For me coaching was always more interesting than playing...
I began at just 16 years old when I did the old FA Level 1 and took over a team at Junior Bees FC in Brentford. That was where it all began. For the last 7 years I have been in the Women's and Girls' game where I gained my FA Level 2 (now UEFA C) in 2020 and my UEFA B Licence in 2023. Development of players, coaches and myself is the basis of everything that I do as a coach and coach mentor within my club. The Women's and Girls' game has been very good to me over the years, and I want to give something back.
My Philosophy
When I completed my Level 2 the idea of a "philosophy" took me longer to get my head around than it should have, but ultimately that process led me right where it needed to. Back then I might not have understood it fully but at heart I'm very much a football relationist. I believe that the relationship between the ball and teammates are fundamental to success and inform structure, style and strategy rather than the other way around. I grew up playing football, playing video games like Championship Manager and watching football locally and on TV - first and foremost football was, and still can be, FUN.
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The foundation of my beliefs are in player awareness above all else. I'm fascinated by the cultural revolution that is happening in Italy at the moment with coaches like Spalletti, Motta, Inzaghi all promoting the ball and relationism, as well as the success stories of Alonso at Leverkusen and Ancelotti at Madrid. I feel like much of the modern game has become a smokescreen to avoid as many 1v1s as possible in the course of 90 minutes - compact defences with superior numbers behind the ball being countered by overloading the backline; numbers, positioning, structure is the basis. I'm not a fan. I like to see players read the game and work with each other to progress the ball based on what is happening there and then.
In Possession
My In Possession "philosophy" (for want of a better word) is the same now as it always has been, and will never change regardless of how far I get and where I end up. It's simple: Score. I don't mind how my teams do it, but I want them to see every opportunity to progress the ball and make the choice whether to stick or twist based on the game and the moment. It might seem childish or simplistic, but adaptability and fluidity on the ball are key to being unpredictable and exciting in creating chances.
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"See the Attack"
Modern football often has a set way of doing things now; the attack is constant but rarely varied. Crosses still tend to dominate in structured build-up against "rest defence", playing beyond and around in channels 1 and 5, in lieu of probing for gaps through channels 2-4. To me, this sums up the view that "we pass not to move the ball, but to move the opposition".
"We have our own ideas and we say that we espouse them to help people to understand the game. Bullshit! It should be for the players to understand the game as they understand it.”​
Juanma Lillo
But of course you move the ball to move the ball, at all points of the game you are working to get that ball between the three sticks and in the big net. The 4D chess match of action/reaction, of our move/your move, definitely has its merits but I believe can miss crucial opportunities to progress where it relies on stubborn defences to make a mistake or move exactly where you want them. Creating spaces by "passing to move the opposition" places emphasis on them rather than us. "Seeing the attack" gives players the freedom to attack at any point, regardless of how the defence is set. It empowers players to use the ball to score rather than to limit the opposition.
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For this reason I don't mind players roaming from position, I encourage them to hold the ball for as long as they can or is effective in scoring, and to break structure or formation to exploit areas and spaces that they observe. There is a school of thought that in England or the UK we're summarily obsessed with how we play Out of Possession, but I believe we should be fun and adventurous and think In Possession above all else.
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Out of Possession
The principles of adaptability and fluidity aren't just the domain of us having the ball. To press, and more importantly to counter-press, we need to understand the moment in front of us. Shaping and forcing are all good but again I feel rely too heavily on the opposition rather than on us. Whilst waiting for the “correct” moment or space to press we can be actively trying to win the ball back.
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For me, being Out of Possession isn’t about waiting; it isn’t a period of time where we look to limit chances and try to gain control of the ball - that happens at every moment of the game, whether In or Out of Possession we always look to stop the other team controlling the ball and thus the game.
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Attacking in close proximity to each other provides a solid foundation to counter-press; it’s all well and good getting chalk on your boots and stretching the pitch but if we lose the ball everything needs to be small and close to effectively win it back quickly. It’s not so much that every player then has a job, but that they are able to understand what the situation and moment requires them to do in order to win the ball back and attack.
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Of course we can’t press and counter-press for the full 90 minutes but our understanding, our “intensity” should mean that we are always able to and willing to when the moment comes.
“INTENSITY”
doesn’t just mean “fast paced” or specific to a style or principle (“intense pressure”). It should be visible in everything we do.
Intensity means:
COMMITTED - everything we do, we do fully
TARGETED - everything we do has an end or time frame in sight
CONSISTENT - everything is done repeatedly to a high standard
Standards become what define us.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect. Use the "Contact" page or the box at the bottom of the page.