The Future of British Football

This topic contains 45 replies, has 14 voices, and was last updated by thekickoff thekickoff 6 years, 9 months ago.

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  • #1497731
    foxyfoxes
    foxyfoxes
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    • :

    The entire youth development processes have gone through complete overhauls across a lot of the western nations over the last 15-20 years. I know in Aus (where I live) we have been following the same track as a lot of other nations. Our curriculum was only written 8 years ago and before that it was a complete mess. The curriculum is very basic, in fact very lacking in most areas of the game, however it has been designed mostly to support up and starting amateur coaches who need guidance. This curriculum has been written with a lot of influences, the Dutch 70s system of total football, the Brazilian and Japanese methods of the last 30 years and also now the Spanish influence. All are trying to encourage individual skills talent, a lot of 1v1 stuff from a very early age. The theory being that they need the kids to have a broad range of ball manipulation skills before the ages of 12-13 as the belief is that the skill acquisition phase comes to a slow down at that point. After that, the aim is for those players to adapt those skills with their growing bodies, which is a huge challenge for the kids. I’ve seen brilliantly technically gifted 11 year olds never manage to use those skills once they have had their growth spurt.

    Anyway, there is a lot of research and science gone in to all of this and by the sounds of it, if these kids you talk about are genuinely good then I would suggest you find another club that values technical skill over physical prowess. The modern, professional setup is more geared towards the technical aspect than the physical so it doesn’t sound like you guys are associated with the best clubs.

    #1497806

    NotoriousBingo
    Participant
    • :

    You guys are all talking about skill levels but that is just a tiny part of the game. The ones that succeed are the mentally strong, coaches also coach the individuality out of players. Get them to shut up shop instead of expressing themselves.

    Of all the pro athletes i know, its their mentality that makes them. They can have all in the world and lose out if they dont have that drive you need.

    #1497863
    j c
    j c
    Participant
    • :

    England just won the U20 World Cup, so perhaps it’s not just about lack of talent.

    I didn’t see anyone else make this point, but I think the amount of money in the game poses problems for youngsters who don’t yet have their priorities sorted in life.
    The average salary in the game started to drastically change around 1995, as you can see in this chart
    http://www.sportingintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Annual-foot-wage-increase-since-84.jpg

    A typical young player might sign a 5 years contract for 200k a year, and in some cases a lot more (Solanke, yet to break into first team football, has just signed a contract worth 600k a year), they are now set financially for life.
    In order to be competitive at the highest level footballers need to look after themselves off the pitch. Get the nutrition exactly right, day after day, month after month, year on year, it’s a sacrifice. But when you’re all set financially, where does the motivation come from? Especially when it starts getting harder because now they have to compete with adults and step up to a higher level. Will they rise to the challenge, or enjoy the lifestyle and money instead?

    Is it a coincidence that since the late 90’s (when wages skyrocketed) the rate of English players breaking into the first-team in the PL has dried up?
    There was a time when young players had to really earn it before they were set for life financially, nowadays they have it all, before they’ve even broken into the first team, and I think that’s ruining a lot of players development.

    #1497906
    Arsenal_FC
    Arsenal_FC
    Participant
    • :

    I don’t know whether there is any data that shows the amount of English youth choosing football as a career and the number of talents joining football academies, whether it is increasing or decreasing.

    #1500150
    thekickoff
    thekickoff
    Participant
    • :

    NotoriousBingo has hit the nail on the head, the problem has been mentality for the 20-25 years especially. The leaders in the last innings of the old Division 1 and early Premier League, not as of these necessarily focusing on ability were the likes of Sheringham, Shearer, Pearce, Pallister, Keown, Adams, Platt, Ince, Butcher, Waddle etc… These men had cojones of which the fear of failure wasn’t even considered to be in their psyche. The rise of social media, coupled with the pathetic sensationalism dramatics of the mainstream media and the rise of the “gangster” image of which comes with money, is certainly the reason why our young players are almost scared to turn out for club or country. One bad tackle and you’re considered a monster, one decent goal and you’re a world beater, this cannot be good for kids/young adults to live on this constant mentality cliff edge. Even a later example of this would be Vardy who has had one good season at high level football, could be argued of his performances in the Championship were hardly dazzling, but was considered to be by idiotic pundits as the saviour to Englands striking situation. Wrong.

    Fast forward and the older players of the current England team, and those retired in the last 5 years, have had success at club level but not at international level but why? It comes down to responsibility, or rather lack of. At club level, one can choose to forget a bad performance knowing others will step up, eager to make an impression (for footballing or financial reasons) and that there are a minimum of 37 other league games to make up for it.

    If we consider the effects driven by society, it has become ridiculously PC by trying to appeal to all without offending anyone, an impossible task. Parents are probably the most affected as discipline is considered to be a practise of the past, it never did me or my friends any harm. Only Fools and Horses would wouldn’t of aired in the modern era due to some of the jokes, never given in malice/or intending to offend. This has eventually termed the word “haters” which used to be known as criticism where millennials (max 25 and under) have a safe space to be protected from anything, preferring to moan with the air of self entitlement rather than earning respect. Leading to football example of Solanke, demanding huge wages without making a single appearance for the first team. What a joke.

    Let’s start by taking off the headphones for matches, get them scrubbing the boots/laying out the kits and start earning and respecting the magnificent opportunity of playing first team football. At a coaching level there needs to be honest comments of performances with constructive criticism in order for kids to progress and become stronger people as well as improved players. Making mistakes is natural but actually learning from them is what separates us from the likes of Germany, Spain, Argentina and Italy.

    If anyone saw how many of the starting line ups for the Under 21’s Final play first team football for some of the worlds best clubs yet cannot break in the senior squad yet, then compare this to the England U21 squad the truth is more than worrying.

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