The Gaffer's Blog

The Gaffer on shapes — from the 2-3-1 for your U9s to three at the back. Pick the formation that fits the players you've actually got.

• 2-3-1: The Only Shape Your U9s Actually Need27 Mar 2026
• 4-4-2 Is Not Dead. It Was Never Ill.30 Mar 2026
• The Diamond Midfield, and Why It'll Get You in Trouble1 Apr 2026
• Three at the Back: Fashion, or Function?3 Apr 2026
• Why I Stopped Caring What You Call It6 Apr 2026

The stuff that wins more games than any formation: width, depth, compactness, overloads, and a first touch that doesn't bounce into the car park.

• Width: The Cheapest Goal You're Not Scoring8 Apr 2026
• Depth and the Art of the Backwards Pass10 Apr 2026
• Compactness: Make the Pitch Small When You Haven't Got the Ball13 Apr 2026
• Overloads: How to Be Two-on-One Everywhere15 Apr 2026
• The First Touch Is the Whole Tactic17 Apr 2026
• Total Football: The Idea That Quietly Runs Everything1 Jun 2026
• The Latest Tactical Fad and Your Seven-Year-Old3 Jun 2026

Possession with a purpose — building from the keeper, when it's brave, and when it's just asking for trouble.

• Playing Out From the Back: Are You Willing to Lose Ugly First?20 Apr 2026
• The Sweeper-Keeper: Your Last Defender or Your First Attacker?22 Apr 2026
• Tiki-Taka Was Never About Passing for Fun24 Apr 2026
• The False Nine, Explained Without the Pretension27 Apr 2026
• Inverted Full-Backs: Brilliant. Also, Not For You Yet.29 Apr 2026

Winning the ball back and what you do in the five seconds after — pressing, counters, low blocks, and the moments matches turn on.

• Gegenpressing: Win It Back Before They've Taken a Breath1 May 2026
• The Counter-Attack: Boring? It Won a European Championship.4 May 2026
• Transition Moments Win Matches. Coach Them, Don't Pray for Them.6 May 2026
• Catenaccio: The Most Misunderstood Word in Football8 May 2026
• The Low Block, and When It's Actually the Brave Choice11 May 2026
• Man-Marking vs. Zonal: Stop Arguing, Start Asking Who You've Got29 May 2026

Who does what, and the free goals lazy coaches ignore — holding mids, overlapping full-backs, target men, and set-piece routines.

• The Holding Midfielder: The Job Nobody Claps For13 May 2026
• The Overlapping Full-Back: Football's Best Free Lunch15 May 2026
• The Number 10: Luxury or Lifeline?18 May 2026
• Wingers: Stay Wide, Stay Patient, Stay Annoying20 May 2026
• The Target Man Isn't Just the Big Lad22 May 2026
• Set Pieces: The Free Goals Lazy Coaches Ignore25 May 2026
• The Long Throw Is a Tactic, Not a Confession27 May 2026