Danny Gough, solid game and strong. Determination is exemplary.
Better understanding and confidence amongst our own players required immediately.
A phrase comes to mind,
"to conquer the world and everything in it, one must conquer himself first',
To win the league we have to grasp our game first. We must understand the S.W.A.T analysis for every opponent - Strength, weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats and adapt quick.
Must Read! Picking the right pass…..
Calculate when to pass the ball forward, and when to pass the ball backwards. "If a player can pass the ball forward he should do so... If the player with the ball is pressurized and cannot pass the ball forward he needs support from behind, and he should pass the ball backwards to his supporting player. One of the reasons why teams are poor in supporting play is that players, who are in no position to pass the ball forward, refuse to pass the ball backwards... If this attitude prevails there is no point whatever, or any likelihood of employment, for the player who supports from behind the ball... The fact of the matter is that if a player cannot pass the ball forward, the quicker he realises this, and changes the point of attack by passing the ball to a player who is in a position to pass the ball forward, the better... The converse is also true. If a player is in a position to pass the ball forward and fails to do so he has played badly." 9
Passing do's: accurate, simple, quick, timed properly, disguised, risk to return, look deep first.
Accuracy. Generally passes should be made to feet and on the ground. At higher levels they'll need to be made to a specific foot. Pass to the side away from defenders.
Simple. The vast majority of passes in a game are designed simply to keep possession. Ineffective players try to hit defense splitting passes far to often. They either overestimate their abilities or they become impatient. "Once a player becomes impatient he takes uncalculated risks, and thereby he takes the first step towards... reducing his part in the game to a lottery." 9 Play simple is a useful phrase for coaches to repeat with players.
Quick. Players need to be two mental steps ahead of their first physical touch. In the old days players could play receive-decide-decide. With the speed of the modern game the equation is now decide-decide-receive. Poor control, passes in the air, poor timing and poor support can also slow down the passing game. If you don't have a pass in mind give the ball immediately to someone who might.
Timed properly. The communication between within the team and individuals must be good.
Disguised. When defenders can read attackers intentions they can get the jump on them. Look away from where you want to pass the ball.
Risk to return. There are times and places to try passing through small gaps and into small spaces. The attacking third of the field brings high returns and smaller risk. Conversely, a more conservative approach needs to be taken in the defensive third.
Look deep first. Players should look to play the deepest possible pass first, then work backwards. When they find the deepest pass that they can make they should make it. See grading the buildup.
Passing don'ts: run with the ball, square pass, play optimistic passes, present a numerical advantage.
Run with the ball. Running with the ball without a plan usually results in the players vision going down and running into trouble. Furthermore, good support positions by teammates become moot and everybody has to adjust to a rapidly deteriorating situation. This is different than running with the ball with a plan. There, players are working together in order to move defenders and exploit space.
Play Square passes. While these balls can be used to good results any pass made across the field poses a big problem if it is intercepted. The problem is that a minimum of two, and probably more, players will be played out of the game and it sets up the opponents counter attack. Diagonal passes are preferred to square passes.
Optimistic passes. There are times when optimistic passes are called for. For example, when a team is a goal down with two minutes left they'll need to flood the opponents penalty area and get the ball in as quickly as possible. However, when hope becomes a method than the game is just a lottery.
Present a numerical advantage. It is amazing how many teams will get a free kick at midfield, send 5 players up against 10 and play the ball forward into 2 to 1 odds. Or teams are so dependent on one individual that they play the ball to him/her without regard to the numbers.
