The A-League is the national football competition of Australia. This was a girl's guide to it - mixing swooning with a sheer love of the game - and a fear of it failing.
The fear of failure still exists, and I still swoon occasionally, but my blog now involves my coaching (mis)adventures and things that happen at uni/work.
Showing posts with label Things to learn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Things to learn. Show all posts
Having an excessive amount of free time, but being limited to a computer does have its perks – it gives me a chance to catch up on months of blogging and forum posts that I would not normally read as there is always something non-computer-based to do.
Going through the links on my blog I “stumbled” across From the Left Wing again, and found a post that captured a few of my thoughts about football and the role of cheating in the sport. Titled Henry’s Handball & the Moral Ambiguity of Football, it’s fairly obvious what the post covers.
Football is a game that stirs emotions. Managed by humans, mistakes are bound to happen - fouls that are missed, clean tackles that become punishable offences, diving, calling a ball out when it remained within the field of play, giving a goal kick when it was clearly a corner, etc. Oh, and handballs.
Any of these offences can have drastic consequences - but I think handballs are rarely used to the same effect as Maradona and, recently, Henry have done. Perhaps that’s why Henry copped so much flak but FIFA did nothing. I would say it’s almost become accepted that players dive and are (mistakenly) awarded penalties. I could imagine that if FIFA made a decision on Henry, they would set a precedent for all kinds protests against rule-breaking actions that result in a goal/could have resulted in a goal.
And wouldn’t they be busy bees if they had done anything with Henry. As Jennifer Doyle writes:
Handballs, offside calls, the identification of goals and the discounting of goals, calls for aggressive tackles and diving - all are made by referees without the help of video replay, and are vulnerable to human error and players know it - and the most competitive exploit this. It becomes part of your game.
It becomes part of your game. It becomes part of the opposition’s game. If it’s part of the opposition’s game, it should be part of yours. Circular argument, but you have to wake up and realise it happens.
I think Australians are too naïve when it comes too this. We generally play by the rules, but someone else will spoil the party. And when the game is over – we’re left with nothing.
Even if you refuse to include it in your game you must accept that it occurs. You must make sure that you do not give the opposition the opportunity to cheat in a way that is catastrophic to your team. I won’t name or describe the best example for us, as I think that it is obvious.
“Cheating" is an art in this sport.
Personally, I’ve never handballed in an un-obvious way (I have had brain snaps in the middle of the park where I’ve obviously stuck my hand out, made contact and sworn at myself/burst into a giggle fit at my idiocy) and diving isn’t in my repertoire.
But I recognise that football can be subjective. I won’t pretend otherwise.
I exploit this. I won’t pretend otherwise.
I indirectly address referees.
I abuse opposition officials if I notice them unjustly interfering with the game (as a coach, I don’t taint my players – I will simply give my team instructions or cheer them on but especially loudly when the linesperson happens to be in front of me. Or specifically, their ear is in front of me. Their faces are gold when you see their paranoia develop - Surely it’s just in my head that she gives louder instructions while I am there.)
I play until the referee stops me. Dribbled the ball out? Carry on until the referee tells you otherwise. Similarly, don’t stop because you think the opposition has dribbled the ball out. We’ve all been caught out before.
Lots of white lies. You probably think that they’re not as bad as handballs and diving in the box…
Let’s return to I play until the referee stops me. I have gotten away with football murder. I was so good, I convinced all but one team-mate (who was on the goal line with me), our coach (at the time, my eagle-eyed dad) and the opposition attackers. What if I got caught? Well, I would have played dumb and accepted the referee’s decision.
For the record, I have only ever had one yellow card. For indoor. Apparently slide tackles are illegal.
Last night was a show of how far the A-League needs to come. It was also a show of how our Fox Sports commentators need to be more critical. With two commentators calling every game on Fox Sports, there is obviously the capacity for one person to be the play-by-play announcer and the other to offer some critical analysis of the came in progress.
Last night Andy Harper and Mike Cockerill did their usual jobs of describing the play - well, kinda. There were times last night that they would describe some of the play - or make general comments on how much better Gamba Osaka were than Adelaide. But they offer nothing to those who watch the game and want to really learn something. The sad part was that everything was easily blamed on Adelaide's smaller budget and how young the A-League is compared to the J-League. It was almost as if it wasn't Adelaide or its players' faults that they were being played off the park last week and last night.
