Gavin Murphy

there is a time on a coaches journey when they move from trying to control all aspects of practice, copy/pasting from sessions online, to embracing the random nature of the game to planning & delivering sessions that adhere to the context, this is where coaching really starts.

@tactica1thinker @ProAcademyDrill I always think of the psychologist to client ratio for most things like this; playing 80% explaining 20%, players talking 80% coach talking 20%..

@ProAcademyDrill Something I need to improve upon here! I can talk for England but I do realise I need to learn to speak less and observe more! However I don’t want to not give the information that player needs!? - if that makes sense? 👍⚽️ Resonates loads with me! 🔥👍⚽️

I’m a big believer in simple practice design. The more complicated the setup becomes… the more time players spend learning the practice rather than solving the game. Explaining rules. Organising positions. Resetting the drill. Before long the session becomes more about the activity than the football. Simple designs usually mean: quicker starts, more repetitions and more opportunities to coach within the game. But I’m curious about the other side of it. If we always keep practices simple do we risk players becoming too comfortable with the same structures? Where do you sit on this? Do you prefer simple practice designs or more detailed ones?

Teaching coaching to 16–19-year-olds on a football & basketball programme, it never stops surprising me how many coaching habits get repeated without question. 🏀: form shooting, players leading warm-ups, laps for missed shots. ⚽️: intentionless rondos, patterns with no realism.

Rui Faria: ‘In training, coaches must deliberately expose players to the specific positional tensions and functional demands of the role. Not just generic full-back exercises. ‘For example, training should expose the player to body orientation scenarios and inside connections, as well as timed underlaps from the inside channel. Repeated 1v1 situations should be used to improve the ability to defend the line with a weaker foot orientation. ‘All training exercises should create natural dynamics arising from the relationship between the winger, midfielder, and full-back.’ uefa.com/uefaeuropaleag…

A game, a game beats a technique practice.

@Transpontine Shit hole, glad it’s going, it’s demolition will reveal the impressive train station facade

The last days of Peckham Rye Station Arcade, faded art deco glamour/early 21st century grime awaiting demolition. Mainly dentist memories for me, but some good nights upstairs there. More here: transpont.blogspot.com/2025/12/last-d…

@DickBeard4 @OnTheBall_Paul Plenty of top coaches do it, agreed — doesn’t mean it’s effective. Scanning without any info or pressure isn’t awareness, it’s just habit without purpose. Giving the players a reason to scan reinforces habit .

@gmurphycoaching @OnTheBall_Paul Seen top coaches insisting on it in unopposed practices

Working hard on our variations to receive the ball as a central midfielder 💪💪💪

@DickBeard4 @OnTheBall_Paul I’d argue it’s pointless here. Scanning matters when there’s information to take in — no defender, no decision to make*. Otherwise it’s just empty habit. *other than choice of turn

@gmurphycoaching @OnTheBall_Paul Seen it used in unopposed practices ,creates good habits which become second nature from a early age .

@DickBeard4 @OnTheBall_Paul There is no defender, he doesn’t need to check

@OnTheBall_Paul Nice , just needs to start looking over his shoulder before receiving 👍

@movementcoachkm Symbolic = performative

Mmmm

@idlewildgirl We got it badly wrong because we accepted things - like booking fees, handing fees, dynamic pricing etc. Until we stop contributing to a system that screws us, things will continue to get worse

Loads of my mates are starting to sack off going to gigs over here and getting tickets for European dates instead, most of the time it’s much cheaper and way easier to get tickets even with flights etc How is this country getting it so wrong

Being an elite former athlete DOES NOT, make you an elite coach.

Is focusing solely on movement just scratching the surface of skill? Perceptual learning & environmental awareness are key. Practice should unlock, not limit, these skills. #SkillDevelopment #MovementSkills #SkillDevelopment #MovementSkills

@MovementMiyagi I hope it’s a success. Goodness knows that the traditional orthodoxy needs to challenged/helped

After months & months of writing, & decades of devoted work to the craft, it feels surreal to finally hold this in my hand! Available 9/1/25… Can’t wait for the football world to get stuck into this!

@CRobCoaching @SundayShare10 Not for me. It lacks realism, lacks decision making and anticipation. Could have a 4v2 rondo (if defenders win the ball they dribble out) or a 3v3 game scoring with a pass into an end zone - the things you’ve just shown here could be in either one of these but with defenders

5 player passing warm up • Would love to get some feedback on the drill and see what variations you have done 🙌🏻 • #crcoaching #SundayShare #soccer #coaching @SundayShare10

We don’t just move in the environment—we move with it, creating information that shapes our adaptation.

@drewcarlsonhp Find their weaknesses and exploit them and then prepare defensively as usual

How do you pre-scout and prepare for a team that doesn't know what they're doing on offense until the moment they do it?

[1/2] There are no 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔, there are 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚. Roberto De Zerbi explains that today schemes no longer exist, there are principles of play that prepare the team to manage different game situations through a common language.

Simple changes to coaching that can skyrocket player ability: -Use live defenders -Based around game-like problems -Fast-paced and unpredictable tasks -Use constraints to develop personalized skills The result: Skills emerge organically through challenges.

@michael_loftman Congratulations Michael

Very grateful to share that I’ve officially graduated from the UEFA Pro License Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way - colleagues, lecturers, players, tutors and friends I’m looking forward to continuing my work developing people, players, coaches, and teams

In 2016 Diniz was asked about the need for a revival of street football “When a child plays in the street, he learns in a playful environment that favors creativity” “Today he plays in an environment that tends to undermine his creativity & the relationships he plays from”