| Petition for grassroots overhaul for the FA | |||
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July 12th 2010 by Michael Somerville
Let’s stop this England failure from happening again As another World Cup comes and goes, it’s another disappointment for the ever passionate and loyal England fans. We’ve heard the excuses from the FA and Fabio Capello. “The players were tired” the manager said. Funny that, because against Germany, England players ran further on average than their opposition who still managed to rattle four goals past us. We all know what the problems were on the pitch. Poor teamwork, not enough dynamism and a team lacking in individuality made England’s football far too predictable for their opponents. But where did this frustrating and unsuccessful brand of football come from? Here’s the solution. The FA needs to realise that the grassroots of the game need a major overhaul. World Cup finalists and Euro Champions Spain have 23,995 UEFA coaching badges (B, A & Pro) and England slayers and 3rd placed team Germany have 34,790. England have just over a pathetic 2000. The FA started work on Burton Abbey, recently renamed St Georges Park, nine years ago- a national football centre that was designed to galvanise the game and bring England success. £25m later, it is still not finished, although the FA promises it will be finished in time for the 2012 Olympics. By then its cost will have rocketed to £100m. The FA has shown time and time again that they languish on the drawing board when it matters most. UK Football Finder has been a great crusader for much needed money in grassroots football. The website brings players of all standards together to compete in ProStar Leagues – boosting young English players’ chances of making it in the big leagues. Also supporting the petition is Goalrun who have been supporting grass roots football for 11 years. For this worthy cause to be any use, the FA needs to listen, and change the way they coach players. I know a young footballer who has played for the youth teams at Chelsea, Charlton and Fulham and he can firmly say that all youth team coaching places strong emphasis on strength and pace. There is so much more to football than strength and pace. This young footballer eventually became so frustrated with this type of coaching, that he left football for good six months ago to pursue another career. If talented young players are being subjected to this constrained way of playing football by under qualified coaches, then their priceless flair and uniqueness is clearly going to suffer. Only 2,769 coaches in England possess the UEFA coaching badges that are so prominent in Germany and Spain. In clear black and white, that is why we have done so badly this tournament, and will continue to do so if this problem is not addressed. It’s time for a top to toe revolution in the English game. Our aim is to see a complete overhaul of football coaching in this country, starting at grassroots level Sign the petition to get the FA to put more emphasis and importance in our grassroots game and to stop this failure from happening again. ‘UK Football Finder is part of the Grassroots Football Alliance. The GFA aims to represent the interests, concerns and aspirations of each and everyone involved with the grass roots game. Football Mittoo/Goalrun, Non League News Ltd, & Soccer Sixes seek to offer a wealth of combined experience, understanding and direct access to key organisations’ As featured on the Non League Football Show Tags: england, Fabio Capello, grass roots, Petition, revolution, Soho square, sunday league, Wembley, youth
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July 12th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Watching Spain last night made me realize how far behind we really are. Every player has two feet and can control the ball. Basics but we can even do that.
We can only make a difference by investing money into our grass roots and starting from scratch.
Stevie D
July 12th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Start signing in the comment window peeps,
we an then copy and paste it into our petition and send on.
Name and profession.
Dexy Longshot, Blogger & tipster.
July 12th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Darren I – Blogger, designer
Great idea, we can make a difference.
The 12 million we saved from sacking Sven McClaren should go into Burton, it could at least buy some bricks. Seriously though, we need a revolution at grass roots level, now is the time to start!
July 12th, 2010 at 9:54 am
Great idea boys. Let’s get behind this properly, we need change.
Jimmy the gent – Estate agent & Gentleman
July 12th, 2010 at 9:55 am
The FA make enough money so why dont they take a 10% pay cut each for 5 years i bet that would give a vast amount of even more money to take the grass roots to a whole new level
July 12th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Key Account Controller (Plant Hire)
July 12th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Jerome Hughes – Football Coach
Need to step up this grass roots football
July 12th, 2010 at 10:08 am
For a country that created such a brilliant game, we fail to hold any level competitiveness against the great teams. This needs to change and the FA Board (who have no football knowledge or experience) need to listen
July 12th, 2010 at 10:11 am
I dont support England because of the ridiculous over hype they have and they really arent that good. However i would like to see it improved with proper coaching and this is why i am signing this petition.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Keith O’Connell – Financial Advisor
Great idea, with any luck this movement could start bearing fruit in time for 2018. I think we can write off the intervening years…
July 12th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Totally agree keith, we can write off Euro 2012 (crap squad), and the World Cup 2014 as it’s in South America, and plan for 2018, just like the French did with their academy.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:29 am
it runs deeper than that, much deeper.
A revolution is needed. both culturally and at grass roots level.
