Up, back and through

This session is about getting the ball forward as quickly and as accurately as possible. It is very effective at any level, and when it’s done with the right quality, it can be devastating. The concept can begin either with one of your central defenders and/or a holding midfielder. You are potentially looking to hit either your right or left wide player. The wide player’s first touch will be out of their feet into space so they can then utilise their pace, get their head up, and look to play into the strikers. 

I will always look to have two players up front, and so this exercise really works well in this set-up: one of the strikers will come off their marker to receive the pass from the wide player. The most forward of the midfield players will look to get on to the lay-off from the striker, and now look to pass diagonally into the path of the wide player who had passed to the striker. The wide player now has several options if everyone is following the play, as we mentioned striker 1 has peeled away and touched the ball back to the oncoming midfielder. Striker 2 is now making their run into the front post area looking for that whipped-in cross. Meanwhile, striker 2 after laying the ball off makes a run to the far post, giving the wide midfield player another option for a far post cross. In this moment, it is important to understand where everyone should be and why.

Once the two strikers make their intentions clear, then the midfielders need to position themselves in the appropriate spot. The midfielder who makes the pass will continue their run and then sit 5-8 yards outside the 18-yard box, while the second midfielder will be 12-15 yards behind them covering the other side of the 18-yard box. To complete the encirclement, the opposite wide midfield player will be tucked in outside the 18, in case the crossed ball comes out the other side. This then allows us to maintain pressure on the defending team and are still in a good position to break up any counter-attacks.

In the actual sessions, we would be asking the back line to push up as high as possible, and then midfield to support the front two forwards and the wide midfielders, so we remain compact throughout the team.  

It is a very attack-minded session where the entire team is involved, and something that happens in games very frequently. I want the ball played forward whenever possible, and for that to happen, you need players willing to run and make things happen. Getting the ball out wide, playing it in to the striker for the midfield player to thread the ball into the path of the wide player, who ideally drives the ball into the front post, is for me what football is about. It is vital to how I like to play the game, and when you score from this, it is very satisfying as you know that at least four or five players have been involved in the build-up with the rest supporting.

At least once a week, we will go through this, and the beauty of this is that if you set the session up correctly, you can start the session where the ball is played to the right and then as soon as the striker on the right side has laid the ball off to the midfield player we can start the process on the left side of the pitch, and this way you have everyone more or less involved.

ACTIVITY

We set up on a full pitch as shown, with three or four central midfield players in the centre circle with balls. We then have three or four central defenders on the edge of the 18-yard box. Our full backs and wide midfield players would be on their respective sides of the pitch, so right midfield and right back would be on our right side.

This is also the case on the left side, with wide left midfielder and left full backs on our left. We position four forwards on the edge of the 18-yard box at the opposite end of the pitch, two of them lined up with the goalpost, while the other two are off to one side so as not to interfere in the session.

The exercise begins with the four midfielders passing amongst themselves before hitting a ball directly to one of the four central defenders [1a]. 

[1a]

1. Midfielders pass ball among themselves

2. Ball hit directly to central defender

The ball must be hit with power and accuracy so that the defender can control with one touch and then be able to pass the ball again with pace and accuracy out to the wide right midfield player. The wide midfielder, having positioned themselves sideways on, can then take a touch out of their feet into space while looking for the movement of one of the strikers [1b].

[1b]

1. Central defender controls with one touch

2. Central defender passes to wide midfielder

3. Wide midfielder looks for movement of striker

The striker now lays off the ball to the central midfielder who hit the original pass to the central defender. 

After their pass into the striker, the wide midfielder has continued their run [1c] and now receives a pass into their feet and decides what type of cross or pass they are going to deliver. The passing midfielder now positions themselves outside the 18-yard box for any rebounds or balls cleared to the edge of the box. 

[1c]

1. Striker lays off ball to central midfielder

2. Wide midfielder continues run

Another midfielder (MD 3) has also pushed up the pitch and will position themselves on the other side of the box, diagonally behind the first midfielder. Both strikers have made separate runs, one into the front post, the other into the far post, while the other wide midfielder (MD 4) has come in from the flank and is looking to pick up anything that might come out the opposite side [1d]. 

[1d]

1. Wide midfielder ready to receive pass to feet

2. Striker receives ball and plays quick one-two with midfielder, then makes run into box

3. Passing midfielder moves to outside 18-yard box ready for rebounds or cleared ball

4. Another midfielder on other side of box

5. Other wide midfielder moves in to opposite side of box

6. Other striker on far post

The wide midfielder delivers the cross or pass into the box, and the strikers and other midfielders can react accordingly; in this example, the striker has a shot [1e].

[1e]

1. Wide midfielder ready to receive pass to feet

2. Striker receives ball and plays quick one-two with midfielder, then makes run into box

3. Passing midfielder moves to outside 18-yard box ready for rebounds or cleared ball

4. Another midfielder on other side of box

5. Other wide midfielder moves in to opposite side of box

6. Other striker on far post

We sometimes then get the back three or four to push up to the halfway line depending on what we are working on, or add defenders to defend the cross and the two strikers. We can also add defenders to make this more of a phase of play, using the half pitch to focus on the technical aspects of the session. However, for this particular example, we will start the exercise again as soon as the first striker has laid the pass off to the midfielder, and continue the process on the opposite side. 

We run this particular session for 30 minutes as we are working on the crossing and finishing aspect, but it could go longer depending on what you need to work on.

COACHING POINTS

What are the key things to look out for technically and tactically?

Technically, especially going forward, it is the quality of the pass and then the first touch to set up the pass, spatial awareness, and of course the timing of their particular runs. It is a very quick sequence of passes with the correct weight and accuracy that will determine if we can get in behind the defenders and then deliver the pass into the strikers and/or full backs for the oncoming attacking midfield players. It is prudent to be aware that when everyone is in the right place, the ball has more chance of dropping to one of our players so that we can maintain the pressure on the defenders. As soon as the cross has been delivered from either side, the crosser now has to get back into a position where they will either be in a position to defend or available to continue pressuring the opponent’s goal.

What are the typical mistakes players might make and how do I avoid them? 

This often varies. Depending on the levels of the players you have at your disposal, passing accuracy or the power of the pass, first touch can be an issue. For the wide players, the decision on which type of cross to use and where the ball should be played; for the strikers, the ability to arrive at the front post at the right moment - there should be a slight delay before making the run into the front post, and the run of the second striker must be based off the run of the first striker. The central midfielders often get caught both standing in the same line on the edge of the box; this is a serious mistake as the ball over the top puts them both out of the equation. One of them needs to be closer to the 18-yard box while the other one should be 10-15 yards diagonally further back.