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The Rise Of A New Generation

2:39 AM | Labels: Coaching, Jose Mourinho, Liverpool, Youth Development

The shortlist of managers which FSG had put together indicated the new vision of many top clubs today. Clubs are now seeking a young man, a modern coach with the ability to be a great communicator between players and media. With the success seen in the past decade from coaches like Mourinho and Guardiola, we have seen the rise of the new generation of coaches in world football.

The excitement which has surrounded the managerial merry-go-round of Villa and Liverpool has been a source of entertainment and excitement for 24 hour news outlets and social media sites. This summer the managerial merry-go-round is in overdrive and clubs know that success, relative to the side, is dependent on the man in charge. With the appeal of a young up and coming manager taking clubs' fancy, names like Rogers, Lambert and Martinez have become highly sought after people.

It is not just in England that the young manager has become a sought after commodity. In Italy Inter Milan have confirmed Andrea Stramaccioni as their permanent head coach and Antonio Conte, at 42 has just taken Juve to the top of Serie A undefeated. Dortmund have won the Bundesliga for the second year running with their hugely impressive manager Jurgen Klopp. With Roma trying to emulate a Barcelona style they brought in Barca B coach Luis Enrqiue, although that project ultimately failed, similar to that of Villas-Boas at Chelsea, the truth is, clubs around Europe, and top ones at that, are seeking a new generation of young coaches to take their sides forwards.

Mourinho's legacy

There is no doubt that the rise of the young manager has come from the astronomical rise of Jose Mourinho this past decade and the truly amazing job that Pep Guardiola has done at Barcelona. Liverpool and Villa both sought to bring in a fresh, young, dynamic and progressive coach in order to take the sides forward, relative to their ambitions. Both sides under achieved this past season and both owners realised that the previous managers were not providing the necessary skills on and off the pitch suitable for the modern game.

Was Rogers the the best man for the job? When I hear people like Stan Collymore ranting about how Liverpool should be approaching the likes of Guardiola, Mourinho and Klopp, then it just highlighted the lack of realism about who Liverpool are now. None of these managers would be enticed by the current standing of Liverpool in terms of position and the quality of players and FSG were right to approach the managers of the ilk of Martinez, Rogers and Villas Boas.

Rogers was the best of these options for many reasons; he is assertive & strong willed; the pressure of this job will be massive and I believe he can deal with that better than Martinez and Villas-Boas would have. Secondly, he has shown how effective he can communicate his ideas and thoughts of how to play the game. This Liverpool side is not that bad in all respects, they have played well this past season at times, yet had a manager who said simply to “go out and play” instead of a man like Rogers who knows what he wants and how to implement it.

Finally what makes Rogers such a good acquisition is that he has learnt first hand from one of the best in the game.The best man manager in the game today is Jose Mourinho, a man who is able to get the best from the players he works with, Rogers worked under him for four years at Chelsea and it is clear he learnt a great deal from the Special One. All in all the owners have found their perfect candidate; a man who plays with a style they want to see and is the young and media friendly manager that FSG wish to have in order to make their “brand” appealing.

Young and ambitious

Paul Lambert, who has been confirmed as the new manager of Aston Villa. In my opinion he has the ability to get the best from his players and his rapid rise to the top league has alerted many to his managerial abilities. More pragmatic and reserved than Rogers, it is understandable why he didn’t attract FSG for their need for marketing value. However, as a coach, I believe he would have been great for Liverpool. As it is, one clubs loss is another’s gain and Aston Villa appear to be the beneficiaries of Lambert’s expertise.

The man who has seemingly missed out from the managerial shakup is Roberto Martinez; a man who appeared favourite for both jobs at Anfield and Villa, yet who is now seemingly staying put. It seemed very likely that Wigan were going down to this past season and if not for a remarkable finish with wins against sides like Liverpool, Arsenal, United and Newcastle, then relegation was beckoning. This remarkable turnaround in fortunes made Martinez a popular figure, yet he must have felt he was fortunate to survive this season.

Right now he is regarded as part of this new generation of up and coming young managers, yet I worry for him though that he has missed his chance to further his ambition. Every club is effectively a stepping stone upwards and he should have taken his chance. No matter the loyalty he has to his players and importantly to his ideology, Wigan will always be at this area of the table and each season he will be fighting to retain his talented players.

When looking at these three managers we are seeing the new generation come into their own. Rogers and Lambert did a truly amazing job with their resources and apparent lack of quality in their sides, yet they both realise that although Swansea and Norwich have given them the opportunity to get to where they are, they must selfishly move on to bigger clubs where these managers can fulfil their ambitions. Unfortunately this is what managers careers are about, the ambitious ones, those who want to be successful will keep on moving up. Martinez may have missed his chance, I cannot see WBA being appealing to him and Chelsea would not consider someone like him. He may find that when his stock was highest he failed to take advantage of it.