Finally, a shining beacon of truth came along at half time. Ross Aloisi typically has me rolling my eyes - how can I take such a thug seriously in a suit and with a microphone in his hand? Well, it turns out that the thug in a suit was the only one who could either see the lack of spirit in the Adelaide boys or had the balls to actually voice his opinion. Craig Foster is another face of TV who is known for his criticism - but he tends to criticise everything possible. A lack of proper acknowledgment has worked against him and I know that many fans of football tend to switch off once he opens his mouth.
Last week Robbie Cornthwaite was a disappointment, whenever he was beaten or needed to back-track, he'd just jog along behind the play. No desperation. No hunger. Did he really want to be there? Last night, the same thing happened. But it took the half-time break for someone to point it out. Aloisi also criticised the rest of the defence. Unfortunately being an ex-player does not mean that you are able to be a good critic or offer that extra piece of information to fans about the tactics that are working, or conversely not working. Andy Harper anyone?
If a team was "built from the back," as Harper would say of Adelaide (or something like that), you would expect a team that had a rock-solid defence that would play the ball out. Instead Adelaide have a brainless defence - any time there was trouble, they would play hoof-ball forward. That was how the poor Birighitti ended up being put under pressure due to Valkanis, and how Gamba scored their first goal due to Ognenovski.
Unfortunately, it's a style of play that is deeply embedded in our football psyche - perhaps an artefact of so many youngsters being saturated with AFL. So until our youngsters stop playing Route 1, perhaps more hoof-ball is what we should not be suprised at seeing. We need to ensure our coaches at all levels readily criticise the style - after all making contact, whacking the ball with some strength, getting it in the right direction AND getting it to a team-mate is a lot to muster in one move. It is a risky move. That is not to say that players should not play that way if they can - but in all seriousness, first touch is something that is lacking in many of our A-League players. If such a basic skill is missing, how could we possibly expect success in more difficult skills?
Last night was not about Adelaide "choking" as some have said. It was a reflection of Australian club football. To lose 5-0 on aggregate would not only be a disappointment to Adelaide fans, but it should be a disappointment to all Australian football fans - regardless of which team you follow in the A-League, if any.
The first rule of life should be not assume anything. It's very applicable in football, and I've vented about it before. Last time, my rant was angled towards strikers (using Ronaldo as an example) and had a bit to do with the second ball. i.e. the ball the occurs when the keeper spills it, parries it, or if the ball hits the post.
This time I will rage against defenders. So many times in my playing days I was let down by my defenders, who would assume that I would safely deal with the ball. It was really only in my final full season that I played that I came across a defender who would always back me up (loved that sweeper to bits), and more often that not you'll see defenders slow down when the ball gets closer to the keeper. What I mean is, there's a shot, and once it's taken the defenders back off, preparing to receive the ball from the keeper once s/he has it. But what if the keeper doesn't end up with it?
When I got to my seat at Telstra Dome last night, Dad warned me about Sydney's first goal. No hello or how was work, just a "When you see Sydney's penalty you will fume." I suspected the worst - and when I saw the penalty, my fears were realised. No one should ever assume that a penalty will end with the kick itself. What if the shot hits the post or the 'keeper attacks it? The defence (and the attacking team) should be ready to run into the box as soon as the ball is hit. Not after you see that the ball is still in play.
Where were the Adelaide defence!? Alagich was the only one who reacted, and even then, you could have measured his reaction with a calender.
Quite a long post, which I haven't seperated. I suggest you make yourself a nice cup of coffee, and sip while you read! Hmmm... coffee...
------------------------ Over at A Seat at the A-League, John has written a nice post regarding some discussion on sport and football. While there's nothing in for me to add to this, there was a comment about Ronaldo that triggered a reminder for me - one of my pet hates...
Stupid bookings are easily my number 1 pet hate. Mickey-Mouse passes would come second, and tied, slightly ahead or slightly behind would be indecision and assumption.
Taken from A Seat at the A-League, is the following slab of text, which I've marked with numbers for my purposes.
