At the start of the year everything seemed full of hope and promise. It ended badly. Way back in February, Terry and June made a nostalgic comeback, but the script was different and Wayne Bridge found himself written out.
Despite an extraordinary qualifying campaign by Captain Capello, confidence was not high for the WC2010 tournament itself. The English Media were going large, as usual. The way some of them were presenting it, we were nailed on to show our ‘spirit’ and ‘tempo’ to quick-step our way through the group before marching on together to the final. It’s like being in an abusive relationship with the British media. Despite your better judgement, you begin to believe what they are trying to tell you so that this time maybe, just maybe....
For example, after the Japan friendly end May, when we managed to win only by way of 2 hari kiris, I see the picture with a haiku:
Rustenberg sun melts
Thoughts of Graz and Wembley grass.
Victory awaits.
After the Algeria game and when we finally staggered out of our group I did another:
Bloemfontein horn fans
Deaf the ear. Acapella
You have no chance here.
My blog started with the Germany game. I am still bemused with the lack of consensus , commitment and direction. Whilst few are reading my blog so far, I am hoping to get a grip and change this in 2011 by deploying a general principle of physics: a little bit of force applied over a large area. Look out for a survey that will try, for the first time anywhere as far as I am aware, to address the basic problems (see Juror #8 from my 12 Angry Men post, 28 December).
Kicked in the Cloisters! Football - bloody hell.
About Me
- kicboy
- KICboy - Kicked In (the) Cloisters. That is how I now feel about football. From Charterhouse to the Champions League, the game of the people needs to be returned to the people. Let's end this corporate scope creep! 80s YTS footballer turned Project Manager with a few roles in between whilst I changed my game. I am passionate about football at every level and want to encourage people to WAKE UP! There is no point even looking at the findings of the Government Select Committee Enquiry Into Football Report unless we are going to make a stand and bring about some of the changes recommended. I am offering an alternative vision; an independent candidate for change - Martin Bell in boots, if you like! Do you feel that football is increasingly kicking you in the cloisters? Then read KICboy and The Man(ifesto) - creating the mandate for change. (Illustrations by Gemma Hastilow.)
29 December 2010
28 December 2010
12 Angry Men
It's the festive quiz, but the mood is 'Bah Humbug'. Battered in Bloemfontein; Blattered in December when FIFA crossed the FA off their Christmas card list, there is little festive cheer on offer across the UK football landscape this year.
I have tried to transfer the spirit of the jurors' characters from Sydney Lumet's classic 1958 film into a club V country context, where some prominent football people have said the following this year. Can you can guess who said what and when?
# 1
"It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush.... The English are being punished for the fact that there are very few English players in the Premier League as clubs use better foreign players from all over the world."
#2
#4
"What’s important in these things is that one... tries to move things forward, but with the consent and working with one’s board. This is not something one can do on one’s own and to get the FA board onside and working in what you might call progressive areas I think is really important...... I think, if I had one quality it is working with people and different sorts of people....
...But, yes... I think it needs bringing together somewhat, in a cohesive way and as with all organisations you either go backwards or forwards in life, and with this one we want to go forwards...... What, I would rather say at this stage... is that I intend to spend the next five or six weeks.... talking to a lot of people within football, outside football,... er, and getting a consensus of feel, get really fully briefed and then deal with those issues. I think bridges need rebuilding, I am sure with external, with FIFA and so on..., I will try and address that later on....I’m hoping to be able to talk quite extensively to the outside world and to the media and so on, ... after my appointment to address some of these things in more detail.
I think I would prefer to see the best manager possible manage England. If he was English that would probably be preferable for .... obvious reasons... I think there is probably a national desire for that, but I can’t say more than that at this stage. All things being equal, er, but above all the best manager. I want to see a winning England team in due course. My job would be a lot easier if the England team was winning matches so anything that works towards that I am all in favour of."
#5
#6
‘The FA just sit on they're backsiad and do nothin' tournement after tournement. Why don't they listen? Why don't they look at other coun’ries an’ say, ‘How do they keep producing talent?’.... We coach talent out of players.... Where is the plan B? We haven’t got one! ....We lack so many ideas and it’s so frustrating..... The amount of money ....that is wasted on rubbish ideas...."
#7
"We don’t think there’s enough young players encouraged early enough, we don’t think they get enough coaching early enough, we think that is probably more of an issue for the grass roots of football than it is at the elite end.... In some ways the England team doesn’t belong to us, it certainly doesn’t belong to those of us who have got elite professional clubs. It belongs to the nation, number one; it belongs to the Football Association..... Well there isn’t, you know, there isn’t much that we do.....o a ooh a, if you could list, you know, example, the things that we could do that might help.....?"
#8
"My hope is that David Bernstein, with the great talents that he’s got, yes, he has diplomatic skills; yes, he has business skills; yes, he is a very good person....I am still an idealist enough to believe that some of these people can work together and I hope for example, that David Bernstein will include David Dein in the work that he does..., the worst thing that could happen today is that David Dein’s international skills and the international regard that he has are lost to football forever...... I still haven’t lost my belief that if only the game could be brought together by somebody who has the skills to do that, without, frankly, some of the impediments that we in this last generation found ourselves having to deal with, ... the problems are basically there whoever the chairman is....
- the absence of agreed priorities for the game as a whole,
- the dysfunctional structure of the game,
- the glaring failures of corporate governance in football in this country
.... talked about reforming the FA. This is not about reforming the FA, it is about reforming football as a whole in this country...... The question is, can he bring the various talents around the football world, can he bring those talents together in a way that predecessors found it impossible to do..? The truth of the matter is....as Alan Sugar said himself very recently, you could have a combination of, err, Alan Sugar, David Dein, Digby Jones – you know, some of the great business people over the years, throw in the late Mother Theresa as well...unless you address the structural issues and the corporate governance issues and, above all, decide what the priorities of our football are, you will never make real progress."
#9
England took little interest in FIFA and allowed Harry Cavan from Northern Ireland to sit on the FIFA executive for 30 years from 1960 to 1990. Over this period, eight men sat in the Oval office of the White House, but Harry just went on. Eventually, after a reign by David Will of Scotland, Geoff Thompson did secure the post for England but it required an almighty struggle with the other home nations.
What makes this even more peculiar is this seat on the FIFA executive is reserved for the British home nations. No other country has such a privilege. England is the dominant home nation and for it not to have had the seat since the 1950s was amazing. It showed a callous neglect of this valuable position and a wretched handling of international relations by the FA.
#10
You ‘ave to go back to the basics and the basics comes from the grass roots. When you have got 6, 7, 8 years old. This is when you learn ‘ow your capabilities, your skills, ....This is something you learn at an early stage in your life.... so, when you reach 14 you already ‘ave things in your bag - skill wise..... and after you learn how to fight... you learn how to be a team mate you learn how to think, but your skills are already there – you don’t learn skills at 21"
#12
I have tried to transfer the spirit of the jurors' characters from Sydney Lumet's classic 1958 film into a club V country context, where some prominent football people have said the following this year. Can you can guess who said what and when?
