U-15 Age Pure Predictions/Results

I hear the term possession soccer all the time and every coach out there will tell you they play possession soccer. Of course they do, that's the point. It's hard to score if you don't have possession.

Soccer styles are wrapped around formations, shapes, movement, passing and finishing. Possession is the point not a style of play.

finish1 wrote:I hear the term possession soccer all the time and every coach out there will tell you they play possession soccer. Of course they do, that's the point. It's hard to score if you don't have possession.

As a Liverpool fan, I will tell you that Burnley might disagree with that assessment.   Sometimes its hard to score if you have possession and the other team is just sitting back in two narrow banks of 4 waiting to counter.  

But whatever, Odyssey's 02 team almost exclusively practices short ground passes and getting the ball to whomever is open in 2 touches or less, be that forward, backwards, or sideways.   Basically that is it.   Finishing or winning or formation or other aspects of soccer rarely comes up.   I think its probably different than most other teams this age.  I don't know if its "better" but I would guess its different.  That all said, what happens in a game might be something else entirely on occasion.   To quote the great sage Tyson, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Cheers

I think most people consider possession as a style of play. Just as direct is a style of play.

Not sure there is an accurate definition of either but to me possession style requires patient possession of the ball with multiple passes (e.g. greater than 5) to create a scoring chances.

Whereas a direct style would be direct passes and hopeful balls forward into the final third that create scoring chances within just a few passes (e.g. 5 or less).

I think most people would agree that last season Arsenal played a possession style, while Leicester City played a direct style.

Possession SHOULD BE the point, but that's not the case with every team... That is the problem IMO; winning any way you can is accepted here... Hard to watch, but it is like a virus in such a competitive environment...

Possession is measured in games as a percentage of time a team keeps the ball. I agree with 13 in that direct is definitely a style of play. And like you said Davito, Leicester is the Champions of England with their direct style of play.

The Brazilians and Europeans are famous for giving their style of play nicknames. But never do they call it possession.

Er......

"Louis van Gaal is schooled in belief possession football is the ultimate aim"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3403012/Manchester-United-dominate-possession-without-creating-chances-keeping-ball-just-isn-t-days.html

I beg to differ....

hanallalone wrote:Possession SHOULD BE the point, but that's not the case with every team...  That is the problem IMO; winning any way you can is accepted here... Hard to watch, but it is like a virus in such a competitive environment...  

Not necessarily. Watching teams employ different styles is part of what makes sports interesting. Saying possession is the right way is like saying AM football should not run the ball but only air it out. No more baseline tennis players, only serve volley is desirable. Shaq was a disgrace and only Steph Curry deserves to be in the BBall hall of fame.

Young players need to come up against all the different styles and systems if they are going to learn the game inside out. Learning how to cope against a physical long ball team is just as important as learning how to win the ball back from a possession team or how to break down the counter attacking team who parked the bus.

Equally I think young players are well served to learn how to play these different styles. Learning how to park the bus in two disciplined banks of four and launch incisive counters might come in handy one day.

But you do hit on a valid point that it takes more skill to play a possession game and too many youth teams resort to kick and rush around here in search of the 3 points. If that is all the kids learn they are not getting a good soccer education.

To clarify, what I was saying is that many teams have 1 or 2 players that they Hodor the ball to by any means possible, and that is not teaching them the game...  Is it important to have the ability to send a nice through ball and allow your horse to run?  YES!  Should every team be able to spread out and bang it around? YES!  Considering we were talking about ODY being a possession team, I will end on this note:. Paddy coaches possession very well, and the players who do not play his style quickly find themselves performing the much easier task of keeping the bench from being stolen...

I give up; autocorrect thinks Hodor is Hodor? I edit, but it reverts back... UGH!!!

IT DID IT AGAIN... SOMEBODY TRY TO TYPE THE WORD F-O-R-C-E and see what happens...

Anybody have any scores from today's D1 games? Any comments on what you saw...if you watched any of the games? I had to work so I missed everything : (

Stricker looks like they are in it to win it with a win today against a strong DT South team.

