Counter-attacking
Apr 30, 2008

Joël Che recently wrote an article on Arsenal Mania about what the current Arsenal team lacks. He compares the current squad to the ‘Invincibles’ squad of 2004 that went the whole season unbeaten. The main point of the article is that “Counter-attacking is by far the best and most lethal form of attacking.” and that the current squad has lost the speed of counter-attacks that the previous team had.

And I’ve got to agree with him. On both counts. But the one I want to emphasize more is his general point.

Counter-attacking is by far the best and most lethal form of attacking.

This is true in any sport, I think. I’d even go as far as saying it’s true in any venture. You might not be the most skillful, but if you can handle pressure and react quickly, you’ll go far.

How fast are you able to respond from being under pressure?

Speed of Recovery
Mar 22, 2008

I haven’t written about soccer or Arsenal in a while, and with the big match against Chelsea coming up, I thought I’d do so. One thing that’s been said a lot about Arsenal is the pace of the defense. Because Arsenal’s defenders are so fast (among the fastest in the league), the team is able to play higher up the pitch, putting more pressure on their opposition, and supporting the attack more. Basically, the speed of the defenders allow them to do a lot more going forward, knowing that even if they get caught out, they are likely to be able to chase back.

So the question I have for you today is, how fast can you respond to setbacks? If you’re able to respond and adapt quickly, the rewards will be great, in my opinion. It allows you to innovate more bravely, to try more things and take more risks.

A pretty obvious lesson, perhaps, but one that needs to be addressed. Are you able to adapt and respond to setbacks quickly? If not, how can you improve in that area?