# 1
"It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush.... The English are being punished for the fact that there are very few English players in the Premier League as clubs use better foreign players from all over the world."
#2
“We can't get the money to support our youth programmes,” he said. “We've been treading water for 2 years. There's more money in the game than ever before, but I don't see us in ten years' time having capitalised on it...... “What's happened over the last two or three years is that everyone accepted there were different levels of standards at academies and we at the FA tried through the technical control board to implement programmes. We did a report at the end of 2005 involving the Premier League, Football League and the FA to identify clubs who weren't up to scratch. We wrote to the leagues to show how we could help, but unfortunately we were told we didn't have the power to do that...... We should be soaking their knowledge up like a sponge. We want to go out as the governing body to help all those clubs and do in-service work. But there's been a vacuum. As a country we're not maximising our possibilities. We should have better depth of young English players...... “Most people know that the FA can't impact on anything to do with youth development in the professional game. I have produced a document about coaching and the grassroots programmes are going well. We have to persuade our decision-makers at the FA to fund our own programmes. That is a decision for the professional game board half of the organisation.”...... “If we want better English players and better coaching resources, that should be the role of the governing body. The professional game is reluctant for the FA to be the independent arbitrator. When it goes to a vote, we're outvoted.”
#3
"I cannot for the life of me understand why we have played so badly. We were so bad. I do not honestly know what to say. I did not know what to say and you know what? After twenty five minutes I said, d’you know something, I just do not fancy us here. We were...we could not trap the ball....it was ridiculous...I could not understand what was going on... Mickey....as much as you think I am joking I was thinking, ‘has somebody poisoned the boys?’.....embarrassing.....You know what? Can I tell you....I got this thing, right? With my mates, Scots mates, with all my mates & everybody else Irish you got to answer the phone. I was on the phone last night ‘till 2 O-Clock getting stick from my mates. When Germany lost I was on the phone loving it, when France lost I was lovin’ it, when Spain lost I was loving it. Last night I was on the phone till 2O-clock and I did not have one excuse why we played like that because there is none. And I tell you the most.... the worst thing I have seen for a long time from a player....and....and....it’s the state.....the, the mind of a current footballer, is for Wayne Rooney to come off and actually.... say anything when he played like he played. That sums up our...our current top end footballers are thinking right now...’cause for me Jamie Carragher hit the nail on the ‘ead. There’s people who’ve lost jobs. They’ve gone out there to watch the boys do their stuff. Give us the hope that we all want. We all wanna be here....wanting to be lifted by the guys and we are being EMBARRASED around the world!!!.....They’ve got to know this.....
They’ve all go’ to take, .... they all gotta take a part of the blame They are a team. They’re all together in it. The manager doesn’t say, ‘right – go out there and when you do well I’m not gonna get no credit and when the players do well, they,... it’s, .... a.....they’re in it together whatever needs to be done. There’s enough money be paid to enough people for them to be playin’ a lot better than they are......and I don’t like to throw the money in.... but they get paid the money to deliver the goods.... They need to sort that out. That is not right.... in any situation..... if we do not qualify serious questions have got be asked about moneys to, to players,.. and... how much money is in the game....how much do players actually want it?..... how much do they understand what it means to the normal man in the street.?..for the four years, every four years the world cup comes along...even the women are sittin’ there watchin’ it because it gives us a lift....when is somebody gonna be able to transmit that through to the players..? For the players to realise what they are actually doin’ there?? Do the players actually understand that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for people..? I would have given anything to have played in the World Cup"
#4
"What’s important in these things is that one... tries to move things forward, but with the consent and working with one’s board. This is not something one can do on one’s own and to get the FA board onside and working in what you might call progressive areas I think is really important...... I think, if I had one quality it is working with people and different sorts of people....
...But, yes... I think it needs bringing together somewhat, in a cohesive way and as with all organisations you either go backwards or forwards in life, and with this one we want to go forwards...... What, I would rather say at this stage... is that I intend to spend the next five or six weeks.... talking to a lot of people within football, outside football,... er, and getting a consensus of feel, get really fully briefed and then deal with those issues. I think bridges need rebuilding, I am sure with external, with FIFA and so on..., I will try and address that later on....I’m hoping to be able to talk quite extensively to the outside world and to the media and so on, ... after my appointment to address some of these things in more detail.
I think I would prefer to see the best manager possible manage England. If he was English that would probably be preferable for .... obvious reasons... I think there is probably a national desire for that, but I can’t say more than that at this stage. All things being equal, er, but above all the best manager. I want to see a winning England team in due course. My job would be a lot easier if the England team was winning matches so anything that works towards that I am all in favour of."
#5
"YEEHHS,..... YEEHS,...IT’S A GOAL, ... IT’S A GOAL, ..... IT’S A GOAL, ....IT’S GOAL.......IT’S A GOAL,....... IT’S A GOAL,......... IT’S A GOAL,...................................... IT’S A GOAL,......... IT’S A GOAL,.......BOOOOOOOH,.................BOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH, IT’S A GOAL,.......... IT’S A GOAL,............OOOOAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!....MILES OVER THE LINE....ARE YOU FIFA?? YOU SHOULD HAVE VIDEO.....OOAARRGGH.... IT’S THIS FAR OVER", [unimaginable hand gestures]
#6
‘The FA just sit on they're backsiad and do nothin' tournement after tournement. Why don't they listen? Why don't they look at other coun’ries an’ say, ‘How do they keep producing talent?’.... We coach talent out of players.... Where is the plan B? We haven’t got one! ....We lack so many ideas and it’s so frustrating..... The amount of money ....that is wasted on rubbish ideas...."
#7
"We don’t think there’s enough young players encouraged early enough, we don’t think they get enough coaching early enough, we think that is probably more of an issue for the grass roots of football than it is at the elite end.... In some ways the England team doesn’t belong to us, it certainly doesn’t belong to those of us who have got elite professional clubs. It belongs to the nation, number one; it belongs to the Football Association..... Well there isn’t, you know, there isn’t much that we do.....o a ooh a, if you could list, you know, example, the things that we could do that might help.....?"
#8
"My hope is that David Bernstein, with the great talents that he’s got, yes, he has diplomatic skills; yes, he has business skills; yes, he is a very good person....I am still an idealist enough to believe that some of these people can work together and I hope for example, that David Bernstein will include David Dein in the work that he does..., the worst thing that could happen today is that David Dein’s international skills and the international regard that he has are lost to football forever...... I still haven’t lost my belief that if only the game could be brought together by somebody who has the skills to do that, without, frankly, some of the impediments that we in this last generation found ourselves having to deal with, ... the problems are basically there whoever the chairman is....
