The Playbook Series · No. 02 Coaches' edition
Playing Out From the Back
Building up against every press: count it, shape for it, bait it, beat it.
Every press can be counted. Every count has an answer.
- 101 pages
- 84 boards
- 20 sessions
What is inside
Every press can be counted. Every count has an answer.
Playing out from the back is not about being brave on the ball. It is about counting the press, choosing the base that leaves a player free, and finding that player. This playbook gives your staff one language for the whole first phase, with the cost of every choice and a session for every idea.
- 01 How to read any press: numbers, marking and triggers
- 02 Four bases: 4+2, 3+2, 2+3 and the Lavolpiana
- 03 Baiting the press: pause, square, show and go
- 04 Eight ways through: the third man, the S, carries and switches
- 05 An opponent matrix for six presses, and how to beat man-to-man
- 06 The planned long ball, second balls and rest defence
- 07 20 sessions, from rondo to phase of play
- 08 Youth: build-out lines and age bands
The impact
What you will be able to do after reading it.
Read it well and this is what changes for you, your staff and your players. Each point is a chapter of the book, not a promise on top of it.
- Analysis room 1
- Your staff 1
- Training ground 2
- Match day 2
- Analysis room Ch. 02
Read any press before kick-off
How many come, man or zone, where their spare man comes from and what makes them jump. One scouting sheet per opponent, filled in from video before the week starts.
- Your staff Ch. 03
Pick the right base, and change it mid-game
Four bases with real distances at the goal kick and role cards for the dressing-room wall. Pick the base from the count, and change it when the count changes.
- Training ground Ch. 04
Make the press jump when you want it to
The pause, the square pass and the body shape that invite pressure, and the three outcomes of every bait, which your players learn to see in half a second.
- Match day Ch. 05 · 06 · 07
Always have a way through
Eight exits, from the third man and the S to the carry and the switch, an opponent matrix for six presses, and a plan for the day they go man-to-man.
- Match day Ch. 08 · 09
Build bravely without gifting goals
The cost in numbers, rest defence behind the build-up, the planned long ball, and an abort rule that tells players when to stop and what to do instead.
- Training ground Ch. 10 · 11
Fix Saturday's problem on Tuesday
A session finder takes you from the problem you saw at the weekend to the session that trains it. 20 sessions from rondo to phase of play, and build-out lines for youth.
20 sessions and over 80 boards drawn to scale turn every point into something you can show your players, then train.
Read the free samplePages from the book
Every board drawn to scale.
Read a 13-page sample
The front matter and introduction, the start of chapter 1, the first session and the back cover. PDF, 1.2 MB.
Contents
11 chapters, then the index.
Each chapter is a bookmark in the PDF, and every row of the contents page is a link to it.
- 01 Why build up at all The law, the data and the swing back
- 02 Count: reading the press Numbers, marking and triggers
- 03 Shape: the four bases 4+2, 3+2, 2+3 and the Lavolpiana
- 04 Bait: inviting the press Pause, square, show and go
- 05 Exit: eight ways through Third man, the S, carries and switches
- 06 The opponent matrix Six presses and where the free man is
- 07 Beating man-to-man When nobody is free
- 08 Over: the planned long ball Targets, second balls and the bait
- 09 Protect: rest defence and the cost Errors, cover and the abort rule
- 10 The training ground 20 sessions, rondo to phase of play
- 11 Youth: teaching it early Build-out lines and age bands
Coming soon
Be first to know.
Playing Out From the Back is finished. Join the list and we email you the day it goes on sale, with the price. Your welcome email also carries The 4-3-3 Playbook, No. 01 in the series.
The format
A PDF built to be used on the training ground.
- Format
- PDF, A4 portrait
- Length
- 101 pages, 84 boards, 20 sessions
- File size
- 4.9 MB
- Navigation
- Bookmarks for every chapter, a clickable contents page and cross-references
- Index
- Terms, people and teams
- Printing
- Laid out for A4, so every page prints as it looks on screen
- Language
- English
- Edition
- First edition, version 1.0, October 2026.
- Licence
- This copy is licensed to the buyer for personal and club coaching use. You may print pages for your own players and staff. Please do not share the file publicly, upload it or resell it. For a licence that covers a whole club or academy, write to us.
Questions
About Playing Out From the Back
When is it out, and what will it cost?
The book is written and finished. The price is announced when it goes on sale. Join the list and we email you the day it does.
Can I read some of it first?
Yes. The free sample is 13 pages of the real book: the front matter and introduction, the start of chapter 1, the first session and the back cover.
Who is it for?
Coaches, analysts and staff who want one shared language for this part of the game, with the cost of every choice and a session for every idea.
Can I print it and share it with my players?
This copy is licensed to the buyer for personal and club coaching use. You may print pages for your own players and staff. Please do not share the file publicly, upload it or resell it. For a licence that covers a whole club or academy, write to us.
What format is it in?
A 101-page A4 PDF of 4.9 MB, with bookmarks for every chapter, a clickable contents page and an index. It opens on any phone, tablet or computer that reads a PDF, and prints on A4.
Do I need Total Football Studio to use it?
No. The book is a PDF and stands on its own. Every diagram in it was built in Total Football Studio, so you can draw the same shapes on your own board if you want to.
Open the StudioThe Playbook Series
The other two books
-
No. 01 · Free edition The 4-3-3 Playbook Variations, attacking positions and defensive shape. 24 pages · 15 boards · 3 sessions
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No. 03 · Coaches' edition The 4-2-3-1 Playbook One shape, many systems: how football's most-used formation builds, creates, presses and protects. 99 pages · 80 boards · 20 sessions
