OK, so we are now on our official 48hour countdown to our first game on Thursday. Today we had a decent practice, working on our midfielders and finishing.

We had to cancel tonight’s practice due to the fires here in L.A. so we had a chalk and talk session regarding attacking set plays.

Here are some useful facts about attacking set plays:

1. Just under half of all goals scored in a sample of 109 World Cup matches came from a set play or when possession was regained immediately following a set play.

2. Three out of Five penalties and free kicks around the penalty area were given for fouls on people dribbling.

3. Two thirds of goal producing corners were inswingers played to the near post.

4. More goals are scored as a result of free kicks than from corners and throw ins combined.

5. Inswinging free kicks result in a goal from every 5 free kicks.

So at our team meeting we discussed the above and then went on to work on the 5 Ways to Produce Set Plays in Soccer. I will post details on that topic at a later date.

As for an update on the team, we are carrying a roster of 27 players. Unfortunately the players are starting to pick up some niggling injuries and we are resting and managing them accordingly. We are focussed on giving me a huge selection problem with a fully fit roster to choose from. That’s every coach’s dream isn’t it?