Technical Coach said:
Good to see Foran showing the odd variation to his passing game with the show on the inside holding up the slide and inside defenders while also shifting the outside defenders focus on their inside before passing wide.
I mentioned in a recent post that Foran places too much emphasis on ball playing off his outside hip setting up the outside backs and lacking enough variations. Stepping back against the grain early and ball playing out in front he can show the ball either side not just drift left and ball playing with dummies, pumps and hold backs in the one direction.
Some people here think Foran is not a ball player i disagree--- he has just been overly focused on setting up our standard plays taking a safe relaxed approach.
Foran has all the show and goes, dummies, double pumps, hold backs, short and long passing game, face balls, under balls you will ever need just needs to incorporate this range in a variety of plays.
Was it mere coincidence that this play was displayed last week hmmm maybe TC is the great one after all.
The aim is to create a threat or threats that causes the opposition to commit, and then to use a play that exposes the opposition's commitment or error.
This requires:
a) a plan - where every player knows their role under the different scenarios
b) a major threat (attacking a perceived weakness, using a strike weapon)
c) secondary threats
d) drawing the opposition to commit to one of those threats - eg by acting with speed/intensity, by using dummies, by repetition of a play.
e) a playmaker (or playmakers) who is highly alert to the opposition's defensive commitments, and who is able to instinctively select the best alternative on the basis of the commitments and misreads.
The key threat is normally the prime focus and pressure is put onto the opposition to commit to that defence. But it is the plan B/C/D that will often bear the fruit against a tight defence. If players aren't in position to create the various threats then the playmaker loses potency. And if the playmaker cannot be in a highly relaxed, confident, focused and perceptual state then his ability to choose the right play is compromised.