Performance preparation.
There are many requirements needed in football to play the game successfully. Many of these requirements are skill related, such as passing. There are also many physical requirements such as having good cardiovascular fitness. A requirement such as cardiovascular fitness is essential in football as the pitch is between 100 yards (90m) and 130 yards in length (120m) and the width not less than 50 yards (45m) and not more than 100 yards (90m). And dependant on the position that performer could be running all over that pitch, for a long period of time.
There are many requirements in my sport. Many of them are physical. Here is a list of all the physical components of my sport; * Speed- this is defined as the time taken to move a body part of whole through a movement over a pre- determined distance. In the position I play which is striker, you need speed to be able to get past defenders and to run and chase the ball if the midfielders pass the ball past the defenders. Although it is not just the strikers that use speed within the sport, it is utilized in every position. In general speed is used for chasing the ball down. It may not be physically running towards the ball, you may just be running back towards your own goal to defend it or in the opposite situation where the player could be running forward as quickly as he can to support the attackers. For example elite performers such as Luka Modric, who plays in midfield, have to utilize their speed all game long, as they are constantly running and they need to be quick enough to keep up with the play. * Absolute strength – is defined as the maximum force that can be exerted, regardless of the body weight. This is essential to me as a performer, but it is only really essential to a performer in my position. The other positions don’t really need it that much. When a performer would mainly need this is when he is shooting at goal. As you would want to kick the ball as hard as you can to ensure it has the best chance of going in to the net. But that is the only time a striker would need the ball. Pplayers in other positions wouldn’t need it unless they was shooting, because for example the main role of the midfielder is to supply the forward with the ball, so the majority of the time they do this is with a pass along the floor, and that is meant to be precise not powerful because if you exerted a maximal force onto the ball when aiming it at a player, he would have a very small chance of controlling it. * Dynamic strength – this is the ability to exert significant muscular force repeatedly or on the move. This is not such a big requirement for my aspect of the game, as a striker is not always involved in the game, so it may not be repeated. Dynamic strength is more focused towards the midfielders again. Because they will have to constantly be exerting a reasonably high muscle force to be able to run at a quick pace for a repeated amount of time, as the midfielder will be running up and down the pitch to support both ends. For example Steven Gerrard who so successfully for club and country runs up and down the pitch all game long supporting his team at both ends. So they will need high levels of dynamic strength to be able to do this successfully. * Explosive strength – which is the ability to exert a maximal force quickly or in one action. This is often utilized as a striker, as this is used when striking the ball towards goal, as it is usually one quick, but powerful movement. So as a striker a performer such as me would need high levels of explosive strength to give that striker the best chance of scoring with his shots. Another position that would need it but for different reasons is a goal keeper. A keeper would need explosive strength to be able to move in a spring like motion to dive and save shots from going into the goal. But without good levels of explosive strength they would not have the required leg strength to do this quickly and successfully. * Endurance:
Strength – the ability of a muscle to resist fatigue while exerting a force performing repeated muscle action over a period of time. For my position this is not that important, as when playing the striker role, you are not doing any one thing continuously, you are doing one of many things, such as shooting, passing, heading, moving to make space for the ball etc. But it is highly unlikely that a striker would be constantly doing that all game long, so although a performer such as myself would need this to resist fatigue and things like lactic acid it isn’t that important to a performer of my position compared to an elite performer such as Scott Parker who plays in Central Midfield, and where he just runs up and down all game supporting both attacks, and the defence, he would need high levels of strength endurance, because he would be repeating the same muscle action over a long period of time, from just running up and down all game long, so he would need high levels to make sure that there is not a build-up of fatigue, this also means the player can play to the highest level for a longer period of time within the game. However a striker would still need a high level of strength endurance to make sure that through the game he can still constantly exert a high force into the shots they take, even towards the end of the game.
Cardiovascular – This is the ability of the heart, blood and blood vessels to work collectively to perform their function of the needs to the cells in the body by delivering oxygen and removing waste products. As a striker cardiovascular fitness is important but not essential to me. It is useful as I would still need the boys to remove waste products to prevent build-up of things such as lactic acid, and I would need it to ensure that my body is delivering enough oxygen to prevent fatigue. However high levels of cardiovascular would be more beneficial for a midfielder, such as Scott Parker, who as mentioned earlier is almost constantly running throughout the game. So he would need high levels as where he would be working in a very high aerobic zone, pushing anaerobic, he would need to be able to get oxygen supplied to his body quick, to ensure there is no fatigue build up, to make sure that he can continue to work at this level through the rest of the game. That is all of the requirements of my sport and how they relate to me. The main requirement I would say I need as a performer would be Explosive strength, as one of the main components of being a striker is scoring goals for your team, and to do that you need to be able to exert a high force onto the ball so by having high levels of explosive strength this means I would be able to strongly
And quickly exert a force onto the ball, making it hard for the goal keeper to save. However this requirement is not suited to all positions for example Joshua Britton (comparison of friend) plays on the right wing so the main component he would need would be high levels of speed. As the main job of a right winger is to supply the striker with crosses to give him a chance of scoring, and this is normally done from a sideward cross from near the corners, the winger would need speed to be able to get past defenders and maintain the ball so that they can supply the best possible pass to the striker. The winger would also need speed to be able to start an attack, on and off of the ball because most teams pass the ball to the wingers in hope of starting an attack. The winger on the ball would need speed to start an attack and get up to the attackers as quick as possible as they can counter against the other teams defence, as the midfielders would not yet be back in defence so by running at pace it gives the attackers a chance to capitalize on the number overload, and the player off the ball would need speed so that when his team are attacking he can get up there as quick as possible as the secondary role of a winger is normally to support the striker when attacking, so he would need speed to get up to that end of the pitch as quick as he can to help the attackers before they lose the ball. However an elite performer such as Scott Parker’s main needed component would be high levels of cardiovascular fitness, as he needs to be able to run all game long, at a high intensity so that he can help the defence when they are under pressure and then help the attack to break when he wins the ball back or when the ball gets forward he would need to be able to get there quickly, and he is required to do this all game long, so to do this all game long without fatiguing easily he would need high cardiovascular levels.
Physiological preparation.
