Time the F.A sorted this out

[Pavilionaire]

Thing is we were pretty rubbish between 1967 and 1993 as well weren't we and we can't blame Sky for that.

England's 1970 side was pretty good to be fair, only losing 1-0 to arguably the best XI ever to have taken the field - Brazil, then going out 3-2 courtesy of a goalkeeping gaffe from Bonetti to the World Champions in waiting.

There were a lot less finals places back in the 1970s - the England side in 1973 was pretty good but they happened to come up against the best side Poland ever had - they finished 3rd in the 1974 WC. The side was pretty ordinary in the late 70s though.

 

[BigGully]

I'm not sure this is true. My son is a decent player, next year he'll be one of three year 5 players in his school team. But that school team has football practice for about 35 minutes every week (and even that is cancelled at regular intervals) and, perhaps, a game a month. My son would love play for a weekend team but there aren't any local ones with any spare places.

My son's OK but he's no Messi but the point is, if he were a second Messi, there's little chance that he would be noticed. Until there's regular football at schools and proper, regular coaching, there will always be a chance that good players could fall through the system.

That surprises me, but you would expect that if there was a next Messi attended your son's school then he would be playing regular Sunday football, school football isnt really on the radar, however Brighton and Hove School Representative side has a long history of successes and talent within it.

I have always assumed that there are more than enough local Sunday League junior football teams/clubs to cater for the demand.

 

[drew]

Yeah I can't disagree with any of this.

Lazy.

It's not won't, it's can't. Why does nobody see this?

The PL hold all the ace cards and until the performance of the England team starts affecting PL profits, why the hell should the PL give a toss, it's not in any way their problem.

It is doing something, why can't you see that! I know, it's because it doesn't happen overnight! More coaches are being trained and there is also more emphasis on skills with the FA supporting Futsal which has seen as a good way of developing skills that a lot of latin countries thrive on.

I'm pretty convinced that the best way to help the National Team would be for us all to cancel our Sky subscriptions overnight. Sky can't pay the PL, the PL has to fold, loads of clubs will go bust and we'll have to start again with less of a focus on greed and a greater focus on building a struture encouraging homegrown talent and genuine competition amongst the clubs.

Then do it, don't just talk about it.

I'm not sure this is true. My son is a decent player, next year he'll be one of three year 5 players in his school team. But that school team has football practice for about 35 minutes every week (and even that is cancelled at regular intervals) and, perhaps, a game a month. My son would love play for a weekend team but there aren't any local ones with any spare places.

My son's OK but he's no Messi but the point is, if he were a second Messi, there's little chance that he would be noticed. Until there's regular football at schools and proper, regular coaching, there will always be a chance that good players could fall through the system.

As someone else enquired, where abouts are you? Find it hard to believe that there are no football clubs unless you are in some remote area full of egg chasers? There might not be a place in the team but no doubt there is a squad and that is the first step.

Thing is we were pretty rubbish between 1967 and 1993 as well weren't we and we can't blame Sky for that.

1986 lost to the Hand of God
1990 Missed out on a place in the final by centimetres (hit the post)

Hardly rubbish.

 

[crodonilson]

1986 lost to the Hand of God
1990 Missed out on a place in the final by centimetres (hit the post)

Hardly rubbish.

Maybe not but not really any better than SF in Euro 96 and QF's at 2002, 2004, 2006 in the Sky era. I just think it is too simplistic to blanme PL/Sky, the fortunes of the England team are much the same now as they were for the 20 years before the SKY/PL era.

 

[spring hall convert]

Then do it, don't just talk about it.

Already did a while back.

Elsewhere in the thread I also said the coaching is the one thing the FA can do something about and I don't really see what's stopping them.

 

[drew]

Already did a while back.

Elsewhere in the thread I also said the coaching is the one thing the FA can do something about and I don't really see what's stopping them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18680785

Nothing is stopping them.

 

[spring hall convert]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18680785

Nothing is stopping them.

2 years ago! Have we made any progress?

 

[Mellotron]

Correct. And that is why the government needs to intervene. Britain is a football mad nation, and all of them under-achieve. The FA is not fit for purpose IMO.

The football mad bit is a bit of a misnomer though, on it's own. When I went to India all the kids in the streets were playing either football or cricket, pretty much 50/50. They are a nation of a BILLION. Go to places like Uganda and every kid is wearing a football shirt, either of a "big four" side, a big european side, or specifically of players like Eto'o or Drogba.

