KNOCKOUT CUPS & THE EUROPA LEAGUE – CHALLENGES OR PROBLEMS?

Over recent years it seems to have become fashionable to criticise, demean and ridicule certain football competitions, especially those of the League Cup and the Europa League.

Critics, who include pundits, journalists, fans and even some professionals cite the ‘meaningless’ nature of the competitions and the drain they place on clubs’ resources and the strain they place on the clubs’ assets, namely, the players and coaching staff, especially, as the main reasons to decry their existence and purpose.

OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES NOT PROBLEMS 

Many people recognise that, for example, in the Premier League, there are, effectively, three ‘leagues within a league’ in terms of striving to become league champions, to qualify for The Champions League, to win The FA Cup, to finish safely in mid table and those attempting to hang on to their Premier League status.

 

Each of these represents a series of goals and targets for which each club has to plan a strategy, goals and targets and work hard to achieve.

 

“STRETCH” GOALS 

Now, it would seem to me that, for example, Newcastle United’s aspirations, currently, will be somewhat different from those of Arsenal or Manchester United.

 

So, how do they make the leap from Premier League relegation battle to Champions League qualification?

I am sure most people will be familiar with the concept of ‘stretch’ goals – common in business where strategy will determine how to improve the standing, perception, profitability and service levels of the organisation.

 

A business may well be high profile and profitable but the good ones will always have ‘stretch’ goals – those smaller, achievable steps which will enable their continuing evolution and forward progress to keep ahead of the competition

 

If businesses stand still, they stagnate and get overtaken. Football is no different. If you aren’t innovating, striving for the next level, you will soon be overtaken. Perhaps one of the main challenges is that each club (business) has chosen to compete in exactly the same market as 19 immediate competitors.

 

HARD WORK AND A DRAIN ON RESOURCES 

So, striving to compete and reach the final of, or even win, The League Cup, for example, will surely test a club’s desire, will, resources and imagination, if they are also simultaneously trying to hang on to Premier League status.

 

Qualification for the Europa League is not even seen as a double-edged sword, more a Sword of Damocles hovering over the neck of those unfortunate enough to have inadvertently achieved the league placement required, or, possibly, to have carelessly failed to avoid qualification, intentionally.

 

The Europa League places increased pressure on the whole of the playing and coaching staff. It reduces preparation and recovery time and therefore increases pressure on analysis and preparation for the ‘extra’ matches.

 

However, striving to reach ‘the next level’ is SUPPOSED to be difficult. It’s meant to be a drain; it’s expected that you will find it a struggle. But planning and embracing stretch goals is a way to make the next step. Perceiving the increased pressure as a challenge to be achieved to drive the club ever forward is what good businesses do.

 

PROFILE 

Winning a Cup or achieving qualification for the Europa League are ways to increase your profile, certainly in the national and European context but also, perhaps, globally, if promoted and marketed correctly and appropriately.

What can that increased profile bring? Certainly, increased coverage which, in turn, brings marketing opportunities for business partners and sponsors.

 

Raising the club’s profile potentially increases the scope of new recruits who can be attracted to the business, coaching and playing staff. Good people want to work for good, progressive companies who can help them achieve their ambitions through personal and professional development.

 

Improving the quality of club staff should, in turn, affect the improvement of the business and its progress. So, perhaps, achieving the final of a cup competition, whilst, this season, may provide a serious challenge to resources, next season, will help promote greater, even if only stepped, improvements.

 

ENGAGEMENT AND EXCITEMENT 

For the club’s supporters and fans it provides the opportunity to see, at first hand, new teams with exciting players that they are otherwise possibly only likely to see on TV. It establishes the club as forward thinking and progressive, determined to bring the best level of entertainment to its paying ‘customers’.

 

INCOME 

As mentioned above, increasing the profile can bring increased business opportunities and income, note merely through sponsors and official partners but through merchandising, ticketing, concession sales, TV payments and so on.

 

Mark Hughes, current manager at Stoke City, seems to have similar views:

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-04-30/hughes-hoping-stoke-can-bring-in-big-names/

 

I have held these views for some time and was prompted to actually get around to writing this latest blog post on reading Mark Hughes’ comments.

 

So, the League Cup and the Europa League; Challenges or Problems ?

HAS “WINNING” BECOME A DIRTY WORD?

This latest post arises from some thoughts I exchanged with a coaching colleague on Twitter a couple of weeks ago (follow him on @coachbanter – and please also consider following @coachingfamily to exchange coaching ideas).

The original point arose from a question about “non-competitive” sports days and whether or not, as a nation, we develop ‘tough’ individuals.

