How to deal with parents

Every soccercoach knows what I'm talking about. Those parents who know exactly how to win the game, what formation is best for the team and, ofcourse, where to put his/her own child. What is the best way to deal with those parents?
First of all, there are several ways to deal with them. Some coaches think it's the best to invite them to trainings, explain how they work and really get the parents involved. Personally, I think it's better to keep them as far away as possible.
I once had a parent come up to me and said:' It's not going the way it should be, you have to use that substitute (which was her child, ofcourse) because you need an extra striker. All the parents watching agree with me'. Sure enough all the parents agree, because there is no way most parents openly disagree with the one who is an expert at using their voice so loudly people on the other side of the pitch can hear.
I thanked her for her openness and her comming up to me (most of the times they don't even have the guts to say it in your face). I then explained I had an idea of how to play and which players I needed for that kind of play (note: I didn't tell her what idea) and that I would use a substitute when I thought it was necessary.
She went back and I didn't hear a thing for the rest of the season. You don't have to get into an argument, just be clear on how you deal with things and you're not going to do anything unless you want to yourself. Maybe they'll try another time, maybe not, just never let them get the upperhand.

Holland - Uruguay analysis

Last Monday Holland played the semi-final of the world cup. Uruguay was the last obstacle on the way to the final. I want to talk about the important role of the midfield when playing a 4-3-3 formation.

Holland started with the same formation as they every match did this WC. Only the line-up was slighty different because of two suspensions. Boularhouz played instead of van der Wiel and de Zeeuw played instead of de Jong. This way the defensive block of 6 players was complete again. Up front were the three attacking midfielders and the striker.

When you put 2 central defensive midfielders right in front of the defense, it's hard to keep possession and play attacking football. It's hard because when they recieve the ball, there are no option's ahead, they only see the way back. This caused problems in the first half. Holland could not create any chances, the 1-0 was a rather lucky strike from van Bronkhorst. Uruguay are the lesser team and also had trouble creating chances. Forlan did the same as van Bronkhorst and put the ball in the back of the net with a shot from distance.

The second half became very interesting. De Zeeuw went off having an injury and van der Vaart came in. With van der Vaart there were now 2 players in the midfield who can distribute passes anywhere on the pitch. After a couple of minutes the block of 2 defensive midfielders was gone. Van Bommel played behind van der Vaart and Sneijder. This way they played with 3 central midfielders against 2 from Uruguay. Holland took possession of the ball and scored twice, game over. Uruguay did a little something back in injury time but it wasn't enough, Holland through to the final!