Charles Hughes (football manager) explained

Charles Hughes
Death Date:August 2024 (aged 91)
Known For:Director of coaching for The Football Association[1]
Nationality:English

Charles Hughes (1933 – August 2024) was an English football coach and author who was the director of coaching for the Football Association. He authored the FA's official coaching manual and was an early developer of long ball tactics.[2]

Coaching

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] He began football coaching in 1964 by being assistant coach to Allen Wade, and used the experience he gained from studying for a degree in physical education at Loughborough University.[3] Hughes would later become the Director of Coaching for The Football Association and publish his book, The Winning Formula, which would be the basis of how English football would be played and coached for several decades.[4] [5] [6] [7]

Tactics

Hughes presented his ideas in the 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 and the Brazil national team, as well as many England youth games. His ideals were developed from those previously developed by World War II Wing Commander Charles Reep.[8] From his statistical analysis, Hughes emphasised 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.[9]

Death

On 13 August 2024, it was announced that Hughes had died at the age of 91.[10]

Legacy and criticism

Many coaches and managers in England advocated his long-ball philosophy but some critics have derided his philosophy for encouraging a generation of players who lack basic technical skills and understanding of different tactical playing strategies.[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Work

The Official FA Guide to Basic Team Coaching

Notes and References

  1. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-learning-to-live-with-footballs-bogeyman-dave-hadfield-lived-next-door-to-charles-hughes--and-survived-1376088.html Football: Learning to live with football's bogeyman: Dave Hadfield lived next door to Charles Hughes - and survived
  2. News: Profile: The professor breaks cover: Charles Hughes. . 28 November 1993. 15 September 2010 . London . Norman . Fox.
  3. Web site: Maximum Opportunity. Theblizzard.co.uk. 28 August 2019.
  4. Web site: The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Twelve. Jonathan. Wilson. Philippe. Auclair. Rob. Smyth. Sid. Lowe. Iain. Macintosh. James. Montague. Graham. Hunter. Miguel. Delaney. Tim. Vickery. Sergio. Levinsky. 3 March 2014. Blizzard Media Ltd. Google Books.
  5. Book: Encyclopedia of British Football - Richard Cox - Google Books . 63 . 9780714652498 . 2 September 2012. Cox . Richard William . Russell . Dave . Vamplew . Wray . 2002 .
  6. Book: Anthony, Strudwick. Soccer Science. 7 June 2016. Human Kinetics. 566. 9781450496797. Google Books.
  7. Web site: It's A Man's Game: English Football and Socio-Cultural Change . Andrews . Ian . 2013 . etheses.lse.ac.uk . 14 November 2019.
  8. News: Grim Reep . . 15 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120623000304/http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2502/29 . 23 June 2012 . dead .
  9. Book: Robson, Bobby. Farewell but not Goodbye. Hodder and Stoughton. 2005. 978-0-340-82346-0. registration.
  10. Web site: 13 August 2024 . Former FA director of coaching Charles Hughes passes away at the age of 91 . 13 August 2024 . The Football Association.
  11. News: The guru who is not afraid to upset the apple cart . The Daily Telegraph . 23 March 2002. London . John . Cartwright.
  12. News: England must develop the creative instinct . The Independent . 12 November 2001 . London . James . Lawton .
  13. News: England managers need direction . https://web.archive.org/web/20071126014132/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/11/25/sfncar125.xml. dead. 26 November 2007. Daily Telegraph . 25 November 2007. London . John . Cartwright.
  14. News: How will English football develop? . BBC . 17 December 2007. Jonathan . Stevenson.
  15. News: Will the Bulldog's Fall Give Rise to a New Breed of English Soccer?. . 24 November 1993. 15 September 2010. Rob. Hughes.
  16. News: The New Boys From Brazil. . 14 June 1995. 15 September 2010. Rob. Hughes.
  17. News: Brazil's coach in plagiarism row . BBC. 3 June 2005. 15 September 2010. Steve. Kingstone.

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