The first part of physiological preparation for a footballer would be the GMA (Gross Motor Activity) which is aimed at warming up the whole body or a large muscle group, it is specific to your sport, for example it would be pointless making a swimmer go running before an event, it is used to raise the body temperature which in turn increases the efficiency of enzymes. And there is an increase in flexibility. For football the best GMA would be a gentle jog lasting around 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing the intensity until the heart rate gets to roughly 120 beats per minutes. And as it increases the efficiency of enzymes, you have a higher energy production, which means the performer has a higher level of energy to perform to your ability. And jogging will also increase flexibility because your muscles are being worked for a certain period of time allowing them to become flexible to prevent you from picking up minor/ serious injuries such as pulling a muscle in your leg.
The next part of the physiological warm is known as injury prevention, this is just another word for stretching. Doing various different stretches is important and beneficial to the performer. A range of different stretches should be completed. One method of stretching that should be utilized is static stretching, which is a stretch without movement and this position should be held for about 10 seconds so you can fully feel the muscle stretch, and obviously if it is a leg muscle being stretched, you have to do both legs. And you stretch it up to the point you feel a twitch. That’s when you know it is working. The next type of stretching is dynamic stretching. This is stretching that involves movement, and can be used to prepare you physiologically for actual match situations. E.g. changing from a jog, to a sprint in an attempt to chase the ball, or opposition players. An example of dynamic stretching could be lunging. This is an effective way of stretching your leg muscles, and preventing an injury in the game. There are two types of static stretching, and they are known as active and passive. Active is when the performer does it himself, working the muscles to when it gets to the point that it is ’comfortably uncomfortable’ , this is the better out of the two methods because it ensures that you don’t over stretch or under stretch. And the other type of static stretching is passive, and this is where a partner or team mate does the stretching for you, which is good because it means he can stretch certain parts the performer himself may not be able to stretch, and he can push the performer a bit more than he should, however that quite often leads to bad injuries.
Some parts of the body that should be stretched before a game are your hamstrings. The best way to do this exercise is whilst lying on your back. Lie on your back, keeping the back flat and your eyes focused upward. Grasp the back of one thigh with both your hands and (leg bent) pull that thigh into a 90-degree position vs. the floor. Then slowly straighten your knee.
The next body part that you need to stretch is the calf. There are two parts of the calf that need stretching, the gastrocnemius, and the soleus, to stretch the gastrocnemius the performer should sit with both legs straight and either lope a rope around the bottom of one foot and grab each part of the rope, or just stretch in an attempt to touch your feet. And then to stretch the soleus the performer should sit with one leg straight and have the other leg bent, he should then grasp the bottom of the foot on the bent leg, trying to keep his heel on the ground, whilst pulling your foot toward his body as far as he can.
Another body part that needs to be stretched is the lower back. To stretch this muscle the performer should lie down on his back, then you can either get a friend to push your knees slowly into your chest or you can do it yourself to ensure that your lower back is being worked fully. This is generally a static stretch and is better to be active but can also be a passive stretch.
After that the performer should stretch his quadriceps. To stretch the performers quads he should hold his leg up against his lower back whilst he leans against a friend or team mate, and slowly push up to the point of the muscle twitching. Yet again this stretch is best performed actively.
The final stretch which definitely needs doing is the groin. To do this the performer must stand with his legs shoulder width apart, he must the shift his weight to one side, bending his knee slightly, he must then stop when the muscle gets the point of twitching in the opposite leg, and then the performer must hold this position for ten seconds and repeat a couple of times, after doing this the performer should start stretching on the other leg.
The third part of the GMA is known as skill related exercise. This helps the performer to continue warming up, but it also helps the performer to perform some key skills that can be included in the game. For example a passing exercise, where a few performers stand in a circle and you pass the ball to a player, and then run, following where your pass went, so you are still moving whilst practising skills. This can be completed at any intensity, but is normally completed at a low intensity because as the performer is still half way through the warm up there is still a big chance of an injury occurring so the performer has to be careful, which is why he would tend to take it easy. This also gets the performer used to the pitch conditions, and has already been practising his passing so from the start of the game he should be successful in his passing. And another example could be shooting practise, which passing can also be incorporated into. For example a player could pass the ball to another player, who would have his back to goal, he would then lay it back to the first player who would strike the ball towards goal, this is a good method of skill related exercise because not only does it involve a lot of movement it also involves passing and shooting, so the performers are practising two key skills within one exercise. And in addition to that it also warms up the goal keeper as he is practising his key skills of diving and saving shots. As well as helping keep the performer warm and partially stretching muscles and enabling them to practise their key skills, skill related exercise gives the performer some physiological preparation.
The final stage of the GMA is Drill related exercise, like the skill related stage, this also gives the performer some physiological preparation. Although rather than practising a skill in general it’s more specific and is focused on a specific scenario. For example a corner kick. This gives the team a chance to get ready for game situations. So from like corners by practising before the game, the players all know where they are going, so there is no confusion, and this also means the corner taker knows where to put the ball, as he knows where the strongest players are running.

Rules, Structure and Scoring System:
Rules:
In Association football there are many rules which must be followed to make sure that the match in play is not only fair but is also safe and in no way biased towards one team.
To start, each team starts with 11 players, and 7 substitutions. Every game in association football must have three officials, they are the referee and his two assistants, who are also known as linesmen, and at an elite level there is also what is known as a 4th official, and in recent years in certain competitions there have even been a 5th and 6th official who are also known as ‘goal line referee’s’. The main job of the referee is to keep the game and players under control, the ref has full authority to enforce the rules of the game and what he says goes. His job is award free kicks and penalties where he feels they are needed, and award cards if he thinks the players have committed a foul bad enough to receive a caution or maybe even a red card. The ref also has the power to stop or suspend a game if he feels it is necessary. Whether that be for safety reasons, or if a player picks up a serious injury. He also has to decide when he has given an advantage whether he has prolonged the advantage for long enough or whether he has to pull it back for a free kick. Also at the start of every game the referee has to check that the balls that will be used are pumped sufficiently and he has to make sure that the player’s equipment meets the requirements, for example whether a player has the correct footwear, or if the player is wearing any jewellery he must ensure it has been removed. He also has to make sure he keeps track of time and has to make sure each half is the correct length, and not too long or too short.
