Are there any style of play/tactical style that is underrated or undervalued in the history of the sport? Something like the "Nantes way" style if play, made by Jean-Claude Suaudeau in FC Nantes during the 70s and 80s?

My team Derry City have today announced Tiernan Lynch as the new gaffer, and it seems like he’s fond of the 3-5-2 formation. Very different from the previous manager Ruaidhrí Higgins, who usually went for a conservative 4-2-3-1, which could put one to sleep. Will the former be a much more attractive style?

As the title suggests. The 1954 World Cup is the peak of scoring in the tournament's history, with 5.38 per match. Four years later in Brazil it dropped to 3.6 - the last time it was over 3 goals per match. In 1962 (Chile), it dropped to 2.78, which is much more in line with modern World Cup scoring averages (And higher than anything post 1982). What changed tactically in world football to cause such a shift? thanks.

Table, just for the fun of it:

• As a striker, the most important thing is mindset, not skill, you should be ready to devour the opposition, your goal should be to be the best player on the field. If you are standing in front of goal and trying to pass it you've failed. I really like the liverpool attackers, salah has slowed down a bit (in dribbling) though and doesn't try to score himself much, but luis diaz and nunez have absolute barbaric mentality, they will destroy you as a defender and are always looking for a chance to score.
  • Also always be greedy to receive the ball, can't do anything if you don't have the ball, and the moment you think you don't want receive the ball , both your confidence and your performance will shatter.
• If you have a slim build and you want to dribble, your best bet is always facing the defender. Even if the defender is not directly in your path from goal, don't go directly towards goal if you can't win in the physical match up. But keep facing the defender and keep dragging the ball towards the goal, this way you always have the option to go to the other side of the defender.

What's the best 7v7 Formation you played with and how did you manage the on and off possession transitions?

For context, I don’t support / even like Real Madrid, but I thought this was a fun thought experiment.

I have thought of a way that Real could line up to include all star names in ideal positions.

3-2-4-1:

Courtois Miltao Rudiger Alaba Tchouameni Camavinga Rodrygo Valverde Bellingham Vini JR. Mbappe

Essentially copying Man City’s from the 22/23 treble winning season. Unleash a lethal attacking quintet of Rodrygo, Valverde, Bellingham, Vini JR, and Mbappe with a well-balanced double pivot of Tchouameni and Camavinga covering behind a solid and balanced back three of Miltao, Rudiger, Alaba.

I think this would allow Rodrygo and Vini to create chances from out-wide, Mbappe would have little to do beyond staying high and getting in behind to convert chances. Bellingham would play the “Gundogan role” in that they have the ability to roam free in attacking area (Essentially the role that brought out the best in them last season).

Out of possession, Tchouameni, playing in his preferred CDM position, could drop into the back 3 as an additional CB (A position he is also familiar with now) to form a narrow back 4 (I.e., Similar to Stones in City’s 22/23 treble season), Rodrygo and Vini track back, and Bellingham joins Mbappe up top to form a narrow and mid-block 4-4-2.

Out of position 4-4-2 mid-block:

Courtois Militao Tchouameni Rudiger Alaba Rodrygo Valverde Camavinga Vini JR Mbappe Bellingham

Players such as Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz could come in to cover / rotate any of the attack 4 behind the striker, thus allowing them play and get the minutes they need. Endrick would cover / rotate with Mbappe. Players like Tchouameni and Camavinga would be able to play in their preferred positions whilst also utilising their defensive / cover skills. Rudiger excelled in a back 3 at Chelsea and so could continue with that. Alaba would still be able to play in his preferred CB position. A narrow back four would force oppositions to play out wide and look to create chances from crosses, but with a narrow back four and Courtois in goal, it would be difficult to create a goal scoring opportunity let alone score a goal.

What are people’s thoughts on this? I know this a very basic and general overview of a very complex and well-thought out tactical blueprint and would require a lot of intricate training and tactical lecturing, but as a generic template, what do people think?