Viva la revolution
Paul Jones – Posty
July 12th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Here, here, we have to do something now and I think the bigwigs at the FA may have finally realised too. What I would want is a complete overhaul of the old guard and get in some real football people, actual players and refs who know the game, not moneymen chairman and prawn munching politicians.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:30 am
I am in total support of this. As a secretary of an adult team, we are in the motion of joining up with a youth club (under 7′s to under 16′s). We have plans on how to improve our shocking facilities, so that all ages will benefit.
Please help invest so the youth of today can beneift and have the facilities and coaching that they deserve. This way we can compete with the great footballing nations of today.
July 12th, 2010 at 11:22 am
The FA are woeful, they threaten their own existence with their incompetence. Maybe its about time they are put to one side and football pros manage the game.
July 12th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Totally agree wayne, we’ve been on here for years moaning at their general incompetence.
July 12th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Jason Price – Banker
I’m all for this 100%! Great, great idea, how many more tournaments will we have to suffer from poorly managed players who can’t even control a football.
We need more high level coaches teaching the kids the basics.
July 12th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Great. Am I going crazy but… where’s the actual petition?
July 12th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Look at the Kruts. grow some balls FA and sort it !
July 12th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Hello,
This has been an issue I’ve been aware of and understood since I was twelve (1983). If have known about it for so long and understood it at such an age, what does that say about the FA?
I did my UEFA B coaching badge (for coaching kids up to 14) and it was average at best (each country modifies the course content).
From a professional point of view, the top nations all have better (i.e. more co-ordinated and agile) movement than our players. This can’t be genetic, it’s all in the training.
Simon Mesner Chartered Physiotherapist
July 12th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Ok – this is MY take on it all; Don’t know what you’ll all think when you read it but have a look and see.
Anyways, you think Turkeys (I.e. The FA) will vote for Christmas? WAKE UP!!! The FA CAUSED all this!!! When they capitulated to the Rich clubs demands in 1992 and created the laughably named ‘Premier’ League (not so bloody Premier NOW is it when it’s own NATION can’t even hold a candle to sodding ALGERIA when it comes to passing!!!).
Either way – when the FA created said league with NO checks and balances to FORCE them to assist the National Team (just some vague promises – read LIES) that they would “do what they can” (nothing as it turns out) – Well then they virtually ensured that we would eventually come to THIS situation of being a country with a supposedly ‘great’ league, whilst simultaneously being an international football laughing stock as well. Oh yes and in doing this (founding the Premier League or assisting in it’s founding) – the FA ALSO ensured that ALL grassroots and lower level football (which PRODUCES our future players) would not be so much underfunded as STARVED of funds so the elite could cream off EVERYTHING for that greedy piece of crap we call our ‘National’ league – You wonder where the problems started? Well THERE – back in 1992 would be a good place to start looking………
Many of you are right in saying that our coaches are WOEFULLY underqualified and lacking in numbers but it’s MORE than that – WHERE do you think the pathetic excuse for a football ethic that is “pace, power etc is NEEDED in the English game” originates from? WHERE do you think that utter CRAP infiltrates our leagues (and our coaches and the methods which teach THEM and which THEY teach our young professionals) from? The very TOP of course – the all singing, all dancing, utterly USELESS Premier League THAT’S where.
So, to summarise – as Paul said – yes we DO need a revolution to clear out the stuffy old heads at the top of the FA and FORCE them to start qualifying ALL our coaches PROPERLY (with the UEFA licenses NOT the English ones) so they can teach our kids the right way to play but it’s more than that – Lest you haven’t all noticed;
There is also ONE organisation that’s consistently BLOCKED the progress of ANYTHING that would benefit the England team – from putting back the Burton Football Centre, to ensuring it would NOT train our youngsters technique – only instead being used as a Coach/Manager training centre, from seizing control of Academy training for it’s own clubs to piling up foreign youngsters in such numbers they DROWN our youngsters AND then arguing with UEFA about regulations aimed at putting a stop to such behaviour. from all that right on to seizing ALL the funds that should have been distributed properly WAY back in 1992 when football went TV mad in this country and then distributing so called occasional ‘gifts’ which are not one TENTH of what those amounts SHOULD be right on to making us ALL get used to paying prices to watch league football here that would cause RIOTS in Germany, France or Italy (and which make us a laughing stock as we meekly swallow their crap) and also undermining and FORCING the sacking of a number of FA Chief Executives who wanted to reform the FA and National Side and make them stronger.
