A coach watches a different game to a fan or journalist

A coach watches a different game to a fan or journalist

Journalists (who are professional writers, not football experts) and fans watch a football game by focussing directly on the on-ball action, while a coach, if in coaching mode, will watch a variety of different aspects.

When watching the game in coaching mode, you don't follow the ball, you are watching player reaction, you are watching relationships between players, you are watching body language, you are looking to get into the head of a player, clues to his mentality.

You look for patterns, tendencies, like Andros Townsend or Benoit Assou-Ekotto back-heeling the ball behind their other leg. Was it against Newcastle we saw Townsend do that on the half-way line with no defensive cover behind him?

It's mental decision making like this that you look at. While a fan will see a sideways pass, a coach will look at what the consequences of what that sideways pass might be. In other words, a coach is looking at what options the receiver has. A pass that gives the receiver few options, isn't usually a good pass, particularly if you are playing it towards a player on the touchline. Often it is a pass for the sake of it.


Alternatively, you'll watch a game with a specific objective or specific objectives in mind. Danny Rose in his early days as a full-back is a case in point. Five years ago I used to watch every game, first as a fan and then a repeat of it as a coach, through coaches eyes.

It was clear a major part of the problem was not Danny Rose himself, but the players in front of him not doing their defensive duties. Christian Eriksen had to learn this aspect and add it to his game. Cover in front helped to transform Danny Rose's game.

Fans watch a game and are emotionally involved, they then form opinions based on those emotions. A coach will look at the game again, dispassionately, analytically. A fan doesn't look for missed pressing opportunities or who aren't making the off the ball runs simply to create space and pull defenders for someone else to exploit.

A fan doesn't stop a game to analyse where everyone is and why or what the players options are. A coach does.

A fan sees a player make a mistake, but a coach looks for where the mistake originated. What sequence of events caused it.

They will then remedy the root cause so the mistake doesn't arise again. If you simply rectify the mistake with out the root cause it will occur again and again, particularly under pressure.

Fans were asking why Lucas Moura was not playing more last season, but Pochettino had identified his defensive game wasn't good enough. He had to work on that so he could offer a more complete game,as we saw last night.

His closing down was in a different league to what it was when he arrived and 95% of the game is off the ball.

COYS

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