Tactics and Strategy with Hammerheads Coach Briggs
July 27, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Wilmington Hammerheads FC News Release
Tactics and Strategy with Hammerheads Coach Briggs ggs/ Jul 27th 2016, 17:43
Tactics and Strategy with Hammerheads Coach Briggs When you're watching a soccer match, oftentimes the play moves so quickly that it's easy to assume most of what you're seeing is simply players reacting to the game without much thought. However, the players themselves are only part of the story. Everything else, from the formation, to the movement off the ball, to how quickly teams transition from defense to attack, is the result of careful planning by the coaching staff. In the world of professional soccer, each team has their own strategy and their own unique style of play. Some teams try to slow the game down and work patiently for an opening in the defense, while others rely on high-tempo passing and movement to wear down their opponents. In this blog post, we had a chat with Coach Briggs about the tactics he's been using as coach of the Hammerheads.
Sam: How would you describe the style of play you've implemented with the club?
Coach Briggs: I think it's a high-energy style of play. It takes a lot of work rate, a lot of fitness, and a lot of effort, both when we have the ball and when we are fighting to gain control. It's about working hard and putting pressure on the opposing team when we don't have the ball. Then when we do have control I want the ball on the ground and I want us to play quickly, play two touch, and play in-between the lines. It's even harder work when we have the ball creating a high tempo, passing style, and when we don't have the ball it's high-tempo work rate to gain it back.
S: What formations do you prefer?
CB: Throughout the whole season we've gone with a 4-3-3. At home we play with one holding midfielder and two attacking midfielders, and then when we go on the road that becomes a 4-2-3-1, but the only difference in that is the two central players. Instead of having two central players high we have two central players a little bit deeper and one attacking player.
S: Since you've been at the club, have you been tailoring your strategy to the players you have, or altering your lineup to fit a certain style of play?
CB: I think you bring a squad together to fit the style of play, and the formation that you want to play. When players join the squad you sometimes have to adapt and readjust; which we've had to. Unfortunately for us, our lineups change throughout the season due to injuries, performance, and a number of things. I haven't been able to play what I would perceive to be my strongest team week in and week out; which is always a work in progress.
S: How often do you change formations/tactics mid-game? CB: Quite a few times this year we've gone from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2; especially towards the latter end of the game. If we're in need of a goal or in need of shaking things up a little bit, I've been known to put on two forwards to put pressure on our opponents back line and transition to a flat four in the middle and a flat four at the back just to give us a little bit more going forward.
S: Do you ever alter your tactics to take advantage of one or two players that are in good form?
CB: I think you have to have a strategy for every game. We do a scout and pick out weaknesses on the opposing team for each game. We figure out how we can exploit them to our advantage. Sometimes there are certain individuals on opposing teams that we think we can take advantage of, but I'm sure when opposing teams do a scout on us, there are individuals on our team that they think are weak links. It's a part of the game and you have to use every advantage that you can get.
S: How much have your tactics changed since you began coaching?
CB: I think you evolve as a coach. The game evolves and you have to evolve with it. You have to move with the times and you have to move with the game, and I think, yes, I've changed and I'm learning every single day. I'm not naî=AFve, and this is my first head coaching position, so I'm going to learn, I'll be a different coach from when I started at the start of the season, to the end of the season, but hopefully I'll be a better coach than I was when I started.
S: How important do you consider dominating possession to winning a match? CB: We're a possession based team, but we're a possession-based team that, like I said before, plays at a high tempo and plays between lines. I think people get caught between being a possession-based team and just keeping the ball, going backwards constantly, playing sideways all the time, and that's a difference that I don't want my team to be. I want to be a possession based team, but when it's time to go forward we can't keep possession in their half.
S: So, in general, do you prefer direct, fast build up play?
CB: I wouldn't say direct, what I'm trying to say is possession going forward doesn't mean you're being direct, going forward you can still keep possession in the attacking half rather than keeping possession in your own half. If you keep possession in your own half and you make a mistake, you lose the ball and the opposing team is closer to our goal. If you keep possession in the attacking half and you lose the ball, you've got 50, 60, 70, 80 yards to recover back into your shape and it's a lot more difficult to concede.
S: Are there any sectors of the team (defense/midfield/attack) that you consider especially important to dominating a match? CB: I wouldn't say there's a specific area of the field that needs to dominate the game. You need good performances from 1 to 11, you need to be individually better than the person you're playing against, and you need to be collectively stronger than the group you're playing against. So there are individual battles, group battles with defenders against forwards, and midfielders against midfielders. There are a lot of things that go into that, but obviously in order to win games you have to have 8 or 9 players better than the opposing team.
S: How much freedom do you give your players to roam from their positions?
CB: They're in a position for a reason. There is freedom when you're in the right areas of the field, but I want us to move the ball quickly and get into attacking areas.
S: How do you prefer to break down a team that's playing lots of men deep trying to defend?
CB: I think that when you get teams that just sit in, which a lot of teams in our league do, the speed of play is the most important thing. Because if you pass the ball slow and you pass the ball in front of teams, it's easy for those teams that sit in their shape to just react and slide; whereas if you move the ball quickly and move the ball forward, they have to readjust and readapt. Breaking their lines and certain areas of their shape, are critical. S: On the flip side, how do prefer to stop a team that's playing an attacking style trying to score? CB: We like to press high and I think for those teams that are good going forward, holding a high position will eliminate some of their threats. Moving forward with your own attacking and your own defending, that's how we like to play. The last few games haven't worked out quite like we wanted, but we've got to get back to basics, and that's my style and that's what we'll be working on over the next few weeks until the end of the season. Overview At home, the Hammerheads tend to play in a 4-3-3 formation, meaning they play four defenders, three midfielders, and three attackers. Two of the midfielders play in a more advanced role while one stays further back to support the defense. This formation often uses attacking runs from the wide defenders to help move the ball up the field, drawing opposing defenders off of their man and leaving space for the attacking midfielders to get open.
For away games, Coach Briggs switches to a slightly less attacking formation, the 4-2-3-1, in which there are two holding midfielders instead of just one, and the wingers play a little further back. This is one of the most popular formations in professional soccer these days, with European teams such as Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City using it to great effect.
Finally, in the middle of a game when the Hammerheads need to grab a goal, Coach Briggs will often switch to a 4-4-2 with two strikers up top to put the pressure on the opposing defense. A traditional and very balanced formation, the 4-4-2 often works best when players stick to their positions and keep the shape of the team structured, with each phase of play (attack/midfield/defense) being clearly defined.
• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...
United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 27, 2016
- Tactics and Strategy with Hammerheads Coach Briggs - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
- USL Discipline Report: Week 18 - USL
- New Territory as Wilmington Hosts Pittsburgh Saturday - Wilmington Hammerheads FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
