Description

50 FINISHING & DEFENDING PRACTICES

Create Chances. Defend Better.

Two practical collections. 50 tested practices designed to develop players at both ends of the pitch.

How do you help players create and convert chances?

How do you develop better finishing?

How do you improve attacking movement and decision-making?

How do you help defenders prevent chances?

How do you develop better 1v1 defending?

How do you improve pressing, compactness and defensive organisation?

And how do you help players understand what it takes to score goals and stop them?

50 Finishing & Defending Practices brings together two complete collections of practical, tested football practices designed to develop attacking and defensive players.

25 Finishing Practices.

25 Defending Practices.

50 practices in one complete coaching resource.

Written by a professional football coach and coach developer, this bundle gives coaches a practical toolbox for developing players at both ends of the pitch.

TWO BOOKS. ONE COMPLETE RESOURCE.

Football is about both sides of the game.

Creating and preventing opportunities.

Attacking and defending.

Scoring and stopping goals.

This bundle brings together two focused collections:

25 FINISHING PRACTICES

Develop the ability to:

Create chances
Attack space
Move to finish
Combine around the box
Finish with both feet
Finish under pressure
Make better decisions
Convert opportunities

25 DEFENDING PRACTICES

Develop the ability to:

Defend 1v1
Protect space
Stay compact
Press effectively
Recognise pressing triggers
Prevent progression
Cover teammates
Win the ball
Defend transitions

50 practices covering both sides of the game.

50 PRACTICAL, TESTED PRACTICES

Every practice is designed to be:

Practical.

Challenging.

Game-related.

Adaptable.

Easy to understand.

Ready to use.

Take the practices straight onto the training pitch and create environments where players are constantly required to:

See.

Think.

Decide.

Act.

Adapt.

DEVELOPING THE ATTACKER

Finishing is about much more than shooting.

Develop:

Movement.

Positioning.

Timing.

Attacking space.

Combination play.

Chance creation.

1v1 finishing.

Crossing and delivery.

Finishing with both feet.

Decision-making.

Composure under pressure.

Help players understand how to create opportunities and how to convert them.

DEVELOPING THE DEFENDER

Defending is about much more than tackling.

Develop:

Positioning.

1v1 defending.

Body shape.

Compactness.

Cover.

Balance.

Pressing.

Pressing triggers.

Protecting space.

Preventing progression.

Interceptions.

Transitions.

Help players understand how to prevent opportunities and how to regain possession.

CREATE CHANCES

The finishing practices challenge players to recognise:

Where is the space?

When should I move?

Where will the ball arrive?

Can I finish first time?

Should I take another touch?

Can I combine?

Can I attack the space behind?

Can I create a better opportunity?

Develop players who can create as well as finish.

STOP CHANCES

The defending practices challenge players to recognise:

Where is the danger?

Who should I press?

When should I delay?

Where should I show the opponent?

Who provides cover?

How do we protect the goal?

Can we prevent the forward pass?

When can we win the ball?

Develop players who can anticipate, prevent and regain.

DECISION-MAKING AT BOTH ENDS

Football is a game of decisions.

Attackers decide:

Shoot or pass?

First time or touch?

Forward or secure?

Attack space or support?

Combine or finish?

Defenders decide:

Press or delay?

Tackle or contain?

Step or hold?

Follow or pass on?

Win the ball or protect space?

The practices create repeated opportunities for players to make decisions in realistic football situations.

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

Develop the technical actions required to influence the game.

ATTACKING

Finishing.

Shooting.

Receiving.

Passing.

Dribbling.

Ball carrying.

Crossing.

Heading.

Combination play.

DEFENDING

Tackling.

Intercepting.

Blocking.

Clearing.

Heading.

1v1 defending.

Recovery.

Defensive technique.

Technique connected to the game.

TACTICAL DEVELOPMENT

Players also develop their understanding of:

Space.

Positioning.

Movement.

Support.

Compactness.

Pressing.

Cover.

Balance.

Chance creation.

Preventing progression.

Transitions.

Develop players who understand what to do and why.

FINISHING UNDER PRESSURE

The best finishing opportunities don’t always arrive with time and space.

Defenders close you down.

The goalkeeper advances.

The ball arrives quickly.

The opportunity disappears.

Players learn to:

Stay composed.

Choose the right technique.

