Football/Soccer Session (Advanced): BACK 4: UNIT ANALYSIS: (Start Time: 2017-01-02 15:00:00)

ORGANISATION

Walsall FC v rochdale FC: back 4 - Unit analysis

In possession

* Expansive with FB's giving depth and width and CH's splitting 18 yd box to be available as pivot if we decided to play back to switch. Only received pass off our GK on a couple of occasions as oppositions were set to press high with a front 3 so game plan was to play more direct to play over the press.

* CH's stayed disciplined and only stepped out and broke the midfield line on 1 occasion with a good squeeze in relation to ball and rest of team when in final 1/3. FB's were the outlet on several occasions but were wasteful the majority of time as they rushed final pass and played the ball centrally leading to loss of possession.

* Both FB's were both high at the same time on several occasions when in possession, especially late in game when we were chasing the game. This left us open on the counter and opposition played in spaces left by FB's several times during game.

* CH's played out from the back well in first half when allowed to do so with opposition deep on transition with limited touches and switched play on occasions to create overloads on opposite side although they didn't hit a diagonal in whole game to opposite wide player as part of game plan.

Out of possession

* The 2 CH's dropped deep too early at times which allowed opposition striker to step in front and link play too easily. This was mainly down to the CH's who were worried about pace of opposition front 3 on transition and also the opposition played direct longer balls as a game plan which stopped us getting out.

* Generally the back 4 remained narrow and compact and shifted well as a unit but there were 2 or 3 occasions when on the opposition switch of play we didn't move in relation to the ball and reacted late leaving space between the unit for opposition runs/passes.

* FB's were poor at stopping crosses by not engaging soon/quick enough with distances to big to effect the cross.

* opposition striker was allowed to turn and face us up a couple of times each half mainly due to the threat of opposition wide players who ran past the ball to try and stretch the back 4 unit.

Strengths

* compact and narrow for majority of game and dropped and pressed as an efficient unit.

* disciplined and gave away few fouls which was important as opposition had a strong aerial threat.

* helped team retain the ball well at times with good decision making to either play a split pass through the thirds or switching play to create overloads with our FB and wide player.

* FB's supported wide players well and delivered some good early crosses especially in 1st half.

Weaknesses

* unit dropped to deep at times and became detached from midfield unit which created space for opposition striker to step into and link play.

* unit was spread at times due to not shifting quick enough when opposition switched play which left space for strikers to run into.

* gave away possession too easily at times and needed to be more patient and use GK as pivot to retain ball and play around the oppositions high press. We played over the press with more direct longer balls too often.

Transition

* The main problem on transition was our FB's both being high at the same time which allowed opposition to take advantage of space in our def 1/3 channels which dragged our CH's out of position and left us expansive out of possession. in possession we aim for 1 FB to support and join in with attack with opposite FB staying to make a back 3 unit and staying compact and narrow.

* Our depth at times on transition made it difficult for the rest of the team to press/counter press in mid > final 1/3 as we needed to drop back to the back 4 to become compact & narrow. This resulted in the opposition retaining the ball too easily at times and prevented us pressing with any

SSG (30 mins)

SSG: 8V8 Organisation

pitch size: 70 x full width with channels marked out with flat markers as reference points for defensive unit.

* 2 full size goals with red team set up as a 4-2-2 with GK & yellow team set up as a 2-4-2 with GK.

* 20 balls with yellow team GK

Set up

* play starts from yellow team GK who passes to either defender. The 2 red attacking players are innactive to allow the yellow defender to drive out with the ball to create a 7v6 overload.

* Yellow teams objective is to try and score, with a bonus goal being awarded if they penetrate through the central area (width of 18 yd box) prior to scoring.

* Red teams objective is to prevent goal scoring opportunities and if they win possession there aim is to play to front 2 who have a 2v1 overload and 10 seconds to try and score.

* once the red team play forward to front 2 only the remaining yellow defender is live for the 10 second transition period.

* encourage the red team to squeeze up the pitch once they have played forward and encourage yellow team GK to play quickly if he wins possession.

Duration:

3x10 min blocks with final block open play 8v8

Coaching style:

Q&A

Keypoints

* can the back 4 unit prevent the yellow team from playing through the centre by staying narrow and compact with emphasis on distances and moving in relation to the ball.

* can full backs engage wide players early and prevent crosses.

* Can the red team prevent space between the back 4 and the 2 MF players by dropping and pressing as a team.

* can we shift at pace as ball is switched to prevent overloads in wide areas.

** encourage the red team to force the yellow team to pass sidewards or backwards and preferably into wide areas away from our heart.

Progression

* you can start play with red team GK who plays out to a defender > he then drives out with the ball and gives it away to a yellow team defender to simulate a loose pass > he then has to touch opposite byline and sprint back into shape > this creates an 8 v 7 overload on transition with red team trying to delay the attack and fill slots to allow team mate to recover.