The main job of the linesman is to decide which way he should award the throw in to, dependant on who it hit last, and the same applies to whether a goal kick or corner kick should be awarded. And the other job of a linesman is to decide the offside rule and whether a player is intervening with play or not. And although the linesman’s job is to decide which way the possession should go it doesn’t matter what way he flags, the final decision is up to the referee. So even if the linesman gives a decision the referee doesn’t have to give it how the linesman sees it, it is all up to what the referee thinks, the linesman can only aid, the decision lays solely with the referee.
The job of the 4th official is also to keep track of time, but if there is any stoppage he has to record it and at the end of each half he has to hold up a sign informing the players and the referee how much additional time he believes should be added onto the half, his other job is to inform the referee when a team wants to make a substitution, and he has to firstly make sure everything is okay, for example the performer has the right footwear on. And then he has to wait for the ball to go out of play, when he will then proceed to get the referee’s attention informing him and everyone else at the game the numbers of the player coming on and off by holding up a sign. And the last job of the 4th official is to keep the two technical boxes under control, for example if there is something happening at the touch line the 4th official’s job is to calm it all down, and ensure nothing comes of it.
The 5th and 6th officials are the two different people but they have the same role, there only role is to determine whether the whole of the ball has crossed the goal line and whether it should be awarded as a goal, although if needed they can help the linesman with their decisions for corners as they may have a better view, and although this doesn’t often happen they can aid the referee’s with decisions such as penalties, for example the ball may strike a defender on the hand which should be a penalty, but the referee misses it then the 5th or 6th official may see it and inform the referee of what happened.
Within football the pitch must fit to certain metric units for it to be played on. The length of the pitch for an adult or elite game is 110-120 yards and the width of the pitch is in the range of 70-80 yards. These measurements must be stuck to along with the markings on the pitch, which much also be of certain length. The markings should be as follows: * A white circle 12 yards from the goal line and in the middle of the pitch * A rectangle 8 yards wide around the goal area and 6 yards out. Also known as the 6 yard box, where goal kicks are taken from. * Them there should be a bigger box around the penalty area, which is 32 yards long and 18 yards out, which is also known as the penalty area, and within this area is the only place on the pitch the defending goal keeper can use his hands, whether it be to save a shot or throw the ball to a player. * There should also be a small ‘quarter circle’ in each of the four corners of the pitch, and these are to signify where the ball must be placed when the attacking team has a corner, and if the ball is not placed in here, the corner is either re taken or a free kick is awarded to the defending team. * The last markings are the half way line, which is just one straight horizontal line (as shown below) through the middle of the pitch; this must be exactly half way between each end of the pitch. And then in the middle of this line is another spot like circle right on the middle of the line, which is also known as the centre spot, and this is where the play is started at kick off and then restarted after half time, and if there is ever a goal. Then surrounding this spot is a circle with a radius of 10 yards, also known as the centre circle, when one team is taking a kick off the opposition are not allowed to enter the circle until the ball has been passed from one player to another.

A normal adult of elite football match lasts for 90 minutes, this consists of two half’s that are approximately 45 minutes each half, however quite often the referee does not stop his watch when the ball leaves the field of play or for injuries, which is when the 4th official comes into play as he tally’s all of these minutes up and then informs the ref of how long he should add on at the end of the 45 minutes. However at younger age groups the length of the half is a lot less, as is the size of the pitch. This is known as stoppage time or injury time. There is also time added on when a player has sustained a serious injury or if a player needs treatment, because firstly it gives both teams the right amount of time to play and secondly it prevents one team from cheating, as what a team could do when they are winning is fake an injury to waste time, so by adding it on at the end of the half it prevents either team from cheating. Another thing that influences the amount of time added on is the amount of substitutions completed by both teams, for each substitution completed there is an additional 30 seconds added on. Each team can only complete a maximum of three out of the seven selected substitutions. Once a player has been substituted off he cannot be substituted back on, but you can substitute off a player you have already substituted on. However in friendly matches you can make as many subs as you want and you can take on and bring off who you want. This is also known as ‘role on role off’.
Here are some FIFA decided rules that apply when the ball is in play: * When a head injury occurs, at any part of the pitch the referee must immediately stop play, and allow that players team’s medical staff to come on and assess the injury, then either give him the correct treatment if he needs any or allow him to carry on the game. Although to carry on the game he has to leave the field first and when the ref is satisfied he is okay to come back on then he will wave the player back on. * A caution is in the form of a little yellow card, kept in the referee’s pocket. This is what is also known as a caution, or a warning from the referee. Players normally receive these for things such as miss-timed challenges, non-sportsmanship such as time wasting, or even descent to the referee. Two yellow cards equates to a red card and the player has to leave the field and cannot play for the rest of the game, and normally receives a ban for the next match his team will play. But in some instances a player can receive a straight red card. This can be for what is deemed as a reckless challenge, which is normally either two footed, or if the player dives in with his studs showing, a red card can also be shown for things such as violent conduct, so if a player elbowed a player whilst jumping in the air, it is more than likely he will receive a straight red. * A throw in is awarded to one team when the ball goes off either side of the pitch, the throw in is awarded to the opposite team to the team that last touched the ball before it went out. This can be taken by any player on the pitch, but to ensure the throw in is legal the player must ensure he has both legs on the ground and he throws the ball with both hands from behind his head, and his feet cant cross the line, or that is deemed as a foul throw and the throw in will be awarded to the other team, you cannot score from a throw in unless it hits someone or takes a deflection on its way into the net. * A goal kick is awarded when the ball cross a defending teams goal line either side of the goal as long as it hit an attacking player last. Goal kicks can be taken by any player but they must be taken from anywhere inside the 6 yard box. * And a corner kick is awarded in the same situation but if it hits a defending player last instead of the attacker, and as already mentioned for the corner to be legal the ball must be placed within the quarter circle for it to be a legal corner. Although it very rarely happens if a player does score from a free kick the goal will stand. * Dependant on the reason the free kick has been awarded, this will determine what type of free kick it be, whether it is a direct or in direct free kick. A direct free kick is where you can shoot straight from the set piece, but an indirect free kick is where it has to touch another player on the way towards the goal or someone must touch it before you shout otherwise the goal does not stand. Likely fouls committed to receive an indirect free kick are often hand balls, and pass backs, this is where a defending player passes the ball back to his own goalkeeper, and the keeper proceeds to pick it up, which is not allowed, so a free kick is awarded from where the defending player picks the ball up. Whereas a direct free kick is more physical, for example a late tackle on a player will lead to a direct free kick. * in relation to where the foul was awarded determines whether the attacking team are awarded a free kick, or a penalty, all offences within the 18 yard box excluding a pass back lead to a penalty, which is to be taken from the spot 12 yards out from the middle of the goal. Just like both methods of free kicks, this can be taken by any player on the pitch.