Make decisions quickly.

Finish under pressure.

DEFENDING UNDER PRESSURE

Defenders also need to perform when the game becomes difficult.

Attackers move.

Space opens.

The ball changes direction.

The team becomes stretched.

Players must learn to:

Stay compact.

Communicate.

Protect space.

Cover teammates.

Delay attacks.

Recover.

Regain organisation.

1v1 ATTACKING & DEFENDING

The 1v1 battle can decide matches.

Attackers need to know how to:

Create separation.

Attack space.

Beat the defender.

Choose the right finish.

Defenders need to know how to:

Approach.

Control distance.

Stay balanced.

Show the attacker away from danger.

Delay.

Win the ball.

Develop players for both sides of the duel.

ATTACKING & DEFENDING TRANSITIONS

The game can change in a moment.

A chance becomes a turnover.

A turnover becomes a counter-attack.

The practices develop players’ ability to react.

AFTER WINNING THE BALL

Can you:

Play forward?

Attack space?

Create an opportunity?

Finish before the defence recovers?

AFTER LOSING THE BALL

Can you:

Counter-press?

Stop the first pass?

Delay the attack?

Protect the goal?

Recover?

Develop players who understand that the moment possession changes, the game changes.

SMALL-SIDED. HIGH INVOLVEMENT.

The practices create opportunities for players to experience the game.

Touches.

Finishing actions.

1v1s.

Defensive actions.

Decisions.

Movement.

Pressure.

Transitions.

Opportunities to learn.

Create training environments where players are actively involved in the football.

ADAPTABLE TO YOUR PLAYERS

Every group is different.

Every player is different.

Adapt the practices through:

Pitch size
Player numbers
Numerical advantages
Defenders
Attackers
Goalkeeper involvement
Scoring systems
Time
Direction
Targets
Rules

Increase the pressure.

Create more space.

Reduce the space.

Change the objective.

Keep the practice. Change the challenge.

FOR EVERY LEVEL

Use the practices across:

Grassroots.

Academy.

Development football.

Senior football.

Elite environments.

The coach controls the challenge.

The principles remain.

The level of complexity changes.

FOR COACHES WHO WANT MORE VARIETY

Sometimes you need another practice.

Another way to challenge your players.

Another solution for your session.

This bundle gives coaches 50 practices to add to their coaching toolbox.

Use them as:

Main practices
Finishing practices
Defending practices
Technical-tactical practices
Small-sided games
Game-based practices
Competitive practices
Session components

Adapt them.

Combine them.

Build your sessions around them.

FROM TRAINING TO THE GAME

The purpose of practice is not simply to create better training sessions.

It is to create better footballers.

Players who can:

Create chances.

Finish opportunities.

Attack space.

Defend 1v1.

Protect space.

Press effectively.

Prevent progression.

Win the ball.

React in transition.

Make better decisions.

Take the learning from the practice into the real game.

PRACTICAL. TESTED. READY TO USE.

These practices have been designed for the realities of coaching.

They are not complicated exercises that only work on paper.

They are practical, tested football practices that can be taken straight onto the pitch.

Set it up.

Explain the objective.

Let the players play.

Observe.

Coach.

Adapt.

Develop.

50 WAYS TO DEVELOP YOUR PLAYERS

50 practices.

25 finishing.

25 defending.

Hundreds of decisions.

Hundreds of actions.

Two sides of the game.

One complete coaching resource.

Develop players who can create, convert, prevent and regain.

TRUSTED BY PROFESSIONALS

The author’s eBooks are already being used and endorsed by professionals from the game.

Including:

Danny Röhl — Football Manager
Gaël Clichy — Former Manchester City & Arsenal player, Coach
Yohan Cabaye — Former Newcastle United & PSG player, Coach
Martin Devaney — Assistant Manager, Barnsley FC
Marlon Pack — Portsmouth Captain
Kenwyne Jones — Former Premier League player, Coach

Their use and support of the author’s work reflects the practical focus behind the books:

Football ideas that can be understood, applied and developed.

WRITTEN FROM THE PROFESSIONAL GAME

The author is a professional football coach and coach developer, bringing practical coaching experience and a passion for developing players into every practice.

The aim is simple:

Create better practices.

Create better learning environments.

Develop better players.

CREATE CHANCES. DEFEND BETTER.