Playing out from the back

Professional coaching sessions designed to help your players play out from the back. Featuring sessions from Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Steve Bruce and Eddie Howe.

Featured

This session is about developing the ability to attack at speed with immediate forward passing and forward running, combined with the ability to build controlled attacks against a set defensive structure.

Featured

Steve Bruce

Working through the thirds

This session rehearses passing, receiving and offering support through thirds of the pitch. It takes directional passing as a warm-up, then brings in opposed possession challenges in outlining a variety of key technical points.

Bruno Lage

Building up

This session is about building up play from the goalkeeper and the centre backs and it is intended to develop and improve circulation and decision mak...

Chris Davies

Building an attack against a high press

The build-up phase can be defined as the process of progressing the ball into the opposition’s half. In modern football, more teams than ever want t...

Sam Rose

Playing forward from the defensive third

This session is aimed at developing a team’s decision making in possession when playing against an opposition that press high. The session is set up...

“Gives you the opportunity to learn from the best coaches in the game”

Alan Pardew

Tony Morton

Encouraging combination play

This session is all about finding support positions to encourage combination play and to change the point of attack. In the modern game much is made o...

Ralph Hasenhüttl

Possession play to build attacks

The purpose of this training session is to encourage the team to retain possession and build play from the back. The players enjoy this session becaus...

Paul Buckle

Think forward and play forward

In possession, a team is at its most dangerous when a player can make a forward pass to a team mate running in a forward direction. This session creat...

Neil Lennon

Build up and attack with overloads

This training session allows us to focus on attacking play with overloads. It also helps us to work on positional play and how to progress the ball in...

Tom McStravick

Building an attack from the back

This session is all about building the attack from the goalkeeper and breaking through a high press. In this activity we see the goalkeeper as an extr...

David Flitcroft

Playing through the thirds with your number 10 as a playmaker

This session looks at retaining possession in aiming to find the number 10 (the attacking midfielder) in between the lines. We practise this because ...

Mick Wadsworth

Forward thinking

At any level, the ability to attack the opposition with quick, positive forward play can yield terrific rewards. This session requires determined an...

Josh Brehaut

Building from the back

This session is focused on starting attacks from inside the defensive third of the pitch, specifically when playing against a front three that presses...

Gabriele Cioffi

Match preparation

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

Russell Slade

Playing through the thirds

This session begins as a technical practice, moves to an opposed practice before being developed into a small-sided game. As a coach, I’m always lo...

Seamus McDonagh

Direct distribution

I like to use this session because distribution from goalkeepers - using both feet - is now a vital part of the game. The latest statistics show that ...

Adrian Tucker

Keeper’s kicking drill

This practice is designed to enhance the composure of goalkeepers when they have the ball at their feet. It uses situations that vary in space, time a...

“As a regular reader of Elite Soccer I look forward to receiving every issue. I’m delighted to share one of my own sessions with fellow coaches”

José Mourinho

Aidy Boothroyd

The eleventh man

Here are a collection of uni-directional games that test a number of developmental characteristics in players, from the technical (multiple and varied...

Billy Mercer

Keepers: crossing and distribution

This is a keeper session that looks at dealing with crossing then distributing into counter-attacking areas. The methods are simple but it’s vital w...

Simon Grayson

Team possession and movement

This session is all about possession and movement from a team, or to be more specific, it’s about moving the ball from back to front with purpose an...

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