Tactics Journal
@tacticsjournal.com
Analyzing football tactics by @kyleboas.com.
Reposted by Tactics Journal
I have created a social media platform for football.
Two big features:
- Delay Sync: Sync the chat to your broadcast delay to avoid spoilers. Never let a text ruin a goal.
- Group Chats: Talk to other members between games.
You can sign up now for free. I'll share my progress here.
syncdchat.com
Two big features:
- Delay Sync: Sync the chat to your broadcast delay to avoid spoilers. Never let a text ruin a goal.
- Group Chats: Talk to other members between games.
You can sign up now for free. I'll share my progress here.
syncdchat.com
SyncdChat
Never let a text ruin a goal again.
syncdchat.com
December 28, 2025 at 12:46 AM
I have created a social media platform for football.
Two big features:
- Delay Sync: Sync the chat to your broadcast delay to avoid spoilers. Never let a text ruin a goal.
- Group Chats: Talk to other members between games.
You can sign up now for free. I'll share my progress here.
syncdchat.com
Two big features:
- Delay Sync: Sync the chat to your broadcast delay to avoid spoilers. Never let a text ruin a goal.
- Group Chats: Talk to other members between games.
You can sign up now for free. I'll share my progress here.
syncdchat.com
I built a social platform for football fans called SyncdChat. It syncs chat messages to your specific stream delay, ensuring everyone reacts to the goal together, no matter your delay. I need your help beta testing it. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/26/i...
I am making something big and I need your help
I built a social platform for football fans called SyncdChat. It syncs chat messages to your specific stream delay, ensuring everyone reacts to the goal together, no matter your delay. I need your hel...
tacticsjournal.com
December 26, 2025 at 11:19 AM
I built a social platform for football fans called SyncdChat. It syncs chat messages to your specific stream delay, ensuring everyone reacts to the goal together, no matter your delay. I need your help beta testing it. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/26/i...
Liverpool have struggled this season in attack and one of the main reasons is spacing. They’re too spread out. Manchester City faced the same problem and solved it by making the pitch smaller in possession. Teams like Liverpool should do the same. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/21/t...
Teams like Liverpool should make the pitch smaller in possession
Liverpool have struggled this season in attack and one of the main reasons is spacing. They’re too spread out. Manchester City faced the same problem and solved it by making the pitch smaller in posse...
tacticsjournal.com
December 21, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Liverpool have struggled this season in attack and one of the main reasons is spacing. They’re too spread out. Manchester City faced the same problem and solved it by making the pitch smaller in possession. Teams like Liverpool should do the same. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/21/t...
When Manchester United have the ball, they are aligned on the diagonal in a 4-3-3. You wouldn’t call Amad Diallo a wing-back, you would say he is playing right wing. This is another team that challenges the way we traditionally look at formations. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/16/m...
Manchester United are already playing in a 4-3-3
When Manchester United have the ball, they are aligned on the diagonal in a 4-3-3. You wouldn’t call Amad Diallo a wing-back, you would say he is playing right wing. This is another team that challeng...
tacticsjournal.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:20 AM
When Manchester United have the ball, they are aligned on the diagonal in a 4-3-3. You wouldn’t call Amad Diallo a wing-back, you would say he is playing right wing. This is another team that challenges the way we traditionally look at formations. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/16/m...
Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki assisted a goal with a rabona, where a player kicks the ball by wrapping their kicking leg behind the standing leg. In the eyes of Pep Guardiola, a rabona is a problem. This is what I call ‘Getting Pep’d.’
tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/07/g...
tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/07/g...
Getting Pep'd
Manchester City’s Ryan Cherki assisted a goal with a rabona, where a player kicks the ball by wrapping their kicking leg behind the standing leg. In the eyes of Pep Guardiola, a rabona is a problem. T...
tacticsjournal.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki assisted a goal with a rabona, where a player kicks the ball by wrapping their kicking leg behind the standing leg. In the eyes of Pep Guardiola, a rabona is a problem. This is what I call ‘Getting Pep’d.’
tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/07/g...
tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/07/g...
