Looking for hope and Defending as a Unit

Today Liverpool pursuit Stoke 22 to 4, and lost 1-0.what bitter solace can we Liverpool fans take from this sand what concerns should our opponents have?

Cast your mind back, when was the last time Liverpool had 22 goal attempts in a game, regardless of the result, and without Steven Gerrard. Last year, and the year before there was no way possible for Liverpool to do this when they were down a goal. Heads would have gone down, they would have defended in depth, and attempted goals only on the counter attack.

Today they did it differently, at the Brittania Stadium, against the largest and one of the best defensive teams in the league. The didn't score , but maybe a different call in the box at either end,or a little more patience over tha ball, and it is 1-1 or maybe even a win. They were playing like a team, not afraid to attack

So a loss is a loss is a loss, but the next big challenge is Tottenham, and our defense cannot get split like poor old Wolves did yesterday. They cannot get turned, and they must defend as a unit. So how do we prepare?

DEFENDING AS A UNIT


This is a relatively straight forward training exercise using three defenders and 5 attackers, each group with restrictions.

The first image shows the set up.

Player 1 plays the ball into #3 or #2, and remains in a support position, and cannot go past the edge of the circle. #2 and #3 can only play within the orange zone.. Players  4 and 5 can only play in the outside "channels" outside the orange lines. Red 8,9 and 10 must defend as a unit. 11 is in nets. In fig.1 8 should move towards #3 and 9 and 10 should support #8  on an angle, as in Fig.2 below.

As the drill progresses, the ball should get to the wings, as shown in Fig 3 and Fig 4 (by way of a cross), and the defenders adjust in response to the location of the ball acccordingly.

Fig3.

Here player 8 pushes out to number 4, without crossing the line, and 9 and 10 provide cover and balance  in case the pass goes across.

Fig. 4

Here blue has switched the field and 8,9, and 10 push across, so 10 can pressure #5, with 8 and 9 providing cover and balance.

The key elements are discipline by the defenders, communication by the defenders, and shape of the defenders. Be patient and direct with the players interrupt, re-position players, change body shape (for example the "cover" should be in a diagonal line off of the pressure player). This will take several go throughs before they get the hang of it, but when they do it will become very frustrating for the attackers. 

Make sure that the defenders communicate loudly and clearly as it will make their jobs a lot easier. Praise effective communication. Also make sure to re-inforce the issue of body position of all three defenders so as to maximize their ability to view all attackers (don't block yourself out, don't be too square to the ball, don't get turned etc) and to provide maximum cover to the net.

Walk On 

Hal White