Where is England's next generation?

It is refreshing to see a new generation of young, ambitious coaches coming through and moving onto big jobs, owners are seeing the value and taking risks in bringing in coaches who understand the modern game. Yet there is an issue which is not being addressed, the same problem which continues to be affecting the English game; Rogers is Northern Irish, Lambert is Scottish and Martinez Spanish. Where are the up and coming English mangers who are looking to move up to the top levels of the English game? Is it not amazing to you that no Englishman has won the Premier League, that no Englishman since Keith Burkinshaw in 1984 has won the Uefa Cup and importantly no Englishmen since Joe Fagan in 1984 has won the European Cup? The last European trophy won by an Englishman was the Cup Winners Cup in 1997 by Bobby Robson for Barcelona. What has happened to the state of English managers?

The greatest era for English managers in world football must have been from the late 70’s to early 80’s when an Englishman won the European Cup every year from 77 to 82. What an achievement. So what happened? Why have English managers become obsolete in the upper echelons of the game? It is a question which I do not believe has been given enough serious consideration and which especially has not been given the concern it warrants. For me, too many potentially good managers go into the role too early after playing and realise after that the pressures and importantly expertise required to manage at the top levels is seriously lacking in these individuals.

Cultural problems

In England there is a blasé attitude to coaching which usually corresponds to the belief that the better a player you are, the harder you worked and the stronger you tackled, means the better manager you’ll be. This ridiculous misconception of what is required for top level management has been the reason Paul Ince, Tony Adams, Alan Shearer and Gareth Southgate have failed in management. They were fast tracked too quickly without the required knowledge or understanding of the job. They believe that just because they played for England they can command the respect immediately. In the lower leagues this may be so, yet they found that in the Premier League, players expect more and they were found lacking. Yet it is not all their fault; the chairmen of the clubs should have known better and the PFA should have done more to help them in their transition from player to manager.

Yet, perhaps the truth is, they are just not good enough. Mourinho is clearly a natural, so too Guardiola, they show what is needed in the new generation of coaches. Shankley, Paisley, Clough, Saachi and Ferguson had it too, the ability to motivate and communicate with their players. Rogers, Lambert and Martinez all have this ability, they communicate well with their players and the media too. Do we have enough of these types of coaches who have the potential to be top managers? Where are the English Klopp’s, Conte’s or Stramaccioni’s?

Failure to communicate

The problem is, many English players want to manage but not coach, e.g. Paul Ince and Alan Shearer, however the modern game requires coaches. The biggest issue though for me is that English coaches struggle to communicate well enough, and with the influx of foreign players the ability to talk multiple languages is not just desirable but essential. Martinez speaks Spanish, as too does Rogers as well as Italian and Lambert speaks German from his Dortmund days. All three have learnt about different cultures, have developed an understanding and appreciation for the modern game and all its requirements.

How many English coaches can say they speak anything but English? No wonder they struggle in the world of modern football. Yet what do they do about it? Seek to develop these skills or complain about the lack of opportunities and opt for the comfortable world of media. It is a crying shame to see the Premier League contain only four English managers this past season. We are the only top nation where there are more foreign managers coaching our clubs than home grown managers.

A very short shortlist

The list appears quite short in terms of who we actually have who have who has potential to be a top manager. Steve McLaren is one of the best coaches to come out of England yet he is derided for his performance for the poision chalice which is the England manager’s job. He had potential to be one of the best yet last season he could not even get the job at Villa and ultimately failed with Forest. Quite amazing. Yet he is furthering himself with his development by being willing to go aboard and find work, how many others are willing to do that? Very few by the looks of it. He is the only English manager coaching in one of Europe's top leagues.

Who else is there? Perhaps Paul Clements is one to keep an eye on, currently with Ancelotti at PSG, I am sure the experience will be great for him and do not be surprised to see him back in England in the coming years, yet the question is, will any team want him? Sammy Lee tried his hand at management and ultimately failed, as too did Phil Brown, whose career has been on a decline for several years. This a major worry, these men are given opportunities yet clearly are not good enough for the role. What about Gary Neville, a man who seems to be doing things the right way by furthering his development, yet does he want to manage or would he prefer the comforts of bing England coach and his work in the media? Where are the English managers with ambition? If they can't get work in England, why don't they try their hand abroad?

What needs to be done?

