Courtesy: The FA.com


Futsal moving forward

By Graeme Dell

Tuesday, 06 November 2007


Hi again. I don’t seem to have touched the ground since my last column but I’m still buzzing after our games in Bath last week.

It’s games like those and elements of the performance which give you hope that somewhere in front of us, there is light at the end of the tunnel, as last week I saw one of our better performances since we started on the journey.

Some people might ridicule two losses to Andorra, but as I predicted they were an experienced Futsal group whose fluidity in tracking and marking has been a joy to watch in the post match analysis, although I can tell you I wasn’t too enamoured with it during the game!

Our Achilles is that our players don’t play enough proper Futsal at the moment to move from one game or training session to the next and as a consequence it takes a first half to re-set their minds and that’s not good enough if we want to progress. No matter how much work you do in preparation it really is such a different game when you get on court and regularity is the key.

We started with some confidence in the first game, despite a freak goal within a minute of the start although it didn’t really set us back. The players’ resilience has been their saviour on a number of occasions and in fairness they continued about their task, but on reflection all three first half goals were gifted to the Andorrans. It’s our inability to track and deny the space behind our defensive shape which will undo us time and time again unless the players can grasp it, a point which I re-inforced at the break. It’s also important to get shots off and that we didn’t do enough of in the first half.

Andorra accumulated seven fouls, which resulted in two ten-metre penalties in the first half of which we only converted one and that’s not good enough either. These are all opportunities which you won’t get again and unless you can convert them, you’ll be heavily punished.

The second half was much more pleasing though, but we can’t wait until half-time to get into gear so I’m looking at how we can alter our pre-match focus to eliminate that.

The second game gave me little time to assess the match analysis but it lets me give some focus to the lads on where they had been the architects of their own collapse. Analysis is so essential in this game and we do really well at getting the data so quickly after a game and I feel we were able to improve as a consequence on the second night.

As a coach, no matter how much I re-enforce methodology and tactics, pictures paint a thousand words and the video work is invaluable in that process.

A much improved performance showcased how exciting the game is as it flowed from end-to-end and I don’t think many could have gone away unenthused. Not quite the 600 we had packed in the arena the night before, but nonetheless a decent crowd.

Having come from behind to get level after the break, only then to concede stupid fouls which would eventually cost us, was nonetheless testament to that resilience within the group.

We didn’t capitalise on their sending off and that’s another learning curve for us, as I don’t think we’ve had that scenario in over 40 games. You have to move the ball quickly and accurately when you have numerical advantage or the two minutes will disappear before you know it, and indeed they did.

For me, the positives are by the bucket load. We have some new additions to the group in Sam Tucknott and Luke Ballinger who are young, fit, tenacious and enthusiastic to learn the game and who are a joy to work with. I’m sure they’ll keep getting better which will be to our benefit.

Dean Thornton has proven that his distribution is what we need at this level and his performances in goal over recent weeks have been very encouraging and he should take great confidence from that. I thought Alex Sykes did well to come back after being left out earlier in the year and that shows a strength in his mental approach and he offered us something different for sure.

I don’t like picking players out as the entire group is very closely knit and they all have a part to play, but these were a few performances that have stuck in my mind. All the players have to keep playing and training to improve, but as we identify more new talent over the coming months, they will have to deliver and commit more to stay in contention.

It was also a potentially difficult trip from a staff perspective with only our physio Mark Leather and myself the regulars due to other staff commitments and illness. However, they all did really well which is a testament to the inclusive way we operate as a group which has evolved into a sustainable transferable culture where we’ve invested in the best.

Dawn Scott, our sports scientist on this trip, and I will be discussing in the coming days the heart rate data and individual player feedback from Bath which I’ve already seen and it paints some interesting pictures. It’s important that we take note of all of this science feedback as it can explain some of the performance issues but can also direct a number of the lads where they have to focus when they’re away from us. The players know I place great emphasis on their lifestyle activities as I know how it affects their abilities on court and performance delivery is as much about what they do when they’re in their home environments as it is when we join up.

My attention is now focused on the trip to Georgia in a couple of weeks and I want to carry on where we’ve left off. Many of the Bath group will be unavailable due to work commitments so it’s very much back to the drawing board with some new additions. That’s the frustration of a national coach’s job and explains in some part our inconsistency, but it goes with the territory and at least allows me to develop a deeper pool of players and see how new players cope on the road.

Before that though I shall be in Porto for the start of the UEFA European Futsal Championship Finals and I’m really looking forward to catching up with some of the other coaches from around Europe and seeing some top quality games. I’ll tell you more about that next time.

Take care for now,

Graeme




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com