The British concept of the ‘beautiful game’ is anything but beautiful, as a nation we promote the ideals of grit, determination and bravery that embody the stereotypical bulldog spirit. Wayne Rooney, our most celebrated product of the last decade, has been manufactured to blend these characteristics into his portfolio of tricks and flicks. Whilst this defines him as one of the most talented footballers in this modern era, he is perhaps the diamond in amongst the rough of technically inferior individuals that have emerged from our academies.
Gareth Southgate, the FA’s head of elite development, would appear to share this opinion and has recently voiced his concern that England cannot afford to stand still as the game continues to evolve.
“I played international football for England and in many games we were technically inferior to the opposition,”
“Everybody looks at Barcelona and Spain and realises we can’t keep playing the way we have and producing the English style of player. We have to grow and change.” (Guardian)
Aside from the exceptional examples that include Paul Scholes and Paul Gascoigne, it would appear that we are not doing enough during early development to help nurture this rare breed of player. Perhaps it’s fair to suggest that clubs are so focused on ensuring that youngsters are physically prepared for the rigours of English football that they neglect training key technical attributes.
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One of Southgate’s main objectives in his role is to improve the relations between club and country. All too often the tabloid newspapers are awash with stories that managers are angry their players have been injured away on international duty, played longer than agreed or even called up in the first place. There’s a worrying reality nowadays that players favour their club over their country, which certainly wasn’t the case back in ’66. Perhaps Southgate’s time as Middlesbrough boss should give him an edge in bridging the gap between the FA and the managers in the Premier League.
There is also an underlying desire to install success at an early level; if players can grow and bond with one another throughout their teens then this will help improve our chances of establishing a competitive squad at senior level. Southgate is keen to stress that he wants to make the experience of playing for England more enjoyable, an unthinkable notion to you or me, until you consider the surreal levels of expectation that are heaped on young shoulders from an early age.
The enjoyment factor of playing football should be cherished and cultivated at a grassroot level. At present, children are thrown into the world of football at the deep end, playing on pitches that are too big, in games that last too long. The teams are run by over competitive men, keen to fulfil some missed opportunity from their own childhood as they shout and scream from the touchline. In this scenario, the sport will always favour and adhere to those who hit puberty first and will severely disrupt the development for the rest.
We now live in a society where playing football in the street is frowned upon, despite the fact it’s been vital in helping the likes of Wayne Rooney master their trade. Thankfully the FA council will discuss a handful of new proposals this month that should help transform the sport from the bottom scale of the pyramid, right to the very top.
The most important proposition concerns a radical re-structure of youth football. Players will only play in 5-aside matches in their early involvement in the sport before moving onto 9v9 sided games when they reach the age of 11. This format will remain optional alongside the conventional 11-aside set-up up between the ages of 12-16 and will ensure children play with the right sized balls on appropriate pitches. It doesn’t take a genius to see that these changes are long overdue and will hopefully see players develop their skills as they enjoy more time on the ball.
These new developments will form part of a £1bn strategy that will aim to encourage better participation and see 2,000 football clubs develop links with local secondary schools. At the core of this scheme is St George’s Park, a new centre of excellence in Burton-upon-Trent that will act as the FA’s centre for education and development. Not only will this provide the optimum environment for players but it will also host thousands of new teaching courses that aim to produce 250,000 new coaches by 2018.
So in spite of the dark clouds looming over the country right now, the future looks bright for our next generation of stars. Our very own Lionel Messi could even be walking amongst us as we speak, he’s just a little preoccupied with colouring in at the moment.
Join on me Twitter @theunusedsub where I’m watching a video of Juan Pablo Angel’s son Tomy, who appears to be more than just a chip off the old block.
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