Category: Most Recent

The simple vs. complex language debate in football tactics writing & analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Most Recent

On the one hand, it's nice that those in the community are continuously challenging each other to improve. On the other hand, I wish there was more of a recognition toward the simple fact that there is no right or wrong way to conducting analysis in football. This week the debates stemmed around the notion that simple language is obviously, unequivocally, the best approach when it comes to writing and analyzing football. I'm not sure which one of us wrote the article that tipped the scale and confused everyone, but I'm here to say that complex language can be incredibly useful if used correctly.

Game of Numbers #12 – Erik Ten Hag’s Positional Play Masterclass

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Game of Numbers, Managers, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Premier League, Team Analysis

Erik Ten Hag has deployed brilliant implementations of positional play all season long, putting on an absolute masterclass of how to confuddle the opposition into oblivion against Leicester City.

The art of staying onside

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, German Bundesliga, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Player Education, Premier League

The art of timing runs effectively as a forward is never an easy task, as it requires adequate scanning of the four pillars to the game: ball, opposition, teammates and space (BOTS). Most notably, the timing of the run has to match the timing of the pass from their teammate, and the timing of the movement from the opposition defensive players up or down. Both of these factors often remain out of the control of the centre-forward, and so it is not entirely their fault for an inability to stay onside. However, with proper scanning and adjustment, offsides can be avoided almost entirely.

How Sean Dyche’s Everton beat Arsenal – Match Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Masterclasses, Match Analysis, Most Recent, Premier League

I've long been a defender of Sean Dyche's intensive and defensive, "long-ball" style. But there's perhaps no greater victory in his entire career than starting off at Everton with an absolute bang, beating the league leaders in Arsenal, who had previously only lost a single league game. Everton themselves had not won under Frank Lampard since October. But Sean Dyche would have relished the challenge of his first match, and would have taken all the pressure off his players to perform on the opening day. It showed in their performance, with the Toffees achieving a shock 1-0 win over the current title favourites. Here is how Sean Dyche's Everton beat Arsenal.

Luciano Spalletti – Napoli – Tactical Analysis (2022-23)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Masterclasses, Most Recent, Serie A, Team Analysis

Luciano Spalletti has worked wonders since arriving to the scene of Naples in 2021. The Italian manager helped Napoli to a third-place finish last season, and now prepares to lead the closing stages of their title charge in 2023. With some supremely smart acquisitions in the summer working their magic, Gli Azzurri currently sit ten points clear atop the table, and have more than double the points of Serie A's historical dominator - Juventus. If Spalletti can continue to get his tactics right and maintain the remarkably positive culture he's built since arriving, Napoli will walk away with the title this year. So with that, here is our analysis of the club from Naples so far in 2022-23.

The art of structuring an effective warm-up

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Masterclasses, Most Recent

We all know the importance of warming up the body in the proper ways, but many novice (or dinosaur) coaches fail to adequately know how to warm up the body in the proper ways specific to the sport. As a young gun in the soccer world, I can recall running laps around the field, static stretching, and even hill sprints prior to practice sessions and games. None of these are particularly helpful, even if they can work 1-3% of times in specific contexts (hill sprints aside of course). With that, I present the elements of an effective warm-up and how coaches can structure the warm-up to fit into the grander scheme of their session plans.

Unai Emery – Aston Villa – Tactical Analysis

by Charlie Ellis, posted in Most Recent, Premier League, Team Analysis

Unai Emery has been one of the most esteemed managers of the modern era, to little fanfare given that much of his managerial success has come in competitions like the Europa League and Ligue 1. But Emery is yet to truly fail in a managerial role, and looks prepared to only continue his incredible reputation at Aston Villa. When he took over from Steven Gerrard, Villa were hovering around the relegation zone, desperately trying to stay afloat. Now they've attained four wins from their last six matches, in a robust 4-4-2 system that has dragged them all the way toward the top ten. Here is our analysis of how Emery has achieved so much success in his early days at Villa Park.

The advantages of having a player who doesn’t defend

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Masterclasses, Most Recent, World Cup 2022

We often look at a player who doesn't defend as a detractor. Players are told from a young age that they must defend, regardless of their position on the field. In many respects, this is true. But when you get to the professional level, roles can evolve in novel ways, and even incorporate a player who has limited defensive responsibility. It was refreshing to see two teams so clearly implementing a tactic around their attack-minded superstars at the 2022 World Cup, simply by having them prioritize the attacking side of the game. With that, I wanted to provide a potential argument into why having this type of tactic can actually be a valuable feature to a team going forward, without ruining their chances in defense.