Tony Colbert: Arsène Wenger, Technical Development & the Modern Player
There is a growing emphasis in modern coaching on decision-making, game understanding and creating realistic training environments, but are we sometimes overlooking the technical ability players need to actually execute those decisions? In the latest Modern Soccer Coach Podcast, Tony Colbert challenges coaches to reconsider that balance. Having spent 20 years working alongside Arsène Wenger at Arsenal and now working as a freelance consultant (FIFA technical expert), Tony believes players can recognize the right solution but still be restricted by their technical limitations. “They’re very proficient at understanding and decision-making, but they haven’t always got the equipment to do it.”
Central to the conversation is Tony’s approach to technical activation and the value of purposeful repetition. During his time at Arsenal, players would spend around 15 minutes at the beginning of training working with the ball from Monday to Thursday, which Tony estimates provided each player with approximately 20,000 additional purposeful contacts over the course of a year. Rather than viewing technical repetition and decision-making as competing ideas, Tony sees one as helping unlock the other: “There’s no decision-making per se, but it’s leading onto the decision-making process because you’re getting reliable mechanical technique to enable that decision-making process.”
The discussion also explores two-footedness, scanning, first touch, playing forward and whether young players are getting enough opportunities to develop areas of their game that do not come naturally. Tony argues that technical limitations can ultimately reduce the solutions available to a player, particularly when they are uncomfortable receiving or playing on one side. “The modern player will need two feet. The ball needs to be their friend. They need to be able to receive it anywhere on the pitch and use it anywhere on the pitch.” It is a fascinating discussion about finding the balance between developing intelligent decision-makers and ensuring they have the technical tools to execute what they see.
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