Structure:
In football a team starts the game with 11 players and 7 substitutions. The starting 11 consists of a goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and attackers. You are only allowed to field one goalkeeper at any one time, obviously if one goalkeeper gets injured he can be replaced, but you can’t select more than one goalkeeper at any one time. However if the goalie was good enough he can be selected to play on pitch. This is the only position that has a limit on the number of players you can have there. The amount of players selected to play in the other positions depends on the formation used by the manager. There are many specific positions a player can be selected for and they are ; Goalkeeper (GK), Centre-back (CB), Sweeper ( SW), Full-back( FB), Wingback (WB), Centre Midfielder (CM), Defensive midfielder (DM), attacking midfielder (AM), wingers(RM/LM), Centre forward (CF) and striker (ST). 11 of which these positions will be filled by each team, some teams may have two players in certain positions. Of which are vaguely split into two zones, defense and attack with the midfielders just supporting both ends.

Scoring System:
The scoring system in football is basic, and easy to understand. You can only score one gaol at a time, but this goal can be scored from almost anywhere on the pitch. For example a normal shot from around 12 yards out or a direct free kick from 30 yards out. Then at the end of the game the team with the most goals wins the match, and if it is a league game, the winning team is awarded three points and the losing team are awarded none for example team A beats team B 2-0 so team A are awarded 3 points in the league and team B remain on the same number of points as before the game even started., whereas if the scores are level it is called a draw, and each team gain one point each. However if this is a cup game it would go to what is called extra time, and the rules of this vary slightly depending on the competition, this is an extra two half’s but of a much shorter period of time, 15 minutes a half to try and defeat your opponents, sometimes this is known as classic extra time where no matter how many goals are scored the winners are the team with most goals at the end of the match, or there is a type of extra time called ‘golden goal’ which is basically the first team to score in extra time are the winners and they go through to the next stage of the competition. However if the scores are still level after extra time then it goes to a penalty shoot-out. This is where each team selects five players to each take a penalty, and then they order themselves. Then there is a toss of a coin to elect which team goes first in a penalty shootout then each team will take their five penalties, and it is the best of five, whoever has scored the most out of the five penalties wins, and that team progresses through to the next round, if the scores are still level after the five penalties then it becomes sudden death until one team loses, continuing to go through the rest of the team until there is a winner! And if after all 11 there still hasn’t been a decided result it goes back to the first penalty taker, in sudden death to win you have to save the other team’s penalty then score yours.
Strategies:
When I am playing to my strengths on the pitch, I have a few strategies which benefit me largely and suit the way I like to play football. One strategy I utilize a lot is my speed, where I am quite a quick player I use my speed and try and adapt it so I can use it in nearly all situations. For example when we are attacking as I am a striker I should be stood with the furthest back defender, but I start one yard behind him and make an early run so that when the ball is passed to me I am already running at my top speed, and by the time the defender has turned around and accelerated I am already in a position that gives me a good opportunity to score. As not only is there not much of a chance of me getting tackled, I also have time to think about where I am going to put the ball, to ensure scoring. I like using this strategy a lot as it often works, as I am quicker than most defenders and even if I am not quicker than them, because I have started off a yard behind them I am at full pace a lot quicker so I still manage to get to the ball first. I can also pull out wide to the wings so that when the ball is played over the top not only am I onside but I am completely unmarked because both of the centre backs think that the left back is covering me, but I then run away from the left back at pace who thinks the centre backs will cover me so it leaves me to run freely and unchallenged towards the ball. My other main strategy is to run with the ball at defenders, where I have good foot eye co-ordination and I have quite quick feet, I find it easy to take defenders on either using my skill or my pace. So when I get the ball I often take defenders on to create space rather than just pass the ball because where I am the striker the pass I often have to play is backwards, but by passing backwards it slows down the attack so I take the ball myself and take on defenders and try to create the opportunity for me to strike the ball. However this is not always considered to be a good thing as it is hard work to be continuously taking players on all game and after a while the body starts to fatigue.
Comparison to Josh Britton:
As mentioned earlier josh is a winger, so his strategy is very similar to mine, in that he too likes to drop off a bit before running at the defenders to give him an advantage as he is very quick. However whereas I like to get the ball and just take players on to create the chance to shoot, josh just likes to shoot from wherever he sees a glimpse of goal. So he would receive the ball out wide and rather than go down the wing with the ball trying to take players on, he would just cut inside and strike the ball at the goal. This is like me in that he has the problem of fatiguing during the game, so he can’t sustain his high levels of work. But for the periods that he can sustain that level he does manage to play to his strengths.
Comparison to Wayne Rooney:
Where Rooney plays in a completely different league at a much higher level than me his strategies are all very different, although he does play a very attacking role just like me. Nevertheless He plays a much higher intensity game than me, where he does not stop working and setting off attacks. He is strategically defensive as well. Rooney likes to help out the defence a lot and win the ball and try to set off an attack again. Besides often he is the player within the team that finishes them by scoring. He likes to take up a creative role, thus instead of just running with the ball or shooting, which most strikers, often including me like to do. He will get the ball and look up for a player in a better position and pass him the ball. This hugely benefits him and his team because he has excellent vision of where to pass the ball and excellent execution of it as well. So by doing this he is also creating space for himself, because the defender who is marking Rooney will leave him to close down the player who has received the ball from him. This means Rooney can capitalize as due to his high levels of awareness and surroundings, he always manages to find himself a good space to run into where there is no defenders, so when he gets the ball back, he has enough time to get the ball under control and fire a good shot at the goal keeper, which he usually scores, due to his tremendous finishing.