(1) Malcolm also talked about how people who study a subject deeply and gain extensive practical experience develop an ability to tap into their unconscious to made very fast and accurate decisions. Here he used the example of Ronaldo who will take a striking opportunity instantaneously, without conscious thought, by drawing on all his experience and training. (2) And that if he did think about the shot then someone would have the time to take the ball from him. Or as we often see in the A-League, a player creates a fantastic opportunity, and then takes time to think about his shot and powers it straight to the goalkeeper or wide
Part 1: Assumption, and why it doesn't belong in football
While the way to deal with some situations is it to draw on experience and training, I'd be more inclined to apply the 'without conscious thought' to goalkeepers. While the aim of football is to score goals, the 'keeper is very much an antagonist, trying to stop any goals. Training is needed to ensure technical proficiency; experience is used to read the game to try to anticipate what will happen next. Sometimes the 'guess' is incorrect, and the keeper is wrong-footed. It's vital that the read the game is read sufficiently well to not be wrong-footed, and to not concede a goal. Sometimes a strike can be so good that reflexes are required, and this is when I consider a 'subconscious' event occurs - it's pure instinct. In fact, I'd regard a good keeper as someone who naturally has the instinct to go after the ball however it's been kicked/headed/hand-of-Godded, rather than someone who follows the textbook so closely they don't know what to do when there's a variation.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, is an opportunist. Sure, experience and training both play a vital role in making him the brilliant goal-scorer that he was, but most of his game is played consciously. He has the upper hand on his main opposition (the other team's keeper) because he has more of an idea of what's going to happen. He will spend most of his game time moving into the right positions, making space, 'anticipating' the play that should happen because it's been practised to death at training. What made Ronaldo such a good opportunist is that he knew where he had to be. Sometimes the play would work and a goal would be scored. But sometimes it didn't work - a misguided pass, a defender's interception, whatever. And his role in the team was to finish off those moves.
If you cast your minds back to the World Cup of 2002, in the final Ronaldo scored both goals. Try and remember the first one - it was a shot (from Rivaldo?) that Kahn should have held onto comfortably. Unfortunately Kahn spills it (his first error of the Championship and to do it in the final, I feel for him) and Ronaldo scores from it. Why? Because Ronaldo asked himself, “What if?”* What if Kahn doesn't get it? What if Kahn fumbles it? I should be there. And he was. Kahn fumbled the ball. Goal.
It's not that Ronaldo reacted to Kahn spilling the ball, it's that Ronaldo was already there. And as such I can't say it was 'subconscious.' Heck, even Ronaldo's presence in the area, putting pressure on Kahn to hold onto the ball, taking away time could've had an affect on Kahn. I doubt it considering Kahn's steely nature and experience, but you never know.
In short, Ronaldo did not assume that Kahn would hold onto the ball. No matter how good a keeper is, you can’t assume they’re going to be perfect 100% of the time. Especially if there is an opponent lurking, defenders should support their keeper as much as they expect the keeper to perform and as a result support them. And it’s not just at goal-scoring opportunities.The ball can be won at any time, even when the opponent has the ball at their feet. If the opponent doesn’t know what to do with the ball, or has only decided what to do after he has received it, it gives time and an opportunity for the ball to be won.
Alternately, if you have the ball, make sure you know what to do with it. Don’t be indecisive… which leads onto…
Part 2: Indecision and why it needs to go from football
The difference between most of our A-League players and top-notch players is essentially time. A good player will always have time to do what he wants with the ball. Not because his opponent gives him time, but because he makes the time for himself.
So a good player is very aware – he knows where his opponents are on the field, where his team-mates are, and of course where the ball is. When he doesn’t have the ball, the player should be creating space for himself, or creating space for team-mates by drawing out an opposing player from the area where the ball may be. When a team-mate has the ball, the player should position himself to receive the ball, and he should know what to do with the ball before he receives it. That is to say, when he does not have the ball, the player should have already considered his options in the event the next pass in the team is to him. This gives the player time, because he has to control the ball and can pass immediately or take on a player straight away because he knew what he was going to do. If it’s a pass, he can talk to his target player as the ball is being passed from the initial ball-possessor to our main player, perhaps while to ball is being controlled, and then before the pass is completed the target player knows what is going on, or at least to expect the ball.
The not so good player will receive the ball, control it, and once the ball is under his control will look up and assess the situation. Perhaps he’ll take one or two or three or four more touches on the ball before he decides to do something. With all these touches the opposition is getting closer, and taking away space from the player with the ball. Putting pressure on him to do something.If the pressure’s too great, perhaps the player with the ball misguides his pass, or touches the ball bit too far out of his reach.
