A little after the apes found the monolith, I was playing soccer as a 14-year-old in school. On Wednesday afternoons our year had “Games” which was basically 3 periods of sports, football being the predominant sport occasionally mixed in with cross country (ugh).
The teacher would assign teams & off we would go. No tactics. No captains. 11v11. Future professional footballers rubbing shoulders with future professional gamblers kicking shins of future stockbrokers.
One play stands out where I rolled the ball across the 6 to Steve Copplestone who blasted the ball over the net-less goal from 3 yards. xG = you’ve got to be fucking kidding.
Now, you could hardly call Steve “athletic” but he did wear a pair of George Best’s Stylo Matchmakers made from the best kangaroo leather. Anyway just goes to show you that talent was the deciding factor in that game. Steve became a professional gambler & I a collegiate women’s soccer coach who has thought for 35 years that his coaching talent was making the difference. But the point of your article to me is that it is more efficient to be a good college recruiter than a good tactical coach. Thanks for your always thought-provoking comments on the beautiful game.
I realize that the focus of this was on-field tactics as laid out by managers, but I think it’s important noting that the other significant influence a coach has on a team is in their responsibility hiring and listening to other members of back room staff, particularly people like set piece coaches (which is less mature and has a higher potential skill gap than regular coaching), trainers, and physios (keep the good players healthy).
A little after the apes found the monolith, I was playing soccer as a 14-year-old in school. On Wednesday afternoons our year had “Games” which was basically 3 periods of sports, football being the predominant sport occasionally mixed in with cross country (ugh).
The teacher would assign teams & off we would go. No tactics. No captains. 11v11. Future professional footballers rubbing shoulders with future professional gamblers kicking shins of future stockbrokers.
One play stands out where I rolled the ball across the 6 to Steve Copplestone who blasted the ball over the net-less goal from 3 yards. xG = you’ve got to be fucking kidding.
Now, you could hardly call Steve “athletic” but he did wear a pair of George Best’s Stylo Matchmakers made from the best kangaroo leather. Anyway just goes to show you that talent was the deciding factor in that game. Steve became a professional gambler & I a collegiate women’s soccer coach who has thought for 35 years that his coaching talent was making the difference. But the point of your article to me is that it is more efficient to be a good college recruiter than a good tactical coach. Thanks for your always thought-provoking comments on the beautiful game.
@tufc1899
@austinfc
@seuwsoccer
I realize that the focus of this was on-field tactics as laid out by managers, but I think it’s important noting that the other significant influence a coach has on a team is in their responsibility hiring and listening to other members of back room staff, particularly people like set piece coaches (which is less mature and has a higher potential skill gap than regular coaching), trainers, and physios (keep the good players healthy).
Great read, thanks for that - not sure if it leaves me smarter or more puzzled but sincerely enjoyed it! 😁