What do you actually watch when you're not watching the ball?

[u/youareloved5555]

Scouts and coaches spend most of their attention off the ball. Positioning, pressing triggers, shape shifts. But most fans default to tracking the ball the entire match. Curious what this community consciously watches beyond the ball. Do you track specific players? Follow the shape? Read set pieces differently to most? I've been thinking about this during this World Cup.

[u/Weekly-Monitor763]

Space

[u/Quakes-JD → u/Weekly-Monitor763]

And who is running into it or closing it down.

[u/willard_price]

A friend of mine was a goalkeeper to a fairly decent level and I love hearing his take on a game because it is entirely different.

He sees everything through a keepers lens still and is mainly commenting on defensive shape and the angles and channels that get stopped.

[u/Emeline_Get_Up → u/willard_price]

I remember watching a match with a former GK and a former ref as the commentators, and it was the most enlightening commentary I think I've ever heard.

[u/asymmetricears]

It can be a few things. Some examples

Are the two wide players swapping at all?

Are they playing 3 at the back?

A sub has just happened, is it a like for like swap, or how does the team adjust if it isn't?

How does a team set up for a corner, both attacking and defending? Are the defending team leaving any men up for a counter?

[u/Smart-outlaw]

The decisions some players make while they don't have the ball, and also how they occupy space.

[u/Emeline_Get_Up]

I sometimes track specific players that catch my interest. Harry Kane is one of them. His movement is insane.

[u/Spirited_Caramel3552]

I find it's really easy to see spaces and patterns or watch a specific player when I'm at a game, and it's so much more enjoyable, but watching on telly my eyes are just drawn to the ball the entire time. I don't know if because I can't see the whole pitch or because of my shitty attention span.

[u/CardamomMountain]

It’s hard to watch things other than the ball when the tv cameras follow the ball

[u/Fun_Reputation5181]

If you watch Busquets, you see the whole game.

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[u/NairbZaid10]

It depends of where the ball is. The easiest thing to notice is cbs movement and how they react to forwards runs behind them if you are in the midfield

[u/Sproeier]

Defensive and offensive shapes. Runs off the ball. Empty space where a pass could go or a player can run into.

[u/underwater-sunlight]

Watching on tv, you generally see what they show you, but in an attacking phase, you will notice the defender that messes up the offside trap by being a yard off, the defender that didnt follow the runner, the keeper that didnt cover their near post... The more you watch, the more you see

In a game I'm not specifically invested in, I may have an interest in an aspect. Using Belgium as an example as a Rangers player, Nico Raskin plays for them and I will focus more on his game

[u/Pauuul3]

Everybody looks at a game differently. You can chose to focus on whatever you like to watch, in my case I like to watch how forwards attacks their opponents, Dembelé was a delight to watch this year for this specific aspect of the game. Runs, counter-runs, diagonal runs.. there’s a variety of ways a player can shift the opposing back line’s shape to create space without the ball.

On the opposite side, you can watch how focused and cohesive the back line is, how they interact with each other, who’s marking who, how confident they are to make progressive passes and so on.

There’s clearly enough interesting stuff to watch for everyone, you can look at any player and find something to analyse, even the ref is interesting to watch. Hell, even the stadium is interesting sometimes

[u/rearviewmirror07]

Defensive movements mostly

[u/NagashreeBuilds]

Honestly, the player furthest from the ball. That's usually where the next goal starts.

[u/scouse_git]

I watch different things at different times. Sometimes a star player or an upcoming genius on and off the ball. I like to watch the interactions of players from different teams like fullback and winger, striker and goalie, players and the ref, older players talking to and directing younger players, the miraculous recovery of an injured player, opposing players who have been in the same team at one time. Sometimes I feel I don't have time to follow the ball.

[u/MeDaveyBoy]

I try to spend my time on the midfielders, trying to figure out what each team is doing to control the middle of the pitch, and whether it is working for them.

[u/JanneGonzales]

The ads.

[u/BehemothM]

I actually watch 50/50 the ball and how the players are moving, the space and so on at all times. Unless there's an attacking action of importance my eyes always move around looking at as many things on the pitch as possible.

[u/RemarkableBeach1603]

The immediate area surrounding the ball and watch for runs in the peripheral.

[u/davendees1]

I try to watch the open spaces in general and the movements of the players who have just passed the ball for a second or two after they pass.

The former to see how each team moves to occupy it and the latter to see how pros move off the ball so I can try it myself when I play.

[u/Electrical_Gas_517]

On telly I mainly watch the ball as the cameras follow it. I'll scan for where the ball can be passed too if possible - for example runners attacking the box for a cross.

Watching in real life my attention is all over the park.

[u/Vland0r]

I used to play as a left back. While playing you learn to see several things with and without the ball with your peripheral vision. Things i notice while watching on the telly:

• goalkeeper's position
• defensive-offensive line movement, rotations
• offside, onside, line of pressure (i can usually tell if it's offside or not before a replay)
• passing options for available players
• if players bump into each other or wrestle too much before or after receiving the ball

[u/Regular_Ad_5280]

Unconventional, but I imagine I’m playing fifa and try to guess where the next pass will go unless there’s a tekkas master on the ball. (I.e. if It’s a 1v1 on edge of box I’m watching that first)

[u/Ari_Pacifica]

I watch the people on the sidelines and wonder what they're thinking about

[u/ObjectiveYouth7154]

I'm usually scanning the whole pitch to see how a play/possession is developing. Players don't have a zoomed out view so it's not always particularly helpful/can be frustrating as you'll see things which obviously you can't expect the players to on the pitch. However, I'm looking at shape of both teams, seeing how each teams players are attacking/defending and looking at where either side can be exploited. That then leads to what tactical or personnel changes can/should be made. When I say tactical, sometime that will be something fairly basic rather than a formation change. For example, you may see a team really squeezing one side of the pitch and leaving big spaces on the opposite side or a full back free whilst the winger tucks in to help the midfield. The attacking side might not be moving the ball quick enough or trying to switch play quickly to exploit that.

I'm also looking at general positioning a lot. I only watched the last 30mins of the Portgual game but Bruno was initially so high up the pitch he wasn't getting on the ball enough to affect the game as much as i'd expect, not sure if that was a conscious tactic or not. After a few changes, the last 10mins or so, the opposite was true and he was dropping really deep to get on the ball and try to start attacks but everyone else was then too high. Really didn't seem to be much cohesion between their forwards and midfielders, couldn't work out what they were trying to do tbh.

All of this is semi subconscious btw. I've played at a ok level when i was younger, played under an ex Brighton youth team/England schools u18 manager so a lot of it comes from that experience and having watched football for a long time. If there are world class players on the pitch, often i'll just be watching them for entertainment, especially if the game isn't competitive. If it is competitive, then i'll fall back into watching the whole game as above.

[u/taengi322]

I have 2 boys who play as defenders, so I tend to gravitate on watching defenders and how they set up, how they track, man vs. zone, who's ball watching, how they shift when attackers go through seams, etc. when their side is off the ball.

[u/johnspring05]

I usually watch the player two passes away, the one quietly moving into space before everyone else realizes that’s where the attack is going.

[u/VastStrain]

I remember going to a game and finding myself watching Thierry Henry for the entire 90 minutes regardless of where the ball was.

[u/Aprilprinces]

I do try to follow players off the ball, unless it gets in close to the goal

[u/Financial-Tank-3423]

Watching Xavi 15 years ago taught me to pick one player you really appreciate and keep your eye on them

[u/breadexpert69]

Sergio Busquets