Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/193056
27 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2013 OPINION Cage rules children here is frowned upon. That system is used here and taken up all the way to five a side to adult training. In a five a side here there are simply no outs and it once more promotes continual play. Pitches in Malta are seen with nets hanging from the top to keep the ball from being cannoned out of the pitch, while in the UK that is not even a worry. The ball never leaves the ground as a 'tiki taka' style of play is promoted throughout the game, with the occasional calculated lob being threaded through once in a while. Lower goal posts ensure that no shot is blasted sky wards, meaning players can increase their accuracy and pass the balls into the bottom corners to beat the keeper, who instead of jumping ability focuses on those long stretches and low dives needed to scoop low to make the save. With no one allowed in the D zone but the goalkeeper, players must really focus on those crucial bottom corners and this system allows for lethal finishers to develop from a very young age. These simple changes make players in England far more effective than ours back home and I am quite impressed by the simple standards the British have set in the five a side levels. Many games I played in Malta have a similar pattern. One player upfield as a lone striker and defenders hitting long balls to him hoping to score a goal. This long ball myth does not work and I feel players loft the ball upfield Mark Strijbosch WALKING through a park in Liverpool I saw what I believed was the most effective game at a park for little kids. A tiny circular pitch, with low rails as a perimeter and small goals on either side. Kids as little as four can enter through a small gate and have a kick about, without ever losing their ball. They can experience the joy of scoring goals and can play two a side games. The only way the ball is lost is when a kid lobs it high in the air, meaning a lesson learnt: keep that ball down, focus on the killer pass and low finish. Those are the basics drilled in at youth level here, and it starts from the very early years. With the rail system there are no outs for these little ones, meaning no time is wasted and continual play is being promoted throughout. These little pens are springing up in most of the local Liverpool parks and each is being used effectively while parents can relax and watch from a distance. This way the kid is teaching himself or herself how to play through experimentation without having to waste time chasing balls around a huge park. Sadly the pen pitch I came across was being used, and photographing to release responsibility. It takes much more concentration and effort to make those small short passes rather than just booting it upfield and hoping for the best. Playing to your feet is far easier to control and players in the UK are expert at that vital first touch to control it, and beat the opponent in one move. Players in Malta seem to be stuck in this mentality of getting the ball as far away as possible as they might feel they need to move it as far away as their goal as they can. The changes seen are very basic yet effective and if they can be brought on from a youth level they can go a long way. Our MFA needs to focus on this style of play as even in training it will prove to be more fun as it requires a whole team approach from all the players. Everyone needs to get involved as passing and moving effects the whole team. Looking at Barcelona, Arsenal and Bayern Munich you can see that passing is the heart of their tactic and that is highly effective due to the fact that every player can place a 10 yard pass without batting an eye lid. Football is a simple game to these giants with training exercises mapped out to reflect it. Short pass, quick movement, short pass, quick movement. And again, and again. By the time you hit three sequences you already end up half way up the pitch with three or four players surrounding you. The long ball system asks you to abandon your striker forcing him to act alone against three or four defenders. These simple changes need to be applied to our grass roots as well as our five a side games against our friends. I urge people to try it out and see just how much fitness they have gained after just one game due to the running required and see just how many more goals were scored. It's more fun and motivating this way, so go on, give it a go. Pursuits Across 9. Tending to have accidents (8-5) 10. Permit (3) 11. Pertaining to the stars (7) 12. Christmas (4) 13. Of the highest quality (4) 15. Simple seat (5) 17. Ascertain dimensions (7) 19. Musical drama (5) 21. Doze (3) 23. Small nails (5) 24. Of no use (7) 25. Palpitate (5) 27. Goes to law (4) 28. Investigate (4) 30. Outlaws (7) 32. Chopping tool (3) 33. Specialist in mathematics (13) Sudoku Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday Last week's solution Chess Today's Weather 8 8 WEATHER: Rather cloudy with the possibility of some light rain VISIBILITY: Good WIND: 7 Southwest force 2 to 3 at first, becoming Northwest force 4 to 5 increasing to force 6 to 7 Slight to moderate becoming rough 6 7 5 6 4 3 5 2 1 4 A 3 2 1 A B C D E F G H White to play and mate in four moves B C Qb4 d4+ Kd2 Nd8 Qxd4 Nb7 Qd7# D E F G H CLOUDY 26ºC / 21ºC UV INDEX: 5 SEA: SWELL: Low Southeast SEA TEMP: 25 °C Down 1. Not subject to taxation (3-6) 2. Capital of Ghana (5) 3. Probability (4) 4. Hans Christian (8) 5. Ancient Greek god (6) 6. Entrance (4) 7. Gazebo (9) 8. Eight singers (5) 14. Rupture (5) 16. Person who prefers to be alone (5) 18. Chief enemy (9) 20. 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