And this paradox of an organisation IS? (Paradox as in destroying the National Team as it IS doing – It’s also destroying it’s own FAN base – as the more people hate England? The less will watch it) Anyway, that organisation IS? In case you hadn’t guessed yet – The FA Premier League – The ENORMOUS, greedy, self-interested-destructive dragon-like MONSTER at the heart of ALL that is wrong with English football, which 2 years ago after the debacle of our NON-Qualification for Euro 2008 IMMEDIATELY distanced itself from blame – stating it had LITTLE to do with the England team (which it’s virtually CONTROLLED for years now) and thus it’s policies had NOTHING to do with the subsequent failures – I notice such hurried denials are conspicuous by their Absence THIS time – I wonder why THAT is? Maybe because the damage they are doing and have done is now clear perhaps? So yes, a revolution is INDEED called for as Paul said – but not just one that takes on and FORCES reform of the FA but one that DESTROYS the power of the Premier League over ALL English Football as well. This wasn’t that urgent before, but it IS now!!! If not? The damage done by the PL might NEVER be overcome and non-qualifying ala 1994 and 2008 will become the RULE and not the exception for England.
I don’t think ANY of us want THAT, so we need to start attacking the FA and PL at EVERY opportunity NOW or the consequences for the next few generations of ENGLISH footballers will be just as serious as those of the generations ALREADY lost thanks to the PL’s greed (and I’m SURE we had at least SEVERAL of our own ENGLISH Messi’s, Villa’s, Torres’s Iniesta’s Xavi’s or Xabi Alonso’s or budding versions of them there that were lost to this PL-Led obsession of height, pace, power and foreigners – doubt we’ll ever know now will we?). We need to act NOW though – it’s time We, the Fans FORCED the FA to SAVE English football as on their own? They’ll do little or NOTHING again – Maybe keeping Capello was the right move though as how else are National coaches supposed to LEARN? (Bobby Robson lost EVERY game of ours at Euro ’88 and look how he did at his NEXT tournament? And Capello is EASILY a better manager than Robson was) and with the money thus saved from NOT sacking him – the FA have a starting point no? They have a starting point that is IF they have the balls to FINALLY do what is necessary and what HAS been for 20 odd years now if not FAR longer……………………..
July 12th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Totally with this movement, although I think that the grass-roots philosophy needs to change too. Less of the ‘Go on Jonny score a goal’ attitude and more of a ‘Lets actually try and make these kids better, even if they do get beaten in their first season’. Then we might actually breed footballers who can hold onto the ball. Who knows, if we had academies teaching the kids academically as well, we may even get players with a brain!
Doug Drinkwater, Journo.
July 12th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
spot on Doug, all those parents shouting hit it long, hit it long!
Actually, didn’t they try that by stopping competitive football for under 10′s?
July 12th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
right, crazy idea, but how about we change the rules for the under 10′s so that the game is won by the team that does the most passes in the oppositions half, that would improve technique and force the kids to use both feet
July 12th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
This is excellent, it just goes to show how bad the FA really are, all of us THE FANS seem to all be in agreement that we need change. Keep the comments and sign-ups on here coming and remember to pass onto fellow fans. We have a petition set and ready to go but to get ball rolling, we want to get somefeedback in the blog first. One of our bloggers Mike Somerville will be on the BBC London Non-league show tonight discussing this topic in the aftermath of the past months events in SA where we failed so miserably.
July 12th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Lee Hambleton
Sunday Football Team Manager
Everyone needs to sign this and get this country up to where it should be, invest money into grassroots rather than premadonna’s 4 homes and 16 cars! Come On England!
July 12th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Top UK Football Finder blogger Mike Somerville can be heard on BBC London 94.9 at 10pm tonight.
Will be chatting about England’s failure at South Africa and how we can improve our fortunes…
Make sure u tune in and support the petition!!
July 12th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
I coached an under 9s team for two years before this team, and I got them to play proper football because they were blank slates, almost. But now, I struggle getting my under-14s side to adapt to playing with the ball on the deck. I suspect that they’ve been taught for the past five years (perhaps) to just hoof it long to a quick striker with a hard shot, and its already too hard to change that. I think its a damning indictment of grass roots football when kids over 12 struggle to play proper football because they’ve never been taught how to.
If this movement will help that even a little… its worth the effort. We players and coaches within the amateur game have known the problems for years. Its just a shame that its taken the spectacular failure of our players on the national stage to show everyone outside the game that action is needed.
Benni Watson – Database Administrator / Youth Football Coach
July 12th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Don’t you think that clubs should be working more closely with their communities too? Some clubs do this well, but many don’t. Club academies should also have to have plenty of english players in each intake. There’s so much to do…
July 12th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Hi,
Totally agree with the sentiments in the article as well as in the comment section.
Seeing how far behind England are was embarrasing in SA and in honesty I actually found it funny – The arrogance of our Media and “expert” pundits beggers belief.
As an Arsenal fan, I have for years been defending Wengers transfer philisophy, the young kids in this country are not coached in the right manner and they all lack technique. When these players do become 1/2 decent, (against all odds) they are over priced (30million – James Milner?!) Pushing the clubs into the european market where they can get value for money.