I was watching Hungary v England game from 1953. The teams had three players in the circle in close proximity to the ball and the three started up the field together with the ball before passing it . Was this a specific strategy and do you know what the idea is behind the strategy? Or did they not consider kick off as a strategic set piece?

I don't watch ManUtd, but hearing theie explayers and fans criticizing them when they lose is a part of football entertainment. The cliche that ManU don't have a style or sense of progression is stated often as a uncontroversial fact. TenHag is still a successful modern coach with a team of top-class professional coaches and players. If not having a playing style is a flaw, then surely he would address them. So why didn't he? Or couldn't he?

I’ve built an early prototype of xG Stat—a football analytics tool designed to make post-match analysis fun and intuitive. My aim is to sort of have a sort of real-life football manager. Right now, it’s super simple: just one page with key visuals like passing networks and momentum graphs.

I’m looking to learn more about what people want in a tool like this: features you’re craving, is the data overwhelming, or is it missing something crucial... etc. Any input would be golden.

There's a tutorial step in the link above which explains how to leave feedback!

https://preview.redd.it/ygac8ujo9gyd1.png?width=1398&format=png&auto=webp&s=beacafccc4ecf9eb93944e1bd9c6cb700da0006d

https://preview.redd.it/2mvxci3s9gyd1.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fd7ef03d5333ec41dd21ab4320d6e5408b3151d

So one of my favorite players this year uses a strategy that he came up with that I found hilarious.

TLDR -

The Strategy - this player's primary strategy is that as we're in formation approaching the box we always soft pass it to the opponent's CB/LB/RB in the box in the first half. His objective is that after the pass you quickly ambush/steal it from them. This causes a ton of chaos and frustration, which is probably signs that this kid might be a future Dexter.

Backstory :

The league we're in had coaches poaching strikers and wings and then using whatever was left to get CBs. We live in a region where only special players embrace CB at this age. The expensive camps and trainers will focus 80% of training on what you'd teach an attacking mid or wing/striker. About 50% of the time a kid playing CB will be thinking about changing teams and playing down to get reps at Mid/Wing/Striker.

I'm very much the opposite. My team was created by getting LB/RB that played very well in u7 (or played the previous year at u8 at rb/lb). We didn't even go after a true striker, I just converted a fast wing. We win possession in almost every game.

Anyways, one of our players realized that it was far more effective if you actually passed the ball to the RB/LB in the box then ambushed them with 2 other players to get the score. In the 2 seconds that it happens they aren't expecting a direct pass and don't clear it. They aren't well training to make a move in these situations and are the employees already dreaming of a new job at another club so it's playing into the power dynamics.

Would I ever teach this? No. But I thought it was hilarious after I caught him doing it for the 5th time and it scored on 3 out of the 5 times he tried it.

He explained that he came up with the idea when he played his little brother in Madden. He would take it to the 1 yard line. Miss a field goal. Because his brother wasn't great at running the ball he would all out blitz him and get a safety then a touchdown.

https://youtu.be/mXKrBLyITrs?si=UayEMNuVQnSmbDL3

If anyone can give an in depth explanation here that would be nice, or if you have a resource for it that's even better.

I've noticed on kickoff a lot of teams, even if they'd normally like to hold possession, will hoof the ball forward immediately. Then a period follows where both sides pop the ball back and forth without really trying to get it under control.

Why don't they play it to the back line and then build up normally? I've seen this happens sometimes but like I said a lot of times they don't.

Is this because they don't want to play until they get their shape? Is it because they're scared of the opponents press when they're full of energy? Is it because they want to try to force mistakes early?

Do stats show more or less likely goals during the first minutes or two, and is this behavior (which seems to be accepted by both teams) trying to open up early goals or stifle them? And then as a followup, why is it accepted by both, shouldn't the situation favor one or the other? Like if it increases the likelyhood of a chaotic goal shouldn't the better team want to shut that down?