Candidates on The FA’s UEFA Pro Licence course have joined Gareth Southgate’s England U21 squad at the UEFA European U21 Championships as part of their ongoing coaching study.
The group, which is made up of 24 coaches including former internationals Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Phil Neville and Scott Parker, will complete a performance module whilst in the Czech Republic with a focus on analysing six live matches in Group A plus England’s Group B match against Sweden.
The candidates will be tasked to analyse patterns of play, evaluate strengths and weaknesses of potential opposition, and to present their findings in a series of presentation tasks.
The FA's UEFA Pro Licence candidates take in a game at the European U21 Championships in the Czech Republic
“This is a great opportunity for the candidates to practice using live animation tools as well as delivering video feedback to a group,” explains Laura Seth, one of England’s performance analysts who will be supporting the candidates throughout the duration of the trip.
“There are three main areas we are focusing on. One is around the study of a particular team in which they will observe one team and do some live analysis in small groups.
“The second is around looking at players in which they are going to identify, based on the team, the specific systems and styles of play and look at the attributes of the individual players within those teams.
“And the third task is around the delivery of feedback and the ways we can do that. That might be a coach-led session or they may involve the players in the process, but they are going to have to identify what method of delivery they would use back in their clubs.”
Candidates in a group discussion during a classroom session
For Seth, the value of the trip is in equipping the candidates with multiple skills that are crucial for management in modern football, most notably the ability to observe games from a different perspective than that of their regular place on the touchline.
“When you are watching or analysing a game, depending on what your focus is, the way you see or interpret a game can be very different,” she said.
“We are challenging the coaches to see the benefits of being involved in this analytical process and the value of the additional information that they can glean from it as opposed to what they get from their viewpoint on the touchline.”
To support them during the live matches, candidates will use the latest sports analysis technology, which will enable them to break down the games into the detail needed to support their post-match presentations.
“Back in their clubs, some of the candidates will have a team of analysts whereas some will be in a position where they have to do the analysis themselves, so it is a good opportunity for them all to interact with the technology and get used to looking at games utilising these digital tools.
“We are using Sportstec iCoda, which is an app used widely in football that gives us the flexibility to design our analysis tool in a completely bespoke manner.
Candidates have access to the latest in sports analysis technology
“In the first task around the team analysis they can use the software to break the game into specific phases of play – build up play, attacking play, pressing, defending high, defending low, set pieces – and can then go and review each one in detail.”
Using this technology, however, is not the only support tool the candidates will learn to draw from. Another, Seth explains, is the experience of working with and maximising the effectiveness of a performance analysis team.
“In their clubs the analysts will almost need to be their second pair of eyes and bring things to the table that they might not have seen but would have if they had the time.
“And so while the candidates are going to be utilising technology live in the stadium, the experience is also around how they will work in their coaching teams.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and United States international goalkeeper, Brad Friedel, works with England performance analyst, Laura Seth
“Working with myself and Emily Angwin [Performance Analyst] as analysts, they will learn to maximise our skill-sets to benefit them and to support their presentation skills as well.”
The full list of UEFA Pro Licence candidates is as follows:
Andrew Edwards, Ian Woan, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Arnar Bill Gunnarsson, Stephen Torpey, David Connolly, Dino Maamria, Mark Sampson, Mark Warburton, Scott Parker, Neil Adams, Andrew Awford, Miguel D'Agostino, Gerald Peyton, David Flitcroft, Brad Friedel, John Achterberg, Philip Neville, Brian Borrows, Ben Garner, Allen Bula, Eamonn Dolan, Craig Shakespeare, Richard Beale