I can improve my style of play by becoming slightly more of a team player, and sometimes looking for a pass which is more than likely a better option than just receiving the ball off of a team mate and running with it. Because not only does that bring other people into the game so we have more people on the attack it would also give me time to recover a little bit so I can continue to exert high levels of energy throughout the whole 90 minutes, without hardly any fatigue build up. And the other strategy I should include more is shooting, although I am a striker I don’t think I have enough shots, I like to run with the ball a lot, and don’t end up shooting, so rather than running with the ball so much I should look up, and if I think there is an opportunity at goal then I should take it.

Formations:
There are many formations which are played in football; in football a formation is how the players are positioned on the pitch to allow a team to play according to their pre-set tactics. Different formations can be set depending on the type of game it could be, the opposition they are playing and whether a team wants to play more attacking or defensive. The main formation utilized in football worldwide is the basic 4-4-2, this means a team has selected to have 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers. This is the formation you often see in basic and local adult’s teams and the lower leagues of the elite section. Whereas teams such as Man. City play a slightly more developed formation because of the players they have. They play a 4-1-3-2 so they would have 4 defenders, with a holding midfielder sat in front of the back four defending them, then two of the 3 out on the wings and the other covering the middle of midfield. And then the two strikes. They do this because this gives them a wide spread base to incorporate their passing game.so they can spread the ball out wide, and then cross it into the box. Therefore supplying the strikers with quality balls, which gives them a good chance of scoring.
Styles:
In football there are two styles of how to play, there is the basic direct football approach, which is often used in lower leagues, where the team just buys the tallest striker they can find and they boot the ball up to him all game long, in the hope he can bring it under control, and do something with it. This method is often used for a counter attack when the attacking team just wants to get the ball up to the attackers as quick as possible. And the second style of play which is the better of the two and used at a higher level is possession football, this is a lot more free and calm. And with this style all a team do is pass the ball around and keep possession, and let them wear themselves out chasing the ball. This is only done successfully by some of the best teams in the country, for example Arsenal. For years they have been known for how well they keep the ball and how they rarely lose it, but to be able to make sure that they are this good they have to have a high amount of skill to ensure you firstly see the right pass, and secondly that you execute the right pass. And another reason teams such as arsenal do this is they spend the first 60 minutes of a game wearing a team out by passing the ball around them, and then with 30 minutes to go they bring on players like Theo Walcott who is possibly the fastest player in the premiership and they just give the ball to him and let him run with it. 8.10 | Technical analysis: game plan |

8.10 | Technical analysis: game plan |

Edexcel | GCE Physical Education: | The Critical Performer | Unit 2 | Tactical Analysis | Task: 2.4 Ex: 2 | Name: | Institution: | Date:10/12/2011 | Objective: To review a game plan for a single match – pre- and post-. | Date 25.9.2011 | Opposition/ Context: Bredhurst juniors v. Cuxton 91 | Pre-match scenario: today we were playing a team just one place above us in the league, so we knew we were up against tough opposition. As we had already played them in the season we knew exactly how they played, and who their key players were. Their style of play was very similar to ours so we knew exactly how to counter it. For starters they were the same as us in that they like to use their two wingers, but they mainly play the ball to their right winger, which was a worry for us, because our usual left back had only just returned from being out through injury, so we knew that they would try to utilise this player as much as possible, as a team they do rely on this player too much though, so we had to try and take him out of the game and they would be easily defeated, all we had to do was cut out the passes to him, which was easily done. As every time the opposition got the ball we knew where it was going to go. They just gave him the ball whenever they could, and left him to do all the work down the wing to get the ball into their tall striker, who was their other key player, who also had his own style of play within the team. They liked to utilise this striker as much as possible, however to do this we knew they would just revert to the big long ball up the pitch. They would just boot it up to him, and get him to hold the ball up, and then he can lay it down to the midfielders or play it out to the wingers. And as he was significantly taller than our defence, we knew that they were going to try and do this as much as possible, they also aimed for that striker from every set piece, which we knew we were going to have trouble defending. However as well as knowing their key players, we also knew their weak players, which were the goalie, and the centre backs, the centre backs were both very slow, and had very bad positional awareness, so we knew that as soon as we got the ball over the defence that we would be through on goal, so we thought that we would have to change the style we play from our usual passing game, to playing the ball over the top. As well as that their proper goal keeper was injured, so they put a substitute in goal, and after watching him in the warm up we knew that he wasn’t very confident. He would always punch the ball when going for it, and every time he tried to catch the ball he dropped it. He was also very static on his feet, which we knew we could use to our advantage, as all we had to do was put it into the corners and we knew that we would have scored. For me personally I knew it was going to be hard work, because although I knew I could beat the defenders easily, it meant doing that all game long I was just going to be chasing the long ball over the top, which isn’t how I like to play, I like to have the ball at my feet and to be able to run with it. As well as this it was a very windy day, so it would be hard to play the long ball anyway because it would just get taken by the wind, so even though that would be the easiest way to score against this team, we would have to adapt and try passing the ball a lot along the ground to get through their defence. | Game Plan or Tactical Plan: our first action plan was to man mark their two wingers, so that they have no time on the ball when they get it, and by doing this we hoped that the opposition would try not to pass to them and try to find another way to get a goal, and we knew that we had to play someone else at left back, because their right winger was a lot quicker than our left back, so it could have caused us a lot of problems. So we chose to start off with a 3-5-2 formation, and we spread the three defenders out wide, in doing this it meant we can put our two quick centre backs either side of our tallest defender which meant that their wingers won’t have any time on the ball as they will be shut down quickly, and they will have less chance of running and taking our defenders on with the ball because our defenders are just as quick. And it means our centre back is then there to mark their tall striker and hopefully stop him from holding the ball up. Also we planned that no matter how many attackers were in the box we would have two defenders marking the striker, as he is who they would aim for, so we had to do whatever we could to ensure that they don’t get the ball to him.We also knew that we had to make the most of their slow defence by utilising the strikers as much as possible, so do this we were going to try and use the long ball as much as possible, even though that is not how we normally play, for this game we thought that this would be the best method. We