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.

Understanding Football Through Systems Thinking: Positional Play Decoded

THREAD TO UNDERSTAND POSITIONAL PLAY BEYOND THE CLICHÉS 🧵👇 Football is full of interactions

Every pass, tackle, and movement impacts the game. It's not just about individual brilliance; it's how players interact within a system

That's where Positional Play comes in

It's not just a tactic; it's a philosophy rooted in Systems Theory

Tiny micro movements is the difference between a top player from the average player

They are done almost imperceptibly, often unconsciously, with ease and speed

Kevin De Bruyne’s goal is a masterclass of what a top player does to around the goal to make facilitate scoring 🧵👇 Nowadays scoring is so difficult with teams defending deep with many players.

Gaining five yards in these situations is vital.

That’s what KDB does.

Look where he starts offering himself as passing option to Doku and where he ends up receiving and ultimately shooting it from.

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.

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.

Blindside Positioning is one of the most important tools a modern player can use to progress the ball effectively.

Here are 6 examples of it at the top level of football 🧵👇 Aston Villa:

Blindside Positioning is one of the most important tools a modern player can use to progress the ball effectively.

Here are 6 examples of it at the top level of football 🧵👇 Aston Villa:

Players spend more time at training than any other moment.

So why not do everything possible so that training is the most enriching experience for players?

Here is a step by step guide to designing training sessions whether you coach professional players or a youth team. 🧵👇


STEP 1: Identify the Game Situation

A coach should begin designing a training session by identifying the game situation they want to address.

This could be a specific problem the team has been facing in matches, like transitioning from attack to defense or building up.

Design Training Sessions That Actually Develop Players (Forget Those Outdated Drills!)

Embrace a training methodology centered around the game intended for intelligent and adaptable players who thrive in the dynamic, unpredictable world of football.

[THREAD BREAKS IT DOWN]🧵👇 1. Analyze YOUR Game - Not Just Any Generic Game

Avoid the "Drill of the Day" Trap: Don't just pick random drills because they look "fun" or you saw another coach doing them.

Developing Effective Coaching Methods: A Practical Guide

Effective coaching methods are the cornerstone of player development in football.

[MASSIVE THREAD YOU'LL WANT TO BOOKMARK] 🧵👇 Coaches are responsible for guiding players towards reaching their full potential, and this requires employing methods that facilitate learning and skill acquisition.

This thread will outline key considerations for developing effective coaching methods:

Forget about 'Methodologies', instead use 'PLAYEROLOGIES'

MASSIVE THREAD FOR ALL COACHES.

It will change perspectives.

🧵👇 You must understand who you are serving before before you develop anything to help them.

The term "methodology" is inadequate because it implies a one-size-fits-all approach to coaching, neglecting the specific needs and capabilities of the players.

There are very few coaches who stay with the same team, in the same environment long term.

The norm for coaching is change, but the best coaches in the world are able to effortlessly change from team to team, club to club.

So how do you do this better?

[THREAD]





The most common mistake coaches make is they impose.

They arrive at a club or new team and from the very first day they force their way and methods to be accepted.

This leads to resistance, pushback, and refusal.

Last week I helped my players with how to successfully build up using center back and outside back interaction by creating indecision in their opponent.

And I did this all with one activity in 10 minutes.

Let me show you how... [THREAD] First let me start with the activity.

It’s a 3v3 activity designed to recreate build up moment against a high press.

As you can see in the image, there is an end zone and a goal.

For my game model intentions, the end zone is worth more points.

It can be extremely difficult to pick up on patterns with teams who are fluid in their attack.

So to make this process easier we can use something I’ve called the Outside-Inside lens.

Let me show you how I use it...

[thread]





To start, we have to have a clear understanding of what a defensive block is.

When a team is defending, using the ten field players you can see that they create a shape.

The outline of the shape is formed by the outermost players.

This is one of my favorite activation (warm-up) activities, especially for young players.

It has many elements to develop ability on the ball, off-ball positioning, defending, transitions, etc.

Let me take you through how I coach this...🧵 Here is the breakdown of the activity.

Each team defends for 90 seconds.

The attacking players have to play through the one defender to get it to the third team who is positioned to receive the ball in the other square.

Because of the goals, there is an inherent transition.

Real Madrid are employing a standard footballing principle in a very dynamic and fun way.

"CREATE AND EXPLOIT SPACE"

But with Real Madrid it doesn't matter who creates and who exploits.

Let's take a look... 🧵👇 Their game model relies heavily around how to manipulate the backline.

If the backline steps to close, their speed will beat you over the top.

If the backline holds back, their quality on the ball will dominate the midfield.

Rest-Defence is relatively new in the football tactics lexicon.

Nowadays build-up structures (3-2, 2-3, etc) get thrown around in every other post.

But how can we understand this tactical concept at a deeper level?

[thread] 🧵👇





Over the last decade, we have heard alot about rest-defense structures.

It became most mainstream when we saw Philip Lahm ‘inverting’ during the Guardiola years at Bayern Munich.

Watch Lahm the entire time (the player who heads the ball at the start)👇

When you plan a training session you are establishing your intentions of how you are going to behave within the training session.

This includes everything you are going to do from where you are going to place the cones to how you are going to interact with you players.

But... Deliberate planning only gets you what's in your plan.

However, all the ‘growth’ is found in the unexpected within the session.

Youth players fall victim to their coaches’ line drills and subsequently lose the ability to think and create.

[thread] Quite often as a coach, and more importantly as an adult, we forget that football is nothing more than a game, an emulation of child’s play.

You want to become a good coach?

[thread] 1. Start coaching as much as possible: Find somewhere, even if it’s volunteer, and start gaining insight through experience.

3 step process to stop 'joysticking' and start effectively coaching [THREAD] Most coaches were players before they moved on to coaching.

However, the role of the player and the role of the coach are very different in the skill set required but also what we actually do as coaches.