Every team uses decoy runs. Bayern Munich tied the timing of the pass and the third-man run to the moment the decoy finished his run against Arsenal. The timing between the decoy, third man, and passer was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/03/t...
The third man must wait for the decoy run
Every team uses decoy runs. Bayern Munich tied the timing of the pass and the third-man run to the moment the decoy finished his run against Arsenal. The timing between the decoy, third man, and passe...
tacticsjournal.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Every team uses decoy runs. Bayern Munich tied the timing of the pass and the third-man run to the moment the decoy finished his run against Arsenal. The timing between the decoy, third man, and passer was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. tacticsjournal.com/2025/12/03/t...
Taking something that is complex and communicating it simply is very difficult, but it is worth it. When you make your explanation as simple as it can be, your ideas spread. There is less friction for those that want to listen. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/29/e...
Explain it simply and it will spread
Taking something that is complex and communicating it simply is very difficult, but it is worth it. When you make your explanation as simple as it can be, your ideas spread. There is less friction for...
tacticsjournal.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Taking something that is complex and communicating it simply is very difficult, but it is worth it. When you make your explanation as simple as it can be, your ideas spread. There is less friction for those that want to listen. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/29/e...
We are used to looking at the pitch horizontally, in a straight line, from back to front. Instead, if you look at how players organize on the diagonal, on an angle, you can spot why teams have trouble progressing past the opponent’s defense.
tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/24/d...
tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/24/d...
Diagonality
We are used to looking at the pitch horizontally, in a straight line, from back to front. Instead, if you look at how players organize on the diagonal, on an angle, you can spot why teams have trouble...
tacticsjournal.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:59 PM
We are used to looking at the pitch horizontally, in a straight line, from back to front. Instead, if you look at how players organize on the diagonal, on an angle, you can spot why teams have trouble progressing past the opponent’s defense.
tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/24/d...
tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/24/d...
You remember things you can visualize. If you’re worried the people listening will stare at you like you’ve got four eyes, include a word or sentence they can picture. A complex idea becomes simple when you can see it. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/20/h...
How to avoid the blank stare
You remember things you can visualize. If you’re worried the people listening will stare at you like you’ve got four eyes, include a word or sentence they can picture. A complex idea becomes simple wh...
tacticsjournal.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:18 AM
You remember things you can visualize. If you’re worried the people listening will stare at you like you’ve got four eyes, include a word or sentence they can picture. A complex idea becomes simple when you can see it. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/20/h...
Footballers like Pirlo, Nedved, or Zico don’t exist in our mind today because we are overexposed to football. If a new movie was released by an actor every week instead of every other year, that actor would feel less special to us. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/14/a...
Aliens are going extinct
Footballers like Pirlo, Nedved, or Zico don’t exist in our mind today because we are overexposed to football. If a new movie was released by an actor every week instead of every other year, that actor...
tacticsjournal.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Footballers like Pirlo, Nedved, or Zico don’t exist in our mind today because we are overexposed to football. If a new movie was released by an actor every week instead of every other year, that actor would feel less special to us. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/14/a...
It wasn’t a new camera that changed football on TV in the 90s; it was the time that persists on the scorebug. Viewers went from feeling like a member of the crowd to having their attention split between the game and a stopwatch. It ruins your immersion. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/12/t...
The persistent time on TV ruins football's immersion
It wasn’t a new camera that changed football on TV in the 90s; it was the time that persists on the scorebug. Viewers went from feeling like a member of the crowd to having their attention split betwe...
tacticsjournal.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:18 AM
It wasn’t a new camera that changed football on TV in the 90s; it was the time that persists on the scorebug. Viewers went from feeling like a member of the crowd to having their attention split between the game and a stopwatch. It ruins your immersion. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/12/t...
For the past 25 years, every Premier League champion had a talisman. It is unlikely you will finish first if you don’t have that one player to propel you to the top of the table. This could be the first year it is a defender — Gabriel for Arsenal. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/08/g...
