The Language
The words to keep open during a match.
How to use this
Treat this page as a current working language, not a finished taxonomy.
Ask one question of whatever you're watching:
Can this team see it, and can it do anything about what it sees?
Clarity is whether the picture is shared and stable.
Agency is how much a team can act on what it sees — whether it has options and initiative, and whether it can shape the game's direction rather than merely respond to it.
The words below are attempts to describe different combinations of those conditions — and what they may make possible, or impossible, a few minutes from now
Behavioural Expressions
These describe recognisable ways Clarity and Agency may express themselves in play. They are not mutually exclusive. A team can be Connecting, Driving and Slicing at the same time. The purpose of the vocabulary is to give observers more precise language for what they are seeing, not to force every passage into a single label.
Settle
Stabilise rhythm and regain orientation. Reduce noise, restore clarity, re-establish control.
Contain
Constrain opponent options and preserve the team's shape. Slow the game, limit risk, deny momentum.
Connect
Link players, ideas, and intentions. Build shared pictures and stable passing routes.
Drive
Advance with purpose and pressure. Carry, combine, and force defensive adjustments.
Ignite
Accelerate tempo and destabilise structure. Trigger movement, provoke mistakes, create openings.
Slice
Break lines with precision. Pass, carry, or combine through pressure to access new zones.
Command
Sustain high Clarity and Agency across rhythm, territory and behaviour. The opponent reacts; the team decides.
Failure Patterns
Failure Patterns describe proposed conditions in which a team's ability to read, coordinate or act on the game appears to deteriorate.
Failure does not mean bad. A Failure Pattern is not a judgement about the quality of a team, nor does it imply that a particular outcome will follow. It describes a behavioural condition, not a verdict on the players, coach or quality of the football.
Fog
Clarity is deteriorating faster than Agency. Players struggle to read cues or coordinate, even where options may still exist.
Drift
Clarity and Agency loosen gradually. Shape softens, intentions blur, and no clear rupture occurs.
Stall
Clarity remains relatively intact; Agency is low. The team sees the problem but cannot turn that understanding into progression.
Scramble
Attempts to act outpace collective Clarity. Problems are solved locally rather than collectively.
Overheat
Agency runs ahead of Clarity. Initiative and intensity remain high while decisions become rushed or unstable.
Collapse
Clarity and Agency are both low. Structure breaks, roles dissolve, and the opponent increasingly determines the shape of play.
Forces
What may be associated with movement between conditions.
Stability
Spacing, scanning, calm. May support movement toward Settle, Contain, or Connect.
Advantage
Pressing, overloads, verticality. May support movement toward Drive, Ignite, Slice, or Command.
Human
Emotion, unpredictability. May shift Clarity or Agency in either direction.
These are proposed influences, not established causes.
Transitions
A Transition is a visible shift in a team's behavioural condition — movement from one pattern or configuration toward another.
It may appear before any change in tactic or scoreline.
Forces may accompany or contribute to that movement; whether they cause it remains an open question.