3-5-2/5-3-2 Positional Playbook

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After a few games with these U13 boys at 11v11, we were playing 4-2-3-1, which was not working so well. At the time, I always had that as a Plan A, and the below shows my Plan B. The club had a great philosophy and methodology, and part of it was also down to us coaches based on the team we had. The club provided some principles, but no set formation. The justification being that players will play for many coaches in their careers, and so should be exposed to different formations when growing up, rather than limiting them with just one formation. Keep in mind that we were highly qualified coaches, and these were very talented players, so we weren't going over basics and fundamentals. It allowed us to be a lot more experimental

In most of our games, we were being overrun in the middle of the pitch. Although the boys were good, it was a step up for most of them. Our priority became defending better, which meant a deeper block, more compactness in central areas, and counter attacking via the wings and two forwards. The formation falls down if your wing backs don't have the stamina or the workrate to get up and down.

A couple notes for emphasis. One of the hardest concepts I have found when teaching this is striker movement, specifically an inside to outside run. Most kids who are fast and score goals are told to stay central, play on the shoulder, and wait for balls over the top or through to run onto. This also greatly impacts their understanding of pressing, covering, screening, dropping back. I have found many adults struggle with this too, as they were never coerced out of these habits. If we don't teach them how to play the game properly, they will be limited when older. Because our attack relied so much on counters, if we were countering from deep, our wing backs would often be all the way back in the back line. This meant that the ball side striker would have to make the run to the near side touch line, and act temporarily as a surrogate winger. Upon transition, one of our defenders would play the ball into the area I had told them to play it, and we would lose the ball, because the striker would be stood centrally, completely oblivious, forgetting everything we had worked on. They either wanted it to feet, or over the top, and to get them into the habit of making these wide runs was a challenge.

The other difficult concept was one of quick restarts. This is a problem with kids in general all around the globe. We are awarded a free kick somewhere in the middle, often due to offside, and the player nearest the ball would walk away from the ball with their back turned. In this moment, the opposition would be completely disorganised, but our failure to react quickly would always let them off the hook. At any restart, the player nearest the ball should get on it straight away, and all other players move quickly into position WITHOUT TURNING THEIR BACKS. If you turn your back, you miss the opportunity for playing quick or short because you don't see it. If there is nobody on the ball, then it doesn't matter how good our positioning is away from the ball. As I always say to players; it's better to be on the toilet and not need to go, than to need to go and not be on the toilet.

Here's a few video examples of where it comes out in the adult 11v11 game.

It was one of the club principles to play short and quick from restarts. Most kids are conditioned in the habits of just smashing it long and hoping something happens. Surely if we get the ball nearer to their goal, it's a good thing, right? Similar to how throwing my cheeseburger into the kitchen isn't going to help me eat it quicker. In English and American football, it's positively reinforced by the parents demanding players "send it" or "put it in the mixer" and then praising them for a good kick as the ball travels high and long through the air, to the other team.

Hope you enjoy. It's nothing special, but does provide a simple outline. I try to put it in terms players will understand, or at least via vocabulary I have explicitly reinforced with them via previous encounters. Football is a very visual game, so let's hope the pictures help.

But Will, is there a PDF? Don't worry Bro, I got you.

And honestly, if your players can't be arsed to read ten pages, with a lot of pictures, helping them to become better footballers, then save your time and do something else you enjoy.