also knew that to be in with the best chance of winning we had to apply pressure on the goalkeeper, and just keep firing shots at him, so that was our plan, that as soon as anyone gets a sight of goal they should take it. So when the midfield get towards opposition territory rather than pass it over the top, the midfielders should advance with the ball and take a shot at goal. Even if the goalie saves it for a corner we can apply pressure to the keeper, as we know he is not confident and often drops the ball, so we place our two tallest players around the goalie and then put the ball straight to the goalie. Also by playing a 3-5-2 it means we have two players right out wide meaning that we can get the ball out to them, and they have a lot of time on the ball so they can either run at the defence or play the ball inside. And this formation also means that we could out number them in the centre, which was a key thing to us, as most of our play starts from the middle. | Post-match review: We won the match 2-1 but it wasn’t an easy win, our tactics and plans all changed straight after the game started, as the other team had scored within the first five minutes. So our plan completely changed as we were now playing to score rather than playing the football we should do, which means we reverted back to the long ball over the top so that our strikers can chase the ball down, which proved successful as we scored both of our goals from it, but we wasted possession so many times from doing sot, because the wind often took the ball, or blew it in another direction. However even though they were getting some poor supply at times both our wingers had very good games, and adapted to the conditions well, still managing to get their crosses in to the right place, and get the majority of their shots to trouble the keeper. As well as that both of our However one of our two strikers had a poor game, and didn’t cope with the windy conditions. As well as that the left back who was injured came on at half time, and was panicky for the whole game, and was just easily beaten by his opposing man near on every time, leaving the defence on a 2 on 2 or sometimes even a 3 on 2 situation, had it not been for some fine saves from the keeper, we could have easily lost that match, but overall we played the better football and deserved to win. | Team Evaluation: as a team we adapted well to the windy conditions, and still created lots of chances, and most of the time we troubled the goalie with these chances, and even though it was hard to play the over the top ball because of the wind when we done so it was often successful, however a few times we did waste possession by doing this, and after a while we realised this and then went back to passing the ball on the ground a lot, this also proved to be successful in the latter part of the game, as in the last 20 minutes just after we had scored our second goal to put us in the lead, we just played the passing game and kept hold of the ball, and managed to hold onto it for most of the remainder of the game, securing three points. But we didn’t test the keeper as much as we should have done; it seemed people were afraid to take a shot at goal because of the wind. So in future to improve and give us the better chance of scoring more goals, we should not be afraid of taking a shot, and should take one as soon as we see a sight at goal, also to improve we need to work on the back three’s alignment, as many times throughout the game, they were not in a line leaving gaps for forwards to run through without the risk of being caught offside, so we would need to sort that out. | Individual Evaluation: For me personally apart from scoring the goal that won us the match I did not have a good game, I struggled in front of goal, and I struggled with the conditions. Most of the shots I had either flew wide, or went straight to the keeper, and I just seemed to be wasting possession. I struggled to play to the best of my ability because I like to drop into midfield and pick the ball up and then run with it towards the defence, but where it was so windy it was hard to run with the ball at my feet because it kept getting blown away. However I do think that my movement was good in this game, although I lost the ball a few times, I always managed to find some space to get the ball, and I was always onside when the ball was player over the top of the defence, I just didn’t manage to take my chances. In the future to improve I need to learn how to adapt to certain weather conditions, for example when it is windy see what way the wind is blowing and then when taking a shot aim slightly more to the opposite direction of the wind as then it will still go where you intended it to go, rather than the wind blow it somewhere you don’t want it to go. |

8.10 | Technical analysis: game plan |

Edexcel | GCE Physical Education: | The Critical Performer | Unit 2 | Tactical Analysis | Task: 2.4 Ex: 2 | Name: | Institution: | Date:8/1/2011 | Objective: To review a game plan for a single match – pre- and post-. | Date 18.9.2011 | Opposition/ Context: Bredhurst juniors v. Rainham eagles. | Pre-match scenario: today we were playing the team top of the league, who were unbeaten all year. So we knew that to stand any chance of winning, or even getting a point we had to be prepared. We knew that their style of play was very much ground based, they played everything along the floor, and would try to pass their way through our defence. We knew that their main two players were their centre midfielders; they were both strong, and very good on the ball, so we knew it would be hard trying to get them off of the ball. We also knew that their weak spot was their full backs, both the slowest two players on the pitch, and neither of them were strong tacklers either. So we knew to beat them it would have to be done through the use of our wingers. Although they were a strong team on the ball, the majority of their players were all of an ectomorphic body type. So we knew that we would have to use the air ball as much as possible. As well as using the air ball, we knew that we should play to try and win set pieces, just so that we can target our tall striker with the ball. | Game Plan or Tactical Plan: Tactically we knew that our oppositions style of play was very much similar to ours, only they were stronger at it than us so our game plan was to hopefully get a goal or two early on, and then just play keep ball and stop them from scoring. we knew that our only real chance of scoring was through the use of our long ball up to the big striker, who would hopefully either hold it up for the midfield or flick it on for the wingers to run to, who would then hopefully run through and score or run through and cross the ball into the box in the hope that the striker would then score a header. We also knew that we could struggle in the central midfield, so we decided on a 3-5-2 formation so that we have an extra midfielder there to support the usual two central midfielders, so even if there midfielders out power our two, there is a spare man to provide support, this formation also gives us the chance to utilise the wingmen again. Who were going to play a key role in supplying our striker with the ball. As they would just get the ball all game and run at their opposing full backs. we knew that this formation would also be good to se because of the formation they use which is a 4-4-1-1, which means we would outnumber them in our defence and we should dominate the midfield which we need to do to be in with a chance of winning, and to be getting the ball down and passing it out to our main players. We also knew that technically they were very accurate and successful from set pieces, from free kicks they had a specialist routine where there was lots of movement and it is hard to track players down so they are all unmarked, and this usually led to them scoring from these set pieces, which was a big worry for us because we weren’t that good at defending from set pieces. So we knew we had to try and make all of our tackles without lunging in because that could risk giving away a foul which would cost us. We also know that they were a very strategical team and they had subs that come on at a specific time, they had a quick winger, who did not have good levels of cardiovascular fitness and never lasted a whole game so what they have done, is they have made him a sub and when the