WHERE GAMES ARE WON AND LOST
Moneyball is one of my favourite movies and this scene is how I feel when it comes to football tactics dialogue. What actually wins or loses a game? Is it tactics? Formation? Player roles? Quality? For me there are only four things that can win or lose a game and they are the four superiorities. Tactics, formation etc everything that gets talked about on Monday Night Football is cyclical, for example a few years ago when Antonio Conte came in and played 3-4-3 all of a sudden every other team was playing it. What will not change however is what managers are trying to produce on the pitch which is a numerial, qualitative, positional or dynamic superiority.
If we are able to produce more situations or higher value situations where we have one of these four superiorities we should have success and win games.
"Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins." Johan Cruyff
Interestingly I’ve seen that Cruyff quote attributed to Mourinho and yet the perception of them tactically could not be further apart. I find this quote interesting for two reasons, one, the other guys get paid too. Having a good plan on paper is great but it needs to think many steps ahead as our opponent shuts down our first through x ideas gradually as the game goes on. The second point being important to me when coaching, we need to find a tactic or decision that even when the opposition makes the 'right decision' we have a way to punish that as well. At the start of each season I like to introduce players to the four superiorities and why they are important, this then gives them the tools to win and self scout to improve. Why did you play that pass instead of this one? What advantage did you see? Each superiority will be talked about ceteris paribus meaning holding all other things equal. Similar to only changing one variable at a time in a science experiment this then allows us to see what effect the changed superiority has.
