The defender should be “inside looking out” - positioning inside the vertical line from the passer with body orientation facing out towards his man - leaving no option to play inside his his left shoulder - dictating the pass wide & ready to close down & stop the cross

A great post on LinkedIn by Michael Caulfield which should create discussion / reflection on coaches ability to assess & feel the game ‘in the moment’ from ‘the player’s eye view 🧵

“On Monday morning everyone has the answers - I needed it 48 hrs ago about 3.30 in the 1st half - that defines the best coaches, they don’t wait til Monday when they’ve watched the game back 4 x & they’ve got the stats, they give us something in the moment that can turn the game”

The “Spirit of Football” Sir Alex Manchester United always insisted you had to celebrate goals as a team - but this takes it to another level 🔥⚽️🔥⚽️🔥⚽️🔥⚽️🔥⚽️

This sequence of play reminds me of my coaching mentor Jim Ryan’s wisdom

😎🔥⚽️☘️

Hockey coach Andreu Enrich gives a great explanation of the technique & importance of ‘dragging’ the ball in hockey - it’s a fundamental foundation skill in football, a prerequisite skill that sets up so many other moves based on the ability to look up while moving with the ball

The reverse pass is a brilliant weapon in a team’s armoury - disguised, going ‘against the flow’ of the defender’s movement & also connecting to a run on the blindside of their eye-line This pass for Chicharito’s run & explanation by Michael Carrick a perfect example 🧵

Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development is defined as the space between what a learner can do without assistance & what a learner can do with adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers - playing with better (often much older) players is a vital learning tool🧵

A brilliant “Spirit of Football” week supporting Conor Marlin on the FIFA Talent Development Scheme in Bahrain - wonderful hospitality from Ali Hassan TD & Sheikh Khalifa head of the Bahrain FA. Loved connecting with coaches & especially coaching National Academy players ❤️🔥⚽️

Years ago kids learned to play without coaches - things you never see if a group of kids play on their own without adults : warm ups, dribbling around cones, drills, standing in lines, substitutes, 10-0 score line (they change the teams to make them equal) ‘No coach > Bad coach’

Skilled movement in invasion games is about outwitting your opponents - it’s relevant to your opponents & solving the ‘problem’ they’ve set you - the skill is dependent on coordinating with a teammate/teammates so the term “Individual learning plan” can be misleading

Day after Manchester United v FC Barcelona I remember clearly Utd CB Gary Pallister sitting in the coaches room, putting his feet on the desk & saying “I’ve never had a forward look at me so much in a match”👇Romario runs, sees Parker track his run, stops, as Parker stops he explodes again