To progress this in to a game, a 8v7 match is played on a narrow pitch.
The defending team line-up in a "4-2" formation, with a goalkeeper.
The attacking team line up in a "3-3-2" formation, with no goalkeeper.
The attacking team, without the use of the wings, must try and find a way through the defenders to get through on goal.
If the defenders win the ball, they can attack and try and score down the other end of the pitch.
If the attackers take a shot and score, miss or the keeper saves (and holds), the game restarts with the attacking team in possesion from their own goal.
This teaches the players the importance of decision-making and trying to find the key pass through. It also forces the defenders to work as a unit and try and play the offside.
in more ways than one
in more ways than one
Roughly a fifth of Premier League goals come from set pieces, and the gap between teams who plan their routines and teams who do not has never been wider. Here is how the modern set-piece specialists design attacking corners, free kicks, and throw-ins - and how you can apply their ideas at any level.
The next frontier in football coaching is not physical, it is mental. Cognitive load training - the deliberate use of perception, decision-making and dual-task demands inside football drills - is reshaping how the best academies develop players. Here is what it means and how to use it.
If the last decade taught us about pressing, this one is teaching us about what stands behind it. Rest defence is the shape your team holds while attacking, and it is the difference between dominating a game and getting picked off on the counter.