A managers role is not easy, it requires many skills and much talent, yet above all it requires experience, not always positive ones, even the best suffer setbacks, and yet it is how you react to those which matter most. For an up and coming English coach seeking to be a manager there are many lessons to learn from the Jose’s, Rogers and Lambert's; there is a difference between being a player and manager; some were good players, others didn't play to a high level. Manager and player are two different roles, Sacchi was never a player, yet his quote about the jockey being a horse is something we have not learnt from in England.

We are now seeing more managers now who haven't played becoming highly sought after; Rogers, Mourinho, Stramaccioni with Inter, Villas-Boas with Porto, these men have shown that playing is not important. In England we need to change our mentality if we wish to develop world class coaches and managers. Coaching is a vocation yet is not regarded high enough in England, the belief of "I played the game, so I know how to coach" is too common in this country. We need to give more coaches opportunities regardless of if they played or not. There is an art, a talent to being a successful manager, one we do not consider high enough in this country.

The time you put into the profession of being a coach is what matters; how many are willing to learn from others, go through an apprenticeship, work for qualifications and develop their communication skills and inter personal skills and which ones are willing to go abroad to learn new styles and languages. If we are to see an Englishman lift the Premier League or even the Champions League, then English coaches must be willing to be creative and work hard to achieve their goals. In the coming decade will the next generation of up and coming managers contain English men, will we see an Englishman lift one of the top trophies in world football?

When will a side with the potential to win the league next hire a manager who is English? Redknapp is the closest man to the top yet I cannot see Spurs challenging for the top prize and perhaps he should invest more into the Europa League this next season and aim to accomplish something at White Hart Lane instead of the apparent top four success. Who will replace Ferguson and Wenger, not an Englishmen I guarantee. Chelsea will not bring in an Englishman and Man City will look for a Jose than any English coach. So is there another problem to consider, that an English manager will never get the chance to manage a side which has the potential to win things? Perhaps the FA should be concerned by this, the England manager’s shortlist was far too short and lacked a world class manager, these are issues which need to be addressed sooner than later if we are serious about being regarded as a world class nation.

My worry is, that as always with this country, will we sit back and wait or can we look to do something about this serious issue affecting the future of the English game?

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A Landmark Day for Youth Football in England

3:43 PM | Labels: Coaching, The FA, Youth Development

Today was a landmark day for youth football in England, where the youth development review was approved and in which has the potential to put in place a future where youth football can be progressed for the good of the players and the future of England’s national side in the coming decades.

In order for the new proposals to be approved, 75% of the representatives from each county FA had to vote in favour of the new proposal, 87% did. We may actually be in a position to develop more players capable of playing elite level football. However, the fact it has taken so long to put through and be decided on says everything about the continued issues plaguing youth football and thus the senior level, in England.

In 2000, Germany had a similar performance to England in the Euro’s in which after they decided to address the problems which were plaguing their game and their future. Whereas they saw the development of youth football as a priority, England felt a change of manager at the top would suffice. We have believed that we live in a Golden Era where we possess the best players in the world, yet we are delusional, and for the past twelve years, while Germany have been developing youngsters who we are now seeing today in the top levels of the game, where we are witnessing a dominance of success from Spain, then we are only waking up to the belief that something needs to be done.

Lay the right foundations

Let me address the stages of development needed for England in the coming decades. What is required is a joint approach from the government and the FA to improve levels of physical education in schools so that our children from 5-11 receive a multi-linear development of mobility and key multi-skills. If a child ONLY plays football and nothing else, then they will develop only uni-linear skills which as they progress, will stunt their development and restrict their mobility. The worry is that less time is being given to PE in schools, which is creating children with limited mobility and which may in fact be hampering the development of children in all disciplines, not just sport.

If a child is given the right learning environment to learn multiple skills, then perhaps the children we develop up to the age of 11 will have a broader range of skills and a larger potential to progress in multiple sports. As we focus on football we need to address what we can do to create more players of a certain level. These new plans will seek to change the structure of the games that young players partake in; U7/U8 will play 5v5, U9/U10’s 7v7, U11/U12’s 9v9 and U13+ 11v11. Amazingly, there are young children who are playing 11v11 on full size adult pitches, with goalkeepers playing in full size adult goals.

It seems unbelievable, yet there are many who disagree with changing these rules. Below the age of U11 I would prefer to see small sided games taking place if there are structures to the games, the concept of “street soccer” is apparently lost now, mainly due to health and safety and issues of children being outside, as well as “no ball games” being a common sign in many communities. This loss of “free play” has restricted the development of children into decision makers for the simple reason that the child in structured games and coaching sessions is restricted and denied from making their own decisions; not just in the game itself, but on the rules, dimensions and time.

