With many modern teams defending deeper and in more numbers, the challenge of creating and exploiting attacking space is greater than ever.

With many teams set-up with only one central striker, the task is even tougher. 

In the first of a two part article, FA National Coach and England U19s Head Coach Noel Blake, tells The Boot Room about the importance of developing a new breed of forward player, one who is skilled in the art of forward movement.

The Boot Room:  How would you assess the movement of the strikers you work with in the England youth teams?

Noel Blake:  As we often only play with one striker, we often only one see one movement to receive the ball.

In our recent game against Germany, it was interesting to observe the movement of their strikers. It was common to see them making five or six different runs before receiving a pass.

It was different to what we see from our young players, who must understand that you may have to move four, five, six or seven times to receive a pass.

It was as if the German strikers were saying to our defenders: ‘I’m going to play a game with you’.

How can coaches encourage players to appreciate and develop off the ball movement?

If you look at basketball, and you’re playing as a centre, if you don’t receive a pass from a team-mate you keep adjusting your position until you can receive the ball.

You move long to go short, or you move short to go long. You’re continually shifting in order to receive the ball.

How important is it that players and coaches understand the difference between cute and clever movement and constantly being on the move?

Clever movement doesn’t necessarily mean working hard physically. It does, however, mean working hard psychologically.

When the ball is being recycled by the defenders and the holding midfielder, the centre-forward should be continually playing a game with the opposition’s centre-half.

It’s a mindset. All the time, the striker should be thinking: where is the space? How can I create space and how can I move the defender into a position where they are not comfortable?

Strikers must be thinking all the time. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s second goal against England was a perfect example.

How important is it for strikers to change the tempo of their play?

When a striker is relaxed, they’re observing and scanning the scene, waiting and anticipating the moment when they can quickly spring into action and leave the defender waiting.

If you’re always moving quickly it’s often easier for a defender to mark and they often relish the physical challenge.

By varying playing between fast and slow, you may lull the defender into a false sense of security, initially relaxing them and then exploiting the space around them with quick and explosive movements.

This has to become the next step for our international strikers.

The full interview with Noel Blake is in December’s issue of The Boot Room, The FA Licensed Coaches’ Club magazine.

To subscribe to The FA’s coaching magazine join The FA Licensed Coaches’ club here.

Read issue one of The Boot Room here