The question itself comes from a point made in a Telegraph article on the role of Dan Ashworth, the FA’s recently appointed Director of Elite Development , which you can read here .

 

 

SO, WHAT IS “WINNING”?

 

This appears, on the face of it, to be a facile question. Surely, it is the team which, at the end of the period, has scored more goals than the other.

 

Possibly.

 

However, we now have available a plethora of statistics on all aspects of the game from a variety of sources and which are provided for us, especially at the top levels of the game, on TV and in match day programmes.

 

ARE THERE DIFFERENT WAYS TO DEFINE “WINNING”?

 

My previous blog post suggested that the number of goals scored in a game is a relatively infrequent occurrence in the game anyway compared to the number and type of passes, controlling touches, decisions, throws, saves, tackles, headers and so on.

 

 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

 

In all forward looking enterprises, statistical analysis forms a significant pillar of measurement by which to judge progress.

 

This may range from profit and loss and the balance sheet of a business to departmental productivity targets and individual personal performance against agreed targets, usually at annual appraisal time.

 

Within this outline structure, there are clearly individual opportunities to succeed (win) against your individual targets even though the company targets may not necessarily be fully met over, say, a financial quarter.

 

So, then, what actions in the game can we measure to help re-define achievement that doesn’t rely purely on the final score?

 

Clearly there is a multitude, some of which are listed here and I am sure you can think of some others to add to the list:

 

• Shots – On / Off Target
• Assists (final pass leading to a goal)
• Entries into the final third (NB ‘Reacher’ – An ‘entry’ is a considered, creative act, a ‘reacher’ is an, often, long kick into a forward area of the field, in the hope that one of your players will reach it before the opponent)
• Completed passes
• Forward passes
• Sideways passes
• Backwards passes
• Diagonal passes
• 1-2s / Wall passes
• Successful turns
• Successful dribbles
• Retained the ball in a 1v1
• No of touches per possession
• Times played out from the back
• Possessions progressed through the thirds of the pitch
• How many members your club has
• How many members are retained every year/season
• How many new members are recruited every year/season
• How many members leave each year….and why?

Etc., etc.

 

However, please consider:

·        WHY you are collecting information.

·        WHAT information is relevant to your club development plan/playing style/INDIVIDUAL player development

·        HOW you will use the data (developing practices,  recruitment / retention strategies to improve)

 

See this interesting video on You Tube form Mark Upton (Australian Rules Football Coach @uppy01 )  on one way of using KPIs in a sport environment.

 

 

IS WINNING MORE FUN?

 

So then the conversation moved to the question of whether or not it is more fun when players / teams win.

 

We rallied back and forth on finding the balance of fun and enjoyment, allowing everyone to participate and develop their skills.

 

We discussed the potential of a ruthless desire to win (A la Woods, Warne, Schumacher) and whilst that is probably true for those striving to achieve truly elite or top level professional sport, all other performers can raise their level of ability through attention to detail, desire to improve and with supportive coaching.

 

Also, we must take account of the place of the game in the players’ life landscape; are they keen to play but see the game as an enjoyable past-time, or are they striving to become a professional, or somewhere in between?

 

Anecdotally, the ‘will to win’ can the difference between good players remaining ‘good’ and less competent players 'making it', through increased desire and application.

 

Whilst it may be in vogue to say "it's all about development", as coaches, surely we are absolutely concerned with development – development of the individual and of the team (though the team’s individuals may change over the seasons).

 

But what are we developing towards?

 

Style, competency, game understanding, ball mastery, expertise… winning? That development may take years but ‘winning’ is ultimately a natural outcome of good development, I believe.

 

RE-DEFINING “WINNING”

 

So I think it is important that we begin to look at how we define “winning”.

 

If we take individual or team targets (which should be AGREED with the player / team, not just ‘set’ by the coach) based upon improving measureable actions within a game or on the practice field and arrived at through analysis that helps our playing style or player competence.

 

Players can then begin to experience a sense of achievement and to build self-esteem as they see they can attain agreed, yet stretching, targets. It also helps to develop a growth mindset as they find that the more they practice with intent to improve, the better they will become – a valuable life skill.

 

HAS “WINNING” BECOME A DIRTY WORD?

 

So, no, I don't think winning has become a dirty word. I think it is a natural consequence of appropriate development...….and all of competence, determination, development, mastery, practice and style come before "winning" in the dictionary!

 

 

You may be interested in this article Winning:How Important is it in Youth Sports (taken from the www.footy4kids.co.uk website).

 

Please feel free to leave comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARE WE SEARCHING FOR A ‘HOLY GRAIL’ ?

ARE WE SEARCHING FOR A ‘HOLY GRAIL’ ? / IS THERE REALLY A “SILVER BULLET”?