Experience is an essential component of ensuring one knows what to do with the ball. Knowing how a defender will try to block you from approaching the goal can be turned into an advantage if you know he will jockey/guide you towards the line. You may figure that by pushing the ball to the outside of play and quickly stepping/rolling** it back in you could effectively throw the opposing defender and give yourself some time to pass the ball off. Speed is important in football – not just physically, but mentally too – which is why I love playing it so much.
And there are some players who I start to swoon over, not because they’re good looking, but because of a play. Whether it was an extraordinary control of the ball (eg. a cushioning and push in a different direction, all in one movement), a good turn (Nicky Carle has a bag of these), or the ultimate way to make-Cecilia-adore-you: the through-ball. Vision and precision.I’m in love.
Hahahaha – seriously, I love passes amongst a team, it’s what makes football enjoyable to watch – even if the game ends up as a scoreless draw.When a through-ball works it’s almost magical – you’ve beaten an opponent (or two), and found your team-mate, ideally put the ball in front of his run so he can maintain speed and if a goal’s scored you have an assist. If he misses you can yell at him!Well, if he skies it or passes it to the keeper, yell at him. A good save or narrow miss is little different. :)
Sorry about the length, but I hope it was mildly educational. For the weekend, best of luck to Newcastle (to win and meet us next week) and to the Victory (to stay injury-free).
Oh yeah, and may Greg Owens be pictured sipping coffee on TV again, and may he not cop any elbows, punches or kicks to his face a cute smile.
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*Well, I’d like to think he did.
** You know, you put your foot on top of the ball and then roll it to where-ever you want.In Spanish it’s “Pisar la pelota.”I don’t know if there’s a term for it in English – step on the ball? How about an example (haven't done one of these in a while...):
Riquelme. He loves to step on the ball. He actually loves the ball. i.e. he's a ball hog - a bit to greedy for my liking, but a good example.
As I said, don't like Riquelme - not enough of a team player for my liking. He also played for Boca. Well, at least it wasn't River.
May I bring to your attention a post of mine titled 'Muaha-haha-hahahaha.' It was quite apparent that your teams lacks the skill of time-wasting, especially once you were 2-0 up and needed to kill 20 minutes of game time. Start with those nine tips, and here I give you more.
Tip #1 in the original post was related to throw ins. ...he who takes the throw in should distract himself talking to his team-mates attempting to position them and avoiding the retrieval of the ball. You could also avoid taking throw ins by turning your backs to the ball that has gone out. There is a better way to describe what I am saying, but I can't find it in English. And so, to Nick Carle and Milton Rodriguez, "Tenes que mudarse de ese lugar. ¡Ahora - afuera!" (Tip #10)
Tip #2 in the related to goalkeepers avoiding the collection of the ball for goal-kicks. ...the 'keeper should waste time by yelling at his defenders about whatever... Then the 'keeper can go get the ball. Alternately, you can avoid getting the ball altogether. Hear what I said Ante Covic? Too many times the ball would be shot wide and you'd automatically turn in that direction! Slow down, back up and take a few steps the other way, and proceed go around the goal to collect the ball. (Tip #11) You could also grab a drink from your bottle under the goals as you go around, moisten your gloves a bit with the water, wipe them down if you *accidentally* put too much water on. (Tip #12)
I did, however, want to commend your ball-boys for having two balls on the pitch. Quite liked that one, and whether it was intentional or not, the ball-boys deserve a gold star. And some alcohol. In fact, if you really wanted to have fun, you could've had players return both balls to the sidelines, so there was no ball to play with. Ball-boys then become over eager and throw three balls onto the pitch (from seperate ball-boys of course), and the balls must not be directed at players. That way players can waste time collecting the balls and passing them back out to the sidelines (or for a cute touch, hand them over to the ball-boy and ruffle his hair). Or ball-girls. Or ball-kids. Whatever. (Tip #13)
My final timewasting tip is probably the only completely legal one, and perhaps does not fit with my 'timewasting tips.'
When the ball is in play, don't be wasteful. Don't attempt stupid shots that go directly (and quickly) to the oppostion. Don't shoot from range so that Bolton immediately has the ball. Play the ball to your Newcastle team-mates, I know you can as you have the most fluid game in the league. But don't play with Mickey Mouse passes so that the ball never reaches its target/your team-mate, and is consequently easily intercepted. You need to make the opposition win the ball on their own merits, and you need not directly pass the ball to them.