Of course Arsenal are derided by the FA and english media and expert pundits for being foreign, a “soft touch” who “don’t like it up ‘em” – encouraging teams to adopt a physicle approach, abandoning technique on the basis “they can’t beat them at their own game”.
Blackburn putting 2 players infont of the keeper – stopping him getting the ball and bundling him into the net with the ball is seen as a “tactic” in this country.
Ferocious, uncontrolled and reckless lunges on the 1/2 way line, with enough force to snap a young players leg are seen as “letting him know your there” in this country and infact, the player that inflicted the injury is defended and given sympathy in the media rather than the teenager with a snapped leg and career hanging by a tread – Its unreal really isn’t it?
In any other country or league this is a foul / serious foul play.
The knock on effect is that the most technical side in the English league has suffered 5 leg breaks in 4 years.
The sad fact is that these methods are employed by english managers, praised by the english media and “expert” pundits and technical sides are derided for being a “soft touch”.
Wenger recognised the problems with football in this country and undertook a complete overhaul of the Academy at Arsenal, bringing in young players at the ages of 8-10, teaching them the correct way of playing the game and developing their technique.
This should be the standard set across grass roots football and the FA.
For example……
I watched my young nephew (9 yrs old at the time) play football for 2 years (now 11). He wasn’t naturally talented but enjoyed the game and played at right back (when he played).
Watching these games every Sunday actually made me sad…… 11 a side football should NOT be played at such a young age….
All I saw was kids HOOF the ball downfield, the biggest lad chases is it, smacks it from 30 yards and scuffs it, the ball bounces over the poor keeper who stands no chance in such large goals.
Of course the big lad that hoofed it ran off cheering, the winning team ran off smiling but where is the winner in any of this?
No passes in mid-field, nothing, everyone bypassed by a long punt upfield – smaller technically adept playes are replaced by big stong lads who can push the others out of the way – no-one learns or develops in the slightest.
2 years later my nephew, uninspired has now fallen out of love with the game and given up (at the age of 10/11!!). In 2 years watching him, I saw no improvement whatsoever in his technique or control – no wonder hey?
Compare this to Spain where untill the ages of 13/14, they play on small pitches, wit small goals where they play 5/6 a side football and getting plenty of touches, teaching the kids to love the ball, keep the ball, developing technique in kids and many go on to love the game and carry on playing…
They don’t seem to be playing to badly ( although their games lacks traditional English, “grit” “detrmination”, “power” “size”, “speed”)
Seems, that talent, technique and tactical awareness is the secret!
Support he petition and see a great future for english football.
July 12th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
In the level 2 coaching badge we learn to coach 6v6 small sided games and in the level 3 we learn to coach 8v8 small sided games! Ridiculous!! Kids play 7 a side and then 11v11, what is the point in learning to coach 6v6 and 8v8 if the kids dont even play this format?! No wonder we’re light years behind! The French have had Clairefontaine since the 90s yet we STILL haven’t opened Burton! And god knows that when we do open it, we’ll still mess it up!
July 12th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
How long will it be before the FA realise Englisg football needs to change from our very youngest footballers.
They need smaller pitches to help increase their technical and movement skills, spain and holland both do this and look at the way they play.
Brazil also are possibly the best team in the world and they have nowhere near the facilties and money/investment we have yet they produce world class players year after year.
Us coaches,players and parents really need to get together and get the FA to change their ways. We cant have 11 year olds playing 11 a-side on full size pitches as they dont see as much of the ball and the game becomes kick and rush.
Smaller pitches 7 a-side means more ball time, more touches, more movement which develops technical and ability on the ball.
Please let us get together and change football for ther better!!!!
Scott Harvey!
July 12th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Scott – as I said earlier. The FA and PL ALREADY know this and have done for YEARS (in the case of the FA). They continually REFUSE to do it though for a number of reasons (‘It’ being updating our coaching and training methods to produce REAL footballers and NOT mass-trained ‘PL’ style crap masquerading as footballers). Those reasons include nothing but GREED – The FA gets to keep ALL the money it has and NOT invest it in ANYTHING if they don’t act whilst the PL are deathly afraid the FA WILL do this and discourage them ANY way they can in order to ensure that no unfortunate English ‘Accidents’ (i.e. REAL footballers) come out of the Academies, give us cause to support our own and STOPS dead their lucrative trade in foreigners – The PL are DETERMINED to hold onto control of ALL league football Academies in England for the same reason – nothing but PURE, unadulterated Greed.
