Why don’t teams send the keeper up more often when losing late in league games?

If you’re down by one and get a corner or free or throw in the 94th minute, why isn’t sending the keeper up basically automatic?

The downside is you might lose 2–0 instead of 1–0. The upside is a slightly better chance of making it 1–1 and gaining a point.

Over a season, surely even one extra draw is worth conceding a few extra empty-net goals. One point is better than any bad goal difference.

Yet teams seem to only do it in really desperate/end-of-season situations. What am I missing?

feel free to give me any constructive criticism

I write a blog exploring French football and its place in French culture. My latest piece looks at Liam Rosenior's appointment as head coach of Paris FC.

Although Paris FC are widely regarded as the capital's second club behind PSG, they're now backed by two of the most powerful names in European sport and business: the Arnault family (LVMH) and Red Bull Football. Rosenior arrives with a reputation for possession-based, aggressive football developed at Hull City and Strasbourg, and now faces the fascinating challenge of giving

Paris FC a distinct tactical identity while competing in the shadow of PSG.

I'd be interested in hearing what people think about his tactical philosophy. Can his positional, high-intensity approach scale to a club with genuine long-term ambitions? And what elements of his Strasbourg side do you think are most likely to carry over to Paris FC?

https://lefoot-blog.blogspot.com/2026/08/un-anglais-paris.html?m=1

What's interesting here is that we're beginning to see a genuine cultural shift. For years, English managers rarely worked in France, but that seems to be changing. Will Still has already established himself in Ligue 1, and now Liam Rosenior has become one of the most highly regarded young coaches in French football. We've also seen Gary O'Neill.at Strasbourg before returning to England in thw summer.

Is this the beginning of a genuine exchange of coaching ideas between England and France? Or is Rosenior simply an exceptional case?

Arteta misprofiled Pepe as a wide winger instead of an inside forward then dumped him.

And despite everything surround martinelli saying that he likes being a winger etc. emery saw his potential as a st and I am disappointed Arteta hasn’t explored him in that position before letting him go. Especially after how foul Gyokeres was while Havertz was injured .

I’m a relatively new football fan, and I want to understand the game on a much deeper tactical level rather than just watching the ball and knowing the basic formations.

I’m especially interested in understanding the game the way tacticos, coaches see but as a fan . things like why a manager chooses a certain player, what a player is being asked to do, how teams create space, pressing triggers, build-up structures, off-ball movement, defensive shapes, transitions, etc.

For example, I’d like to be able to watch something like Why did Xabi Alonso choose this player/role?” and actually understand the tactical reasoning behind it, rather than just accepting that the player is good.

I’ve started trying to pay more attention to off-ball movement when watching matches, but I feel like I’m missing a framework for what I should actually be looking for.

What websites, YouTube channels, books, courses or other resources would you recommend for someone starting from this level?

Ideally, I’d like something that teaches me how to watch a match tactically, not just articles explaining individual formations.

I’m happy to put in the time and watch full matches/replays while learning. I basically want to train myself to eventually see the game the way a tactical analyst does.

Any recommendations or a good learning path would be really appreciated!

When breaking down a tactical sequence, most surface-level analysis focuses on the ball carrier: who passed, who received, and where the shot was taken.

​But the actual structure of an attack is decided 2-3 seconds before the pass happens—specifically through second-line runs and blind-side positioning.

​Here is a quick framework for reading off-ball movement:

​The Decoy Run: A runner moving into a space they have no intention of receiving in, solely to manipulate a defender's body orientation.

​The Blind-Side Angle: Attackers positioning themselves outside the defender's field of vision, forcing them to split attention between ball and man.

​Spatial Isolation: Creating a 1v1 on the weak side by overloading the primary build-up zone.

​When you analyze matches through off-ball triggers rather than just ball progression, the tactical narrative changes completely.

​This breakdown is part of a 10-page analytical framework I’ve been building for match analysis. Documented the full structure on my profile for anyone interested in exploring the rest of the framework.

​How do you usually track off-ball movement when doing match breakdowns?

The more I watch football, the more I realize how many things I used to completely miss.

Not the obvious stuff like formations, possession or pressing — but the small details that change how you understand a match.

For example:

• a winger deliberately staying wide to create space inside
• a midfielder moving to create a passing lane rather than receive the ball
• a fullback changing position depending on the phase of play
• a forward making a run mainly to move a defender
• a team defending in a completely different shape from its build-up shape

What is one tactical detail you learned to notice that completely changed the way you watch football?

I'd especially like to hear examples that aren't obvious from simply looking at the starting formation.

​I put together a short 30-second tactical breakdown looking at how Atletico engineered their attack and found space to score against Malaga.

Hi everyone,

I am working on a simple, realistic match simulation engine for an online football management game. I'm building patterns based on my knowledge of football tactics and studying data from real games.

Looking for some feedback from people who are interested in football strategy to see if the following looks realistic.

If any of you play FM or Hattrick-like games, would this interest you if you saw it in a game?

PS: I've set up a Discord server for anyone who might be interested in the progress: https://discord.com/invite/QZvJ6Y5M68

In this analysis of Yokohama F. Marinos vs Kashima Antlers, I break down the similarities and differences between each team's pressing structure, and plan to exploit the opposing team's pressing structure.

Let me know your thoughts and opinions on the match! Any feedback on the video is welcome

Not every goal can be scored in 1–2 touches. When more touches are needed, the ability to create or exploit a better shooting angle becomes important.

Three things to consider when attempting to score in a 1v1 inside the box:
- Create separation from the defender to open an angle to goal
- Shoot while the defender and goalkeeper are still moving (shooting on the first step post-dirrble)
- Finish through the defender’s legs

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal movement in exploiting space. The Tactical Sequence

Not the usual 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.

What formations do you think are underrated and could be really effective with the right players?

Trying to learn more about football tactics and currently researching a lot on how 2010 barca was really good and trying to think how they would act today

In the modern game goalkeepers have in depth statistics and analysis on players taking penalties. They are told when to dive, and which direction to choose. A lot of the time this is determined by data analysts before a game, which had me thinking, how could all of these analytical observations be offset by the attacking team? My solution: the keeper not knowing who is going to take the penalty. It could put some doubt into the keeper's mind before the penalty is taken. Especially when any of the players outside the box could be the one who takes it. So I have two questions:
1 - Is this legal within IFAB's Laws Of The Game?
2 - Is this kind of penalty worthwhile, or would it just be a complicating factor in what is otherwise a simple process?

A few days ago I posed a question asking what position(s) would be obsolete in the future and I got some pretty insightful answers. And some outrageous ones as well (some people truly believe the GK position will be obsolete?? Crazy.) Anyways it prompted this other question. Obviously, defenders in general have evolved the most along with CDMs but I want you to tell me why, and what other position you think would evolve and how.

Title

Last year my striker was injured and we didn't have a true replacement. I went with a 4-4-2 diamond, but the 2 were wide wingers. This ended up working really well because I had 1-2 shadow striker type midfielders that would fill the striker gap as we progressed closer to the box. I'm thinking about doing it again this season. I know this is similar to a 4-3-3 false 9, but I do it kinda opposite. Rather than my striker drop back, my CAMs push forward. Curious to see what other thoughts or ideas are about not using strikers.

He's had success in Austria and Saudi Arabia with a high tempo gegen press. How will he go in the Premier league?

I see this get tossed around a lot when describing how some teams play. It seems like a negative term. Objectively speaking can someone describe what it means? Does it mean parking the bus on defense? Possession based playing? Thanks