When you're putting in crosses, and they keep going to the 'keeper, change them a bit. The original approach is clearly not working if it happens two times in succession. Don't keep trying it another 50 times. It's still not going to work.
Best of luck next weekend.*
-Cecilia Your biggest Melbourne-supporting and Queensland-following Newcastle fan.
*Luck is only given on the condition that Melbourne win on Sunday night.
Firstly, thanks to Shieldsy for giving Leijer (and Thompson) their required yellow cards. I hope you have a happy new year!
Secondly, Melbourne, you need to learn the art of time-wasting.
When the ball goes out for your throw in, he who takes the throw in should distract himself talking to his team-mates attempting to position them and avoiding the retrieval of the ball.
Similarly, when the ball goes out for a goal-kick, the 'keeper should waste time by yelling at his defenders about whatever - how poorly they were defending, demands on why they weren't marking, or arranging his players. Then the 'keeper can go get the ball.
This is a particular favorite of mine, and it works well when there are no ball-boys, such as at Blue Tongue (where there are minimal ball-boys due to the size of the stadium). Take your sweet time collecting the ball. I don't mean walking over to get it, I mean jog over. But that type of jog where you look like you're trying hard to get back, but it would've been faster to walk.
Another favorite of mine is a goal-kick related one. After establishing that your defender will start taking goal-kicks, the 'keeper should retrieve the ball as per tip #3, and hand it over to the hands of the defender. Tell the defender not to kick the ball until the 'keeper is back under the goals, and you may be able to get away with some random pointing before this, as if to suggest to the defender where he should deploy the ball to.
I am also a fan of finding unsavoury patches on the pitch, and trying to place the ball somewhere unstable before a free-kick/goal-kick. The ball will then roll off, and you have to replace it. Apologise to your team-mates, and when it happens again (as it will), you then pretend to act flustered, place it nearby and then kick it.
If you find yourself under pressure and in need of kicking the ball out, make sure you kick it high and far. I've had a lot of fun with this one, where my team was protecting a very slim lead, and we ended up making use of the high fence on one of the sides of the pitch. After kicking all three balls out, we wasted time by acting dumb and making the other team get the balls for us. We then continued to kick them over. Very funny indeed, however only applicable in the A-League if your fans are in on the 'joke' and hide the balls.
Boot laces. Enough said.
Another 'keeper one - fiddle with your gloves.
If you decide to feign an injury wait until a stretcher comes out, and leave the pitch on it.
Alright, I think that's enough time-wasting tips for the moment. Most of these I've used quite happily and I'm yet to get a yellow. But that's women's football and the naivety of the referees we tend to get. I do believe that they're applicable to football in general, although perhaps they cannot be flaunted as readily as I have been able to.
Also, related to the crowd at Blue Tongue, my dad pointed out the high numbers of women at the match. I agreed that the percentage of spectators that were women seemed high compared to other matches, so a bit of an applause for the Mariners.
Onto the goalkeeping at Melbourne Victory. Sure, Theo drives me insane with his lack of confidence, but Galekovic is very late, especially with high balls. I'm really not sure who's worse, but I'd be happy if we signed Necevski.
After half-watching Perth/Newcastle last night, I decided that having Covic at Newcastle wouldn't be a bad thing. I'm all for player development, and I think Kennedy will gain more if Covic is around - even if Kennedy loses his place between the sticks. My change in opinion from being unsure about Covic to deciding I want him there does stem from trying to watch and listen to Kennedy yesterday.
I once played in a team where I was tired of defenders mucking about with the ball in the back-third. So the coach and I worked on teaching them to kick the ball out (eg. onto the sideline) if they were in trouble. I doubt these girls ever watched a football match in their life because they then ended up tapping the ball out in any situation. So I ended up talking throughout the entire match telling them things like "time" (even when your defending, you sometimes have time to do something else or a little more with the ball), "up the line" (heck, if you're going to give a throw in away, keep it as far from me as possible), or telling them how they could distribute the ball. That's the advantage of playing as the 'keeper - you can see the entire field of play.
