Can you give me some advice on how to improve the results of my football team?

Question

I asked earlier today but hoping to get some more ideas from people so i am re-posting. I am a manager of a new 7-a-side team and every match we are getting, quite frankly, thrashed, we are not a bad bunch of players however... I am trying to get some ideas from other managers or players of 7-a-side football teams on how to improve ourselves. Is there anyone who has had a similar situation, getting beat regularly but have managed to turn the fortunes of a team around, any advice or ideas of what i could try. I would be most grateful

Answer 1

Try to arrange some friendly matches with teams that arent quite as good as your team. That way it gives your lads the chance to play and hopefully win, which will lead them to having more confidence. At the moment, they could be suffering due to constant defeats.

Answer 2

We had the same problem in my team. Firstly, because 7-a-side is a quicker game than 11 - a-side, practise your players in quick, one touch football in smaller areas. Perhaps have two people trying to tackle the other 5. Fittnest may also be a key issue, as there is more running involved than in the normal game as there are less players. The main problem we found was that we weren't keeping formation, have positions and dont all chase after the ball!! Also as with many football teams, there are some players who think they are better than the rest and these will demand the ball and often "hog" it. The likelyhood is as they try to take on all the opposing players, they will get tackled and leave the other players in trouble. Make sure everyone plays the passing game (you cant get beat if the other team cant get the ball!) and works as a team. Although unconventional, we got around this by not making anyone captain; that way all players are equal to help with teamwork.

Answer 3

I'm not sure I saw a 7 player match before, so I'm not experienced about it and can only give general tips.

1- You must have training sessions of course during which you use encouraging ways; for example not tipping off who's in the main formation

2- Concetrate on each player's best asset and assign him the position in which he'll most likely use it for most of the time.

3- Organised man to man defence is an effective way no matter the players' # in the field, so proper marking is in order (I also have no idea what kind of field you play in or wether the off-side rule counts in it)so generaly marking and positionning are the most important skill required by almost all the player in order to support their initial talent

4- Have a certain plan to play (i.e. wings, through, passes etc..) to organise your players' offensive as it's one of the hardest tasks but the more organised your team is the better and more proffesionnal they become

5- Standard tips such as teamwork, teamspirit by teaching them to always encourage themslelves as well as each other especially in matches and punishing severly any bad behaviour (especially in matches as well)

6- An effective but dangerous tip: make them face much better teams -preferably older- without losing your team's moral...that's the dangerous point, if you lose that point then your team is as good as done. However if you manage to make good use of it (depending on your skill) you will have a high quality team. But remeber again, this last tip is your hard thorny shortcut and shouldn't be used closely before important/hard matches.

Best Of Luck...

Answer 4

You need to get a set formation and a style of playing. Try going more defensive and then hitting the other team on the break. Get your players to mark an opponent each and dont give them any time on the ball. Slow the game down and use the ploy of playing the ball down the middle to the front man who should hold the ball up until the other players can support him. One-twos around opponents always create openings and if you take the lead, then pass the ball around longer. It frustrates the other team and runs the clock down. Work on set plays and always start with your strongest team. Only make substitutions when necessaary.

Answer 5

Try playing more defensive and play a bit more on the counter attack to begin with until you settle in the game. Then maybe slowly attack more but the amount of help I can give you is limited as I cannot watch you play.

What you need to do during a game is identify your weakness. Things like how the opposition are scoring (e.g. from set pieces, from long balls, from quick passing, etc), where they are attacking (e.g. through the middle, wings, etc) and who their best players are. These things will give you an idea of how to play against specific teams and it will also help in counter acting their tactics.

I hope this helped. Good luck.

Answer 6

Friendlys are the way to go. the best thing you can do to get use to a new formation is to just play. Shortly you'll find with out even much on your part your players will start to realize the stuff they are doing wrong and work it out themselves. As if they match up with the other teams one on one than just try to play a man marking system and everyone cover their own guy.

Answer 7

the best way to start winning is to improve your teams fitness,by doing this not only will your team have a greater self believe in them selves they,ll be able to out run there opponents.iam a welsh long distance runner and enjoys playing 7 aside.it takes about 12 weeks to see a change in fitness.if you would like some training sessions or advise just send me a email