Coaching The Unorthodox - Part 3

Tottenham Vs Arsenal - The Under-hit Pass:

“BALL SPEED! MOVE IT QUICK!”

Phrases that we hear all the time, but if there’s nowhere to go, I’d question, why?

Last weekend, Arsenal created 37 final third entries whilst having 24 penalty area touches. Spurs created 62 final third entries, but only had 29 penalty area touches.

A huge, huge problem all game for Spurs was that they couldn’t break down Arsenal’s (very organised) low block, and I believe it was because they moved the ball too fast. 

The original question should be why move the ball with speed to begin with. An answer would be to penetrate space, which would be true, but what if there isn’t any space to penetrate? Then you have to create some, and create some very creatively against this Arsenal team.

Spurs tried to move the ball at speed into an Arsenal block that had absolutely no incentive to leave their shape, because Spurs created no ‘synthetic triggers’ for Arsenal to press.

While the clip below is an isolated clip, it demonstrates perfectly the problems that Spurs had all game. Son is going to receive this ball with his back to goal in a tight area regardless, so why not invite him closer with an under-hit pass with the intention of bringing an Arsenal player with him? Then, your next action looks a lot more promising.

To summarise, ‘moving the ball quick’ isn’t always the answer to finding space, because teams with common sense are happy just to shuffle side to side, as they know they have no chance of ‘nicking’ the ball. By creating this bait, you are giving the opposition false hope, causing disruption to their shape as they step out. THEN, ball speed may be the answer to capitalise on the space they’ve left behind them.

Let me know what you think, should more teams at the top level slow passes down to bait players out of a low block?