Another reason is incompetence – It’s been SO long since such a revamp was even attempted (under Venables I think and before him Bobby Robson a little) in English football (the revamp being to raise our technical levels to ACCEPTABLE – never mind Excellent for now – levels) that I honestly believe the bumbling, useless dinosaur of an FA that we have honestly do not have a CLUE how to do it, which coaches to hire, HOW to change their coaching badges to comply with UEFA’s Acceptable standards (as THEIRS clearly are unacceptable!!) and most of all WHERE to start this ‘playing’ style revolution as the FA currently have LITTLE control over Club Academies and Youth Football Coaches and THAT is where such a revolution is needed MOST.
One thing they COULD do though and yet refuse to via the coward Brooking is FORCE Youth teams AND Academies to play on SMALLER pitches at ALL times but for some unknown reason? They won’t – Ergo, the English game is lost in time with the “Speed, Strength, Skill” blueprint of CRAP that went out, oh……..44 years back maybe when ENGLAND DID WIN IT USING JUST THAT!!! I think the fact we won it using that blueprint AND that the “So-Called” Premiership idolises just THAT style of ahem ‘football’ is EXACTLY the two MAIN reasons we’re in the mess we’re in now as nearly ALL our coaches treat 1966 AND the Premier League’ ethos as Gospel and are insanely jealous, angry and resentful of ANY attempts to change them and their methods – but change they MUST or THIS debacle (2010 World Cup: England) AND the 2008 disaster? WILL become the norm’ for us and NONE of us want THAT to happen do we?………………………
July 12th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
I support this petition because we desperately need to turn around our coaching system starting at the beginning. Nobody wants to see another world cup debacle like the one we just had and this is the only way to stop it.
Harry McDonald
July 12th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Oh oops – So NEARLY forgot – I TO support this petition with ALL my might – I’m utterly FED UP and heartsick of seeing us LAUGHED out of major tournaments and OUR teams looking like they’re reading from ONE book whilst the REST of the bloody WORLD look like they’re learning from ANOTHER called “How to PLAY Football”. SORT THE BLOODY COACHING OUT FA – GET IT UP TO UEFA STANDARDS ALL OVER THE DAMN UK NOW!!!!!
Simon Worden.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
I was left speechless after our group stages games . We just scraped through , But I hoped
we would get it together against Germany but no it was not to be .
Something has to change , My son plays in the Vodcat League semi pro I feel they have
so much talant in that league ,but you never see a scout from a pro club . Thats part of
the problem it seems like our pro club scouts head abroad to the likes of Africa ect ect
for a player , Home grown players dont get a look in .
Having been a G/K & then a coach & a ever fustrated England fan I keep hoping for a
change of fortune for our beloved national game .
I support this petition
Derek Broadhurst
July 12th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Exactly Derek – WHERE are OUR Messi’s? OUR Iniesta’s? OUR Xavi’s? Villa’s, Torres, Xabi Alonso’s, Miroslave Klose’s and the rest? Well they might JUST be hiding in the pro’, semi-pro and “lower” leagues in England. That’s where. Remember when the likes of Forest, Villa, Liverpool et al DOMINATED Europe with teams made of almost entirely BRITISH players and such players (in the case of Kevin Keegan) won European Honours as best players etc? No?
Well THAT wellspring of talent is STILL out there – It’s not run dry no. It’s just with such a MULTICULTURAL (and HOW I HATE that word) ethos in the piece of crap at the Heart of all this (the Premier League). Our clubs are now SO used to buying FOREIGN Players that they’re AFRAID of British (specifically ENGLISH) players. It’s PATHETIC and NEEDS changing – At gunpoint if necessary with a FANS revolt. BTW Derek, we STILL need to change our coaching structure as well because even when clubs DO take a chance on British youngsters? They are still ALL coached the wrong way to fit in with the PREMIER LEAGUE rather than the FOOTBALL world. THAT has to stop and stop Now. Yes, there’s Much that needs doing but Every journey starts with a single step no?……………………….
July 13th, 2010 at 8:58 am
It needs to be sorted and sorted quickly.
Boot out all the old farts in the FA and replace them with people who actually know what footballs about not greedy bastards who work there for 2-4 years, earn far too much money and then bugger off.
Get our kids taught football PROPERLY, get in on the deck, pass and move and use BOTH of your feet. And for gods sake don’t aspire to be anything like the shower that just played for england in the world cup. Overpaid, pampered spoilt brats that they are.
July 13th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Im in full agreement with this. The quicker something is done the better. If strength and pace is all our kids are being taught then its not a wonder we couldn’t string 3 passes together during that woeful and probably worst display of football by any team in the World Cup!
K Redmond – Football Coach
July 13th, 2010 at 10:15 am
As a player of junior sunday league football, I can personally say that the FA are doing nothing at all. A lot of players have got great potential but has gone to waste as nothing has happened to help them improve. The club that I play for is well respected within the area with a few hundred kids playing from 5 year olds up to the senior team. However we have coaches who do not have the expert experience and are usually just parents. I know not every team could have ex-footballers as coaches but a couple of training sessions with them or going to a local teams academy to use their facilities, however the closest team in the football league is Leeds which is a 1-2 hour drive and we would have to pay for it ourselfs.
