately trying to make up for it. Good teams won't let you.

4) Spacing. The concept of keeping good defensive shape really comes down to the space between you and your teammates. Basically - further apart when we have the ball, closer together when we don't, especially in central areas.

5) When in doubt, retreat centrally. Do not point at just any player and say "I got my man." Find the most dangerous unmarked player and mark them.

The next one is the most important:

6) Win the ball back as soon as we lose it.

Do not foul; remain in control of yourself. But be absolutely possessed by the need to win the ball back immediately. Let's look at two facts:

1) Our team cannot score a goal if we don't have the ball.
2) You cannot have any real fun if we don't have the ball.

We only win the ball back if we understand the first five principles. We also have to be fit - it takes bursts of high and sometimes sustained energy to win the ball. That's why we have subs. If you allow a team to pass the ball because "they're not in a dangerous area" or "it's just possession for the sake of possession," you are allowing them to dictate the game and play it on their terms. Teams who dictate the game usually win. Not always, but usually. You may someday play a team so good that you just can't get the ball off them, but it can't be for a lack of trying.

There are other defensive principles - stay goal side, fullbacks don't be last, etc - that you should already know and will hear from me regularly. Let's make these six the core of how we play when we don't have the ball.  

The Goalkeeper

I have a written a blog specifically for goalkeepers for six years. It can be found here. But I'll add a few important points about the role of the goalkeeper in our 4-3-3.

Make saves. That's your number-one job. But you too have tactical responsibilities.

The most important tactical element for the goalkeeper is staying connected with the back four. To do this, the goalkeeper will have to be at the top of our outside the penalty area when the back four are at midfield. This prevents the gap between the keeper and defenders from being too big. The bigger the gap, the easier it is to exploit.

If the ball is played into this gap, the goalkeeper will have to make a quick decision about whether to run out and kick the ball away, let it come into the box and pick it up, or retreat and let the defenders deal with it. These can be difficult decisions to make, but remember that, generally speaking, the more aggressive your starting position, the less damaging it is if you happen to make the wrong decision.

This is because whatever happens - whether you leave a ball for your defenders that you should have come for yourself, or you attempt to play a ball better left to your defenders - it will be happening further away from our goal than if you had started closer to your line. The further from our goal, the more likely it is that tracking defenders can help.

Very simply, we cannot compress space and press the ball if our goalkeeper is hiding well inside the box. The gap between the back four and keeper will be so big that even poor teams can exploit it with a simple long ball. Staying 'connected' to the back four achieves two critical tactical aims: it allows our defenders (and, consequently, midfielders) to press high and compress the space for the opposition to play in, and it minimizes the danger of a ball over the top.

Another important duty for the goalkeeper is to communicate. While a lot of goalkeepers chatter endlessly, and others never say a word, effective communication means giving specific information and instruction to the players in front of you. Tell them who to mark, when to step up, and warn them about things they might not notice (overlapping runs, short corners, etc). Be positive and encouraging at all times. You will want and need the encouragement of your teammates; make sure you provide it for them.

Take care of these basics. If you do this every now and then, it's a bonus: