Pressing Matters https://pressingmattersfootball.com/ How British teams build, press and defend, broken down with diagrams anyone can follow. For UK football fans and grassroots coaches. en-gb Sun, 01 Nov 2026 07:30:00 GMT Pressing triggers explained: the cues that tell a team when to jump https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/pressing-triggers-explained/ https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/pressing-triggers-explained/ Sun, 01 Nov 2026 07:30:00 GMT Pressing Callum Rees A press only works when everyone goes at once. These are the cues that tell a team when to jump, and how the first presser, second presser and cover should move. Building out from the back: why teams play short, and when to go long https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/building-out-from-the-back/ https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/building-out-from-the-back/ Thu, 29 Oct 2026 06:45:00 GMT Build-up play Callum Rees Why so many teams now play short from the goalkeeper, the shapes they use to do it, and how to tell when a long ball is the smarter choice against a high press. How teams defend corners: zonal, man-to-man and hybrid explained https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/how-teams-defend-corners/ https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/how-teams-defend-corners/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT Set pieces Niamh Doherty Zonal, man-to-man or a mix of both? Who stands where at a corner, why the near post matters, and what each system is weak against, from pros to Sunday league. The back three explained: 3-4-3, 3-5-2 and the wing-backs that make it work https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/back-three-explained/ https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/back-three-explained/ Sun, 25 Oct 2026 08:30:00 GMT Formations Ade Okafor How a back three really works: what wing-backs do, how 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 change shape with and without the ball, and why it can suit Sunday-league sides, or not. Reading a match through its numbers: xG, field tilt and PPDA https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/reading-a-match-through-its-numbers/ https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/reading-a-match-through-its-numbers/ Thu, 22 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT Match breakdowns Niamh Doherty Three numbers that tell you more than the scoreline: expected goals, field tilt and PPDA. What each one measures, how to read them together, and where they fall short. A rondo session plan for teaching pressing to under-12s to under-14s https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/rondo-session-plan-for-pressing/ https://pressingmattersfootball.com/guides/rondo-session-plan-for-pressing/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:15:00 GMT Coaching Callum Rees A complete 75-minute session for grassroots coaches that uses rondos to teach young players how to press together, and how to keep the ball when they are pressed.