It only seems to be bigger junior clubs in the area who the players have a chance of anything to happen and thats only a couple of teams. In the my league district there are about 200+ young footballers but I only know of around 5 being picked for trials or county teams. The pitches that we play on are sometimes a disgrace. If we do want to play good football like spain etc then these are not the pitches we can be able to do this on. I know if money went into it I personally would not be able to play on these pitches but i believe that younger players should be able to.
These are just some of the points and it is slightly improving but the FA is not doing anything and is leaving it for the clubs. They do not get enough financial support which is the problem of it all.
July 13th, 2010 at 10:46 am
I dont see the need for under 12′s to be playing on full size pitches with full size goals.
7 a side would be much better, and with a smaller ball too.
Come FA you bunch of old farts, get real and sort it out NOW!!!!
July 13th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
We need to clear out the bumbling farts in the football association and get people in their that are ex football people. The only person in a top job at the moment is Trev Brooking. The other people at the football associations are only interested in the personal glory it brings them and getting tickets for England matches. They appoint Capello on a ridiculous salary , twice as much as the next highest earning coach at the world cup, who can only play 4-4-2. There are plenty of club managers in england that can play other formations, why cant the head coach
July 13th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Grassroots is important, but don’t expect us to produce players like Spain.
The weather in England is prohibitive to a nice passing game, especially at lower league level. Pitches in the North of England are usually at a slant, and 4 months of our season is played in sub-zero temperatures on frozen pitches.
Even taking into account all the indoor footbal that is played, the skills required in this game is difficult to transfer to the outdoor game when the climate is cold, windy, and wet.
I also think that as a nation, we have got too big for our boots. We think we produce players that are good enough, and try to match teams like Spain, France etc with possession football. This is our major downfall.
As you’ve pointed out, the game at all levels in England relies on pace and power. in England, we produce players that could, concievably, outpace and out power most teams in the world. So, if thats the case, why do we persist in trying to outplay the likes of Germany, Holland, Italy etc.
Why don’t we put our big, fast guys on the pitch and play a style that we know how to play?
Put yourselves in the boots of an opposition defender. Who would you rather face?
Heskey, Rooney, Milner, Lampard, Gerrard, Barry (Our apparent footballers that are the equal of any players in world football)
Or
Agbonlahor, Rooney, Walcott, Lennon, Rodwell, Richards (Not as technical, but will be past you in a flash)
Let’s forego the tired notions that our players are as good as others and play to our strengths. Pace and power…
July 13th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
re Barry, Gazza was the closest thing we had to a Spanish player, and look at him now!
Also, Le Tiss was class yet was overlooked by every England manager, thats the problem
July 13th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Le Tiss was awesome. I don’t think England have a player like this anymore, which is a crying shame.
It’s easy, and correct, to blame grassroots coaching but that is not going to solve the present problem.
Look at the recent success of team like South Korea, Uruguay, Mexico, Greece even.
These are so called ‘lesser’ footballing nations, but they have actually benefitted from that. They have not thought ‘We’re South Korea, we ought to be good’. They have though ‘Well, we’re a pretty small bunch, we’ve not got any class strikers, nor playmakers. We aren’t blessed with great speed either. Right… What can we do?’.
And what they do is run… Run all day long. And play a short passing game, because they aren’t adept at long range passing. And keep running until they run the life out of the opposition. Now when they come up against a top team, this can be exposed. But against 90% of teams, they compete at a very good level.
So coaching is important in the long term (although as I have said before, the climate and conditions in England doesn’t help), but in the short term, let’s play to our strengths.
July 13th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
i’m all for changing things but i don’t know mate, this grassroots overhaul sounds like a step backwards to me.
afterall, our previous dismal failures under mcclaren led to a root and branch review, whatever that means.
July 13th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
The FA as we’ve known it for years, needs simply to disappear and be replaced by a committee of respected ex English professionals: simple as that.
These faceless men in suits, who have no real qualification to rule our game, have been allowed to dictate it for far too long now. Let’s get the likes of Brooking, Coppell, Keegan, Charlton, Armfield, Lineker, into the decision making positions and end this farce that has gone on for too long and quite simply, has stifled our game from top to bottom.
Giving a failed foreign manager – who has no real concern for our game as a whole – an extra two year contract worth £12m just has to be the last straw. Time for a revolution.
July 13th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Xavi said recently that his idol growing up was Matt Le Tiss. Food for thought.
July 13th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Signed.
Mike Somerville. Writer
July 13th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Hi everyone ,well this has got everyone talking .I do believe we have got talent in this country if only the pro clubs would look .
