Who is the Best GK in the EPL? Weekly English Premier League Opinion #17 Jonny Carter gives his opinion on who is the best goalkeeper in the English Premier League. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Please let us know by commenting below.
Continue readingAs an American I'm drawn to statistics to evaluate players and teams. The mainstream American sports of Baseball and Football are often viewed through the stats of the players. They are evaluated and ranked based on batting averages, yards per carry, quarterback rating and earned run averages. Soccer enthusiasts used to decry the use of
Continue readingSmall-sided games are a great tool for player development. But as with any tool they must be used correctly to achieve the best results. It's not enough to create two teams of eight and drop a ball. The more specifically you design the game, the more your players will benefit. Most coaches will choose a
Continue readingThe 4-2-3-1 formation has become the system of choice for many of the worlds top professional and national teams like Real Madrid, Manchester United and Brazil. As coaches at every level have watched these top teams play they have looked for ways to implement the system with their college, high school and youth teams.
The first step in introducing a new way of playing s to break the system down and identify the most important components. The was done very well by
Continue readingEach month we add a new magazine update to the Member Drills Database. The magazine contains training sessions, videos and articles presented by top teams and coaches from around the world.
Here's part of a training session presented by Chelsea FC Academy coach Chris Woodword. The session focuses on 1 v 1, 2 v 1 and 2 v 2 situations that lead to a zonal game.
Continue readingEvery systems has it's strengths and weaknesses. In previous posts I've described why I feel that the 4-3-3 is a great system to teach players the game. While I believe in playing our own best game regardless of what the opposition is trying to do, playing against other systems provides challenges that the players need to learn to deal with. In the next few weeks I'll show you how I've taught my teams to handle these differences.
Teams that know you are playing with three in the midfield might try to overwhelm these players by having five in the
Continue readingLearn What You Already Know Have you ever been in a competition where it seemed as though everything you did went the right way? We often hear people refer to those moments as being "in the zone" or "on fire". You're in a state of heightened, yet calm sense of awareness. Maybe it's the game
Continue readingLionel Messi was just named as the FiFA world player of the year. The awards were based on the votes of the coaches and captains of national teams as well as global journalists. Messi scored more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues in 2010, with 42 goals in 36 La Liga games,
Continue readingOkay, here's a quick quiz. No looking online for the stats. Just give a quick answer within five seconds. The EPL's top four teams in order are, Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea and Man City. Which team has the fewest wins? Which team has fewest losses? Which team has the best goal difference? Which team has
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There are a number of high level coaches that use a lot of circle drills in their sessions including Barry Gorman (long time coach at Penn State) and David Williams (Manchester United Academy). I've had the opportunity to watch both of them run sessions at our International Coaching Seminar so I've used some of their
Continue readingI am a keen cyclist. I ride my bike 5-6 days a week and enter the occasional race. I only got into cycling about two years ago, but even as far back as the 80's, I used to watch the Tour de France on Eurosport. I then became more interested about eight years ago and
Continue readingToday's blog is a simple question. After just five games, is the EPL title race over? Are Chelsea a step ahead of the others - Man U, Arsenal, Man City, Spurs, etc. Yes, I know it's ridiculously early to even think about this, but I can't help it. Chelsea are producing some good performances and
Continue readingIt's that time of year again to figure out who will take the top four spots in the English Premier League. Let's start with a few questions. 1. Will Totenham repeat their feat of last season with a fourth place spot? 2. Can Liverpool be considered one of the Big Four anymore? 3. Are Man
Continue readingFirst, I wanted to announce that Bill Arrandale, is the latest winner of our $100 books/DVDs prize. Bill, if you contact me by email, I will give you the details of how you can claim your prize. Remember, don't just read the blog, post a comment. If you post a comment, you are automatically entered
Continue readingI have thought for years that the games top players play too many games. As a young kid, I used to follow Leeds United in the 70's and they used to have the same line up pretty much week in week out, unless there was an injury. Now with the additional European games, more international
Continue readingLast night I watched (on TV) the KC Wizards (my home team) v Man U game. Over the years I have often wondered how to put into perspective the results of these exhibition games and I still struggle with it. On one hand, the Wizards played well and deserved to win...a tie at worst. From
Continue readingI have been on record (prior to the World Cup, so not an excuse) as saying that one of the reasons England struggle in World Cups and Euro Championships is that the players are physically worn out from a season in the English Premier League. Note, I said "one" of the reasons. There are other
Continue readingI don't want this to turn into a "England" blog, but once they are knocked out of the World Cup, that will be that, so I might as well say what I want to say now while I have the chance. In the cold light of day, and after sleeping on it, I have to
Continue readingThere are a two main reasons (excuses) that England rarely do well in the World Cup or Euro Championships. I actually agree with both of them. Weather - The majority of the English season is spent in cool or cold temperatures with wind and rain. Obviously the training sessions are done in the same weather.
Continue readingOkay, it's only another Champions League title (can it be described that way?), but my opinion of Jose Mourinho have sky rocketed after Inter won the Champions League this weekend. The "Special One" can certainly be described that way now. Let's look at some reasons why. He has generated success with three different clubs, winning
Continue readingEveryone benefits (if that is the right word) from the advances in technology. I am without a computer this morning due to a video card failure and have borrowed a laptop to write this post. I don't know what I will do the rest of the day but I am scratching my head to figure
Continue readingI am writing this as I watch the Man City v Tottenham game. It's 2.15 pm here in the Midwest and it's a good job I got most of my work done earlier in the day as I'm not getting much done right now. I thought I would write about the distinct pressure and atmosphere
Continue readingWell, the final week of the EPL season is upon us and here are some random thoughts. Even though the Championship will be decided with the final games (Chelsea and Man U), I don't feel any real suspense. Unless there is a major disaster, Chelsea should have no problem with Wigan. This makes Man U's
Continue readingWho would you choose as the manager of your professional team if you had the choice of Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho? The argument could be made for Ferguson based solely on his incredible record with Man U over the past 20 years or so. The number of EPL titles he has won
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