Random Thoughts: Technical and Tactical

• Train for consistency and variability. Executing a skill under pressure is vastly different from doing so on your own without time constraints, crowds, opposition etc. To really translate all the work you spend on drills into match play, gradually increase variations. Progression is key. Jump to fast and you'll introduce too many elements, hindering the learning process. Without progression, drills are idealistic attempts to make people do what X's and O's did in your imagination. 
• There remains no substitute for getting to the by line and delivering a quality cross. 
• Quantity can never make up for lack of quality
• Counter Attacks are pointless without speed
• Non-contact injury, like hamstring strains, are inexcusable. They demand the assessment of the training program. Are they affecting many players? Change the training program. Is one or two, repeatedly? They need more attention to make sure their specific needs are met by the program
• Train for speed endurance. The trick is to make sure that the quality of your work remains high. High volume with poor quality only leads to injuries. It's not a matter of if but when. Let's use sprint training as an example. Mindless shuttles will not produce fitness. After a few runs, a 40m sprint that was taking 4 seconds will take 7. After that, you're only training to be slow. Speed is a result of well trained type II muscle fibre types, which fatigue quickly. After that has set in, any more work utilizes type I fibres which are optimized for slower, longer duration like running marathon. Choose wisely
• Intangibles win games- confidence, instinct, intuition. A confident forward takes shots instinctively. One doubting himself thinks before shooting, looking for that perfect space for a clear chance at goal. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't but chasing the perfect goal often results in no goals at all. 
• Discipline is the game-winner least practiced. Without it, you end up with players booked or sent off for avoidable incidences. It may not stick the ball in the back of the net, but it allows you to recover the ball without committing fouls. It gives you the opportunity to play with 11 players and trying to execute a drill you practices with 11 is easier than trying to do so with 10
• Patience is a virtue with or without the ball