Also I feel Capello is getting unfair stick . Have we forgoten how he came into the job
when our team was on its knees , then under his hand we had our best qualifing run
ever .
What happend in the World Cup has to go down to our players .
All the best.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I agree with this petition
John
July 14th, 2010 at 7:09 am
One of the biggest problems is all the second rate foreigners that take the place of english talent in nearly all premiership clubs.
look at arsenal for starters
July 14th, 2010 at 10:04 am
To Dave
Dave, this is not the problem in UK, the problem is all is so conservative, they don’t want changes, only the old traditional way.
To get English football back in the top, they need to play as they do in Europe and behaive like they do in proof leagues in Europe. You never seen a proof footballer on a pub, they have there job and are a good raw model for youngsters.
If you look at it, the only manager with success in UK, for the national team is Sven G Erikson, he took them to Euro and Worldcup, he did it, because he was different and was not afreid to play a new sytem.
The British clubs, need more managers from abroad, it is what it takes.
July 14th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I see your point but there is a serious lack of english talent playing in the top teams in england and europe.
July 14th, 2010 at 11:29 am
to be fair, we’ve never been the greatest nation for exporting players have we?
The only player that springs to mind is Steve McManaman, he won a Champions League with Real, Beckham was just for marketing purposes.
Gazza did ok, as did Lineker. Hargreaves was a success at Bayern, apart from that there haven’t been many.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
The reason to lack of English playres in Europe is very simple, the players in UK are broad up, in a complete different way and attitude, to the game.
Without the players from all over the world in Premier League, it would go very bad for English football, they are the reason too the high standard in the league.
What we have to do, is to take it all the way down, in the leagues, from age 10 and up, change there attitude to the game, let them play football, not system’s. I am now going back to managesment in football, in a UK club and I look forward to work on this. The last club I managed was Marbella FC and even a club in 2nd Division in Spain, have a line, all through the club, so all is playing after same system’s and they give the players the possibility, to use there skills and brain.
I am Danish, come from a country with 5.5 mill in popurlation, half of London, but we have players all over the world and we have a team, there qualify to the big turnements, every time. The thing there is different, between UK and DK, is the players in DK get the same salary a year, as UK players get a week. They are not hungry enough, because they have the lifestyle and money now. They are a bunch off spoiled kids.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
I see where you’re coming from Freddi. Problem is, the world class players in the Prem make our average players look good
The Premier League has a lot to answer for. They’ve already started advertising for the new season, all the players that under performed in the World have star billing, as if they are some kind of gods, no wonder they actually believe their own hype!!
July 14th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Yes, right.
Now you see, what I am talking about, to get it right, you have to start with the roods.
Money in Premier League has gone crazy, and there is only us to pay for it.
July 14th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
With the wrong squad selection, the wrong tactics (both the managers responsibility), a group of ‘old boys’ running it (the FA), and a pervasive anti-football culture spawned by the likes of Allerdyce, Pulis, McGrath etc. the outlook is bleak.
We will be having the same post-mortem after the 2012 Euros.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Really great discussion going with this blog/petition. Exciting to hear Freddie wants to make a difference from the inside in football management. To get real lasting change however, we need to get more and more signatures and bring this petition to the FA themselves.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
totally agree Mike, spread the word people. We need at least 500!!
One thing I will say though, and it’s a point that some one else mentioned in this blog. If, and it’s a big if, if England played the best 11 as a team and in the correct positions, and not the best 11 players in the wrong positions, then I really do believe we would have beaten the Germans.
It’s a simple step forward which I hope Sven McClaren has learnt from the World Cup.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
We didnt export Hargreaves though, he was a product of the bayern youth academy hence why he is one of the best english players about its just a shame he is injured alot.
Id rate him higher than ‘no pace’ Barry
July 14th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
I support this movement.
Lim Zhi Guang Ivan from Singapore
Currently looking for a job.
July 14th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Sorry Darren, I really disagree. England really does not have a team of top quality players. I cannot believe that we played the likes of Heskey (a striker that cannot) Barry (my gran is faster) Carragher at least he had the insight into his own abilities such that he retired from international fotball befor Capello resurrected him. I could go on but tell me just one English player who could be in a world eleven?
PS I though Hargreaves was Canadian!!
July 15th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Capello, for all his qualifications and previous excellent record – must learn that he has to start players based on their form, not their reputations.
I don’t think anyone in the England squad covered themselves in glody during the World Cup but special attention should be made of Wayne Rooney who has now failed to score in his last 9 England internationals.
Indeed, he has failed to score in any of his World Cup Finals appearances (5 in 2006 and 4 in 2010).
Just when will Capello consider dropping him and how many other ‘Top’ Nations would still be playing a striker with so very little return?
