LEI340 – Coaching for football
Assessment 1
Written Report
Finishing
Report
By Ryan Gillie
1|Page
, Introduction
In England, the game of football is ever changing and developing. Each key technical aspect
adapts to keep up with the moving philosophies and styles within modern football. Within
this longitudinal analysis, the key technical aspect of finishing will be analysed to show how
the skill has changed over the past 30 years, and therefore how coaching the skill has
adapted. For references of the past within the English game, the last three documents
released by the FA as England’s way of playing and coaching will be used. These include The
Winning Formula (1990) by Charles Hughes, The Future Game (2010), and England DNA (2015) .
Finishing, as a whole, is an overly broad term but is the act of a player striking a ball towards
goal and successfully scoring a goal from that shot. FIFA differentiate between “shooting”
and “finishing”… A shot can end up anywhere, to finish is to score and conclude an attack
(FIFA, 2018). All positions should be effective at finishing, due to the technical aspect covering
such an array of variants. As an example, Heading, if towards goal, can be a crucial variant of
finishing which can be scored by a player in any position on the pitch (Hughes, C. 1990). The
key to success in finishing is down to the technique, correct body position and focusing on
the ball. To break down the correct technique of the shot, firstly the non-kicking foot is vital,
as it will affect the power and accuracy, and should be placed next to the ball pointing the
direction where the ball is intended to travel to. A follow through with the kicking foot to
strike the ball, and a swing of the opposite arm for balance will complete the correct
technique. This is the most basic description for a shot, however as the game has developed
players have developed new ways of striking the ball to help beat a goalkeeper such as the
Rabona Kick. The move is effectively kicking the ball with your legs crossed, with the kicking
leg wrapped around the standing one (Mangat, R. 2014).
The Winning Formula
Written by Charles Hughes as director of coaching for England, The Winning Formula is how,
from his many years of match analysis, he believed football should be played and therefore
how England would play for many years. He believed in a Direct Play style as from his
analysis of 202 games, it showed 85% of goals are scored from five consecutive passes or
less (Hughes, 1990. pg.9). Hughes (1990, pg.72) listed shooting as the most important element in the
winning formula and that he estimated that one in three missed shooting opportunities are
because the shot was never taken. The overall aim of the book demonstrated Charles
Hughes belief to take more shots as at the highest level, ten shots on target in a game gives
an 86% chance of winning (Hughes 1990, pg.72). Hughes highlighted Fear, Lack of Vision and lack
of speed as the three main reasons players don’t take shots, however he suggested that
instead a player needs Assertion, Courage, Composure and speed of thought and movement
as the key attributes to be a good finisher of the ball. Charles Hughes (1990, pg.74) suggested
that players should shoot low and aim inside the far post, this was due to being more
difficult for goalkeepers to save and allowing the opportunity for secondary shooting
opportunities from blocks or saves. In the figure below, it shows a perfect example of this
ideal shot from Andrew Cole.
2|Page
Assessment 1
Written Report
Finishing
Report
By Ryan Gillie
1|Page
, Introduction
In England, the game of football is ever changing and developing. Each key technical aspect
adapts to keep up with the moving philosophies and styles within modern football. Within
this longitudinal analysis, the key technical aspect of finishing will be analysed to show how
the skill has changed over the past 30 years, and therefore how coaching the skill has
adapted. For references of the past within the English game, the last three documents
released by the FA as England’s way of playing and coaching will be used. These include The
Winning Formula (1990) by Charles Hughes, The Future Game (2010), and England DNA (2015) .
Finishing, as a whole, is an overly broad term but is the act of a player striking a ball towards
goal and successfully scoring a goal from that shot. FIFA differentiate between “shooting”
and “finishing”… A shot can end up anywhere, to finish is to score and conclude an attack
(FIFA, 2018). All positions should be effective at finishing, due to the technical aspect covering
such an array of variants. As an example, Heading, if towards goal, can be a crucial variant of
finishing which can be scored by a player in any position on the pitch (Hughes, C. 1990). The
key to success in finishing is down to the technique, correct body position and focusing on
the ball. To break down the correct technique of the shot, firstly the non-kicking foot is vital,
as it will affect the power and accuracy, and should be placed next to the ball pointing the
direction where the ball is intended to travel to. A follow through with the kicking foot to
strike the ball, and a swing of the opposite arm for balance will complete the correct
technique. This is the most basic description for a shot, however as the game has developed
players have developed new ways of striking the ball to help beat a goalkeeper such as the
Rabona Kick. The move is effectively kicking the ball with your legs crossed, with the kicking
leg wrapped around the standing one (Mangat, R. 2014).
The Winning Formula
Written by Charles Hughes as director of coaching for England, The Winning Formula is how,
from his many years of match analysis, he believed football should be played and therefore
how England would play for many years. He believed in a Direct Play style as from his
analysis of 202 games, it showed 85% of goals are scored from five consecutive passes or
less (Hughes, 1990. pg.9). Hughes (1990, pg.72) listed shooting as the most important element in the
winning formula and that he estimated that one in three missed shooting opportunities are
because the shot was never taken. The overall aim of the book demonstrated Charles
Hughes belief to take more shots as at the highest level, ten shots on target in a game gives
an 86% chance of winning (Hughes 1990, pg.72). Hughes highlighted Fear, Lack of Vision and lack
of speed as the three main reasons players don’t take shots, however he suggested that
instead a player needs Assertion, Courage, Composure and speed of thought and movement
as the key attributes to be a good finisher of the ball. Charles Hughes (1990, pg.74) suggested
that players should shoot low and aim inside the far post, this was due to being more
difficult for goalkeepers to save and allowing the opportunity for secondary shooting
opportunities from blocks or saves. In the figure below, it shows a perfect example of this
ideal shot from Andrew Cole.
2|Page
