The Debrief · Analysis explained
What goes into a match report
What a report gives the staff, what goes inside it, and one mechanism taken from description to solution.
By Harry Lowe · 7 min read
Read the article →
Introduction
A match report is how an analyst prepares the staff and players for the next opponent. Done well, it tells them what to expect, which parts of the opponent’s game matter most, and what our team can do about them.
This article breaks down what goes into an opposition report and what you are trying to achieve with it. It then takes one mechanism from a team’s approach and shows how a report would describe it, with video, data and a graphic, before offering solutions. It is the starting point for The Portal, where you can build a report of your own.
01
What goes into a match report
An opposition report follows a framework, so the staff always know where to find each part. The exact sections change from club to club, but most cover the same ground.
The three or four things that matter most, on one page.
Formation, likely line-up and how roles change in and out of possession.
Build-up, progression and how they create chances.
How and where they press, their block and how they defend the box.
What happens in the seconds after the ball is won or lost.
Routines for and against, and who delivers and attacks the ball.
The players who most influence how the team plays.
What we do about it: the options for our team.
You will not fill every section with the same detail for every match. The overview at the front tells the staff what matters most this week, and the rest of the report supports it.
02
What you are trying to achieve
Every section has the same job: help the staff and players make better decisions. That comes down to four aims.
Staff and players know what to expect before the match starts.
Out of everything the opponent does, pick out what will decide the game.
Show what they do, how they do it and why it works. What? How? Why? covers the framework.
Turn each threat or weakness into options our team can use.
Inside each section, every finding is built the same way. A short description says what happens. Telestrated video shows it. Data evidences the finding: how often it happens, and where. A graphic makes the mechanism easy to see. And a solution says what to do about it.
- Description
What they do, in plain words
- Video
Telestrated clips that show it
- Data
Evidences the finding
- Graphic
The mechanism, drawn
- Solution
What we do about it
The description, video, data and graphic each tell part of the story. Together they make a finding that a coach can take in quickly and a player can recognise on the pitch.
03
One mechanism in detail
Here is one example from the “In possession” section: how a team builds up from the back. The opponent is hypothetical, but the mechanism is common across the game. Their left-back steps inside into midfield, and that movement creates a problem for the team defending against them.
Description
Their left-back steps inside to build
When their centre-back has the ball, the left-back leaves the touchline and steps into midfield, next to the number 6. If our right winger follows them inside, their left winger is left alone high and wide, and the centre-back plays the long pass to them.
Video
- Clip 1 · 14:32Left-back steps inside as the centre-back receives. Our winger follows.
- Clip 2 · 31:05Same movement on the other side of half-time. Long pass to the free winger.
- Clip 3 · 58:47Our midfielder steps across instead. The pass wide is blocked.
Data
Build-ups where a full-back steps into midfield
Build-ups down the left side
The left-back steps inside far more often than the right-back, and most of their build-ups down the left happen while they do. The movement is a pattern, and it is focused on one side.
Graphic
Notice how the parts work together. The description gives the idea in two sentences. The clips prove it happens and show it from the camera angle the staff know. The data shows it is a pattern, not a one-off. The board makes the movement simple enough to explain to players in a meeting.
04
From the problem to a solution
The report does not stop at the problem. For each key mechanism, it gives the staff options: different ways our team could stop it, with the risk that each one carries. The coaches choose, and the training week prepares the players for it. Hover over or select an option to see it drawn.
Option A, drawn
Our right winger holds their position and blocks the pass wide. Our central midfielder steps across to the left-back as they come inside, and our right-back moves tighter to their left winger. The long pass is no longer available.
Option B, drawn
The centre-back is allowed to find the left-back inside. As the pass travels, our right winger presses from one side and our central midfielder from the other. The left-back receives facing two players with no easy way out, and we win the ball in midfield.
Option C, drawn
Our right winger follows the left-back inside, as before. This time our right-back stays tight to their left winger and our right centre-back slides across to cover the space inside. The long pass can still be played, but the winger receives with a defender already on them.
Every option is a trade-off. Being clear about the risk is what makes the staff trust the recommendation.
05
Build your own
The best way to learn this is to do it. Pick one team and one mechanism from their approach, and build a single report entry for it.
- Describe it in two or three sentences.
- Find three clips that show it, including one where it does not work.
- Add one piece of data that shows how often or where it happens (practise with The Football Analysis Guy practice dataset, or count it yourself; if you can’t, leave it out for this exercise).
- Draw it on a pitch, showing only the players who matter.
- Offer two solutions, each with its risk.
The Portal takes you through this step by step, with the templates to build your first report page.
