Attacking framework - part 2: 1-3-3-1

Going through several phases within this framework will build confidence within the team in their position from wide and middle breakdowns. 

Once a general understanding of positioning has been built, it is essential to use practices that challenge the players’ decision-making within the framework. 

Splitting the team into ’edge’ and ’middle’ players, and creating decision-making drills, will increase the recognition of pictures that players will see in their respective areas.

The edge drill

Use an edge drill (see fig. 3) to improve decision-making and accuracy. 

Create a breakdown and align four attackers, ensuring there is always one wide forward involved. For each repetition, change the number and positioning of the defence. 

The attack needs to understand what success looks like, from a line break to creating 1v1 opportunities.
The focus is on all players understanding the defensive picture and the successful options that can be used from it. 

The drill can be developed by changing the ball speed and starting point of the breakdown, making the attack constantly adjust its width and depth among its players.

The middle drill

Use a middle drill (see fig. 4) to challenge the players scanning for space and execution.

Set up an edge breakdown with two pods of three forwards to the open side. Each pod should have a ball-playing back who is marshalling it.

Control the defence to give the attack different pictures. 

You can encourage a play-through attack focus, with the defenders being spaced wide apart, and a play-around attack focus with the defenders tightly bunched together and leaving space in the wide channel.

Challenge the backs to scan for the spaces and help the forwards with their decision-making. 

You can also challenge the forwards’ skillset by altering the ball speed and their starting positions so as not to always be perfect.

Training the set up

Improving each aspect of the framework in an isolated scenario will improve the number of repetitions your players get.

This, in turn, will improve your team’s ability to see the defensive picture, adapt the options built into the framework and execute accordingly.

While bringing the whole 1-3-3-1 framework back together for 15v15 training will cement the learning, it is still important, at times, to condition the defence to give different defensive pictures, to check for players scanning and their understanding of both the pictures presented and the options to take from them.

You could expect to see players fall into this framework reasonably quickly across a couple of sessions with continual feedback on positioning and understanding. 

The decision-making aspect of the attack will take more time, with players having to work on scanning and communicating the correct options from the defensive pictures. 

Take time to ‘freeze frame’, or pause, training sessions, with players remaining in their current positions. Challenge players and ask them why they took the decisions they did. 

Across a pre-season, you can embed your framework and have several efficient players making good decisions off the defence.