- the absence of agreed priorities for the game as a whole,
- the dysfunctional structure of the game,
- the glaring failures of corporate governance in football in this country
.... talked about reforming the FA. This is not about reforming the FA, it is about reforming football as a whole in this country...... The question is, can he bring the various talents around the football world, can he bring those talents together in a way that predecessors found it impossible to do..? The truth of the matter is....as Alan Sugar said himself very recently, you could have a combination of, err, Alan Sugar, David Dein, Digby Jones – you know, some of the great business people over the years, throw in the late Mother Theresa as well...unless you address the structural issues and the corporate governance issues and, above all, decide what the priorities of our football are, you will never make real progress."
#9
England took little interest in FIFA and allowed Harry Cavan from Northern Ireland to sit on the FIFA executive for 30 years from 1960 to 1990. Over this period, eight men sat in the Oval office of the White House, but Harry just went on. Eventually, after a reign by David Will of Scotland, Geoff Thompson did secure the post for England but it required an almighty struggle with the other home nations.
What makes this even more peculiar is this seat on the FIFA executive is reserved for the British home nations. No other country has such a privilege. England is the dominant home nation and for it not to have had the seat since the 1950s was amazing. It showed a callous neglect of this valuable position and a wretched handling of international relations by the FA.
#10
"My new, big idea is called ‘a new model for partnership"
#11
"You can’t do things at 21, it’s too late.... this is something you learn at an early stage. This is what I am really concerned about. You know, I ‘ave been working in this country for 7 years.... and I’m living in the country at the moment. If you want to think about the future, you need to do something RIGHT NOW, because tonight in the first half you ahve the prefect example, of what could, should be football... the passing game,...how to hold the ball, how to wait and not rushing for things... waiting the right opportunity...and this is what England are not capable of doing. And this is not regarding Capello, or the tactics or playing in 4 4 2s or things like that. Is the quality! ‘Ave you got the players able to play as the French? At the moment? No!! The answer is No. Will you ‘ave this opportunity in the future? Is up to you...but you need to do something RIGHT NOW because you must improve the quality of English players to allow them to ‘ave great performance as the national players in the national team in great competitions. And at the moment you ‘ave the perfect example that skill wise the English players are really, really not at the level......
You ‘ave to go back to the basics and the basics comes from the grass roots. When you have got 6, 7, 8 years old. This is when you learn ‘ow your capabilities, your skills, ....This is something you learn at an early stage in your life.... so, when you reach 14 you already ‘ave things in your bag - skill wise..... and after you learn how to fight... you learn how to be a team mate you learn how to think, but your skills are already there – you don’t learn skills at 21"
#12
"To be honest, I was surprised by all the English complaining after the defeat. England, of all people, the motherland of fair play ideas - now some of them are showing themselves to be bad losers. You can’t come afterwards and say so and so promised to vote for England. The results are known. The outcome came out clearly..... I really sense in some reactions a bit of the arrogance of the western world of Christian backgrounds. Some simply can’t bear it if others get a chance for a change.....”
25 December 2010
The Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six Billy Wright’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven David Beckhams,
Six Billy Wrigh-ight’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight Bobby Charltons,
Seven David Beckhams,
Six Billy Wrigh-ight’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine Ge-off Hu-rsts,
Eight Bobby Charltons,
Seven David Beckhams,
Six Billy Wrigh-ight’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten Pa-ul Gascgoines,
Nine Ge-off Hu-rsts,
Eight Bobby Charltons,
Seven David Beckhams,
Six Billy Wrigh-ight’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven Chrissy Waddles,
Ten Pa-ul Gascgoines,
Nine Ge-off Hu-rsts,
Eight Bobby Charltons,
Seven David Beckhams,
Six Billy Wrigh-ight’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability.
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve Rooneys Running*,
Eleven Chrissy Waddles,
Ten Pa-ul Gascgoines,
Nine Ge-off Hu-rsts,
Eight Bobby Charltons,
Seven David Beckhams,
Six Billy Wrigh-ight’s,
Five Bobby Moores,
Four Glenn Hoddles,
Three Ash Coles,
Two Vivian And’sons,
And Joe Hart and time-trav’l-ability!
* Rooney only gets some game time if he starts to play properly again - and brings a ball...
* Rooney only gets some game time if he starts to play properly again - and brings a ball...
16 November 2010
Can England Win the World Cup?
Did you see this programme, presented by Gary Lineker (Inside Sport: Can England Win the World Cup, BBC 2, 03 October, 2010)? There was a great long shot of the first goal conceded in the game against Germany at Bloemfontein, from an angle I hadn't seen before. This startling image of the incoming ball landing in no man's land before Klose broke through to score was only surpassed by the cutaway to the faces in the studio. Lineker's reaction was a vision of shock and anguish. Those who care about English football must have felt this, too - I know I did.
In the programme, Lineker talked about how Spain and Germany have affected transformational change to ensure that their national teams can compete on the world stage. For Spain, the Cruyff philosophy from Barcelona has evolved through to the wonderful tika-taka of the national team (note the careful attention to letting the natives play for their club teams). For Germany, Klinsmann's revolution of expansive football was upheld by the stylish deployment of Joachim Low and his cardigans. What of England? Where are we on the evolutionary cycle? Do we have a style we can call our own?
On the eve of the France friendly I believe we do have a style. I will name this style the Hollywood Paradox (HP). You see, our top players, the ones that Harry Redknapp would describe as top, top, top players, are beholden to the age-old idea of playing for England, but actually performing on the pitch – doing it.... they really can’t be bothered any more (bar Gerrard). This is the paradox. These guys are so rich, so high profile, so famous and so egocentric that it must be difficult to convene as a group and have any sense of togetherness and team cohesion for what is, essentially, an amateur organisation by comparison to their day jobs. Robbie Savage, in his emerging career as a 5Live presenter, is keen to use the analogy of a film star to justify the wages demanded by players and their people. This always makes me smile. I don’t think the business plans for films include each fan/ customer/ spectator going to see the same film 38 times in one season. Anyway, good luck to the players as we would no doubt take the pieces of silver, too. It is a systemic failure that needs a catalyst for change, whatever that will be.
So, can England win the World Cup? The young guys that will get a chance in the France friendly must think so. They are eager, hungry and keen to impress. But, they are destined to stay hungry for a while longer. English football remains leveraged on HP watch. Watch these top, top, top players that have forgotten how to play, in the purest sense of the word, when they return to being the privileged interpretors of our dreams - d'you think we'll see any joy in their eyes...?
After WC2010 I submitted a proposal into work that aimed to find out some answers around the club V country debate. To my mind, before we can emulate what Klinsmann did with the DFB (German FA), I think someone needs to quantify whether there is any appetite for this change from all football stakeholders across the nation at every level. Do the majority of people want to try and improve our chances of winning the World Cup (i.e. provide better player access and improve coaching standards)? An extract of the proposal submitted is below (this could be applied to all the home nation sides - I'd like to see us all qualifying for major finals) – see what you think....