Before you mention the facilities thing, we look at sides like Brazil and Uruguay who do fine with pretty shit facilities at grassroots. Being football mad isn't really any indicator of level of success, as there's not really a pattern there.

 

[Spider]

The problem for me is that, as we've seen recently, any attempt to improve the England side looks inevitably to harm the Football League structure. Simply, the FA will not take any action that will harm the big clubs, so instead it will be the little clubs who have to be used like a England technical training academy.

It's not a trade I'm willing to make - I care much more about Brighton and I'm therefore happy to wait for the law of averages to come into effect where at some point we will surely have the perfect storm of a handful of world class players and a manager who can get them towards the finals of major competitions.

 

[drew]

2 years ago! Have we made any progress?

Is that a serious comment?

 

[Commander]

The football mad bit is a bit of a misnomer though, on it's own. When I went to India all the kids in the streets were playing either football or cricket, pretty much 50/50. They are a nation of a BILLION. Go to places like Uganda and every kid is wearing a football shirt, either of a "big four" side, a big european side, or specifically of players like Eto'o or Drogba.

Before you mention the facilities thing, we look at sides like Brazil and Uruguay who do fine with pretty shit facilities at grassroots. Being football mad isn't really any indicator of level of success, as there's not really a pattern there.

Nothing wrong with the facilities in Uruguay. Great little country. Pleasant place with nice people, nice beaches, farms, countryside and quaint villages and towns. It's like having Sussex picked up and transported to South America.

 

[throbinson]

It all has to start at grassroots levels with the kids, I manage a U9s team and have a F.A coaching qualification they teach us to teach the kids to play from the back which I can says team does but to many just get the keeper to role it out and the defender just smacks it forward that teaches the kids nothing

 

[BigGully]

It all has to start at grassroots levels with the kids, I manage a U9s team and have a F.A coaching qualification they teach us to teach the kids to play from the back which I can says team does but to many just get the keeper to role it out and the defender just smacks it forward that teaches the kids nothing

I have yet to know of a qualification that prompts their coaches of how they should make their children play, depending on the level of the qualification, it tends to be more problem solving and game situations/evolution's that might need some analysis, but rarely underpinned by an overall playing ethos.

The same two qualified coaches may have a wholly different footballing bias, neither one can be deemed 'wrong', perhaps that is part of the problem, I tend to think our DNA is prone to encourage a style unlikely to develop the 'type' of player necessary to win World Cups.

 

[Mellotron]

Nothing wrong with the facilities in Uruguay. Great little country. Pleasant place with nice people, nice beaches, farms, countryside and quaint villages and towns. It's like having Sussex picked up and transported to South America.

Really? Blimey, fair play.

 

[Gwylan]

That surprises me, but you would expect that if there was a next Messi attended your son's school then he would be playing regular Sunday football, school football isnt really on the radar, however Brighton and Hove School Representative side has a long history of successes and talent within it.

I have always assumed that there are more than enough local Sunday League junior football teams/clubs to cater for the demand.

As someone else enquired, where abouts are you? Find it hard to believe that there are no football clubs unless you are in some remote area full of egg chasers? There might not be a place in the team but no doubt there is a squad and that is the first step.

We live in Coldean, scarcely a rural outpost but very hard to find a local team (there was a team, Coldean Colts that played locally but they've moved to Whitehawk now). I know there were some teams in the Southwick/Portslade area looking for players but that's about 75/80 minutes away on the bus in the evening: my boy would be going to bed after 10 on a school night.

No, it's not possible to get into a squad but the few local teams around here don't even do trials. Like I said, I don't know how a team could spot a talented youngster if they don't even run trials.

I've spent a good deal of time looking for a team: I think my son's given up and is going to try rugby next year. At least, unlike football, there's a clear ladder of progress and a procedure in place to spot talented players. My son isn't an ultra talented footballer but, as I said, there's no system to spot him if he is.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

A friend at work runs and coaches youth (u11s I think). He is always applying for his team to play in as many competitions as possible, or he organises comps himself and gets other local teams in (raises money for the club and profile). 2 players. (1 in his and 1 in his mates team) offered places by pro teams. The first turned down orient to carry on skateboarding the second Norwich because he doesn't like yellow.