Every player in a football team joins because they want to play football. They come to training because they want to run around, kick a ball, forget their troubles, laugh with their friends and compete to try to win. A beautiful way of destroying the vibe in your team is
Every amateur player joins a football team because they love playing football and enjoy being part of a team. If they didn’t, they’d be playing tennis. Create a space that players want to be in. From there, everything else follows. Encourage kindness. Be respectful. Make it fun. Play
When I try to write down how I woud like my team to play football, the result is often less than convincing. * I like us to play with the ball on the ground. * I like us to have possession—but always with a forward focus. * I like us to fight
I get an email in my inbox. A new player has contacted me and is interested in joining our team. Let's call him Theo. "Hi," he says. "My name is Theo. I saw your team on Instagram, and I like the spirit and ethos of
According to a very quick and not-very-reliable Google search, Pep Guardiola has spent over €1.5 billion on new players since he joined Manchester City nine years ago. Guess how much money I've spent on new players in the same time? It's not a difficult answer.
One of my core challenges in coaching is striking the right balance between having fun and trying to win. It’s an endless, shape-shifting problem, a weekly concoction of salty and sweet. The recipe is always changing. The concept of winning is built into the game of football: the team
One of my core beliefs as an amateur coach is the value of flexibility and adaptability. I want my players to be comfortable in multiple positions, able to handle unexpected situations during a game, and calm when things don’t go as planned. Amateur football is inherently chaotic, and I
Balancing the 'right' amount of players in an amateur football team is one of the biggest challenges. Too few, and it leads to small squad numbers (especially when the weather gets bleak), injuries to the regulars who carry too much load and worse of all, a split in
Team selection should be based around the players who are there the most. There’s no point building tactical plans around your “best” players if they haven’t shown consistency. Doing so sends the wrong message about what’s valued in the team, and it creates a gap between your