Oh, and BTW in the post around the Hungary Game (Do you participate in time travel, 12 Aug) the book I was referring to was Anatomy of England: A History in Ten Matches. If you are reading this then you must love football (my writing can’t be holding you here). If you haven’t read Wilson’s book – do rush to the shops straight away – you’ll be captivated.
The FA & The Future Game – Creating the Mandate For Change
1. Rationale – What is the problem you are trying to solve?
The performance of the England senior team at the FIFA WC2010 Finals has heightened the issue regarding the supply of quality players available to play for the England senior team. Stakeholders across the football industry cite a number of contributing factors, but there is broad agreement from commentators that there are two main problems:
1.1. The number of overseas players in the English game is now significantly reducing opportunities for potential England players to access first team football at their clubs (Sturgess et al, 2010; Roan, 2010a).
1.2. The number of quality coaches in England is significantly less than our European counterparts. (Scott, 2010).
These issues need addressing if the England national team is to have a chance of tournament success at senior level. Due to the structural governance of football in England the FA, Football League, PFA and Premier League are unable to implement a working model that will maximise coaching and development to deliver players who will bring success to the national team (i.e. competition and cooperation is unbalanced).
2. Validation - How do you know this is a problem?
2.1 The FA’s implementation strategy for ‘The Future Game’ is predicated on the idea that stakeholders will facilitate the production of outstanding players that will progress into the national senior team.
2.2 These aims are compromised by the business models of commercial league football.
2.3 English youth player access pathways into elite professional teams are decreasing because of the volume of overseas players that are being deployed into the leagues.
2.4 England’s failure at the World Cup can be blamed on the Premier League’s inability to promote home grown talent, according to José Luis Astiazarán, President of Spain’s La Liga (Jackson, 2010).
2.5 In addition to this, league teams earn incremental bonuses of £750,000 for each place higher in the league table at the end of the season (Roan, 2010b).
2.6 The effect is that managers’ decisions are significantly influenced and they will not play young, inexperienced English players at the end of the season. End of season games are where many young professionals used to make their debut and break into first team squads. Financial incentives and the risk of being relegated are too high. A risk averse culture regarding young players emerges (Atherton, 2010).
2.7 This is having a material effect on the selection options for the national coach. As each year passes opportunities for young English players are fewer and the pool of available players is contracting (Ogden and Ley, 2009).
2.8 At the start of the 2010-11 season approx 80% of all transfers have involved overseas players coming into the Premier League.
Recent changes introduced by the Premier League for the 2010-11 season are contentious. These changes state that eight home grown players, who have spent at least three years registered with any English or Welsh club whilst below the age of twenty one, must be included in a named squad of twenty five professionals (Foster, 2010). This legislation, it is argued, does not go far enough (Bond, 2010a). For example, FIFA’s 6+5 proposal would have resulted in a guaranteed number of potential England players starting any one match.
Many football experts believe the new Home Grown Player Rule will result in elite league clubs continuing to recruit young players from overseas. After three years in the academy system, these players then become eligible to play under the home grown criteria (e.g. Cesc Fabrigas). From a wider perspective, however, there are relatively few players of any nationality graduating from academy systems into elite league teams. This is a problem for selection opportunities of the England national coach that will continue to grow over time.
‘...the two objectives of delivering a successful national team and developing young talent for the future of a Premier League club are, to use the words of their own [Birmingham City] academy manager Terry Westley, "miles apart"
(Bond, D 2010b).
3 What is the solution?
The FA & The Future Game – Creating a Mandate for Change
Primary research could help the FA to tackle the structural governance issue, which is an issue the FA acting alone is not empowered to resolve. Commercial football stakeholders might have to rethink their business models in light of this new primary research. Someone must be uniquely placed to deliver this research to assist the FA and Sport England to grow, sustain and excel their operating models. It is clear that the FA is not in a position to fund this research. A conflict of interest would arise between the FA and Premier League, who share positions on the FA Main Board. This issue needs addressing by an independent organisation. I think that a robust study into the club V country debate could enable the FA and Sport England to deliver greater success for their own organisations.
IN SCOPE
4 Club V Country – quantitative analysis on the club V country issue
The implementation strategy of The Future Game document should be supported by all stakeholders within the game in England (i.e. they all should have an interest in maintaining the credibility of English football). Robust, independent research results could be applied to maximise the Participant Development Models and Coach Development Models to support the national senior team. Wasn’t this, after all, a key reason for the creation of the Premier League?
Question example:
Question A - Do you think that success for the national team is more important than success for your club?
Question B – Do you think we should prioritise coaching for success of the national team at major tournaments even if it means that your club might be affected as a result?
(The survey to be repeated four times at six month intervals)
Timeframe:
January wk 3 2011
Providing distance from the performances at WC2010 finals would enable the research to commence at a less emotive time whilst also allowing opinion to be influenced by the initial 2012 Euro qualifying matches. Selecting this time period would benefit the credibility of the findings as it would be outside the international match window. This should facilitate a measured response including a sense of how and when young players are being integrated into the national senior team since WC2010.
In addition, it would also provide the lead time to scope up the design and methodology for the project.
July wk 3 2011
The focus at this time would be sharpening towards London 2012 and expectations for the Olympic team’s performance at the games. This would allow football fans to transfer this feeling and think about what they might expect or like to happen at Euro 2012 and WC 2014.
January wk 3 2012
Outside International game window. Low focus. More balanced views.
July wk 3 2012
Delivering the last phase around major sporting events (London 2012 & EURO 2012 Finals) would raise the profile of the survey and incentivise people to respond. Results might produce the leverage required to re-prioritise player access pathways and financial modelling of commercial league football.
In essence, this could create a mandate for change.
Survey logistics – how it would work: (TBC – to be worked up in more detailed specification and design phase – offers on a postcard, please...)
To date, no single organisation has tried to get quantitative data to assess what the industry and public would prefer as a model for success (i.e. club V country). Due to the structural governance and funding arrangements of football in England it is difficult for the leading organisations to conduct their own research on this issue. The recent Football League 2010 Survey (Nagel et al, 2010) touched upon the relationship between club V country, but it did not specifically ask whether the coaching and participant pathway strategies should prioritise the national side over club sides.
Research Findings & Implications – next steps
Option A: Do nothing Analysis of results might reveal that the majority of stakeholders want to see a strong elite League that can be showcased globally via syndicated media rights and greater chance of success in the Champions League.
The benefit for the FA is still twofold. First, even if the survey results demonstrate that the majority prefer club football over the national team then it could highlight and draw out the operational problems that the FA have in respect of players achieving success when representing their country. This debate in itself could lift the pressure from the FA to deliver a World Cup or European Championship trophy, or at least reset realistic expectations. A constructive argument can unfold around the multi-faceted problems of raising the calibre of individual and team performances.