opposition get tired, he comes on and just runs at them with the ball. So to counter this we did the same and we rester the player that would usually mark him, so that when they put on their sub we can put ours on to mark him so he will not be taking advantage of the fatigued players, and will be taken out of the game. | Post-match review: we lost this match 4-1 and although the score line may not show it, it was a close match. Unfortunately they were just a stronger team than us, and out powered us even though we had an extra man in the midfield. They just played the ball around us all game long, and made us chase it all game, eventually tiring us out so they could then capitalise on this, which they did scoring three of their goals in the last ten minutes, and this was mainly down to us being out numbered at the back as the defence were left on their own as the midfield were tired, and didn’t bother working back. Although they only scored one goal between them the strikers both had good games, they were both good in the air, beating their defence to almost everything and although they couldn’t find the net, they tested the goal keeper from nearly every set piece. However the defence in general had a bad game, with the two wing backs both being run to pieces by their wingers, and our centre back was beaten to the ball nearly every time by their striker, which was creating many chances, but as usual the keeper was on fine form and managed to pull off some acrobatic saves to keep us in the game. | Team Evaluation: in general as a team we played well until the last ten minutes, when people were starting to get tired, but the other team’s main performers had higher levels of cardiovascular fitness, so could sustain the level they were playing at for longer, meaning they kept playing at the same intensity when we couldn’t. so for the first 80 minutes we managed to match them, which was when the score was still 1-1, then in the last ten minutes lack of physical conditioning kicked in and they scored 3 goals in this time. Up to this point the whole team were playing well, we were passing the ball around well at times, and we were making a lot of chanced we just couldn’t finish them. I think to improve and to help us win in the future, the team all need to increase their cardiovascular levels so that when it comes to the last stages of a match, we can still keep up the consistently high intensity that we play at, to prevent teams from countering this like in this game, and getting a good result from it. | Individual Evaluation: even though I didn’t manage to score in this game, I thought I had a good game, I managed to find a lot of space for me to receive the ball, and when I got it I didn’t waste it, I looked up and found a player or ran with it towards goal. Also my awareness was good, I managed to stay onside all game long, even though they kept a high line, and played to make me offside I managed to notice what they were doing and stayed on. And although I managed to find a lot of space with the ball, my shooting was a bit off target in this game, I kept firing shots to put the goal keeper under a lot of pressure but I kept hitting them straight to him, or just over, and I wasn’t putting any power behind them, so even when I got them to the corners they were still easy saves. To improve I should firstly be putting more power into my shots, as I was not putting any power behind them which is probably the main reason as to why I didn’t score. As well as that I need to improve on my cardiovascular as in the last ten minutes, I was really tired, and was just getting out ran all the time. Because I did not have the energy to keep up the high level of running I had been doing all game, but in future with improved fitness I could have got our team back into the game, as a couple of times the ball was played over the top which would have left me through on goal but where I was tired I didn’t get to them first, whereas I normally would have done. |

8.10 | Technical analysis: game plan |

Edexcel | GCE Physical Education: | The Critical Performer | Unit 2 | Tactical Analysis | Task: 2.4 Ex: 2 | Name: | Institution: | Date:10/12/2011 | Objective: To review a game plan for a single match – pre- and post-. | Date 18.9.2011 | Opposition/ Context: Bredhurst juniors v. Borstal 88. | Pre-match scenario:Today was a cup match and we were against a team who were two divisions below us, so although we didn’t want to get over cocky, we knew we should win this, which meant that we could change our team around and play the players that rarely get a game. To play them players it also meant we had to adapt to a slight change in formation. Rather than our usual formation, we chose to play a 4-3-1-2. This was because we knew that the two players that we would be starting instead of our usual two were both strikers, but as they were not that good, we thought it would be best to have a player sitting behind them, supporting them and feeding them with the ball. We knew at the start of the game that their weaknesses were their goalkeeper, and their defence. We knew their goalkeeper wasn’t very good at all. He couldn’t catch the ball, kick it and he rarely moved off his feet, so we knew what we had to do to be in with the best chance of scoring. And we also knew their defence wasn’t very strong either, they like to push up with the intentions of scoring, but when they lose the ball they do not track back, leaving a man in defence on his own, which we knew we had to take full advantage of if we wanted to be successful within the game. However this meant that they held a very high line which we knew we would have to be careful with. | Game Plan or Tactical Plan: As it was a cup match we had to try to win the match, but also conserve our energy as we had an important game next week, and we couldn’t risk any injuries. Our game plan was based around passing this week. We knew that to be able to beat them whilst not going over the top all we had to do was pass the ball around a lot, so we planned to include lots of passing and moving if we could. The main player we were going to aim for was the player behind the strikers, because he was the main supply source for the strikers. And also he was a very confident shooter, so we thought that he could be the best chance of scoring if we just supplied him with the ball. Because he would find the target easily, and give us the best possibility of testing the keeper, and scoring. We also knew that to create lots of chances we had to be sharp in the midfield and be ready to counter, when their defence push up. We knew that we had to be careful if we were going to play the ball over the top, because we can easily be caught offside. Tactically this teams formation was very different to ours, they played a 3-5-2, which meant that if we had stuck to our normal formation we would have been out powered in many places on the pitch so by changing our formation it enabled us to gain the advantage in the positions were we most needed it against this team, such as in the attacking area. There style of play was very different to ours in that they would pile on pressure early to tru and get one goal, and then they would just go into defensive mode and try and defend their lead. So the plan was to try and copy then counter their plan. So we were going to pile on the pressure at the start instead of them, in the hope that we could get an early goal. Which would mean that they need a goal so they cant be as defensive, and we would then continue with the high amounts of pressure. In the aim of scoring more than one goal. We identified that they were not that accurate with their set plays, and often wasted them by doing silly things they had not practised as well as a lot more advanced things, but we did know that the moves they had from set play were very good and If utilised effectively then they could cause us big problems, and this was an area we have no plan for because there is no way to counter it, we just had to hope that we won the ball in the air when it came in from a corner or fre kick. | Post-match review: we won this game 9-1. However it wasn’t an easy game, the first half finished at 2-1, with the opposition putting up a strong fight, and doing well to keep us out of their half and stop us from scoring. They had done their best in defence, with a clever tactic of holding a very high line and consistently making our