July 15th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I didn’t say that a team of top quality players, but, I do say if they were put together as a team and not a group of ego’s then we might have beaten the Germans. The Germans and the Spanish are team, not stars! That’s our problem
July 15th, 2010 at 11:16 am
You have my support – sign me up.
A couple of extra thoughts…
- Out with the old pre-madonnas and in with young football hungry players
- Out with and Italian manager and in with an English national
- Deal with the press and inspire the public by letting the football do the talking
- Introduce salary caps
- Introduce futsal to more centers up and down the country
- Give the foreigners a run for their money with intelligent English football players (not tough nuts like Terry & co).
Neil
Writer
ps: can you set up a proper petition form for this?
July 15th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Some stats against Germany. When you look at the stats below, we had the edge over The Germans in every department apart from goals. I know this obviously doesn’t reflect what a shambles we were but just thought i’d share it with you. Mickey MArbles. Part time blogger and professional moansmith.
Germany Stat England
17 Shots 19
7 Shots on goal 9
4 Goals Scored 1
7 Fouls Committed 6
6 Fouls Suffered 7
4 Corner kicks 6
3 Free kicks Shots (scored) 5
0 / 0 Penalty Kicks (Goals/Shots) 0 / 0
4 Offsides 2
0 Own Goals 0
1 Yellow cards 1
0 Second yellow card and red card 0
0 Red Cards 0
32 Actual playing time 34
48% Possession (%) 52%
July 15th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
I must live in la la land!!
I find out from Sky sports that Beckham blaims the players!! There was not one squad player who played at a top level. So clearly there was a global factor at play–tiredness? Give me strength–Barry had not played for a month, Cole about the same, Heskey rarely starts. Does anyone have the stats on just how many starts each player had during the last season? So what global factors were at play?—-The manager? The FA?–please name others.
Then I hear Allerdyce wants the job. God!! the inventor of anti-football himself. God help us, with the FA in charge, he might just get the job!!!!
Then Heskey announces his retirement from international football–surely an unnecessary announcement.
Then finally Brooking is going to help Capello. Rather like asking Laurel to help Hardy!! Brooking has been in charge of player development yet we have not the slightest inkling of an English player likely to have an impact on the world.
The world is surreal.
July 15th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Please correct me if I am wrong, but were not the managers of the last four of the World cup all nationals? I. e. the manager of Holland Dutch, Spain Spanish etc.
There really is a lesson here. Culture is complex and you cannot penetrate it or understand it in just a year or so. We need an Englishman to manage England.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I support this whole heartedly. There is so many areas we must improve in, we need to evolve, seriously. I’m dismayed by our top English pro’s not being able to use both feet and hang on to the ball under pressure. We really are bad at retaining the ball at times on the International stage. Its embarrassing. You can see this problem in all its glory in our lack of a quality left sided midfielder. You have to go back to Waddle and Italia 90 to see a properly balanced midfield. 20years ago, thats rediculous. If a football mad country of 50+million can’t produce a decent left mid something is wrong, something is very wrong. EPL formed in 92, Hmmmmm……. English players in top flight ever decreasing since, Hmmmm……..
The FA are useless – I mostly agree.
The EPL and English clubs (especially top4) want quick fix, which generally means foreign import over young english player – I agree.
Perhaps we are not the most gifted of nations, weather and all that but our top pro’s should be able to use both feet and shield the ball properly…. am I right or am I right?
If you always do what you always did, you will get what you always got…..
July 19th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
So now maybe we have it!. The Capello index–what a morale sapping event. Am I correct but I hear the FA want to appoint Lord Triesman as Capello’s English coach. God pass me the brandy.
July 21st, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Great idea and keep spreading the word.
Steve Cavey – Worplesdon Phoenix FC
July 27th, 2010 at 10:42 am
The main problem with the English Grassroots is that the best coaches, coach the adults. Level 1 is all thats required to coach kids!! We need to reverse that quickly and get the best coaches paid more through a grassroots initiative to go out into communities, to youth clubs and teams, and actually coach the kids properly. The problem is also that teams are still results based. Parents only want “little Johnny” playing for a team that wins. I dont know who wants winners more, kids or parents. We have to change to whole pyschology of thinking within the youth game or it will only get worse. By the way I have coached a team from under 9′s through to under 15′s, I am as disilllusioned as most cos alot of what I have been saying has happened to me, players leaving, parents moaning. I have decided this year to hang up my whistle, I no longer have the desire to coach players who only believe that winning now is the most important thing.
Good luck in the quest for change, I for one wont hold my breath
July 27th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
read this excellent blog from the Yahoo website. Some surprising facts!
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/jim-white/article/22315/
July 28th, 2010 at 12:23 am
It is clear that nothing will change with the FA. It is too cozy–an ‘old boys’ network whose major interest is to stay on. Thus the only answer the punters have is to take direct action.—–boycott all future England games unil real changes are made.