What’s my role?
- In attack, the wing-backs stay flat in the build up, providing a passing option to play around in Block D & C
- As the ball moves into Block B, they invert, becoming midfielders who combine with the 6 and 8s to create triangles
- In Block A & B, you should get free in the halfspace and wide lane, where you can keep the ball moving, speed up the game and create poacher opportunities with killer passes, driven and halfspace crosses.
- In defence, you should fold in next to the centre-backs, keeping the team compact
- You should also be ready to press high by ‘jumping’ onto the opponent, and being ready to chase backwards passes
Players to watch
- Joao Cancelo
- Kyle Walker
- Ellie Carpenter
- Andy Robertson
in attack…
In attack, the wing-backs stay flat in the build up, providing a passing option to play around in Block D & C…
…being flat can help draw the opposition towards you, creating space for the centre-backs to attack space with the ball. Watch this in action below.
It also means we can play around if the opposition stay narrow to our wide strikers, who stay in the wide lane.
As the ball moves into Block B, you invert, becoming a midfielder. Here, you’ll combine with the 6 and 8s to create triangles. A great example of this is in the video below – watch Kyle Walker (the right-back) closely!
As we attack with the ball in Block A & B, your job now is to get free in the halfspace and wide lane, where you keep the ball moving and speed up the game…
…and create poacher opportunities with killer passes…
…driven crosses…
…and halfspace crosses.
in defence…
In defence, you should fold in next to the centre-backs, keeping the team compact…
…always looking to recover quickly with a change in pace to get back to your defensive position to protect the middle.
When pressing, your job is to be ready to ‘make the jump’ and press in wide areas on the opposition winger/wing-back.
Your job is to delay & stop them playing forward, as we see Robertson doing here.
If you get beaten, reverse press immediately to get behind the ball, like Trent does here.
But always thinking, like Robertson below – never take a backwards step!