IT'S ALL FORWARD LOOKING

Gary Neville tells us that defending is an art form being ignored at the higher levels of the English football league, compared to his day! he makes the point that the average goals per game in 2005 in the Premiership was 2.57 and now 2.77 with the total number of goals being scored per year rising from 975 to over 1060. Is this down to better attacking players being brought in to clubs or better strategy? Whatever, it makes the game more exciting.
Neville tells of the practice sessions he was used to under Eric Harrison and Nobby Stiles at United and under Don Howe and Terry Venables, when with England. More time was spent on preventing goals from team shape, to the position of your hips when confronting a opponent. Players started with a high defensive base but now it is the concentration defensive techniques that leads training sessions. Taking a thousand touches in the first part of the session acts as a valuable warm up and of course improves technique. Defenders need to learn specific defending techniques too but it is hard to re-create match situations on the training pitch as tackling is not easily practised, without the danger of injury.
In his piece in Saturday's Telegraph he mentions practice games that he played at United that taught him to take responsibility when his team lost the ball. These days, much more time is spent playing football in Zone 14, the area once known as the D on the edge of the penalty box. Hence the development of "tiki taka". The Bryan Robson of his era is now the Jack Wilshere of the present day, full backs are wingers, goalkeepers sweepers. It is all forward looking.
Rule changes have altered defending techniques; notably the tackle from behind being outlawed, the offside law also helps forwards if they are clever enough to understand second phase! It must be for the good, but who are England's great defenders now and will they help our national team in the future defend our goal against highly skilled foreign players?