Second, it could mobilise some senior stakeholders to provide the focus, motivation and momentum for change. It has been suggested that World Cups have long since ceased to be a measure of a country’s football status (Lacey, 2010). This view needs to be challenged by an informed and impartial survey because I think a tipping point has now been reached. The idea of English football was challenged by Thierry Henry in a post match interview following an Arsenal game in the Champions League a few seasons ago. The interviewer suggested that that it had been a great night for English football. Henry smirked and responded that it had little to do with English Football as there had been no English contribution (i.e. overseas manager and players). The Premier League’s worldwide popularity is all very well on one level, but the hosts are having their ticket allocation sold off elsewhere. English stakeholders are being left to stand outside whilst the stadia are full of those who can afford to sit and participate.
Lacey states that new riches continue the relentless spiral in transfer fees and player wages, but there is not enough being done to contemplate the end game of this policy. Following changes since the Taylor Report, is the Premier League delivering on one of its original stated aims - that of supporting player development for the national team?
Option B: The FA & The Future Game – creating a mandate for change
Findings could reveal that the majority want a system that promotes a strong national senior side performing well at European and World Cup finals. Results could be used to leverage influence over key players in commercial league football and their operating models.
I think a survey answering the club v country issue has huge potential to influence football governance. At present, the business model is not challenged as customers are signalling their preference by continuing to subscribe to pay TV, buy merchandise and pay at the turn styles (although Manchester Utd is experiencing a sea-change, perhaps, with season tickets going on general sale for the 2010-11 season). The findings of this primary research could be used to validate a mandate for change and exert pressure and influence on the current operating model.
Without intervention, England might continue to be quick and strong, but European, African, South American and indeed teams from every continent can now match these attributes. How long will it be before we can say the same about England players matching their technique?
Ratio Number of coaches Uefa B A & Pro license Number of participants
Spain (1:17) 23,995 408,134
Italy (1:48) 29,420 1,412,160
France (1:96) 17,588 1,685,568
Greece (1:135) 1,100 180,000
Germany (1:150) 34,970 5,245,500
England (1:812) 2,769 2,250,000
Table 1 Comparisons of UEFA qualified football coaches holding B, A and Pro badges to people playing the game in each country (Scott M, 2010).
References:
Atherton, M. (2010) Don’t Coach The Life Out of Gifted Youngsters. The Times. 5 August p. 67
Bond, D. 2010a Scudamore Jumps to Premier League Defence. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2010/08/is_the_premier_league_responsi.html
[Accessed 03 August].
Bond, D. 2010b Premier League Not to Blame For England Woes. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8882986.stm [Accessed 03 August, 2010].
Foster M. (2010) More Opportunities For Home Grown Players. Available from http://www.premierleague.com/page/Magazinedettail/0,,12306~2098999,00.html [Accessed 20 August 2010].
Jackson, J. (2010) England are 'paying price of foreign Premier League' guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 July. Available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/08/jose-luis-astiazaran-la-liga-england [accessed 9 July, 2010].
Lacey, D. (2010). World Cup gloom will not cloud the start of new Premier League season. Guardian. 7 August.
Ogden, M and Ley, J. (2009). Premier League: English players now outnumbered by foreign legion. Telegraph 13 Aug. Available from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/6024056/Premier-League-English-players-now-outnumbered-by-foreign-legion.html [accessed July 30, 2010]
Nagel, J; Dodd, A and Ellis, R. (2010). The Football League Supporters Survey. p.20. Preston. The Football League Ltd.
Roan, D. Teenage Kicks – Development of Youth Football. (2010a). BBC 5Live 20 July.
Roan, D; (2010b) The Challenge Facing England’s Youngsters. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/danroan/2010/07/one_of_the_major_theories.html
[accessed 21 July]
Scott, M. (2010). Football Coach Shortage Paints Bleak Future for England’s Future. Guardian, June 1
Sturgess, P; et al. (2010). The Future Game: The Football Association Technical Guide For Young Player Development p.11. London. FA Learning.com
In the programme, Lineker talked about how Spain and Germany have affected transformational change to ensure that their national teams can compete on the world stage. For Spain, the Cruyff philosophy from Barcelona has evolved through to the wonderful tika-taka of the national team (note the careful attention to letting the natives play for their club teams). For Germany, Klinsmann's revolution of expansive football was upheld by the stylish deployment of Joachim Low and his cardigans. What of England? Where are we on the evolutionary cycle? Do we have a style we can call our own?
On the eve of the France friendly I believe we do have a style. I will name this style the Hollywood Paradox (HP). You see, our top players, the ones that Harry Redknapp would describe as top, top, top players, are beholden to the age-old idea of playing for England, but actually performing on the pitch – doing it.... they really can’t be bothered any more (bar Gerrard). This is the paradox. These guys are so rich, so high profile, so famous and so egocentric that it must be difficult to convene as a group and have any sense of togetherness and team cohesion for what is, essentially, an amateur organisation by comparison to their day jobs. Robbie Savage, in his emerging career as a 5Live presenter, is keen to use the analogy of a film star to justify the wages demanded by players and their people. This always makes me smile. I don’t think the business plans for films include each fan/ customer/ spectator going to see the same film 38 times in one season. Anyway, good luck to the players as we would no doubt take the pieces of silver, too. It is a systemic failure that needs a catalyst for change, whatever that will be.
So, can England win the World Cup? The young guys that will get a chance in the France friendly must think so. They are eager, hungry and keen to impress. But, they are destined to stay hungry for a while longer. English football remains leveraged on HP watch. Watch these top, top, top players that have forgotten how to play, in the purest sense of the word, when they return to being the privileged interpretors of our dreams - d'you think we'll see any joy in their eyes...?
After WC2010 I submitted a proposal into work that aimed to find out some answers around the club V country debate. To my mind, before we can emulate what Klinsmann did with the DFB (German FA), I think someone needs to quantify whether there is any appetite for this change from all football stakeholders across the nation at every level. Do the majority of people want to try and improve our chances of winning the World Cup (i.e. provide better player access and improve coaching standards)? An extract of the proposal submitted is below (this could be applied to all the home nation sides - I'd like to see us all qualifying for major finals) – see what you think....
Oh, and BTW in the post around the Hungary Game (Do you participate in time travel, 12 Aug) the book I was referring to was Anatomy of England: A History in Ten Matches. If you are reading this then you must love football (my writing can’t be holding you here). If you haven’t read Wilson’s book – do rush to the shops straight away – you’ll be captivated.
The FA & The Future Game – Creating the Mandate For Change
1. Rationale – What is the problem you are trying to solve?
The performance of the England senior team at the FIFA WC2010 Finals has heightened the issue regarding the supply of quality players available to play for the England senior team. Stakeholders across the football industry cite a number of contributing factors, but there is broad agreement from commentators that there are two main problems:
1.1. The number of overseas players in the English game is now significantly reducing opportunities for potential England players to access first team football at their clubs (Sturgess et al, 2010; Roan, 2010a).
