Watching Pickford play it long fifteen times in the second half of the Serbia match I realized something very important about English football. [thread]
Southgate's game plan was to manage the match through meters - 'the further the ball is from our goal the better'.
Whereas many of these English players (Foden, Rice, Bellingham, Stones, Walker) are accustomed to managing the matches through control of the ball.
This is an interesting clash philosophies, which can pretty much sum up how the Premier League has changed since Guardiola joined City.
Look at each of these examples 👇
This is the first one early in the second half.
Foden wants it.
Bellingham wants it short.
But Rice is signaling long.
Ultimately, it goes long.
This is the second one.
Bellingham signaling for his team to play the nearest free man and eventually comes to Pickford only to watch it sail over his head.
Here TAA comes short but Pickford goes long with no one really underneath Kane to provide support.
It's only thanks to Kane's individual efforts the ball isn't lost in the midfield with massive gaps between lines.
And another where Declan Rice comes short and Pickford plays long.
Rice's bodily language seems to transmit frustration.
This is the most telling one because although the outcome is a positive one, as Declan Rice points out, John Stones is the free man.
This clip shows the stark difference in approaches of football.
Here is a compilation of all of Pickford's long passes:
I'm not saying there's a right or wrong but simply pointing but simply find it fascinating to see players and manager of different playing styles trying align their intentions.
As the England continues in this tournament I wonder which philosophy will we see more of.
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I am lucky enough to be able to have coached the 9v9 game format for many years now. In that time I have grown to really love this particular stage of football.
Here are FIVE REASONS WHY I LOVE COACHING 9v9 FOOTBALL 🧵👇
THE COMPLEXITY BALANCE.
I love football, you do too. And the reason we love it is because there is so much depth to it.
However, in my opinion, the 9v9 game format has the perfect balance of complexity and simplicity.
There are tactics but not too many. It’s perfect.
THE POTENTIAL OF DEVELOPMENT.
I have coached many ages and levels from senior teams to 4 year olds.
They all have their pros and cons, but what I love most is seeing football development occur right in front of my eyes.
Guardiola's defensive struggles have taught me something about football that could be applied to all teams.
Discover how Manchester City's recent defensive struggles have exposed a fundamental tactical challenge in modern football.
Let’s dive in 🧵👇
The theme that I want you to keep in mind throughout this entire thread is DEPTH.
Depth: The distance from the top to the bottom of something. We are talking about the depth of a defensive block - from the highest player to the lowest player.
Within the DEPTH, we are specifically going to be talking about the DENSITY.
Density: The amount of something per area, volume, or length. In football it’s the number of players in a given area.
You are doing your players a disservice if you do not let them experience failure and frustration.
In this thread, I'll dive into two real training scenarios from my teams where players got stuck but transformed into smarter, more adaptive players.
[MASSIVE THREAD] 👇
Before we get started, I can't emphasize the importance of training environments to foster development.
I’ll show you how the environment you create facilitates these developmental moments.
I’ll even give you one of my training session frameworks to develop a more effective training environment so you too can witness your players’ development right before your eyes.