Consider this, in general the quickest footballer over 15-20 yards will be the one who can accelerate the most rapidly.
Straight away then, that should tell you something about speed training for football - running lots of 100m sprints is not an effective method of training. Spending time on drills/exercises that increase acceleration and speed off the mark is far more beneficial for a footballer, rarely will a player cover a sprinting distance of more than 15-20 yards according to a recent study by development specialist Ryan Manning.
This article contains a download link to Speed Drills/Exercises used by current Manchester United head of athletic development Tony Strudwick, the download link can be found at the end of this article.
Tony Strudwick has a PHD in sports science which he earned from Liverpool John Moores University. Strudwick has a distinct professional background that includes roles at the English Football Association, Coventry City, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United to name but a few.
Fooball is mostly played in small spaces with quick and explosive movements. That's why it's important for soccer players to focus on multi-directional speed by training acceleration, change of direction and quickness as well as top-end speed.
The combination of all kinds of speed trains soccer players to be fast in all aspects of the game, both with and without the ball. The following download link contains both aspects, drills/exercises both with and without the ball. A superb FREE resource for coaches out there.
Click here to Download your FREE copy.