1.2. The number of quality coaches in England is significantly less than our European counterparts. (Scott, 2010).
These issues need addressing if the England national team is to have a chance of tournament success at senior level. Due to the structural governance of football in England the FA, Football League, PFA and Premier League are unable to implement a working model that will maximise coaching and development to deliver players who will bring success to the national team (i.e. competition and cooperation is unbalanced).
2. Validation - How do you know this is a problem?
2.1 The FA’s implementation strategy for ‘The Future Game’ is predicated on the idea that stakeholders will facilitate the production of outstanding players that will progress into the national senior team.
2.2 These aims are compromised by the business models of commercial league football.
2.3 English youth player access pathways into elite professional teams are decreasing because of the volume of overseas players that are being deployed into the leagues.
2.4 England’s failure at the World Cup can be blamed on the Premier League’s inability to promote home grown talent, according to José Luis Astiazarán, President of Spain’s La Liga (Jackson, 2010).
2.5 In addition to this, league teams earn incremental bonuses of £750,000 for each place higher in the league table at the end of the season (Roan, 2010b).
2.6 The effect is that managers’ decisions are significantly influenced and they will not play young, inexperienced English players at the end of the season. End of season games are where many young professionals used to make their debut and break into first team squads. Financial incentives and the risk of being relegated are too high. A risk averse culture regarding young players emerges (Atherton, 2010).
2.7 This is having a material effect on the selection options for the national coach. As each year passes opportunities for young English players are fewer and the pool of available players is contracting (Ogden and Ley, 2009).
2.8 At the start of the 2010-11 season approx 80% of all transfers have involved overseas players coming into the Premier League.
Recent changes introduced by the Premier League for the 2010-11 season are contentious. These changes state that eight home grown players, who have spent at least three years registered with any English or Welsh club whilst below the age of twenty one, must be included in a named squad of twenty five professionals (Foster, 2010). This legislation, it is argued, does not go far enough (Bond, 2010a). For example, FIFA’s 6+5 proposal would have resulted in a guaranteed number of potential England players starting any one match.
Many football experts believe the new Home Grown Player Rule will result in elite league clubs continuing to recruit young players from overseas. After three years in the academy system, these players then become eligible to play under the home grown criteria (e.g. Cesc Fabrigas). From a wider perspective, however, there are relatively few players of any nationality graduating from academy systems into elite league teams. This is a problem for selection opportunities of the England national coach that will continue to grow over time.
‘...the two objectives of delivering a successful national team and developing young talent for the future of a Premier League club are, to use the words of their own [Birmingham City] academy manager Terry Westley, "miles apart"
(Bond, D 2010b).
3 What is the solution?
The FA & The Future Game – Creating a Mandate for Change
Primary research could help the FA to tackle the structural governance issue, which is an issue the FA acting alone is not empowered to resolve. Commercial football stakeholders might have to rethink their business models in light of this new primary research. Someone must be uniquely placed to deliver this research to assist the FA and Sport England to grow, sustain and excel their operating models. It is clear that the FA is not in a position to fund this research. A conflict of interest would arise between the FA and Premier League, who share positions on the FA Main Board. This issue needs addressing by an independent organisation. I think that a robust study into the club V country debate could enable the FA and Sport England to deliver greater success for their own organisations.
IN SCOPE
4 Club V Country – quantitative analysis on the club V country issue
The implementation strategy of The Future Game document should be supported by all stakeholders within the game in England (i.e. they all should have an interest in maintaining the credibility of English football). Robust, independent research results could be applied to maximise the Participant Development Models and Coach Development Models to support the national senior team. Wasn’t this, after all, a key reason for the creation of the Premier League?
Question example:
Question A - Do you think that success for the national team is more important than success for your club?
Question B – Do you think we should prioritise coaching for success of the national team at major tournaments even if it means that your club might be affected as a result?
(The survey to be repeated four times at six month intervals)
Timeframe:
January wk 3 2011
Providing distance from the performances at WC2010 finals would enable the research to commence at a less emotive time whilst also allowing opinion to be influenced by the initial 2012 Euro qualifying matches. Selecting this time period would benefit the credibility of the findings as it would be outside the international match window. This should facilitate a measured response including a sense of how and when young players are being integrated into the national senior team since WC2010.
In addition, it would also provide the lead time to scope up the design and methodology for the project.
July wk 3 2011
The focus at this time would be sharpening towards London 2012 and expectations for the Olympic team’s performance at the games. This would allow football fans to transfer this feeling and think about what they might expect or like to happen at Euro 2012 and WC 2014.
January wk 3 2012
Outside International game window. Low focus. More balanced views.
July wk 3 2012
Delivering the last phase around major sporting events (London 2012 & EURO 2012 Finals) would raise the profile of the survey and incentivise people to respond. Results might produce the leverage required to re-prioritise player access pathways and financial modelling of commercial league football.
In essence, this could create a mandate for change.
Survey logistics – how it would work: (TBC – to be worked up in more detailed specification and design phase – offers on a postcard, please...)
To date, no single organisation has tried to get quantitative data to assess what the industry and public would prefer as a model for success (i.e. club V country). Due to the structural governance and funding arrangements of football in England it is difficult for the leading organisations to conduct their own research on this issue. The recent Football League 2010 Survey (Nagel et al, 2010) touched upon the relationship between club V country, but it did not specifically ask whether the coaching and participant pathway strategies should prioritise the national side over club sides.
Research Findings & Implications – next steps
Option A: Do nothing Analysis of results might reveal that the majority of stakeholders want to see a strong elite League that can be showcased globally via syndicated media rights and greater chance of success in the Champions League.
The benefit for the FA is still twofold. First, even if the survey results demonstrate that the majority prefer club football over the national team then it could highlight and draw out the operational problems that the FA have in respect of players achieving success when representing their country. This debate in itself could lift the pressure from the FA to deliver a World Cup or European Championship trophy, or at least reset realistic expectations. A constructive argument can unfold around the multi-faceted problems of raising the calibre of individual and team performances.
Second, it could mobilise some senior stakeholders to provide the focus, motivation and momentum for change. It has been suggested that World Cups have long since ceased to be a measure of a country’s football status (Lacey, 2010). This view needs to be challenged by an informed and impartial survey because I think a tipping point has now been reached. The idea of English football was challenged by Thierry Henry in a post match interview following an Arsenal game in the Champions League a few seasons ago. The interviewer suggested that that it had been a great night for English football. Henry smirked and responded that it had little to do with English Football as there had been no English contribution (i.e. overseas manager and players). The Premier League’s worldwide popularity is all very well on one level, but the hosts are having their ticket allocation sold off elsewhere. English stakeholders are being left to stand outside whilst the stadia are full of those who can afford to sit and participate.
