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Transitional Possession
This session is a transitional possession drill: 4v4 in the middle with four outside players on both teams.
I love exciting football: getting the ball down on the floor, moving it quickly and being exciting in the final third. This session is important to us as we play a very transitional game. We like to win the ball back and play forward with a purpose and make good simple choices in the final third.
This session is a transitional possession drill: 4v4 in the middle with four outside players on both teams. One team keeps the ball; if the defending team wins it back they have to play forward into space for the forward runners to attack the box in a 3v2, making good choices finding the spare player.
My players enjoy attacking and this session is quite transitional so they get lots of repetition and get a chance to be both attackers and defenders. It makes us try and keep the ball better; they don’t want to lose it and have to chase back to defend. With the attackers, it makes us make good simple choices by finding the spare player.
We usually run this session every other week to refresh, especially against teams we feel we can exploit in the overload going forward.
| Area |
Half pitch |
| Equipment |
Full size pitch |
| No. of players |
12 + 1 goalkeeper |
| Session time |
At coach’s discretion |
Activity
We set up on a half pitch, with a 20x20yd box marked out centrally at the halfway line. We divide into three teams: four attackers (red), four defenders (blue), and four neutrals (yellow) on the outside. One team keeps possession (in this example blue) [1a]. If the other team wins the ball back, three players break quickly into the space to attack the goal and look to score. Two players from the opposition team can try and defend the goal [1b].
After an attack, the team who were keeping possession moves to the outside to become neutral, the team that attacked the goal keep possession, and the team who were neutral should try and win the ball back.
We can progress the session by adding in a centre forward (or two) and when the players break they have to play the centre forward to bounce back before they can join in. More defenders can also join in [1c].
[1a]
-
Blues keep possession
-
Reds press
-
Yellows remain on the outside
[1b]
-
Reds intercept and launch an attack with three players
-
Blues can defend the goal with two players
-
Reds score
[1c]
-
Progression – reds need to play the ball to centre forward to bounce back before they can join the attack
coaching points
What are the key things to look out for?
- Playing forward: I hate players not taking up the opportunity to play forward
- Good recovery runs from the defenders
- Players making the right choices in the final third.
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