Odyssey turned it on in the 2nd half  for a win against Real GP.

FC Dallas won against a Castro team that has a lot of potential, but has been struggling to get a win so far.

Trevino got the win with a bunch of scoring headers in a physical game against Cruz Azul.

Hunt had an unexpected loss to Andromeda who appears to be working hard to make us all believers.

Still SO early, but there are some intriguing scores from week to week... How much of this is "it's still early", and how much is an actual trend gaining steam? It makes it exciting when the opponent is an unknown, unpredictable entity trying to see what they're capable of as well... None of these teams are playing their best soccer right now, so I can't wait to see them play a month from now... Lots of potential outcomes... Who will figure it out; I would love to see some predictions now that we have all played a few games! Well, hopefully we get a schedule posted soon so one can speculate further...

Any idea when the schedule will be posted???

ANDRO 1-0 FCD
TEXANS 3-1 LP Hunt

"Hunt had an unexpected loss to Andromeda who appears to be working hard to make us all believers."

PLF, are you a believer yet? Must've been a good game.

Back & forth we go.  No hang over for DTS after their loss to Stricker.  Nice bounce back against LP Hunt, 3-1 win.  I haven't watched LP Hunt play, anybody got a read on them?
Ando with a close win over a hot FCD Premier team.  That's 2 in a row since their 1-0 loss to Odyssey.  Still trying to get out to watch Andro.  What's up with them?  I've heard they're physical.
1 of the 4 remaining winless teams could get a win tomorrow as Cruz Azul plays Real GP.  Well I guess they could end in a tie.  Cruz Azul has only played 1 game so we really don't know what they're about.  In defense of Real GP, I have a feeling when we get to the half way mark we'll discover this is a much better team than it appears.  Their introduction to D1 hasn't been kind having to face Stricker & Odyssey early but the experience could prove valuable going forward.  Everyone have a safe break.  See you all in 2 weeks.

Andro VERY physical, borderline dangerous vs Odyssey... Cruz Azul's self assessment is that they are out of shape, so that team could get rolling again (I haven't seen them, so clearly speculation)... As for your Real GP team, hang in there... You guys have a good group that has been thrown into the hottest part of the fire right off the bat... It will get better (like you said)... Considering you guys are the only ones to play Odyssey and Solar Red, how would you compare our squads/styles??? I haven't seen Stricker play, but they look intimidating in stature... Could you give an assessment of these 2?

Andro had a lot of fouls (called) in our game.   I quit counting after 20.   This is all with the coach screaming "keep knocking them down" across the field.    They seemed like a pretty solid team.

It was an ugly game of boot and run and kickball soccer between Andro and FCDP but Andro kicked it in the goal in the second half and earned a win and that is all.

FCDP played Andro who is very physical and who really kept that physical intensity and pressure on the entire game (Physical the legal way). We had a dual yellow card from frayed tempers between two opposing players and even a red card at the end of the game so you can imagine the tone of the game.

As for believing, I would say "Yes" this team is going to have a shot at the top 5 because they are playing the same physical brand of kickball/Boot and Run that this year is going to offer. As for Kickball or Boot and Run I have no real issue with it in D1 since the goal Here is to SCORE goals and Andro did just that against an FCDP team that made them fight for every minute of possession.

Andro should be proud of their win and I expect that FCDP will make some adjustments before their next Andro game to address their shortcomings yesterday.  It's not the end of the world for FCDP, but it is a feather in Andro's cap.

