Pre-season gives managers an opportunity to instil the tactical blueprint they want their team to use during the forthcoming season.
That may be a refinement comprising subtle changes to what was used in the last campaign, or could be a complete overhaul of what the team was doing previously, especially if a new boss has taken charge.
Managers, coaching staff and analysts design a series of training drills designed to teach players how to play in a particular system, and then aim to test it in different scenarios.
An example of teaching players a new three-at-the-back system would be to set up small-sided games, in which the three central defenders’ job is to be always out-of-possession against a small collection of attackers trying to play through them. The goal is for the three defenders to understand how to move in unison, in order to simultaneously block the path to goal, keep the offside line level, and cover space adequately by shifting side-to-side at the right time.
Testing the tactical system which has been taught to players can include things like asking a team made up of reserve and youth players to behave in a certain way. This could be forming a low-block 5-4-1 shape to mimic a hyper-defensive side the team could potentially come up against at some point during the season, and instructing them to find a way through it using the new system.
The exact nature of the drills performed depends on the preferences of the coaching staff, and is combined with seminar-style teaching in meetings which incorporate video and data analysis.
