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A Wellness Check That Takes Thirty Seconds
I’ve seen enough “performance analysts” in shiny tracksuits try to sell clubs on expensive GPS vests and complicated data dashboards that require a degree in mathematics just to read a graph. It’s absolute nonsense. If you’re standing on a touchline in the middle of a freezing November afternoon, you don’t need a spreadsheet to tell
Adding Pressure Without Adding Chaos
I’ve lost count of how many “elite” coaching manuals I’ve seen that claim you can master technical control by setting up pristine, colour-coded cones in a sunny training ground with nothing but a gentle breeze. It’s nonsense. If you want to learn how to improve first touch under pressure, you won’t find the answer in
Expected Goals Explained, Including What It Cannot Tell You
I spent thirty years standing on touchlines where the only “data” we had was whether the striker looked heavy-legged or if the wind was blowing sideways. Now, I turn on the telly and see pundits throwing around terms like they’ve discovered fire, making it sound like you need a degree in mathematics just to understand
The Complete Guide to Running a Tournament
I’ve seen enough “expert” coaches spend three months building glossy, color-coded spreadsheets and scouting reports only to watch their entire squad fall apart by the second group stage game because they forgot to account for a muddy pitch and a lack of sleep. Most people will try to sell you a complete guide to tournaments
The Complete Guide to Running Trials
I once watched a lad at our club—technically gifted enough to make a scout weep—completely fall apart during a trial because the pitch was uneven and the wind was biting. He had the fancy boots, the expensive training gear, and a CV that looked like it belonged in a boardroom, but he didn’t have the
Where Football Statistics Come From
I spent thirty years standing on touchlines where the only “data” I had was a damp notebook and the squint of my eyes through a heavy drizzle. Nowadays, I see these young academy coaches getting mesmerised by glowing tablets and high-tech sensors, acting as if a digital readout is some kind of magic wand. They
Building a Weak Foot That Holds Up Under Pressure
I’ve lost count of how many “elite” coaching manuals I’ve seen that suggest you need high-tech sensors or complex, isolated technical circuits to fix a player’s reliance on their dominant side. It’s nonsense. I once watched a young lad—talented enough to make a scout blink—get completely shut down in a cup semi-final simply because he
Man-marking Is Back, but Not How You Remember It
I spent twenty years watching “tactical gurus” on television use high-definition graphics to explain man-marking as if it were some sort of complex mathematical equation. They talk about “defensive triggers” and “zonal transitions” like they’re launching a satellite, but they never mention the simple, ugly truth: if you tell a lad to “stick to his
Fitness Tests Worth Running and What They Tell You
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen a coach standing there with a stopwatch and a clipboard, looking like they’ve cracked the code because a lad just ran a shuttle sprint in record time. They think they’ve mastered the art of conditioning, but let me tell you, a single sprint tells you nothing
Goalkeeper Conditioning Is Its Own Discipline
I’ve spent more time on muddy touchlines than I have in my own living room, and if there’s one thing that makes my blood boil, it’s seeing a young keeper obsessed with fancy plyometric boxes and high-tech gym gadgets. I once watched a lad at my club spend three months perfecting his vertical leap in