“With the constant evolvement of football tactics and with the defensive systems becoming more and more structured and organised, any football fan needs to understand the basics of defending in football. Defending is applying pressure, both as a player and as a whole team, on the opponent to prevent him from progressing forward to your own goal. A team can mark and press every player, but then there will be no room for error because when the marker gets passed, the team is immediately outnumbered. Then you can defend zonally, but you can’t let the opposition have all the time they want on the ball too. So there are a lot of defensive strategies applied by any team and for any particular match, according to the current circumstances. Football teams in the modern era defend as a unit, and every player is getting a particular defensive task in every game. …”
Total Football Analysis (April 2020)

“Wolves are consistent again this season under new manager Bruno Lage who arrived in the summer from Benfica, replacing his fellow countryman Nuno Espirito Santo who moved on to Tottenham Hotspur. Similar to Espirito Santo, Lage aims to play a hyper-compact system with three central defenders providing a strong foundation and wingbacks who provide width just behind or level with three forwards who lead the line. Examining Wolves’ season up to this point will tell you one thing concretely, they haven’t really skipped a beat since switching managers. At the time of writing, the club sit 8th in the Premier League with 24 points after 17 games played. Almost halfway through the season, Wolves look solid, consistent and difficult to break down, despite having not scored a ton of goals. …”
Breaking The Lines
The Athletic (Aug. 2021)
W – Bruno Lage

“Ah, the life of a goalkeeper. Sometimes you’re the hero, you have to do a lot of shouting and one mistake makes you a high-profile villain. It’s a strange life. In better news, you get to wear gloves in cold weather without any old boy pundits asking whether you’re ‘soft’. On top of all of this, you have to be able to play out from the back these days, start moves, pick out passes under pressure and often play very high and act as a sweeper. You need a full skill set. But it wasn’t always quite the same. A video emerged last week of keepers from the 1970s and 80s hoofing it. You might have seen it. If not, here it is. …”
The Athletic

“Counter Attack is a football (soccer) strategy game which lasts for 90 minutes. The two players (‘managers’) each control a team of 11 players. Every player has a unique set of skills that the managers try to best utilize during play. Managers control how the players move, pass, dribble, tackle and shoot. Duels between players on the pitch – whether tackles, shots or headers – are determined by a combination of the unique player skills plus a dice roll. During movement phases, a sand timer is used to keep the pace of the game up. Counter Attack features everything you’d expect in a game of football, from corners to free kicks, penalties to red cards and injuries. …”
Revolution Beats (Video)
amazon

“For Liverpool and England, Steven Gerrard was always a player who could change games. Now he is doing the same as Aston Villa’s manager. Sunday’s win over Leicester was Gerrard’s third in his first four matches at Villa, following a narrow defeat by defending champions Manchester City on Wednesday. He’s made an amazing start to life as a Premier League boss, but I am not surprised at all. I said when he got the job that I thought he was ready and would be a success, because of the job he did at Rangers. He put his own stamp on the club when he was at Ibrox, and he is already doing the same at Villa. …”
BBC (Video)

“The hectic festive football schedule is a fundamental part of British society around Christmas. So much so that football fans always look ahead to who their teams are facing around the holidays and to them it is very much one of the best things around the Christmas period. But with the growing physical demands of the game and congested schedule, it may be time to sacrifice in the entertaining cluster of fixtures in quick succession to have matches filled with more energy and quality. …”
The Sportsman

“One of the most traditional formations in football, the classic 4-4-2, has fallen out of favor with many of the top sides around the world. Why has it fallen out of favour? How can it be used effectively? Written by Eric Laurie, illustrated by Philippe Fenner. …”
YouTube

“Southampton were once known for their savvy in the transfer market and their dedication to promoting from their youth teams. But Southampton – ‘savvy in the transfer market’ became Southampton – ‘a selling club’, and in recent years they have been unable to reproduce the talent they have lost. How did they form a team of such talent? Why haven’t they done it since? What is their plan going forward? Alex Stewart explains, Philippe Fenner illustrates.”
YouTube