Gabriel is Arsenal's talisman
For the past 25 years, every Premier League champion had a talisman. It is unlikely you will finish first if you don’t have that one player to propel you to the top of the table. This could be the fir...
tacticsjournal.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM
For the past 25 years, every Premier League champion had a talisman. It is unlikely you will finish first if you don’t have that one player to propel you to the top of the table. This could be the first year it is a defender — Gabriel for Arsenal. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/08/g...
When an ant can’t carry a large leaf back to the colony alone, the others step in to help. The ants are not spread apart; they are close together. In football, midfielders can starve an attack if the spacing between players is too big. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/07/m...
Midfielders need help
When an ant can’t carry a large leaf back to the colony alone, the others step in to help. The ants are not spread apart; they are close together. In football, midfielders can starve an attack if the ...
tacticsjournal.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:17 AM
When an ant can’t carry a large leaf back to the colony alone, the others step in to help. The ants are not spread apart; they are close together. In football, midfielders can starve an attack if the spacing between players is too big. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/07/m...
Teams are becoming more successful at passing long, in the air, because they are prioritizing placing more players around the header to win the second ball. You do not have to win the header, but you must win the second ball. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/04/w...
Win the second ball, not the header
Teams are becoming more successful at passing long, in the air, because they are prioritizing placing more players around the header to win the second ball. You do not have to win the header, but you ...
tacticsjournal.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Teams are becoming more successful at passing long, in the air, because they are prioritizing placing more players around the header to win the second ball. You do not have to win the header, but you must win the second ball. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/04/w...
If you want to spot trends before they happen, it is important to identify when a change of form is due to tactical changes or the execution of the tactic. In most cases, the underlying issue is the execution, not the tactic. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/02/t...
The Dip
If you want to spot trends before they happen, it is important to identify when a change of form is due to tactical changes or the execution of the tactic. In most cases, the underlying issue is the e...
tacticsjournal.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:16 AM
If you want to spot trends before they happen, it is important to identify when a change of form is due to tactical changes or the execution of the tactic. In most cases, the underlying issue is the execution, not the tactic. tacticsjournal.com/2025/11/02/t...
Since I started the Tactics Journal, I have received several dozen messages from other writers, podcasters, and video creators asking for feedback on their work before I find it myself. I ignore all of them. Here is why. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/31/g...
October 31, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Since I started the Tactics Journal, I have received several dozen messages from other writers, podcasters, and video creators asking for feedback on their work before I find it myself. I ignore all of them. Here is why. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/31/g...
I have been watching the Premier League all my life as my main source of consuming live football. I have never been less motivated to watch a match due to several team’s over reliance on long throw-ins and corners. They are playing a different sport. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/28/t...
The Exploiters
I have been watching the Premier League all my life as my main source of consuming live football. I have never been less motivated to watch a match due to several team’s over reliance on long throw-in...
tacticsjournal.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:17 AM
I have been watching the Premier League all my life as my main source of consuming live football. I have never been less motivated to watch a match due to several team’s over reliance on long throw-ins and corners. They are playing a different sport. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/28/t...
If Cody Gakpo scores either of the two shots that hit the post, or the unmarked header inside the six-yard box, Liverpool win, Ruben Amorim is struggling and sacked, and Arne Slot is challenging for a back-to-back title. But he doesn’t score. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/22/r...
Results-based analysis
If Cody Gakpo scores either of the two shots that hit the post, or the unmarked header inside the six-yard box, Liverpool win, Ruben Amorim is struggling and sacked, and Arne Slot is challenging for a...
tacticsjournal.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:18 AM
If Cody Gakpo scores either of the two shots that hit the post, or the unmarked header inside the six-yard box, Liverpool win, Ruben Amorim is struggling and sacked, and Arne Slot is challenging for a back-to-back title. But he doesn’t score. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/22/r...
We put too much emphasis on the manager’s role in the game. Sometimes the players are the problem, and sometimes they are the solution, but they are first. They are the reason the play happened, not everything is by design. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/20/p...
