To be a "possession team" seems to be what everyone aspires for. But how much does time of possession really matter? It seems somewhat common for the lower possession team to win. Latest example: Leeds vs Wolves Leeds had 68% possession to Wolves 32% Wolves won 1-0 stats
Soccer is won and lost in transition period. The team that transitions the best is the team that most likely wins the game. In many cases it is easier to play off of the other teams mistakes than it is to actually create and break teams down (especially at the youth level). It is hard to compare the professional game to the youth game when it comes to possession as the two are vastly different. Possession of the ball should be something that is taught at the youth level but at the highest levels teams must play to their strengths in order to get a result as that is the only thing that matters
One of the theoretical advantages of playing a possession game is that it forces the players on the other team to run more; on top of pulling them out of position a lot, you also just wear them out. In youth soccer, with basically unlimited subs most of the time, that advantage doesn't really exist as much.
This is interesting as a strategy. Reminds me of tennis where you can let the opponent make mistakes, if you know they are prone to do so. Kind of thought provoking.
In theory, the more possession you have, the more scoring opportunities you have. But, that's not a guarantee. And, the more possession you have, the less opportunities the opponents have. It's similar to football, not only in possession stats, but yardage stats. Generally those with more TOP or more yardage will win, but that's far from a hard & fast rule. I remember DS being taught around U10/U11 about "using the keeper" to maintain possession. In fact, I remember one tournament where a boy passed back to the keeper, GK moved the ball to another team mate and we kept possession. One of the parents yelled about they shouldn't pass it back and the coach yelled that he'd rather keep possession than give it up.
It makes sense at the youth level especially because their are just not enough good player's to make consistent possession a powerful tool. Eventually the ball is going to fall to someones foot who is going to make a bad touch/pass/decision OR the field the game is being played on will not allow this. Possession is one tool to help player's develop. Truthfully, the most important things are: creating chances (1v1, 2v1 situations), teaching teams/players how to pressure and teaching correct ball striking technique. Teach these things early on and you'll have more success (that doesn't mean wins necessarily).
I just had a new thought - maybe the answer is that it depends on where on the field the possession is. For ex, if the opposing team keeps the ball on their 1/3rd of the field... fine, no problem. It is no threat. So, in theory, a team could maintain possession most of the game on their side of the field... but never get any scoring opportunities. It seems that in the middle of the pitch is where possession becomes more valuable.
This depends on where the possession is. Possession in your own half is a sure fire way to give up chances. Possession in the other teams half is what kills teams.
This makes me wonder to what extent the trend toward more and more pressing in pro soccer over the past five-plus years has filtered into youth soccer training, especially at younger ages. My soccer-playing son is a 2005 and his club team presses a fair amount and uses it to create a decent number of chances (though not as many goals as you'd like), and his previous two coaches at another club wanted kids to press to some degree (but the tough part at u12, u13 and even some kids at u14 was getting them to not just randomly run at the opposition and overrun the ball or leave teammates hung out to dry). I don't really remember at what age I started seeing his teams or the opposition press as a tactic (rec soccer at the really young ages was sort of all pressing with everyone chasing the ball). Anyone with younger kids able to say when coaches start working this in in some kind of organized fashion as a teamwide tactic? Is it becoming more prevalent, something you start teaching early right alongside touch, how to strike a ball, ...?
That's why I said "in theory". Possession in your own half can also cause opponents to leave their mark or leave some kind of opening that you can exploit. Possession is not the be all, end all. Foot skills is not the be all, end all. I think players need to learn it all and continue to improve through their career.
Possession football requires smart, quick accurate passing and teammates that offer good options. And a GK with good foot skills. And a couple of clinical finishers. Not many youth teams have this.