The first part of the session saw two sides of even numbers competing, with one side starting with possession, playing out from the back, and the other looking to hit them quickly on the counter-attack if they gained possession. Southgate was strict on ensuring the counter-attacking team moved the ball quickly and effectively, and both teams were encouraged to shoot at every opportunity.

In the next part of the session, Dewsnip reduced one of the teams by one player – this was done by jokingly sending off one of the players for an alleged use of bad language. The players on the team with one fewer then had to work out, in game play, how to deal with the situation. After a few minutes, the game was stopped and the two teams were allowed a huddle to define their strategy moving forward, how one team was going to deal with being a player down, and how the other team were going to take advantage. The latter decided to make the pitch as big as possible and look to switch play quickly and create overloads, the team with one fewer looked to defend deep and hit on the counter-attack. The final scenario saw the teams evened up again and given the situation of one team leading the other 2-1 in a European tie, so the losing team had to come up with a strategy to try and level the scores while being aware of not conceding a killer goal.

The use of different scenarios enables the players to have to consider the way they and the team need to play to achieve the end result. Both coaches gave little tips as well as asking questions of the players to help them reach a positive outcome. Even if used in a small sided game at the end of a different session, this adds tactical and social questions of the players and helps take the session to the next level. Subscribe now to receive a copy of the session plan for Game Strategy, and a bonus session plan as used by Southgate with the England u21s on Creative Attacking Play.

And the final answer to the question posed by Southgate at the start? The players discovered that when gaining possession and looking to counter-attack while the opposition were not organised, they were then at their most dangerous.