*Disclaimer: Boot and Run is not Kickball (Kickball is just boot and clear)

Love the assessments & the respect shown for the opinions.  Last year the blog was too quiet so I'm hoping we can keep the fun going all year Incidentally I'm not part of Real GP.  I was just giving my own assessment from hearing about both games, knowing they can't be too bad after winning D2 last season & understanding that they faced what could possibly be the 2 of the top 4 teams in D1.  I'm just a parent & not a soccer expert so I don't know the different styles of play.  I can say Solar looks to have the size advantage for what that's worth on a soccer field.  It may come down to defense.  Both teams can score.  Solar is up the field in your face all the time so ODY may have to deal with a lot of shots.  ODY seems to hold the ball until they get the shots they want.  So how the Solar defense deals with the few shots ODY will take should be interesting.  Both teams appear to be pretty good & since this match up won't happen until much later this season we have plenty of time to give our $.02

Gator Chick wrote:Love the assessments & the respect shown for the opinions.  Last year the blog was too quiet so I'm hoping we can keep the fun going all year Incidentally I'm not part of Real GP.  I was just giving my own assessment from hearing about both games, knowing they can't be too bad after winning D2 last season & understanding that they faced what could possibly be the 2 of the top 4 teams in D1.  I'm just a parent & not a soccer expert so I don't know the different styles of play.  I can say Solar looks to have the size advantage for what that's worth on a soccer field.  It may come down to defense.  Both teams can score.  Solar is up the field in your face all the time so ODY may have to deal with a lot of shots.  ODY seems to hold the ball until they get the shots they want.  So how the Solar defense deals with the few shots ODY will take should be interesting.  Both teams appear to be pretty good & since this match up won't happen until much later this season we have plenty of time to give our $.02

i always love the "size" debate. ALL THINGS BEING EQAUL it can be huge. some on this forum are to quick to dismiss size. just as they do with a big, fast, strong player lol. the best analogy i can think of is; take a messi or ranaldo. i would imagine the % foot 6 inch version of either would "whoop up" on their 4 foot 6 inch version of self

Size is better spoken as Height, Strength, Stamina, and Speed.

Size in that respect is a big factor this year and can help overcome a more skilled team as long as your size enables you to push the opposing side off the ball.

Boot and run is the great equalizer because you create more scoring opportunities as long as the player making the run has the skill to bring the ball under control or run through it.

Possession gives you the easiest goals since you have more ability to combine your attack and if done well it leaves the goalkeeper entirely out of the play.

There are two distinctly different trains of thought going on in the newly-formed AP U-15 bracket: One is to keep your core group of players and add a few pieces that complement them, but you remain young in the process... The other is to put a completely new team together with the older kids, placing emphasis on size, strength and speed... Both seem to be working for the time being, but in a year or so I believe that the teams who stuck together will reap the benefits... There is something to be said for riding out the storm with your friends, especially when the challenge will make you stronger in the long run...

davito wrote:Er......

"Louis van Gaal is schooled in belief possession football is the ultimate aim"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3403012/Manchester-United-dominate-possession-without-creating-chances-keeping-ball-just-isn-t-days.html

I beg to differ....

Yes, and here is the whole quote:

"Van Gaal’s beliefs are all about possession football. It is almost seen as the ultimate aim because, without the ball, you cannot score."

NYX is famous for the direct style of play where the defense kicks it up to a big fast forward who can outrun defenses.

I prefer a style of play where the attack build from the back and goes through the middle, then uses one touch/two touch passing in the attacking third to the box with shape around the ball and movement off the ball.

One gets results today and the other takes years to perfect. And yes, dominating possession is the aim.

30% possession worked out okay for Leicester City last year . . . but yeah it's good to have the ball.

finish1 wrote:

davito wrote:Er......

"Louis van Gaal is schooled in belief possession football is the ultimate aim"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3403012/Manchester-United-dominate-possession-without-creating-chances-keeping-ball-just-isn-t-days.html

I beg to differ....

Yes, and here is the whole quote:

"Van Gaal’s beliefs are all about possession football. It is almost seen as the ultimate aim because, without the ball, you cannot score."

NYX is famous for the direct style of play where the defense kicks it up to a big fast forward who can outrun defenses.

I prefer a style of play where the attack build from the back and goes through the middle, then uses one touch/two touch passing in the attacking third to the box with shape around the ball and movement off the ball.

One gets results today and the other takes years to perfect. And yes, dominating possession is the aim.