Tactics & Tips

Your players may have mastered all of the skills of the game but without effective tactics, they will struggle to win matches. The articles in this section look at how to develop tactical awareness in your players and how to get the best out of your players in particular situations. These articles will help give your players a deeper understanding of the role of tactics in the game and will help them realise their own potential.

Getting the winning habits - There are tried and tested ways of improving your winning chances. For example, before match day - get players' minds and bodies right.

Get your wingers dribbling - If you reckon your wide men's dribbling skills could do with some polishing up, there are several areas you can work on to improve effectiveness.

Throw-ins For Juniors. Make Them Quick! - Everyone in your team must be able to throw the ball in. Don't opt for dedicated throwers.

Surprise Tactics - Shooting at Kick Off - As a coach you will often get asked by parents what happened to the fun side of football. Well here's something that is not only fun but creative, skilful and will add a bit of flair on match days.

Never Concede from a Corner Again - Giving players specialist positions during matches can be extremely effective. Tell them where to stand, what to do and how to do it, particularly in situations where your team is under pressure. Are you conceding a lot of goals from corners? Then you need a player to stand BIG at the front of your penalty area to block the corner taker. Do this properly and you need never concede from a corner again.

How to Coach the Perfect Free-Kick - There is nothing more satisfying than bending the ball from free-kicks over the wall into the back of the net. Get yourself down to the practice field so that at the next training session you can show your free-kick takers how it's done. Watch their faces as you curl it into the top corner!

Block The Special One With Clever Tactics - Sometimes your team will play opponents who have one player that is much more talented than the rest. This could be a striker that they rely on to score all their goals, or the player who starts all their moves. So how can you change your tactics to deal with this problem?

Play-makers or Counter-attackers? - Every coach, whatever age group, has to decide which style of play suits his team's strategy: a play-making or counter-attacking style. But, don't be afraid to change it during a match.

How Passing Back Creates Space For Attackers - Sometimes you need to get your players to pass back so they can advance forward. In the first of a two-part guide to passing back we look at how to pass into a target man.

How to Switch the Attack to Score More Goals - The best teams switch the ball continuously, looking for space and probing the opposition's defence for an error.

Tony Carr on Defending Corners - One of the key elements of a defensive strategy for your team is getting your players to know their positions at corners, says Tony Carr, Academy Director at West Ham United.

Score More Goals From Corners - Now that we have successfully defended the corner, got the ball up to the other end of the pitch and won our own corner, Tony Carr of the West Ham United FC Academy shows us how to set up a team to attack a corner to maximise the scoring opportunity.

How to Pass the Ball Out from the Back - Good teams can pass the ball out from the back in a structured controlled manner. Tony Carr, Academy Director at West Ham United, explains how to coach your players to do it.

How to Always Win Possession from Goal Kicks - The ideal way of getting your players into shape to defend or attack goal kicks is by shouting a one word code. If you use my technique below all you will have to shout is "DIAMOND".

How to Coach Movement Off the Ball - I am always looking for good ways to coach movement off the ball. The best way I've found is to set up a system which needs good fitness and penetrating passes.

Five Ways to Devastate a Defence - Two-man attacking moves can be used to devastating effect to prise open tight defences, writes Tony Rock, a Fulham FC Football in the Community coach.

How Strikers Can Stretch the Opposition - If your striker retreats too far back when your team has the ball he is in the wrong position and makes it harder for his team to turn defence into attack and easier for his opponents to mark him, says David Clarke.

How Short Corners Create Goals - Having problems with corners? Try taking them short, it’s an easy way to goal, says David Clarke.

Cross the Ball Early When Attacking a Flat Back Four - You often find with young football teams that the defenders are drawn forward when they are on the attack, leaving space behind them for your team to exploit. An early cross is the best way to do it, says David Clarke.

Shape up your team to defend all over the pitch - Shapes are important in football. They happen all over the pitch, but you must make sure your players know how they work. Playing 3v3 matches shows you how to use triangles, says David Clark

How Goalkeepers are Crucial for Good Passing Moves - Successful distribution from the keeper is a hallmark of a good side. This means that building up from the back is better than launching the ball up field hoping one of your players can get it, says David Clarke.

How to Change Your Tactics to Play Better Football - Changing tactics is something every coach has to consider when he can't find a winning combination. Young players need to begin their football careers with a sound understanding that tactics matter, says David Clarke.

How Quick Free-Kicks Open Opposition Defences - Free-kicks are given so you have an advantage over your opponents - make sure your players are prepared to make the most of them. One way to do this is by catching the opposition off their guard, says David Clarke.

How to Coach Your Team to Switch Play - Get your team to keep the game flowing and split defences by swinging the ball from one side to the other to create space and outnumber the defence. You can also release pressure by switching the ball, says David Clarke.

Try Alternative Kick-Offs to Keep Teams Guessing - Kick-offs are particularly important in junior football because if you’ve just given away a goal, or you are starting the first or second half of a match, you need your players to take the initiative and catch your opponent out, says David Clarke.

Coach Your Team to Pass Past Players - There is a direct relationship between overall team success and both the total number of passes and the passing success rate. In combinations of twos and threes you can pass your way to goal, says David Clarke.

Attack! Attack! Attack! - Whatever age group you are coaching - at 7-a-side or 11-a-side - breaking away with a three-man move will always cause havoc in the opposition defence. It’s a quick, skilful way to goal, says David Clarke.

How To Turn Throw-ins Into Goals - What I look out for at throw-ins is plenty of movement, space and options created by my other players. It is important they know how to exploit this space so that it pays off on match days, says David Clarke.

Make Your Own Playmaker - Small-sided games can be used to develop skills that make players stand out in matches, says David Clarke.

Carve Your Way to Goal - Get your wingers to practice playing one-twos with their midfield team-mates so they can carve a way to goal and leave a few defenders behind on match days. Sometimes it’s better than dribbling, says David Clarke.

How to Pull Defences Apart - There have been countless examples in the closing stages of the European Champions League and already in Euro 2008 of an attacking team crossing the ball to the back post for a player to lay it back into the penalty area to create goal scoring chances, says David Clarke.

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