TACTICAL & PRACTICAL - A BOOK REVIEW

I have previously undertaken occasional book reviews on Amazon and for one or two football publications, but I wanted to provide this on my (very occasional) blog to potentially reach a wider, if not necessarily numerically greater, audience.


UNIVERSALITY - THE BLUEPRINT FOR SOCCER'S NEW ERA


Universality is the new book from coach, blogger and author Matthew Whitehouse (Follow him on Twitter @The_W_Address or via his blog whitehouseaddress.blogspot.com ) and is now available from Amazon in paperback or electronic versions here: Universality - The Blueprint for Soccer's New Era


Matthew is well qualified with a Masters Degree in sports coaching and an UEFA A Licence and with a wide practical experience of coaching the game.

Universality Review

Both Tactical and Practical, “Universality” examines tactical evolution and nuances and even (with passing reference to “The Way Forward”, Matthew’s previous excellent book) explains the tactical naivety of the way we understand and coach the game here in England.

Reflection and analysis of the tactics of the modern game, including recent trends such as tiki-taka and gegenpressing are supplemented by the real crux of the book – INDIVIDUAL development.

From the Sweeper-Keeper through the modern defender, to the evolved ‘libero’, the ‘architects’ and the interchangeable forwards who play FROM the wings as well as through the middle, this book examines and raises the profile of the ‘complete’ player.


Those who can both defend with assertiveness and clever anticipation but who are also very capable of carrying and playing with the ball to contribute to the attacking phases with equal dexterity and from all over the pitch are and will be the modern player.


With clear diagrams and explanations and with reference to modern teams, Matt explains HOW the modern player works within the collective environment. So, individual players who are able to play in a variety of positions and who possess traits and skills to fit into and, more importantly, to create a truly team environment.


The coach as visionary, innovator, philosopher and team facilitator is also examined in detail with references to and thoughtful quotes from successful and significant coaches of the modern game.


A logical addition and detailed follow up to “The Way Forward” this further excellent book is a must read for the modern coach.


Whether you are taking the first steps on your Level 1 Coaching Award in football with a grassroots Under 7 team, are a UEFA B licence coach working in a professional club’s Academy or even as a coach at the senior end of the game this new work will help you recognise and understand developing trends in the modern game.

More importantly, it will help you form your own philosophy to player and team development whilst raising your awareness of the detail required to be a modern, progressive, visionary and effective coach.

I recommend it !

Arrigo Sacchi - "I see kids who are 14 or 15 years old who are already specialists. But football is not a sport of specialists.

I was watching the under-15s the other day – 14-year-old boys – and the central defenders arrived and all they did was mark their man.

They took themselves out of the game.
 

This is suffering - this is not joy, this is not football.

If someone does just one thing over and over, they will get better at that thing. But is football just one thing?”

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”?