HoldUp Ball (HUB) is a great tool for giving your attacking play morestructure. It\'s uses are as varied as its effects, as differentpositions and different tactics will utilise HUB in different ways andfor different purposes. How you use it will be affected by whetheryou\'re attacking or defending and on what formation you choose.
Whetheryou choose to use it or not is obviously personal preference. Those whoprefer slow-tempo systems may feel they don\'t need HUB, since itsprimary use is to hold up the play for a few moments to pick betterpasses or to allow players to get into better positions. However, witha few key positions given this instruction, your side may become evenmore clinical and hold up the ball can become an essential part of yourtactics. Higher-tempo systems may use it much more to dictate where onthe pitch they are more patient and where they want to be moreexplosive.
HUB basically does what it says on the tin - theplayer will wait on the ball for a little longer than usual to give himand his team more time to choose the best course of action. It requiresgood decisions in order to work to the fullest effect, since itmight encourage some players to \"dawdle\" on the ball and concedepossession, especially against high-closing-down, hard-tackling teams.Sometimes, it\'s best to run with the ball, or pass it first time. Theplayer needs to be able to make this decision. You may also want tohave strength, since HUB sometimes means that player will playwith his back to goal and a defender on his back. A weak player will beeasily bundled over and will lose the ball, whereas a stronger playermay get a free kick or buy just enough time to play a killer pass andstart a successful attacking move.
Below is a list of where we feel it\'s best to use and best not to use HUB