Lacey states that new riches continue the relentless spiral in transfer fees and player wages, but there is not enough being done to contemplate the end game of this policy. Following changes since the Taylor Report, is the Premier League delivering on one of its original stated aims - that of supporting player development for the national team?
Option B: The FA & The Future Game – creating a mandate for change
Findings could reveal that the majority want a system that promotes a strong national senior side performing well at European and World Cup finals. Results could be used to leverage influence over key players in commercial league football and their operating models.
I think a survey answering the club v country issue has huge potential to influence football governance. At present, the business model is not challenged as customers are signalling their preference by continuing to subscribe to pay TV, buy merchandise and pay at the turn styles (although Manchester Utd is experiencing a sea-change, perhaps, with season tickets going on general sale for the 2010-11 season). The findings of this primary research could be used to validate a mandate for change and exert pressure and influence on the current operating model.
Without intervention, England might continue to be quick and strong, but European, African, South American and indeed teams from every continent can now match these attributes. How long will it be before we can say the same about England players matching their technique?
Ratio Number of coaches Uefa B A & Pro license Number of participants
Spain (1:17) 23,995 408,134
Italy (1:48) 29,420 1,412,160
France (1:96) 17,588 1,685,568
Greece (1:135) 1,100 180,000
Germany (1:150) 34,970 5,245,500
England (1:812) 2,769 2,250,000
Table 1 Comparisons of UEFA qualified football coaches holding B, A and Pro badges to people playing the game in each country (Scott M, 2010).
References:
Atherton, M. (2010) Don’t Coach The Life Out of Gifted Youngsters. The Times. 5 August p. 67
Bond, D. 2010a Scudamore Jumps to Premier League Defence. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2010/08/is_the_premier_league_responsi.html
[Accessed 03 August].
Bond, D. 2010b Premier League Not to Blame For England Woes. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8882986.stm [Accessed 03 August, 2010].
Foster M. (2010) More Opportunities For Home Grown Players. Available from http://www.premierleague.com/page/Magazinedettail/0,,12306~2098999,00.html [Accessed 20 August 2010].
Jackson, J. (2010) England are 'paying price of foreign Premier League' guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 July. Available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/08/jose-luis-astiazaran-la-liga-england [accessed 9 July, 2010].
Lacey, D. (2010). World Cup gloom will not cloud the start of new Premier League season. Guardian. 7 August.
Ogden, M and Ley, J. (2009). Premier League: English players now outnumbered by foreign legion. Telegraph 13 Aug. Available from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/6024056/Premier-League-English-players-now-outnumbered-by-foreign-legion.html [accessed July 30, 2010]
Nagel, J; Dodd, A and Ellis, R. (2010). The Football League Supporters Survey. p.20. Preston. The Football League Ltd.
Roan, D. Teenage Kicks – Development of Youth Football. (2010a). BBC 5Live 20 July.
Roan, D; (2010b) The Challenge Facing England’s Youngsters. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/danroan/2010/07/one_of_the_major_theories.html
[accessed 21 July]
Scott, M. (2010). Football Coach Shortage Paints Bleak Future for England’s Future. Guardian, June 1
Sturgess, P; et al. (2010). The Future Game: The Football Association Technical Guide For Young Player Development p.11. London. FA Learning.com
19 October 2010
Newsflash - Rooney to sign for Real Sociopath
Ahh - he didn't participate outside his house for a kick-a-bout, then..?
Everyone happy now? More on this story later....
Everyone happy now? More on this story later....
12 August 2010
Do you participate in time travel?
Can you read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow, please?
‘…, but England’s poor performances in Brazil could at least in part be explained by the lack of importance England attached to the tournament, and to the consequent inadequacy of their preparation.’
(Jonathan Wilson, p.73).
1). The above statement is written about an event that will happen four years into the future. True or false?
2). The above statement is written about an event that happened sixty years ago.
True or false?
3). Will participation rates for football be higher or lower by 2014?
4). Seeing the picture: - what factors have influenced your answer to Q3?
5). Do you know the book that the passage was taken from? If so, did the England performance last night exceed your expectations, underwhelm you or follow Sergeant Wilson's predictions?
‘…, but England’s poor performances in Brazil could at least in part be explained by the lack of importance England attached to the tournament, and to the consequent inadequacy of their preparation.’
(Jonathan Wilson, p.73).
1). The above statement is written about an event that will happen four years into the future. True or false?
2). The above statement is written about an event that happened sixty years ago.
True or false?
3). Will participation rates for football be higher or lower by 2014?
4). Seeing the picture: - what factors have influenced your answer to Q3?
5). Do you know the book that the passage was taken from? If so, did the England performance last night exceed your expectations, underwhelm you or follow Sergeant Wilson's predictions?
26 June 2010
And so it came to pass...
Sunday June 27 and the characters in the media were mostly all talking up England’s chances against Germany. The day after, there is national alarm and a collective looking back over the shoulder and down the years. To try to understand the scale of the problem and where it started to go wrong, the channels are awash questioning who should take responsibility. Is it cultural, psychological or technical? Let's look at each in turn.
First, on a cultural level, some commentators were complaining about the quality of the football in the early group games, citing teams like New Zealand who should not be at the tournament. This argument was also lined up about the vuvuzela. 'Why should we, the powerful western Europeans, be subjected to that awful din?', some said. In the spirit of Nelson Mandela, don’t you think that we should celebrate diversity? It is good for social inclusion on a global scale that so called lesser teams and curious instruments should flourish. It enriches us all by participating in an event that expands our understanding. I think England should also think about the national team’s record at major championships. In order to rediscover our joy and wonder of football, should we reset the expectation and consider that it is be better to participate with a smile than worry about winning the whole thing and what happens if we don't?
Secondly, England clearly have some talented players and their performances to date suggests that they and the manager have choked, somewhat. How to get over this? Think about this: my wife and her colleagues were outraged a few years ago when their new line manager was drafted in on a stratospheric salary. Everyone in the team reacted badly initially and disquiet grew when this the new boss was not performing. Whilst this boss was out within twelve months the damage was done because of the effect on the organisation and their people. On a similar theme, by day two of Wimbledon every British player except Andy Murray was out and the print media served a few smashes at the Lawn Tennis Association the next day. Respected tennis figures were asked to give an opinion on why no players are progressing and the overriding theme was one of privilege reducing desire. Psychologically, you have to wonder how this weight of expectation skews preparation in the minds of the England players when they are coming up against players and teams who get paid much less and yet seem to compete at the same level, or higher?
