Blueprint for Football Weekly Digest [Issue 4]

Every Saturday morning, subscribers to Blueprint for Football Extra, this site's free newsletter, receive an e-mail with the best coaching related articles we've come across during the week.  These are the articles included in the e-mail sent on the 27th of December.  If you too want to receive the links straight in your in-box, all you have to do is subscribe to the newsletter.

Tyrone Mings Makes His Mark At Ipswich On And Off The Pitch 
On the weekend when Sunderland once again beat Newcastle thanks to a goal by Adam Johnson – who had grown up supporting Newcastle and had been in their youth system before being let go when he was twelve – this piece about Tyrone Mings was particularly poignant.

Mings was let go by Southampton as a 16 year-old because of “lack of physical development” but refused to give up on his dream.  Good for him because he’s now one of the hottest properties in the Championship having joined Ipswich after a spell in non-league.

Whilst his rise to prominence might make for a good story, its true value, coaching wise, lies in the care that needs to be taken when judging players on their physical development. 

Manufacturing Goal-Scoring Opportunities 
This is one that will largely interest coaches who work with older age groups.  As the title suggest, this session by Gavin MacLeod involves a number of drills through which one can coach the creating of goal-scoring opportunities.

More Important Than Talent
The more that I read and talk to people about the development of players, the more convinced I become of the need of mental strength as much talent.  This article reflects that view.  Far too many athletes have ability but are unable to make the sacrifices that are needed in order to ensure that their potential is maximised.

La Liga Power Balance Shifts: Has Barcelona Lost Its Soul? 
On the pages of Blueprint for Football there is a lot of talk on establishing a philosophy of how you want to play.  Typically, when people hear that phrase they immediately think about Barcelona and how they managed to achieve phenomenal success with a team largely made up of home grown players along with a unique way of playing.

That image, however, isn’t in synch with what close followers of the club are seeing at the moment.  With the core of the dominant team growing older and a desire to look outside of the club to get new players – with limited success - there is a distinct feeling that its philosophy needs revisiting.

Managing the Welfare of the Elite Athlete 
Close observers of this weekly digest will notice that every week I try to include at least one article from another sport.  This time round it is something from British cycling – a sport whose success has given me (and many others) so much food for thought – and in particular from Sir Dave Brailsford.  This fairly lengthy piece provides an overview of the core elements that resulted in the sports’ success and strengthens the belief that success isn’t down to one thing but a combination of factors.