“‘My role here is fundamental,’ Xabi Alonso tells The Athletic as he shelters from the rain by a pitch at Real Sociedad’s Zubieta training ground. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder is now back home in the Basque Country, at the club where he developed as a player and where his current job is to coach the youth team, Real Sociedad B (which they all call Sanse). … The evidence suggests that Alonso and everyone else working at Zubieta have indeed been getting this right. Very right. Real Sociedad’s first team are top of La Liga, Alonso’s Sanse are the only youth team playing in the adult Segunda Division. …”
The Athletic

“The game of football can be divided, split, and broken down into many elements. But as a team, there are certain passages of play you will always encounter. In this video, we will explain the 10 categories of phases of play; In-possession, out of possession, transitions, and set-pieces. Explained by Eric Laurie. Illustrated by Philippe Fenner.”
YouTube

“After Roy Hodgson’s retirement from the game, many thought Crystal Palace were doomed for relegation. However, with a couple of new signings and a more energetic, attack-minded style of play, Patrick Vieira has taken Palace to new heights. While they sit just tenth place in the table, Vieira’s Eagles have now gone unbeaten in their last six matches, including a massive 2-0 win to set title-contenders Manchester City back a peg. Even in matches they’ve lost the season, the signs of what’s to come from Palace in the future are promising. So with that, here is a tactical analysis of Patrick Vieira’s new-look Crystal Palace. …”
The Mastermindsite
How Patrick Vieira’s Impressive Tactical Revolution Is Taking Shape at Crystal Palace (Sep 23, 2021)
W – Patrick Vieira

“After the Tottenham squad had spoken to their colleagues at Chelsea about what to expect from Antonio Conte as head coach, some felt a degree of trepidation. This is perhaps understandable. After all, they would have been told about the ferocious work ethic, the instructions during training that are so relentless he has to constantly suck throat lozenges and the volcanic temper that can erupt when things are not going his way. Most who have worked with Conte have a story or two to tell. … But they will also be working with a head coach who likes to foster a team spirit and camaraderie, and demands that his squad become a tight-knit group. This is what it’s like to play for Antonio Conte…”
The Athletic (Video)
W – Antonio Conte

“If his words at the time are to be believed, Daniel Levy never planned for it to be this way. His stated intention, when ENIC took over Tottenham Hotspur in 2001, was to hold the fort as non-executive chairman and then find someone more experienced to do the job. Like so many others who find themselves in powerful positions in football, though, he loved the thrill of it. What’s more, he felt he was good at it. Whether it was rival chairmen, managers or agents, Levy relished every negotiation. Oh, how he relished a negotiation. Two decades on, he is arguably the most high-profile executive in the Premier League. Some would say famous. Others, both among Tottenham’s fanbase and among that strange community of Premier League owners and directors, would say infamous. …”
The Athletic (Audio)
The Athletic – Antonio Conte to Tottenham: Why talks broke down in the summer, why it’s happening now and what to expect (Audio)

“A run of two wins in nine games in all competitions had led to all sorts of head-scratching, not to mention a few worried mumblings about Brendan Rodgers and whether he might think fifth place, an FA Cup and a Community Shield was as much as he could realistically achieve at the King Power Stadium. Things have looked a little less scary in the Halloween season, though. That emphatic 4-2 win over Manchester United kick-started a run of four consecutive victories (well, three, plus a shoot-out win against Brighton and Hove Albion in the EFL Cup). OK, they conceded eight goals in those four games, but one thing at a time. Ironically, perhaps the biggest concern for Leicester right now is the major positive of their season: the form of Youri Tielemans. …”
The Analyst
W – Youri Tielemans
YouTube: Youri Tielemans’ wonder goal puts Leicester City in front of Brentford

“Brentford have already shown the Premier League that they will be tough opponents. The fact that they run their club differently to most others has been widely reported. But what do they do differently? How have they adapted the ‘Moneyball’ theory? What other staff departments have they introduced? Written by Alex Stewart, illustrated by Alice Devine. …”
YouTube: How Brentford’s Moneyball Approach Works, The Rise Of Brentford, Barnsley & Moneyball In The Championship! | Explained (May 2021)
W – Brentford F.C.