26/08/2026
Outcome Can Lie
A player can make the right pass and still be learning the wrong thing.
In football, we often judge the decision by the outcome. Pass completed, good decision. Goal scored, good choice. Beat the defender, well done. Lost the ball, poor decision.
But the game is not that simple.
A young player might complete a pass because the defender was slow, not because the picture was right. They might score from a poor shot selection. They might dribble past someone when the better decision was to release the ball earlier. They might lose possession trying to play the right pass, but the timing or support around them was wrong.
This is why decision-making is so difficult to coach. If we only judge the final action, we miss the picture the player was working from.
Did they see the pressure? Did they know where the spare player was? Did they understand the risk? Did they recognise the defender’s body shape? Did they predict what would happen next? Did they choose the action because it was best, or because it was the only thing they saw?
That difference is huge.
Good coaching is not just correcting the action. It is helping the player understand the picture before the action.
I think this is where we need to get more precise with young players.
Not just, “Good pass.” Maybe: “What did you see before you played it?” Not just, “Unlucky.” Maybe:
“Was the decision wrong, or did the outcome make it look wrong?”
That is the level where real learning starts.
Football does not need players who only chase good outcomes. It needs players who understand why an action was right, wrong, risky, repeatable or lucky. That is a very different level of development.
What do you think coaches should praise more: the outcome, the decision, or the picture before the decision?