Putting makeup on a pig
We put too much emphasis on the manager’s role in the game. Sometimes the players are the problem, and sometimes they are the solution, but they are first. They are the reason the play happened, not e...
tacticsjournal.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:19 AM
We put too much emphasis on the manager’s role in the game. Sometimes the players are the problem, and sometimes they are the solution, but they are first. They are the reason the play happened, not everything is by design. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/20/p...
The saddest four words in football that a player can say is “Am I allowed to?” That question comes from the fear of the reprimanding voice of generations of coaches. Their voice echoes in the heads of the players, afraid to make their own decisions. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/19/a...
Am I allowed to?
The saddest four words in football that a player can say is “Am I allowed to?” That question comes from the fear of the reprimanding voice of generations of coaches. Their voice echoes in the heads of...
tacticsjournal.com
October 19, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The saddest four words in football that a player can say is “Am I allowed to?” That question comes from the fear of the reprimanding voice of generations of coaches. Their voice echoes in the heads of the players, afraid to make their own decisions. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/19/a...
The only time during a match in which multiple players can be overtly physical with their arms and hands is during a corner kick. We focus on how rehearsed set-pieces are, but that added physicality from multiple players simultaneously makes overpowered. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/12/c...
Corner kicks are overpowered
The only time during a match in which multiple players can be overtly physical with their arms and hands is during a corner kick. We focus on how rehearsed set-pieces are, but that added physicality f...
tacticsjournal.com
October 12, 2025 at 11:16 AM
The only time during a match in which multiple players can be overtly physical with their arms and hands is during a corner kick. We focus on how rehearsed set-pieces are, but that added physicality from multiple players simultaneously makes overpowered. tacticsjournal.com/2025/10/12/c...
Imagine you are a singer, comedian, speaker, any form of entertainer. Their worst nightmare is the audience leaving mid-performance. Now think of the impact a crowd leaving in the middle of a match can have on a football team. That aspect is overlooked. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/30/i...
Is this a fire drill
Imagine you are a singer, comedian, speaker, any form of entertainer. Their worst nightmare is the audience leaving mid-performance. Now think of the impact a crowd leaving in the middle of a match ca...
tacticsjournal.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Imagine you are a singer, comedian, speaker, any form of entertainer. Their worst nightmare is the audience leaving mid-performance. Now think of the impact a crowd leaving in the middle of a match can have on a football team. That aspect is overlooked. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/30/i...
I can’t unsee how effective a midfielder dropping and maintaining six or more yards of separation is to help break up a compact defense. I wish more teams rotated midfielders back like this to unlock space for easier central progression. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/28/y...
You won't unsee how effective midfield rotations with six or more yards of separation can be
I can’t unsee how effective a midfielder dropping and maintaining six or more yards of separation is to help break up a compact defense. I wish more teams rotated midfielders back like this to unlock ...
tacticsjournal.com
September 28, 2025 at 11:16 AM
I can’t unsee how effective a midfielder dropping and maintaining six or more yards of separation is to help break up a compact defense. I wish more teams rotated midfielders back like this to unlock space for easier central progression. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/28/y...
Numbers like 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, and 5-2-3 describe the formation to help us quickly visualize how players are arranged on the pitch, but that is our interpretation of the tactic. What is being communicated by the coach to the players is what matters. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/26/t...
Telephone numbers
Numbers like 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, and 5-2-3 describe the formation to help us quickly visualize how players are arranged on the pitch, but that is our interpretation of the tactic. What is being commu...
tacticsjournal.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Numbers like 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, and 5-2-3 describe the formation to help us quickly visualize how players are arranged on the pitch, but that is our interpretation of the tactic. What is being communicated by the coach to the players is what matters. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/26/t...
The best ideas are ones that are not forced. They will flow out of you. You won’t even be able to give yourself a second to overthink it. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/24/d...
Don't force things
The best ideas are ones that are not forced. They will flow out of you. You won’t even be able to give yourself a second to overthink it.
tacticsjournal.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM
The best ideas are ones that are not forced. They will flow out of you. You won’t even be able to give yourself a second to overthink it. tacticsjournal.com/2025/09/24/d...