There is lots of discussion and opinion voiced through the internet and traditional media currently, (in England especially, but now expanding to Scotland after the Hearts / Tottenham game) about Youth/Player Development.

WHAT CONSTITUTES “BEST”?

There is a general appreciation of Spanish football and particularly the way Barcelona play and whilst the English Premier League is generally regarded as the “most exciting league in the world”, there is a tacit acceptance that it is not the best league in the world. I guess that depends on your perspective…. What is ‘best’? Is it the league that scores the most goals (Bundesliga) or is it the “technically” (?) best league (Spain?) or is it the league that produces the most home grown players or is it the league that generates most international winning sides (Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina)?

SPAIN

Spain is, arguably, the ‘best’ team, internationally at the moment and if Heineken did football teams, Barcelona is probably the one they would ‘do’. However, there is a school of thought that suggests that Spain are really playing a derivative Dutch game based on the ‘Total Football’ of the 70’s and which owes a debt of gratitude to the vision of Rinus Michels and Johann Cruijff (who is now 64, would you believe – remember the first ‘Cruyff Turn’?).

NB As of 24 August 2011 new FIFA rankings officially place the Netherlands as number 1 in the World. - Ed




YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

There is a groundswell of opinion against the ‘Win At All Costs’ approach to grassroots football (at the potential Elite level, results have come second to development and performance for donkey’s years).
Coaches and managers are increasingly aware of their responsibilities to teach the GAME not just how to WIN

(“In England, you teach your kids how to win. In Portugal and Spain they teach their kids how to play” - Jose Mourinho)

That being the case, everyone is looking to the optimum way to develop players. Accepting that at Grassroots level you may have players once a week for an hour and a half this is a bit of a challenge.

A great deal of coaches accept that ‘Constant’ or linear, drill based practices are a thing of the past and that this approach doesn’t transfer well to the game.

Increasingly, ‘amateur’ coaches at the grassroots level are creating and using game related practices to teach the game – overloads, under-loads, 2v2, 4v4, 6v6, 5v5+2 and so on to recreate what happens in the ‘big’ game in order to allow the players to develop experience at an accelerated rate.

These “variable” and “random” practices help players to build game memories, which, in turn, transfer better to the ‘real’ game and makes it easier to recall and apply in the weekend match.

“The same thing NEVER happens TWICE in a game – but LOTS of SIMILAR things happen ALL the time” – Paul Holder, FA Staff Coach

CONTINENTAL APPROACHES

Of course, on the continent, game-like practices have been the norm for years. But now we are looking to replicate the best of what the world has to offer in football – Spain and Barcelona are the current ‘Gold Standard’ of football.

But, with a closer look, Spain have won one World Cup and two European Championships (the first in 1964), so, not consistent performers by any stretch of the imagination (although Barcelona and Real Madrid have won a ton of European Cups -Champions League and equivalent- between them over the years).

Most people will accept the Brazilians as probably the all-time greats (5 World Cups) but the Italians aren’t far behind with 4 wins and of course the Germans have 3 World Cups and 3 European Championships and are regular qualifiers in the last 4 of major competitions.

Various nations have tried to mirror the Dutch development, again, as they are recognised as producing some of the best players and coaches, with the exportation of their respective talents across the world as evidence.

Or is it a case of having a Vision and a philosophy of the way to play that is important? After all, if you have no collective vision, how can you plan a developmental programme to which everyone can subscribe and that is intended to provide gradual steps from the grassroots to the pinnacle of the elite levels? If we are all singing from different hymn sheets, do we really know where we are headed?

THE SILVER BULLET / THE HOLY GRAIL OF FOOTBALL SUCCESS

But, aside from the discussions about the merits or de-merits of ‘Variable – Random’ practices over ‘Constant’ practices, are we deluding ourselves that someone has “The Answer” as to the best / one right way to develop players?

With an acknowledgement to “10,000 hours of deliberate practice” to develop expertise and the coincidence of opportunity and desire is the rest of it perhaps cyclical?

Looking at incidences of World Cup and European Championships’ winners, only Italy and Brazil have won back to back World Cups and no team has won consecutive European Championships.

Perhaps the consistency of achievement at the latter stages of major competitions would be a more accurate gauge of success, in which case you’d be hard pushed to better the record of the Germans, but we rarely seem to consider replicating their development approaches / strategies – maybe we should?

But does anyone really have all the answers? Is it more a coincidence and combination of developmental approach/philosophy, the numbers of people available, the quality of coaches (another post, perhaps?), money available, deliberate practice and the cyclical nature of another (I hesitate to use the phrase) “golden generation”?