Now, it's a not as easy to listen to matches (as in the team talking to each other) when you watch the match on the TV due to the commentators, compared to being at the match. Further, the task is made more difficult when Andy Harper is commentating. He just doesn't know when to shut-up. We've now resulted to using the mute button an awful lot. More on Harper/Cockerill some other day. But should Harper have lost his voice for a moment, and Newcastle were defending, you can here Kennedy shouting most of the time. "Out!" and "Kick it out!" are either particular favourites of his or that's what I ended up hearing. He shouts an awful lot this boy... if he made commentary along the lines of, "Player 1, mark up #2" or instructions to watch unmarked players, I couldn't hear it on the TV, probably due to Harper.
I'm hoping with the arrival of Covic, Kenners may learn how to talk to his team, rather than giving mindless "kick it out" shouts. And sure, he had a couple of mis-timed moments during the match, but they've started to occur less often than earlier in the season. There's no doubt the boy has improved, but I'd like to seem him become a better 'keeper, and I believe his communication needs improvement.
Sorry about the (what I think is) tacky music. I swear if I had the time I'd be making all sorts of compilations... or even better, showing exactly the footage I want.
1. Okon's an idiot. Seriously. What was he thinking? Heck, he evidently wasn't thinking! In case you missed it, he conceded a penalty because he decided to grab Qu's shirt. Now, I don't like cheating, although that's a bit of a hypocritical comment considering what I've done, but at least do it so the ref doesn't see. My rule for football is, you only have to follow the rules when the ref's watching. And sure, the refs in the A-League are complete rubbish. But they're not so bad that they can't see your outstretched arm pull the back of an opponent's shirt so he ends up on his bum! Ok, Okon? 2. Nicky Carle's goal. Exactly why every kid in Australia needs to learn the art of the deceptive kick. If you can get your hands on a copy of this, stick it into your scrapbook, and show it to every kiddie who decides to kick a ball. Aside from the fact that he had a brilliant run from his own half, and that he must've been dog-tired, the finish to this was all class. And the best thing about this 'deceptive kick' that I really love, is that you don't see it coming. Whereas most shots involve pushing the ball forward a bit, winding up your kicking leg and giving it a crack, the deceptive shot is nowhere nearly as obvious. But lovely when it works. Essentially you take your shot with your stride. So you let the ball 'sit' back a bit on your kicking side. And when your kicking foot makes the action to take the stride, you kick the ball instead. Once you've mastered the deceptive kick, you can have all sorts of fun, such as Thierry Henry...
This isn't just showboating... he also does it in the 7-0 win over Middlesborough. I think they were 5-0 up at that point. But I just can't find the video on YouTube at the moment. I'll link it later.
3. The refs need specs. If there's one thing that driving me nutty about the A-league, it's the linesmen, sorry, Assistant Referees and the Referees. For example, Vaughn Coveny's yellow.
4. Unprofessionalism from players. Joel Griffiths had a shot towards the end of the match at one point. He didn't miss the goal as such - the ball didn't go into the goal, but (and this is crucial) was still in play. In fact, it happenned to go his way. I was waiting for him to have a follow-up shot. But no, he was so caught up in having missed his first shot, hand on head, etc., that he didn't follow the play until the ball was dead. Grrrrr...
5. Jade North. Ok, make it be known, that sometimes I don't like the guy. But if there was a time to get sent off in a match, I'd rather it be for using a hand to keep a certified goal out then some stupid tackle. Of course it helped that Veart missed the 2nd (or 3rd if you count the retaken one earlier) penalty he took. Was that the same end that he missed last year when he had to retake it?
All up, it was a great match to watch. It may be a skewed view, as I have to admit I was going for Newcastle. I was over the moon when Coveny got that first one in, and then ever so furious at Okon. Like North, I don't like the guy. Or unlike really, as I only sometimes don't like North. Oh, and one more thing..
6. Stop running uselessly!!! I don't understand why players want to transport the ball so much. The more you transport it, the more tired you become, and the more likely that the shot or pass that you aim to do at the end will be inaccurate. Especially at the end of the match. Also, the game slows down to your pace. If you have team-mates around, use them. Not only will the ball out run you when you kick it, it doesn't get tired. Of course, there are exceptions to this, such as when you counter and there's no support - in which case, slow the game down, hold the ball and wait. The other exception is when you're near your goal - take a defender on. Especially in the box, where they're much less likely to tackle you. Unless they're Paul Okon and he'll pull on your shirt.
So much for a girl's guide, eh? I'll try and make an entry solely about players' looks eventually... But not right now - you see, I think I have my priorities straight here.
