Posts

If you’ve ever worked in football development, you’re probably familiar with the concept of the pitch divided into thirds: Build, Create, and Finish. These three words have been drilled into us for decades, forming the backbone of countless game models, curriculums, and footballing philosophies. Often viewed through a positional lens,Continue reading “Boxed in: How the thirds of play impact creativity in football development”

ControlIs our addiction to control destroying our most creative players? It seems we may have strayed further than a simple need for control of the ball; we want to decide every single moment, every movement, every position, every thought. We want to control the player and their every move. Only,Continue reading “Amongst the Chaos”

What needs to be in practice design for transfer of learning Building upon the insights shared in part 1, where we delved into the nuances of transfer (near and far) and design practices that optimise player learning for peak performance in competitions. In addition, we included theory to support ourContinue reading “Part 2: Straight from the training ground”

Improving the transfer of learning from training to match day through practice design Transfer in sports training is a critical concept that examines the extent to which skills acquired in one context can be effectively applied to another. This process is vital in the world of sports, where athletes striveContinue reading “Part 1: Straight from the training ground”

Why the demand for timed practices removes equity to learn in football In the world of football coaching, there is a growing concern that the pursuit of highly organised sessions with timed and blocked practices may inadvertently hinder the learning process and limit the development of players. The belief thatContinue reading “Learning cannot be efficient”

Knowledge ofOur team has a game this weekend. The players need to know how to press the opposition. We have three sessions to make sure they know how to press correctly. It’s easy right? There’s plenty of set pressing structures out there; Man City with their out of possession 4-4-2,Continue reading “Knowledge of or knowledge in?”

This was originally posted in September 2023, since then my learning has developed and my views have changed. Below is an edited version to align with where I am today on the 6th August 2025. When we delve into the world of football, we find its beauty intertwined with theContinue reading “The Immovable Object”

There is nothing better than witnessing the perfect touch, a ball plucked out from the sky and stopped dead in it’s tracks. You hear the crowd in awe, that’s what we pay our money to see. For the special players, it’s a regular theme; Marcelo trapping a ball that’s flownContinue reading “We need to talk about technique“

Relational play is becoming ever more popular and thanks to the likes of Jamie Hamilton’s article, ‘what is relationism?’, our understanding of these emergent patterns within the style is ever improving. But how do we coach them? Firstly let’s have a look at what each of these interactions look likeContinue reading “Toco y me voy & Escadinha CLA practice”

Cogs‘Back foot…’ ‘Side on…’‘Play the way you’re facing…’What if our impatient cries for control are killing the creativity of our most exciting footballers? For over a decade now, positional play has ruled European football. We all know the history; Michels, Cruyff, Van Gaal, Guardiola – all who gave birth toContinue reading “Another cog for the machine”

In 2011, Thomas Müller gave an interview on a German talk show, where he was asked by the host to describe his role on the pitch. He responded with the word ‘Raumdeuter’. While not particularly strong, fast or technically gifted compared to other players of his calibre, this newly coinedContinue reading “The Raumdeuter: Investigating the game”