5-A-Side. Anyone play?

I played in a 6-a-side league in Bristol a couple of years ago with some friends. Mainly played at the back as that's what I perceived my best position to be. Was a lot of fun and although we probably got beaten more than we won it was still a huge amount of fun and we always had a pint afterwards.

Myself and a few of the lads at work have got together for the last 5/6 Mondays as we're going to join the same league again in September. I think i'll be pushing up a bit in midfield as I've got better legs than some of the older guys and my touch etc is better than it used to be. I don't suppose we'll be winning straight away as i'm fully expecting a load of teenage whipper snappers to be our first opponents :o

Definitely about making the ball do the work, but also about making space for yourself and your teammates. Really looking forward to getting back into it :)
 
Match fitness != fitness. Two different things. it will get easier over time. Also, make sure you get decent footwear.

As mentioned, having a good keeper is critical for a team that will do well in 5 a side.

You need your steady heads at the back, and you need the younger lads up front. When we played we had one young player, one old player and me and a mate who were willing to kick anyone, no matter how big they were. We had some scraps but we hammered average teams and often embarrassed quality sides. Because of the makeup of our team and we had three hard tacklers we played a diamond and asked the young lad to do the running. When we were up against a team of young lads being able to knock it long into a corner and have him chase it was invaluable.

I think your best bet is to play 2-1-1 and have your old lads at the back, with a bit of cover from somoene in the middle and your fittest player up front. If it's on proper 5-a-side pitches you should be regularly scoring from the halfway line or inside your own half, so practice that.

We were the champs 5 years running and won 3 cups in that time :)
 
One of my favourite moments in life was a game of 6-aside against a team of youngsters. We were all aged around 30 so nothing 'too' bad. As we were walking past them at the start we overheard one said to the other: "This will be easy, they look old."

His friend replied: "No, they'll be experienced....."

Experienced we were. We dug in at the back, committing niggly fouls whenever they looked like they might get somewhere. They pushed and pushed and pushed which just left us more room to give it to our fastest player up front to secure a 2-0 victory.

You can't put a price on experience :p
 
I read a piece by Arsene Wenger and adapted it for my team's use. Worked really well especially against teams that were 'better' than us. The jist of it is:

  • A 1-2-1 formation. The '2' need to be fairly fit to defend then break to support the striker.
  • Possession is NOT that important in 5-a-side. Most goals are scored from quick bursts.
  • Defend your own half. Don't waste energy chasing younger players at their end of the pitch. If you lose the ball concentrate on getting back to the halfway line and defend from there.

If you expect a severe drubbing sacrifice the striker and defend your own half with 4 men. A lot of teams will get frustrated if they can't break you down and end up losing their shape completely - giving you space to score goals.
 
Diesel said:
  • Possession is NOT that important in 5-a-side. Most goals are scored from quick bursts.
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I find that 5-a-side plays a lot like basketball. Very end-to-end with possession changing frequently.

My tip would be to learn to defend zonally. It's more difficult than man-to-man; you'll end up conceding a lot of goals caused by people not switching man fast enough at first. Ultimately, it's going to save you a lot of energy though. Let the opposition do the running for you. :)
 
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