Charles Hughes (football manager)

Charles Hughes (born 28 July 1929) was the director of FA coaching for the Football Association. He authored the FA's official coaching manual and was an early developer of long ball tactics.^[2]

Coaching

Charles Hughes began his coaching career with the England national amateur football team and Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team between 1964-74 winning 48 matches out of 77.^[1]

Tactics

Hughes presented his ideas in the now defunct magazine Match Analysis and concluded most goals were scored from three passes or fewer, therefore it was important to get the ball quickly forward as soon as possible. He based this analysis on over one hundred games at all levels, including games involving Liverpool F.C. and the Brazilian national team, as well as many England Youth games. His ideals were developed from the those developed by World War II Wing Commander Charles Reep.^[3] From his statistical analysis, Hughes emphasized the importance of particular areas of the field from where goals were most often scored. He called these areas the 'POMO' - Positions Of Maximum Opportunity - and asserted that players would score if the ball was played into the 'POMO' enough times. He stressed the importance of set plays and crosses into the penalty area.^[4]

Many British coaches advocated his long-ball philosophy but critics have derided his philosophy for encouraging a generation of players who lack basic technical skills and understanding of different tactical playing strategies.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Criticism

He was criticized for his old-fashioned tactics.^[12][13][14]

Work

The Official FA Guide to Basic Team Coaching ISBN 0-340-81600-7

References