Football tactics

[SamSkywalker]

Sorry for the long time absent, but positioning has become the bee in my bonnet recently.

As all of you know, knowing the teams helps us predict or anticipate their next moves, and that can give us a couple of extra seconds to get to the other end of the field before the ball does. This brings us to the topic of team tactics.

Even if my local FA offers a manifold of training courses, I simply don't have all the time they take (I wish I could, really). So perhaps it would be a good idea to study tactics on my own. I don't have problems in self-teaching me (I've done it with a lot of things all my life), so I'm looking for your recommendations. Which books on football tactics do you think would help a self-learning referee better understand the teams' dynamics?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[es1]

not something i'd get involved in, nothing (or at least very little) you can learn in a text book will prepare you for the game on the day, especially at grass roots level. just watch how they set up in the early part of the game, do they like to get the ball down and pass it out from the back or hoof it up field asap. same from throw ins and corners, use the first one or two to see what they're doing and then go from there

 

[JamesL]

Sorry for the long time absent, but positioning has become the bee in my bonnet recently.

As all of you know, knowing the teams helps us predict or anticipate their next moves, and that can give us a couple of extra seconds to get to the other end of the field before the ball does. This brings us to the topic of team tactics.

Even if my local FA offers a manifold of training courses, I simply don't have all the time they take (I wish I could, really). So perhaps it would be a good idea to study tactics on my own. I don't have problems in self-teaching me (I've done it with a lot of things all my life), so I'm looking for your recommendations. Which books on football tactics do you think would help a self-learning referee better understand the teams' dynamics?

Thank you all in advance!

I think it all depends what level you referee at. I highly doubt that tactics are as well thought out at grassroots as the players simply arent good enough to carry them out effectively.
This is really only something that will only help you at elite and proffessional level.
Another issue is you simply wont have the data i.e. videos of games to watch and identify a teams tactics so as @es1 says you just have to adapt based on your early observations in the game..
So positioning has become a problem?
What specifically about positioning? Is it certain scenarios you've identified? If you elaborate on that the sure many people can chip in and help you out.

 

[santa sangria]

When I dreamed of being a coach a few years ago I got a few tactics books to try and help with our friends team. It was interesting to study the tactics of the great exponents and learn e.g. about Juve's 3-4-3 and the importance of the def mid, or learning about 3-5-2 and triangles close to the sidelines etc. But, even though it helped to understand some things for running a team, I don't think it really has a big effect on refereeing.

If you are refereeing Leicester City then yes, ideas about their tactics and some advanced pre-positioning are gonna be handy!

But lower down, if a team is playing 3 or 4 or 5 at the back... or playing inverted wingers... is not going to be the defining factor in your movement IMHO.

Football brain helps, anticipation, don't stop moving (especially at e.g. corners, throw ins)... the big one I think is: get side on to the drop when the ball is in the air... when the ball is in the air is when we have time to move.

The other one that I was told early on: when you decide to go, really go. That means if you are next to the full back and thinking she is about to hoof it, just sprint, go and go at top speed. If something different happens, OK, change, adjust... but whenever you decide to go, go early, go hard and go fast.

The football brain part I think comes down to seeing things like quality of possession. If one team is keeping the ball at the back under no pressure and has no chance to lose the ball, then you don't head back past the centre circle to follow the ball into the far corner. Conversely, if the pitch is bad, a team is constantly under pressure, and is losing the ball, of course you follow the ball back into their half on your diagonal. It's a calculated risk.

Then there's the idea of smart refereeing. For me that means getting close to problem players, especially when players are chasing in midfield and you can sense a risky tackle coming. Same when the ball is near the corner. Don't hedge, get close. And not just body, get closer with your voice.

My two cents anyway

 

[Sheffields Finest]

As a ref I could definitely read a game tactically, any decent coach can too, not that that’s got anything whatsoever with your positioning? IMO that’s often luck, even the best ones are guessing really even if they try and kid you otherwise. The better ones seem to be luckier... Keep busy, keep on your toes, be adaptable, go where they don’t expect sometimes, ruffle a few feathers if you have to too! Don’t be afraid to get amongst a few and issue warnings, and don’t be afraid to act on you warnings too!

 

[RustyRef]

Sometimes you might be able to tell from the warm up. If a team is planning on clumping it from back to front they are less likely to have a small sided game in the warm up. If a team is practising long throws before the game there is a good chance that will be the tactic during the game.

You won't always know though. When I managed we played a shot passing game, but we were also very physical and had two players who could launch long throws so I coached the team to use that tool at every opportunity. Had a couple of opposition managers ask why I had such a good footballing team but still resorted to long throws, simple answer was it worked. A referee trying to judge the approach of that team wouldn't really know as it was a mix.

At grass roots level it can be difficult to work out how a team might play. Their long throw merchant might be missing so they take shorter throws, their pacey striker might not be playing so they stop the balls over the top into space, the midfield enforcer might have the hangover from hell so isn't charging around like he normally will, etc. It's easier at higher levels as teams will normally follow a tactical pattern, and sometimes competitions gave you an idea. When I refereed on the then Ryman League, you had a good idea if you were doing a Division One North game you'd have a sore neck from the long balls, but do a Premier Division game and it would be much more likely to be a passing game with few long balls. You need to know that as it affects your position, for example goal kicks. You want to be wide and deep for a long ball game, but you certainly don't want to be for a short passing game as when it gets played short to the right back you will have a lot of running to do.

 

[SamSkywalker]

Thank you all for your interesting input!

I've just earned a promotion to the fifth step of my country's football ladder. Even though this is not a professional team, this league is in no way one of aficionados. However, getting to watch games on tv is not really easy, so one must read what goes on on the field.

I know the level quite well, for I've been running the line at this step for years. Mistakes are uncommon, and play goes really fast. I'm in a really good shape (mind I can run the mile in less than 5'30" and I can easily stand 6-7 miles in a game), but I have the impression that I could do quite better if I knew how to better read the game from within. While most of the movements are obvious even to the least experienced of us, there are many actions that are obvious to everyone but the refereeing crew. For those (like me) who stopped playing quite early, getting the grip on those things is a bit more difficult than for those who played until their juvenile years.

P.S.: Agree, grassroots games have a lot of incompetent players. Mistakes there are common and even if I take those games seriously, I know well that the players see that more as an excuse to have good fun than as a proper competition. Of course I officiate those games giving the best of myself, but I honestly don't expect a flawless defence, nor do I count on the skipper to be of the like of Modric or Griezmann.