Tactics
Liverpool's Stuart Gelling gave an amateur football team a ‘tactics’ master class with drills that he uses at Liverpool FC... more
As well as working on disciplined defensive formations all over the pitch, Gelling’s session focused on attacking waves that get full-backs and strikers in behind the opposition back four. His advice is invaluable for teams that struggle to develop clear-cut chances in the box or that tend to allow the opposition too much time and space on the ball.
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Switching on mentally
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Introduce warm-up drills that get players mentally sharp as well as just physically prepared. Start thinking at speed and work in small areas to become aware of space and movements.
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Holding your team shape in defence
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React as a unit and keep talking to your teammates. Close down wide players, fill in the holes, look to cut off through-balls and resist moving up for tackles if there’s danger in-behind.
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Working the wide channels and feeding the strikers
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Full-backs work hard to overlap on the outside. Switch the ball in-field and out to the wings to penetrate the defence. Strikers time their run into the box so that they’re coming onto crosses.
Nutritional Advice from John Brewer
More often than not, crucial goals are scored in the final quarter of matches. This is often down to a drop in concentration causing the team to lose its shape, or a case of slack marking allowing an opponent to get free.
The human brain is only able to use glucose as a fuel both at times of rest and physical activity. During exercise, as muscle glycogen is broken down, the liver will release glucose into the blood stream, which can enter the muscles to prolong activity. This however causes a problem during sustained periods of activity, as there is a finite source of glucose within the liver, and this causes direct competition between the brain and skeletal muscle for blood glucose. A reduced amount of glucose entering the brain will impair all brain functions, but most notably higher functions, leading to a direct impairment of concentration.
An easy way to combat this is to increase the total amount of glucose available to the body by supplying it from an external source (i.e. food/drink). An isotonic sports drink drunk at frequent intervals will deliver glucose to the blood stream extremely quickly with minimal side effects, providing extra glucose for brain and body allowing you to maintain a high work rate and concentration level through to the final whistle.
John Brewer is the Director of Sporting Performance at the Lucozade Sport Science Academy. He's one of the most respected figures in applied sports science and has previously worked with the England football team.
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Stuart Gelling is the Head of Community Coaching at Liverpool FC's Academy, where the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen learned their trade before graduating to the first team.
Stuart Gelling Profile
Stuart Gelling was born in Liverpool and has worked and played at Liverpool Football Club for over 14 years as a professional and youth player. He is currently Head of Community Coaching at Liverpool FC's Academy.
Having coached various ages at the Academy, Stuart gained his UEFA A License qualification.He has also visited several different countries studying coaching methods and has run coaching sessions with amateur players all over the world.
As part of the Lucozade Sport expert panel, amateur footballers around the country can learn from Stuart’s extensive knowledge and experience in order to raise their games. The area of tactics is a key one, no matter what level you play at, so stay tuned for Stuart’s master class in order to improve your performance.
Stuart Gelling is the Head of Community Coaching at Liverpool FC's Academy, where the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen learned their trade before graduating to the first team.