There are many things that can be coached and taught in the UK, although it should come as no surprise that football is the most popular of these activities. In fact, football accounts for 18% of all coached activities on these shores, with training required at...

While it’s the iconic 4-4-2 formation that remains the single most recognisable set-up for any football team, it can be argued that the 3-4-3 system has the longest and richest history. Unlike the 4-4-2, of course, the 3-4-3 has experienced various peaks and troughs...

As positional play becomes increasingly important in contemporary football, we’re seeing a much wider range of systems and formations being deployed by managers. Take the 3-1-4-2 system, for example, which is a variation of the classic 3-5-2 and utilises a structured...

Being a referee can be a thankless task, especially in the world of professional football where players have occasionally been known to disrespect and harangue officials. I mean, who can forget Jaap Stam and his Manchester United teammates surrounding referee Andy...

Being a football coach can be a challenging pastime, particularly when it comes to setting your side up in the best and most effective way. While you may have a preferred formation and style of play as a coach, for example, this may not suit either the players at your...

The 3-5-2 formation is a relatively recent team shape, especially when compared to historically popular systems such as the 4-4-2 and the 4-3-3.It’s also one that tends to experience peaks and troughs in terms of popularity, largely thanks to its relative complexity...

Tactics Explained - A Look at the 4-1-4-1 In our piece exploring football tactics, we’re going to cast our eyes over the increasingly popular 4-1-4-1. Despite primarily being seen as a defensive system, the 4-1-4-1 has been reimagined in recent years, largely thanks...

Why is Playing Three at the Back Popular Again? The tactical side of football has become increasingly evolved over the course of the last decade, particularly with the renewed focus on positional play and structured, organised pressing. This has also seen a sustained...

Last season we witnessed a brilliant Premier League season, with drama down to the final day providing for outstanding viewing. With the Premier League currently being the best league in the world it is no surprise the quality of the teams seems to be growing each...

While football is a team game in which everyone must contribute for a side to become more than the sum of its parts, there’s no doubt that special status is afforded to strikers. After all, strikers are widely considered to have the hardest job in the sport, while the...

There has been a great deal of speculation about the future of football on these shores, following a series of concerning events and the general influx of investment from overseas over the course of the last decade. These issues led to an independent, fan-led review...

When VAR was introduced to the domestic and international game, it was hoped that the quality of decisions would be optimised while the burden placed on referees would be lessened. However, it has managed to cause significant issues and debate in its relatively short...

In the continuation of our series exploring football formations, today we take a look at the rather unusual 3-3-4 system. Although this tactic is scarcely used in modern football (other than when chasing a late goal at the end of a game), it has had some recent...

It was the emergence of Jose Mourinho at Porto that first helped to revolutionise the notion of counter-attacking football in the modern age. More specifically, he transformed this into an aggressive tactic in which his teams created overloads and sought to control...

If there’s one formation and tactical setup that’s synonymous with the history of football, it’s the classic 4-4-2. This shape was prevalent in the UK throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, before tactical innovation took hold and the popular 4-2-3-1 variation (and...

There are few more contentious elements of football than VAR at present, with the use of video assistance and technology to review decisions polarising opinions within the sport. Certainly, the deployment of VAR through history would have ruled some truly iconic...

The informal origins of association football can be traced back more than 3,000 years, to the old Mesoamerican cultures who used to play a team game using a rock as a ball. However, the professional game that we know and love today emerged during the mid-1860s, during...

When Was the First International Football Match? The first international match took place on Saturday, 30th November 1872, kicking off shortly after 2pm. It was contested by arch enemies England and Scotland, who played out a tense 0-0 draw in a match that was played...

We recently penned the first in a series of posts focused on the various tactical shapes and systems used in modern football, and today we introduce another in the form of the 4-2-3-1. A clear variation of the 4-4-2 formation that dominated English football until the...

Today’s blog is the second in a series in which we will explain various coaching styles and training sessions with inspiration from some of the Premier League’s top managers. This blog will explore the training methods of Thomas Tuchel and help understand how to...

Today’s blog is part of a series in which we will explain various coaching styles and training sessions with inspiration from some of the Premier League’s top managers. This first of the series will explore the formation of Thomas Tuchel and help understand how to...

Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, there remains a suggestion in the sport of football that coaches and managers should have played the game at the highest level if they’re to lead the very best clubs. However, there’s absolutely nothing to stop football...

There’s no doubt that being a referee can be a largely thankless task, with the emotive nature of the game meaning that officials often have to maintain control in the face of immense pressure and sustained abuse. Some referees fail in this respect, of course. Most...

Football in the UK has undergone a marked transformation through the Premier League era, and not only in terms of the number of foreign players and the influx of huge cash sums. The game is also different tactically too, with pretty much all of the sides that lined up...

There is a myriad of football formations in the modern age, some of which are universally popular such as the 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1. However, there are others that are decidedly more trend-driven and fleetingly popular, including the currently in-vogue 3-4-2-1 system....

The term “golden generation” has been applied to various international sides down the year, with recent iterations including the English and Portuguese teams of the noughties. While neither of these sides was able to fully realise their potential or yield the fruits...

When France won the World Cup in 2018 following a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final, many believed that it could kickstart another period of dominance for Les Blues on the international stage. Ultimately, Didier Deschamps’ men couldn’t emulate the...

When Belgium slumped to a 2-1 defeat to eventual winners in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, it appeared as though the country’s so-called “Golden Generation” had reached something of a watershed moment. While it becomes increasingly unlikely that the world’s...

Of all the footballing organisations in Europe, the KNVB in Holland is arguably the one that’s most steeped in history and heritage. Founded in 1889, it continues to organise all aspects of football in the Netherlands, from youth structures and fifth-class amateur...

With the delayed European Championships fast approaching, all eyes will be on the England national team as they look to end a 55-year major tournament drought. There’s no doubt that a heavily funded grassroots structure has been at the heart of England’s recent...