players offside. Our new formation worked, with the player behind the strikers scoring one goal and setting up three, so this proved to be a tactic that was very beneficial to us in an attacking sense but not as beneficial in a defensive way as we kept leaving players with two men oin them and we kept getting outnumbered at the back. | Team Evaluation: the team performed very well in this game, with consistently good passing all game long, with excellent short, quick passes as well as long passes. Providing our players with lots of time on the ball, which we used well, creating lots of chances, and taking many of them as well, however we did keep getting offside so we had a lot of wasted chances, so for future games we need to work on the offside rule, and keeping onside with the defence, which can be worked on in training. Also after we had gained a decent lead, our players decided to just get the ball and keep shooting, as our players were just going for glory rather than playing as a team, so in future, when we take a lead rather than just get the ball and shoot we still need to take our time on the ball, look up and find the correct pass to play. | Individual Evaluation: I think I performed well in this game, scoring three of our nine goals, all of them from good individual and team play, and I was consistent throughout the game, challenging the defence and the keeper with my shots all game long. My passing was also of a good standard when playing the ball along the ground but towards the end I tried to be clever and play the air ball and I kept wasting possession. So I need to work on keeping my calm, and not trying to do anything unordinary when I am playing in a game where we have a lead. However my bad points from this game where my aggression and my awareness. All game long my awareness was rubbish, with me being consistently offside, as I wasn’t keeping up with the defensive line, so I wasted a lot of good possession we had, so I need to work on my awareness, and towards the end things weren’t going my way and I made a stupid tackle, in which I was lucky to stay on the pitch and I escaped with just caution. So I need to control my aggression as well because it could cost me and the team in the future. |

Key Skills:
Heading: As a striker heading is important to my game as an individual, and in the team I play in. Where I am quite tall, players around me tend to try and get the ball to me through the use of air, in the hope I can either score a header, of flick it on for someone to run onto, hopefully ending up with that performer scoring. Heading is more specifically part of my performance in my team because my partner upfront is small but very quick. So our main game plan is that my team mates aim to get the ball to me, always through the air so that I can win the header and flick it towards the goal, and the other striker has two options. He either runs onto it and advances towards the goal depending on where the ball goes, and he takes a shot at the keeper, or if the ball went wider then he would still run onto it, but he would take it into the corner and aim to cross the ball back to me so that I can header the ball toward the goal with the intention of scoring.
The Perfect Header:
To execute the perfect header you must make sure it is your forehead that you are using to make contact with the ball; this is because it is where you can generate the most power and the best accuracy. To give you the best chance of scoring from a header you really want to aim the ball into the corners, more specifically the bottom corners if you can, to give you the best chance of this you need to make sure you get enough height on your jump so that you can get your head right over the ball, and you have to keep your eyes focused on the ball, whilst getting into the line of flight of the ball. To generate power on your jump you need to do the following things: * Bend your knees before elevating. Whilst arching the back. Then you need to thrust your head and body forward on contact, keeping your neck muscles tensed. * You will also want to use your arms for balance as you will be off the ground for many of the headers. Nonetheless you have to be careful that the arms are not raised too high or swung around, as you have a high chance of being penalised and in some circumstances this can even lead to a red card.

Then whilst in mid-air you have to try and connect with the ball at your highest point of the jump. If you let the ball drop there is a high chance that your opponent will beat you to the header.

Crossing:
Yet again as a striker crossing is a very important impact in my game. Although the main role of a striker is to score goals, a lot of my game play is focused on setting them up. Where a lot of my teams play is air born a lot of our players are very strong with their head, so I have to make sure I can aim for the right players, and that I can execute the cross well enough to get it to them. So I need to be good at crossing which means having the right technique
The Perfect Cross:
When crossing the ball there is also a mental aspect towards it, which is that whilst running with the ball performers are always worried about where the ball should go, or how much power there should be in the kick amongst other things.
In terms of technique, when crossing the ball your standing foot should be firmly planted on the ground, and when striking the ball you must play your foot right through the ball in order to gain as much accuracy as possible. The more accuracy you achieve the better chance of you picking out a team mate.
Also when crossing you have to consider swerve and curve, because playing the ball straight makes it easier for the defender to intercept the cross, so you could apply curve to the ball by using the inside, or outside of the foot on occasions.
Shooting:
Shooting is probably the main of all the key skills I need as a striker. Although my team like to play the ball through the air to fully utilize my height, however due to my good accuracy and power when shooting they often play the ball to my feet so that I can have a shot at goal. However there is more to my shooting than just having good accuracy, I have things to consider such as; where I am placing the ball, how much power I need to put on it and with what foot. So I need to make sure that I have a good technique because otherwise I would not be able to vary these things giving me a good chance of scoring.
The Perfect Shot:
There are many things that are needed to give a performer the perfect shot. One would be awareness, you have to be aware of the surroundings, for example where the goalkeeper is positioned and whether there are any natural influences that could affect the shot such as wind. So before taking your shot you would have to take a quick look at the keeper to know where he is standing, and then you can decide what side of the goal you will aim your shot. Like most key skills there are mental aspects of shooting. They are; confidence, courage and awareness. Which are all needed to make the perfect shot? Because you need confidence to take the shot at goal, as if you are not confident the player won’t put as much power behind the ball so he will not propose a challenge to the keeper. Courage is needed for the same thing within shooting,
Crossing:
As a striker it is my job to create chances as well as just scoring them, so an easy way for me to set up lots of chances, would be by getting the ball and crossing it into the box so I need to ensure that I have good skills so that I am not just wasting possesion when I get it in the attacking third.
The Perfect Cross:
The main tips given for the perfect corss are to:
•Low, powerful crosses are hard to defend.
•A good, accurate, low cross into the penalty area is one of the hardest balls young defenders will have to face.
•High, looping crosses are hard enough but at least you can see those.
•Balls coming in at an angle just behind the defenders are almost impossible to control and often any touch by a defender will result in an own goal.
The technique players should use is the swerve pass using the inside of the foot.
The technique
•Non-kicking foot should be slightly behind, and to the side of the ball. Use the inside of the foot to kick across the ball.
•Tell player to keep his head steady, eyes looking at the ball at the moment of contact.
•His body should be slightly forward to keep the ball low.