Rowdies laying foundation for playing style

Posted Mar 23, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Mar 23, 2010 at 05:58 PM

While the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies are still focused on fitness training as camp enters its fourth week, the strategy the side is going to utilize when the season begins is also being put together piece by piece.

In the club’s second week of training, Coach Paul Dalglish focused on movement and positioning for the forwards. Last week the side worked on its defensive shape. This week the emphasis is on the midfield, more specifically the wide players which will be a key component of the Rowdies’ system when the season begins.

The major emphasis has been on the wingers stretching the field, and moving away from the ball before checking back, depending on how their opponent is defending. The movement away from the ball will in turn gives them opportunities for one-on-one match-ups and also create space for the three central midfielders and the supporting full backs. Dalglish believes spacing is crucial for any team to have success.

“I hate it when two players are stood next to each other, because they can only do the same thing,” Dalglish said. “You’ve got to be able to affect the game in a different way than everybody else on the field, and if I’m stood too close to someone on my team, I’m not affecting the game any differently that they are.”

With some members of the Rowdies roster, that concept is made better visually than verbally. For Takuya Yamada and Long Tan, both of whom understand limited English, the understanding of the system has come through diagrams kept on Dalglish’s clipboard.

“They can all see pictures,” Dalglish said. “I bring my clipboard and my pen and paper down, I can’t speak Chinese of Japanese, but I can write so I think pictures work the same in any language.”

FRIDAY’S GAME: The Rowdies’ preseason game against the University of Central Florida in Auburndale will be free to attend, the club confirmed.

Going to be unable to attend? The Rowdies Report will have live updates via our twitter feed, which can be accessed at twitter.com/tbo_rowdies.