Change the Channel

This is a repost from 2013.  When a reader recently asked about "changing channels" I thought to write an article about this and realized I already had.  Changing channels fits with the theme of other recent articles advocating unpredictability in the attack. 


As we have progressed through the spring season we have installed more and more of our system of play. The past couple of weeks we have focused on flank play utilizing wing midfielders and wing defenders. These players typically man the outside channels.

A channel extends the length of the field from end line to end line although typical channel play takes place between the 18's.  Dependent on who you ask there are either 3 or 4 channels on the pitch.  The two outside channels and either one or two channels through the middle of the pitch. I prefer to think of the pitch divided into 4 channels as this matches well with zonal back 4 so prevalent in today's game.

Anyone who has played basketball knows a key to defeating a zone defense is to overload one side of the court creating numbers up situations that forces the defense to lose the shape it prefers.  The same holds true in soccer.

Our focus has been on overloading the wide channels by playing to flank players and running two other players toward the wings - some combination of forwards and center midfielders.   I like to run both forwards toward the flanks when possession is in the midfield area as this draws additional defenders wide and opens the center and weak side of the field. Early crosses into the center channels or even better, to the opposite wide channel can open seams to attack through when they catch defenses shifting.

Why play wide first?  Because it draws defenders from the space we ultimately wish to utilize - the center channels or the area in front of the face of the goal.

Sometimes it is advantageous to attack "straight" down the outside channels utilizing an outside back to engage defenders before dumping the ball in behind the defense for the wing or a forward to run onto. These "through" balls need to be played in a manner that affords your teammate the best opportunity to win the ball. Too often we see balls played too direct and with too much pace that opposing goalkeepers easily pick up. What about playing a flighted ball with backspin just beyond the defenders?  This will keep the ball away from the goalkeeper and the backspin will also serve to settle the ball back towards the teammate running onto it. Defenders often over run this type of serve and then are caught attempting to turn back to the ball allowing the forward and the ball to run by them.

Sometimes a defense will seek to press and put numbers up in the outside channel and nearest central channel. When this occurs we need to change the channel either via a drop and switch of fields or by a long diagonal cross. These long diagonal crosses should be played just over the head of the defender being isolated.  If the cross is going to the opposite wide channel it must be a flat diagonal cross over the outside defender on the weak side. 

Think of sitting in your family room with a group of people and the person in control of the remote keeps flipping channels every few minutes.  Each time you become interested in a show, he flips to something else.  Such behavior can really get on a persons nerves can't it?  Is the picture beginning to come in clearer?  Switching channels can serve to drive an opposing defense nuts just as flipping TV channels can drive people nuts!

Analyzing Team Play. What and Why.

If you go to any Internet soccer forum or message board you will find a frequent topic of discussion is the lack of proficiency in scoring goals. This is one of the areas I am most often asked to address in the team camps I conduct. There seems to a general consensus in thought that a magical drill or practice exercise exists that can improve a teams ability to score goals. Of course, this just isn't true.  In fact, the reasons a team struggles to score can often times be a lot more complicated than one might suspect. Before coming up with appropriate exercises to address a teams struggles to score I have to figure out why they are struggling to score.

A friend contacted me after the 2012 high school season lamenting his team generated 22 shots on goal for the entire season. On the other hand, they had converted on 21 of those chances!

For our purposes here we will use the official FIFA definition for shots on goal:  A shot on goal sees the struck ball travel within the frame of the goal and results either in a goal being scored or a save being made.  So, if the shot strikes post or bar and bounces out, this is not considered a shot on goal. And, of course, any shot high or wide of the goal is not considered a shot on goal.

The  coach referenced above is a former college goalkeeper and knows the correct definition of a shot on goal. So I was really curious as to how a team could convert on 21 of 22 chances. That is one of the most confounding statistics I have ever heard of. No wonder he was interested in getting his team to take more shots on goal!

The question I had to answer was, why only 22 shots on goal over the course of 17 games?

The first hint I got was the coach telling me his team refused to shoot from distance. They insisted on being at nearly point blank range before attempting a shot.  Aha! That explains the tremendous conversion rate. It also provided a vital clue in terms of questioning why they only took 22 shots on goal. My suspicion was a lack of striking skill and this was confirmed during my first session with the team. They didn't take more shots or shots from greater range because they could not execute the required skill to do so. Now, I knew where to begin addressing the issue of generating more shots.

REACT & RID for November 20, 2012

REACT moment for November 20, 2012

Wing loses the ball off the dribble to the second defender.

Real Time:
Did I know the second defender was present?
Did I have a plan for defeating the second defender before I took on the first defender?

Immediate:
Be a game watcher, not a ball watcher.
Scan the field consantly.

Remember we want to be in numbers up positions and not be caught playing numbers down as has happened here.

Remember, if beating the first defender to the outside, move inside to eliminate his pursuit and engage the second defender on your terms. This opens the outside for an overlap and can set up a wall pass combination on the inside.

Remember that when defeating the first defender inside you have created space outside for an overlapping run.

 

Delayed:

Work with a partner on combination passes. 

If a partner is not available, a kickback board or bench laid on its side can be used for some combinations.

Execute a move to defeat / isolate a defender going into the combination pass sequence.