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Playing quick and direct balls to forwards feet or to space in behind the defensive line can be a very effective attacking style. Say for example you are lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, and the opposing team is lined up in a 3-5-2, odviously they have numbers up in the midfield. I would instruct my defensive players as an attacking strategy to play longer balls, bypassing the midfield to the forwards were I have a greater chance of success. Now depending on how the defense is playing the forwards would dictate If we play to feet or to space in behind the defense for the forwards to run on to.



I don't disagree that there are positive and negative attributes associated with direct and indirect styles of play. The key here is the term "control." Many high school games I see are characterized by a lack of control; thus, when someone talks about "boom ball" and "kick ball" they typically are referring to a style of play that is frenetic and without obvious purpose (other than to get the ball away from the player's immediate vicinity.) When someone uses the term "long ball" then it implies that there was an actual intent to play the ball long -- acurately to a teammate.

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I do not think anyone would doubt the beauty of playing a passing game. However, tactically speaking, when the MF cannot keep pace and control the ball, then sometimes bypassing the MF is a great strategy. Put better skilled ball handlers that have great judgment in the back (change from 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3) and play-it up. Just like the other football (which I coached under now Dr. Maddox), every system in football works. It just depends on talent level as to which one you can get good at! I now post that Dale wins the dissagrement by common sense!



I don't think anyone is arguing whether "long ball" soccer is either strategically or tactically sound. I do think that equating "long ball" soccer with "boom ball" is a logical fallacy.

The skills to play long ball soccer as per the EPL reference made to begin this discussion are as great or greater than the skills to play a less direct passing game. I haven't seen a lot more outside backs that are better at accurate 40-50+ yard passes than I have seen midfielders who are accurate at 10-20+ yards with their passes.

To summarize all of this -- there are times that "pray and kick" (or kick ball, or boom ball, or whatever) might work and is all you can play with the players and the opponents you have. The only reason I jumped into this discussion was that there appears to be a difference between "EPL long ball direct strategies" and "South Carolina girls high school kick the heck out of the ball and pray it goes somewhere else strategies."

But I'm certainly no authority -- and certainly haven't seen most of the high school teams play in South Carolina -- so I could absolutely be missing something here...