Craig Pulling

Defending Corner Kicks: Analysis from the English Premier League

The aim of this study was to explore tactical behaviour when defending corner kicks within the English Premier League. Specifically, the types of marking and defensive players positioned at the goalposts were investigated. A total of 436 corner kicks from 50 English Premier League games were analysed. The most commonly used marking system was one-to-one marking (90.1% of total corners), with zonal marking being used less often (9.9% of total corners). There was no significant association between the marking set-up and the number of attempts at goal conceded when defending corner kicks (p>0.05). However, teams who applied zonal marking conceded fewer goals and fewer attempts at goal than teams who used one-to-one marking. The most common set-up for defenders positioned at the goalposts was having a defender positioned only on the far post (47.3% of total corners). There was no significant association between the positioning of defensive players at goalposts and the number of attempts at goal conceded when defending corner kicks. A further detailed analysis of defending corner kicks is still required and suggestions have been made for future studies.

Offloads in Rugby Union: Northern and Southern Hemisphere International Teams

The aim of this study was to explore the use of offloads by northern and southern hemisphere international teams within rugby union. A total of 491 offloads were analysed from 26 international rugby union matches. The matches that were analysed were sampled from four international series’: the 2012 Autumn International Series; the 2013 Autumn International Series; the 2013 Six Nations and the 2013 Rugby Championship. The northern hemisphere teams consisted of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The southern hemisphere teams consisted of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The southern hemisphere teams performed significantly more offloads during the 26 games compared to the northern hemisphere teams (U = 216.00, p = 0.02, r = -0.31). The southern hemisphere teams scored significantly more tries from the offloads performed compared to the northern hemisphere teams (U = 206.50, p = 0.01, r = -0.36) The findings suggest that southern hemisphere international teams are using the offload as an attacking strategy more effectively to score tries than northern hemisphere international teams. Future research into offloads should consider the tactics applied by the defensive team, the impact of environmental conditions and the channels of the pitch where offloads are performed.

Defending corner kicks in the English Premier League: near-post guard systems

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the use of near-post guard systems when defending corner kicks in the English Premier League during the 2015/2016 season. A total of 750 corner kicks from 79 English Premier League matches were analysed. There were a total of eight different near-post guard systems observed. Only six corner kicks (0.8%) were observed where there was no guard positioned in the near-post area when defending corner kicks. The one-one system only conceded one goal from 148 corner kicks (0.7%) observed, whereas the one-zero system conceded 8 goals from 159 corner kicks (5.0%) observed. However, when all attempts at goal were included, there was no significant association between the different near-post guard systems and the number of attempts at goal (p > 0.05). An important finding was that there were 236 defensive clearances performed by the guards from the 750 corner kicks that were analysed (31.5%), this suggests that these defensive players play an important role in preventing the attacking team from having an attempt at goal from a corner kick. Further research on corner kicks is still required and suggestions have been made for future investigations.

Football coaches’ perceptions of the introduction, delivery and evaluation of visual exploratory activity

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to examine how visual exploratory activity (VEA) is introduced, delivered, and evaluated by football coaches. Further, this study aimed to explore whether distinct groups of football coaches existed who differed in their approach to the delivery of VEA training and, if so, whether there were differences in the demographics of the coaches across these differentiated groups. The participants in the study consisted of 303 current football coaches who completed an online survey comprised of three sections and 12 items. Cluster analysis identified three clusters of coaches, which were distinguished by the extent to which they engaged in the delivery of VEA training: Low delivery of VEA training (n = 68), Moderate delivery of VEA training (n = 153) and High delivery of VEA training (n = 82). The High delivery of VEA training cluster were likely to provide more feedback/instruction on VEA; they designed an activity or part of a session to focus on VEA more often; and the percentage of sessions they would primarily focus on VEA was higher compared to the Moderate delivery of VEA training and Low delivery of VEA training clusters. It appears that a higher coaching qualification and experience (years coached and number of hours coached per week) leads to a positive attitude of coaching VEA. Future research regarding VEA should involve direct observations of coaching behaviour in relation to VEA, as well as interviewing the coaches on the delivery of VEA training. From a practical perspective, there is a need for further research to explore practice design and how this can be developed to enhance the use of VEA by performers. HighlightsFootball coaches engage in different amounts of VEA delivery.Higher coaching qualification and experience leads to increased coaching of VEA.Future research to explore practice design to enhance the use of VEA by performers.

Analysis of crossing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to analyse open play crosses in the FIFA 2014 soccer World Cup. A total of 1332 open play crosses were observed from all 64 games of the FIFA 2014 soccer World Cup. The dominant themes of analysis included delivery side, delivery type, defensive pressure, time of cross and delivery outcome. Chi-squared tests of association were utilised to examine the association between each variable (e.g. delivery type) and each outcome category (e.g. goal-scoring attempts). A total of 42 goals (3.2%) were scored from the 1332 open play crosses analysed. The zone of the outcome of the cross was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with all outcome categories. Delivery type and zone of the crosser were significantly associated with defensive outcomes and attacking outcomes (p < 0.05). Defensive pressure was significantly associated with goal-scoring attempts and attacking outcomes (p < 0.05). Pitch side of the delivery and time of the cross were not significantly associated (p > 0.05) with any of the outcome categories. Coaches should reflect on the variables presented and the impact they have on crossing outcomes.

Goal Format in Small-Sided Soccer Games: Technical Actions and Offensive Scenarios of Prepubescent Players

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the number of goal-posts and the positioning of goal-posts used within small-sided games on the frequency of technical actions and offensive scenarios performed by prepubescent players within soccer. The participants were eight male prepubescent soccer players (12.1 ± 0.5 years). The participants were video recorded for 20 min playing four different formats of 4v4 small-sided games: (1) standard two goal game; (2) four goal game, one goal in each corner; (3) two goal game with goal-posts positioned 9.14 m/10 yd infield, scoring only through the back of the goal; (4) four goal-game, one goal positioned 9.14 m/10 yd infield in each corner, scoring through either the front or back of each goal. Chi-squared tests of independence were utilized to statistically explore the impact of the different small-sided game formats. There were significant associations (p < 0.05) observed between the different small-sided game formats and the frequency of turns, dribbles, shots, goals and overlaps performed. For example, players performed more turns in small-sided game format two and more shots during small-sided game format four. It is suggested coaches should consider using a variation of the number and positioning of goal-posts in small-sided games as an effective training tool in the development of prepubescent soccer players. This will enable coaches to vary the focus of sessions, and develop specific technical and tactical actions within a situation similar to that of real match-play.

Centre Passes in the UK Netball Super League

The aim of this study was to analyse the direction of turn when players received a centre pass in netball and the subsequent possession sequence. A total of 500 centre passes were analysed from seven UK Netball Super League matches. Variables that were explored included: turning direction when receiving a centre pass; court areas in which centre passes were received; pass successfulness following a centre pass and the amount of passes following a centre pass that led to a shooting opportunity. There was no significant difference between the type of turn when receiving a centre pass and the success of the following pass (χ²2 = 1.469, p = 0.480). However, there were a number of significant differences between the types of turn used in different areas of the court when receiving the ball from a centre pass. This suggests that players are more likely to use a particular turn in certain areas of the court when receiving a centre pass. Future research should explore defensive tactics and the movement of the attacking players from centre passes.