Formations & Tactics

Our picks

Try these sessions selected by our coaching team if you're not sure where to start. Or scroll down to browse all the sessions in this section

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Johnathan McKinstry

Pressing triggers and compactness in a 3-4-3 shape

This session develops team pressing principles from a 3-4-3 formation, focusing on disrupting opponent build-up and regaining possession ...

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Chris Hughton

Four day build up to playing 3-4-3

This session was taken from the four day period between games in our recent international week. In my time as Ghana coach, we have always...

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Carlo Ancelotti

Attacking movement in a 4-3-2-1 formation

This session is based on tactical work, movement and patterns of play in the middle and attacking thirds of the field.
It uses a 4-3...

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Steve Bruce

Defensive organisation playing 3-4-3

This session is all about defensive organisation when playing in a 3-4-3. More specifically, it is focused on pressing in the middle thir...

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Craig Brown

Shaping a 3-5-2 formation

This training session is about maximising the full potential of the 3-5-2 system, which was very much in vogue in the 1990s. The formatio...

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Darren Ferguson

Stepping out and creating overloads in a 3-5-2

The 3-5-2 formation remains hugely popular in modern football, though with so many teams becoming smart to its threat, we need players to...

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Daniel Farke

Possession & transition

This session involves many important topics from our football philosophy, such as possession and transition after winning or losing the b...

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Jim Bentley

Build-up play in a 4-3-3

This session is about playing out from the back in a 4-3-3 formation, coaching players on how to move the ball well and build through the...

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Willy Donachie

Positivity and awareness

This session teaches players to stay positive and aware in game situations, with a focus on moving play forward at all times. It encourag...

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Tony Mowbray

Exploiting possession

This session is focused on creating opportunities from possession. Every team should work on their ability to maintain and exploit posses...

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Gabriele Cioffi

Match preparation

This session is focussed on preparing players for an upcoming opponent, specifically with regard to getting them to understand their opti...

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Terry Butcher

Match preparation

This is the kind of training session I run with my teams in the build up to a match. It helps to rehearse the formation and shape we are ...

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Russell Slade

Playing through the thirds

Help your players master basic elements such as movement and rotation in receiving the ball. It’s really important to practise these elem...

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André Villas-Boas

Possession principles

Throughout this session you will work on possession principles, focusing on build-up play from the back and the mobility of the team.

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Darren Kelly

Improve possession to penetrate

Through a series of activities, this session stresses the importance of combination play, both in the central midfield and out on the win...

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Alex McLeish

Running in behind

Use this exercise to practise simple movements that are related to improving a player’s awareness of space, developing game intelligence,...

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Gus Poyet

Finding the free player

Do you find that your team has most of the ball yet finds it difficult to break through in the final third? Use this session to get your ...

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Stephen Robinson

Forward play in 3-4-3

Creating and linking forward play in the attacking third of the pitch is often the decisive factor in winning games. Creating the link up...

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Aidy Boothroyd

Transition game

Help your players feel comfortable when keeping the ball in tight areas with this session which is based on defending in overloads yet in...

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Mike Phelan

Decisions, pressure, possession

Use this full squad session to work on passing out from the back and making the right decisions to pass and keep possession. Its focus in...

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Edu Rubio

High press

Pressing high gives your team the chance to regain possession as soon as possible. This session will help both individual roles and team ...

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Tony Loughlan

Build-up versus counter

A great session for player understanding, in terms of how ‘build-up’ can look like ‘counter’. Also, great for tactical awareness – we can...

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Darren Ferguson

Playing through teams in a 4-4-2 formation

Try this session to get your wide players or strikers receiving in between the lines. The focus is on quality of passing and timing of mo...

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Brendan Rodgers

Defensive organisation

The idea with this session is to press high up the pitch to win the ball – this means that the defence must move up quickly to cover any ...

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Michael O'Neill

Counter-attacking from deep

Away from home in international football we always have a deeper defensive position as a team and, therefore, to have attacking threat, w...

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Roberto Martinez

Compact team movement

This session is about movement of the team in attack and defence to ensure we remain compact with good distances between players. It also...

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Michael O'Neill

Counter-attacking

Use this dynamic counter-attacking session to encourage your players to attack with speed and a sense of urgency. It is also a good test ...

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Jos Luhukay

Attacking with an overload

This session examines how we coach a player technically and tactically when attacking or counter attacking in overload situations.

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Alan Pardew

Pressing and blocking lines

He we look at pressing, both as individuals and as a unit. Specifically, focusing on the prevention of opposition forward passes and bloc...

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Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Goal kicks: Phases of play

Use this session to focus on the phases of play from offensive and defensive goal kicks and pass-backs.

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Mark Hughes

Playing out from the back

Use this session to help build understanding and awareness between your goalkeeper and back four so that, when it matters, the correct op...

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Antonio Conte

Back three tactics

Give players the opportunity to defend the box as a three, and move the ball forward, either by playing through the midfielders, passing ...

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Neil Warnock

The confrontation line

This exclusive session is about counter-attacking in a 4-3-3 formation, with the use of a ‘confrontation line’. This virtual line gives p...

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Sean Dyche

Simple pressing as a team

This session teaches players simple tactical understanding for pressing as a team. It’s important to practise this because pressing force...

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Chris Hughton

Position specific development

This exclusive session by Chris Hughton could be run on a weekly basis, or it could be linked to a tactical focus for an upcoming game.

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Formations & Tactics

Our picks

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