This leads on to the technical abilities of individuals, teams and nations. It's a pleasure for many to watch the Latin American teams and marvel at their technique. But I bet their kids don't play full size games on a good surface from an early age. In fact, they'd be lucky if they play with any kind of proper football, I would imagine. Their counterparts on these shores are being sculpted from the September to January babies who are physically dominant and can impose their will on the weaker, younger, but perhaps more skilful year group cohorts. To move forward, we need small sided games and get everyone to participate and treasure how they hold, pass and dribble the ball. I firmly believe that 5 A-side football should be promoted above all other forms until young players are fourteen years old. Adults play more 5 A-side now. It is a hugely enjoyable platform for football and promotes the short game and intricate passing and dribbling. The infrastructure is there and can be expanded to fulfil the needs of a new, fresh coaching approach.
Can anyone remember the second half performance against Egypt in the March friendly at Wembley? I thought the midfield balance came from Carrick's careful distribution. Consider the Algeria game when Heskey picked up the ball in the right channel and embarked on his dribble. I am sure Emile is a great guy, but his attempted stepover, where he trod on the ball, lost his balance and fell over epitomised the whole campaign – embarrassing. Emile looked lost and almost acknowledging that he was out of his depth when he looked up and it's a shame because he played so well in the first game against the USA. That, too, however, is ironic considering his brief was to bring Rooney into play and Rooney was awful, throughout, for reasons yet to be revealed. Look at performances. Do you think England needs a different approach?
Should we question the coach? Every single football fan has a view on his tactics today, but he was not there to teach the players how to control and pass the ball. It can't stop us all speculating how we might have handled the hot seat, though. For my ten deutchsmarks worth, I wondered about changing the balance by leaving out Lampard and Defoe. This would enable Carrick to play in the middle alongside Barry with Gerrard in between them and Rooney. From here, Gerrard could tuck in when defending and break out to help Rooney create in zone 14 (i.e. in front of the opposition's penalty box). With Joe Cole wide left and Milner wide right we would have had a better chance of controlling possession in midfield and dictating play. Pace would have come down the flanks by Johnson and Ashley Cole steaming ahead and having the wide midfield players cover for the full backs when they bombed on to join in the attack. 4 4 2 or 4 5 1 or 4 1 4 1 is a red herring. However England play, they need to learn to control the midfield and have a starting 11 who are capable of retaining possession and building confidence through each performance. Beckenbauer said it was kick and rush and how he must have embraced Miroslav Klose after the first goal and be having a good laugh today. His stinging comments after the game hurt so much because the truth can hurt so much. England fans, though, should consider our UK partners and be thankful for the chance to participate at all. We need to reconsider and build a system that will help all UK teams to participate at major tournament finals.
So, where do we go from here? There is a question around transparency and conflict of interest between the FA and the Premier League that needs someone to face into. But, will those on the penalty spot shoot, or pass?
First, on a cultural level, some commentators were complaining about the quality of the football in the early group games, citing teams like New Zealand who should not be at the tournament. This argument was also lined up about the vuvuzela. 'Why should we, the powerful western Europeans, be subjected to that awful din?', some said. In the spirit of Nelson Mandela, don’t you think that we should celebrate diversity? It is good for social inclusion on a global scale that so called lesser teams and curious instruments should flourish. It enriches us all by participating in an event that expands our understanding. I think England should also think about the national team’s record at major championships. In order to rediscover our joy and wonder of football, should we reset the expectation and consider that it is be better to participate with a smile than worry about winning the whole thing and what happens if we don't?
Secondly, England clearly have some talented players and their performances to date suggests that they and the manager have choked, somewhat. How to get over this? Think about this: my wife and her colleagues were outraged a few years ago when their new line manager was drafted in on a stratospheric salary. Everyone in the team reacted badly initially and disquiet grew when this the new boss was not performing. Whilst this boss was out within twelve months the damage was done because of the effect on the organisation and their people. On a similar theme, by day two of Wimbledon every British player except Andy Murray was out and the print media served a few smashes at the Lawn Tennis Association the next day. Respected tennis figures were asked to give an opinion on why no players are progressing and the overriding theme was one of privilege reducing desire. Psychologically, you have to wonder how this weight of expectation skews preparation in the minds of the England players when they are coming up against players and teams who get paid much less and yet seem to compete at the same level, or higher?
This leads on to the technical abilities of individuals, teams and nations. It's a pleasure for many to watch the Latin American teams and marvel at their technique. But I bet their kids don't play full size games on a good surface from an early age. In fact, they'd be lucky if they play with any kind of proper football, I would imagine. Their counterparts on these shores are being sculpted from the September to January babies who are physically dominant and can impose their will on the weaker, younger, but perhaps more skilful year group cohorts. To move forward, we need small sided games and get everyone to participate and treasure how they hold, pass and dribble the ball. I firmly believe that 5 A-side football should be promoted above all other forms until young players are fourteen years old. Adults play more 5 A-side now. It is a hugely enjoyable platform for football and promotes the short game and intricate passing and dribbling. The infrastructure is there and can be expanded to fulfil the needs of a new, fresh coaching approach.
Can anyone remember the second half performance against Egypt in the March friendly at Wembley? I thought the midfield balance came from Carrick's careful distribution. Consider the Algeria game when Heskey picked up the ball in the right channel and embarked on his dribble. I am sure Emile is a great guy, but his attempted stepover, where he trod on the ball, lost his balance and fell over epitomised the whole campaign – embarrassing. Emile looked lost and almost acknowledging that he was out of his depth when he looked up and it's a shame because he played so well in the first game against the USA. That, too, however, is ironic considering his brief was to bring Rooney into play and Rooney was awful, throughout, for reasons yet to be revealed. Look at performances. Do you think England needs a different approach?
Should we question the coach? Every single football fan has a view on his tactics today, but he was not there to teach the players how to control and pass the ball. It can't stop us all speculating how we might have handled the hot seat, though. For my ten deutchsmarks worth, I wondered about changing the balance by leaving out Lampard and Defoe. This would enable Carrick to play in the middle alongside Barry with Gerrard in between them and Rooney. From here, Gerrard could tuck in when defending and break out to help Rooney create in zone 14 (i.e. in front of the opposition's penalty box). With Joe Cole wide left and Milner wide right we would have had a better chance of controlling possession in midfield and dictating play. Pace would have come down the flanks by Johnson and Ashley Cole steaming ahead and having the wide midfield players cover for the full backs when they bombed on to join in the attack. 4 4 2 or 4 5 1 or 4 1 4 1 is a red herring. However England play, they need to learn to control the midfield and have a starting 11 who are capable of retaining possession and building confidence through each performance. Beckenbauer said it was kick and rush and how he must have embraced Miroslav Klose after the first goal and be having a good laugh today. His stinging comments after the game hurt so much because the truth can hurt so much. England fans, though, should consider our UK partners and be thankful for the chance to participate at all. We need to reconsider and build a system that will help all UK teams to participate at major tournament finals.
So, where do we go from here? There is a question around transparency and conflict of interest between the FA and the Premier League that needs someone to face into. But, will those on the penalty spot shoot, or pass?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)