The Debrief · Analysis explained
What goes into a match report
What a report gives the staff, what goes inside it, and one mechanism taken from description to solution.
By Harry Lowe · 7 min read
Read the article →Introduction
A match report is how an analyst prepares the staff and players for the next opponent. Done well, it tells them what to expect, which parts of the opponent’s game matter most, and what our team can do about them.
This article breaks down what goes into an opposition report and what you are trying to achieve with it. It then takes one mechanism from a team’s approach and shows how a report would describe it, with video, data and a graphic, before offering solutions. It is the starting point for The Portal, where you can build a report of your own.
01
What goes into a match report
An opposition report follows a framework, so the staff always know where to find each part. The exact sections change from club to club, but most cover the same ground.
The three or four things that matter most, on one page.
Formation, likely line-up and how roles change in and out of possession.
Build-up, progression and how they create chances.
How and where they press, their block and how they defend the box.
What happens in the seconds after the ball is won or lost.
Routines for and against, and who delivers and attacks the ball.
The players who most influence how the team plays.
What we do about it: the options for our team.
You will not fill every section with the same detail for every match. The overview at the front tells the staff what matters most this week, and the rest of the report supports it.
02
What you are trying to achieve
Every section has the same job: help the staff and players make better decisions. That comes down to four aims.
Staff and players know what to expect before the match starts.
Out of everything the opponent does, pick out what will decide the game.
Show what they do, how they do it and why it works. What? How? Why? covers the framework.
Turn each threat or weakness into options our team can use.
Inside each section, every finding is built the same way. A short description says what happens. Telestrated video shows it. Data evidences the finding: how often it happens, and where. A graphic makes the mechanism easy to see. And a solution says what to do about it.
- Description
What they do, in plain words
- Video
Telestrated clips that show it
- Data
Evidences the finding
- Graphic
The mechanism, drawn
- Solution
What we do about it
The description, video, data and graphic each tell part of the story. Together they make a finding that a coach can take in quickly and a player can recognise on the pitch.
03
One mechanism in detail
Here is one example from the “In possession” section: how a team builds up from the back. The opponent is hypothetical, but the mechanism is common across the game. Their left-back steps inside into midfield, and that movement creates a problem for the team defending against them.
Description
Their left-back steps inside to build
When their centre-back has the ball, the left-back leaves the touchline and steps into midfield, next to the number 6. If our right winger follows them inside, their left winger is left alone high and wide, and the centre-back plays the long pass to them.
Video
- Clip 1 · 14:32Left-back steps inside as the centre-back receives. Our winger follows.
- Clip 2 · 31:05Same movement on the other side of half-time. Long pass to the free winger.
- Clip 3 · 58:47Our midfielder steps across instead. The pass wide is blocked.
Data
Build-ups where a full-back steps into midfield
Build-ups down the left side
The left-back steps inside far more often than the right-back, and most of their build-ups down the left happen while they do. The movement is a pattern, and it is focused on one side.
Graphic
Notice how the parts work together. The description gives the idea in two sentences. The clips prove it happens and show it from the camera angle the staff know. The data shows it is a pattern, not a one-off. The board makes the movement simple enough to explain to players in a meeting.
04
From the problem to a solution
The report does not stop at the problem. For each key mechanism, it gives the staff options: different ways our team could stop it, with the risk that each one carries. The coaches choose, and the training week prepares the players for it. Hover over or select an option to see it drawn.
Option A, drawn
Our right winger holds their position and blocks the pass wide. Our central midfielder steps across to the left-back as they come inside, and our right-back moves tighter to their left winger. The long pass is no longer available.
Option B, drawn
The centre-back is allowed to find the left-back inside. As the pass travels, our right winger presses from one side and our central midfielder from the other. The left-back receives facing two players with no easy way out, and we win the ball in midfield.
Option C, drawn
Our right winger follows the left-back inside, as before. This time our right-back stays tight to their left winger and our right centre-back slides across to cover the space inside. The long pass can still be played, but the winger receives with a defender already on them.
Every option is a trade-off. Being clear about the risk is what makes the staff trust the recommendation.
05
Build your own
The best way to learn this is to do it. Pick one team and one mechanism from their approach, and build a single report entry for it.
- Describe it in two or three sentences.
- Find three clips that show it, including one where it does not work.
- Add one piece of data that shows how often or where it happens (practise with The Football Analysis Guy practice dataset, or count it yourself; if you can’t, leave it out for this exercise).
- Draw it on a pitch, showing only the players who matter.
- Offer two solutions, each with its risk.
The Portal takes you through this step by step, with the templates to build your first report page.