The concept of “street soccer” is not just about freedom to express, but in fact freedom full stop. If children cannot experience "street soccer" then we need to create ways of providing them with the right opportunities and guidance to improve their skill development; between 7-11 the window of opportunity is vital to lay down the foundations of techincal excellence. Thus, it is important that the football training given to children is done correctly, or their development will be hampered.

What is the FA doing?

The FA are seeking to make learning fun for the players and to give them more contact with the ball and to be more active in the game, this is all commendable and there should be no one who disagrees with this concept. At Man Utd the academy players between 7-9 play 4v4; more games, more balls and more contact for the players. If it’s good enough for United then why not the local Sunday league side? The issue then comes down to the most pressing concern for youth development in football, the coaching.

The problem with “dads” who help out is that they have no idea what they are doing. A bag of balls and cones does not constitute a coach. I will make generalizations here which are wrong, as there are many good youth coaches out there, however there are many who use the same methods and thinking of when they were kids and how they were coached. Unfortunately, many of these methods are based on adult training and have no place or relevance for youth players. Fitness training for 8 year olds is something I have witnessed which made me cringe and I worry that there are far more damaging coaches out there than good ones and more clubs need to address these issues quickly.

These “coaches” should not be working with young players, their intentions may be admirable yet they are damaging the kids they work with. Every club should ultimately be a charter standard club where coaches are monitored and their qualifications are suited to their role. The FA have a major role to play in making sure the right people are working at this level.

This is where the FA are accountable in their desire to improve the grassroots game. Listening to Nick Levitt, the FA National Development Manager at the grassroots show this past weekend highlighted that although the FA have good intentions, they are restricted in their desire to change the game. Instead of saying, this is how we will coach our kids, they have asked coaches what they believe needs to be improved, this seems ludicrous to me. Two years of going around the country asking questions seems like two years wasted.

When you see models of Spain and Germany it is clear that we need to learn from them and not our own unqualified voices. For me the German model is exactly what we need to replicate, they started it 12 years ago and the new generation of players is being witnessed already. Many coaches and football experts know what we need to do, it is up to the FA to implement those changes, finally they have done it, yet as mentioned, it has come later than hoped.

It all comes down to money

The implementation of the SSG's will be a major boost for children's football development, yet there are more issues to address if we want to develop players for the elite game. In Germany, what was key for them was the creation of 121 national talent centres which sought to improve 10-17 years old in technical skill development. Imagine if England had invested in something like that?! Well, Trevor Brooking sought to with the creation of the FA Skills programme; his vision was to have highly qualified coaches work around the country with the talented players from the grassroots teams in all the regions in order to develop more highly skilled players.

Why was this not implemented? Because the FA chose to build Wembley and the funding for the Skills programme was cut. What does this say about the FA’s intentions? Imagine where £900 million could have gone; if the Burton centre, St George’s Park had been replicated in each county, then surely more youth players could have been developed? The Skills programme received funding from Tesco, however they insisted in this being inclusive for all which diluted the quality and the intention of the programme.

It is an issue we have in England particularly about elite development. Many view the word elite as dangerous and non-inclusive and often players with potential are held back too often, with coaches afraid of losing their “best” players. This mentality is preventing the development and progression of talented players, however the movement up from grassroots to academy lacks a middle area, where a Skills programme would have gone, where in Germany the centres built would support and further players with potential.

Without this middle level, the pool of talent will be restricted and reduced and the FA need to produce these centres, with highly qualified and high quality coaches, in order to develop more players. It all comes down to cost however; the FA believe it is the job of Academies to go into clubs and develop better coaches, and the Academies believe it is the FA’s role to push talent up. Ultimately it is the job of both.

Academies and Centres of Excellence need to give more back to the local clubs instead of just taking the talent; coach education clinics would be beneficial for grassroots coaches, showing them drills and methods used within the Academy. Also they need to improve the quality of their “Development Centres” where it is often only average coaches who are working with players who have potential. The FA need to develop their own centres too, and the key to both being effective is putting in quality youth coaches who can improve the pool of talent.

What is essential then is to have the money to entice qualified coaches to work at this level, as the unfortunate truth is that all the big money is at the top, in the senior game, so it is no surprise that the better qualified coaches go there. This is wrong and must be addressed if we as a nation wish to develop better players and more of them.

Collaboration of bodies

If these bodies worked together then we could really change the future of the English game; we could see more English players playing in the Premier League and hopefully more players challenging for the national side. We could be like Spain and Germany, yet it will take 10 years and more to see the benefits of a new programme. What is key is that more money is given to the quality coaches and investment is made in a number of developments all over the country in youth football. This way we can take potential players from the grassroots on to the next level without having to necessarily go into an academy immediately. This will mean a gentle movement into the elite levels which can produce more players and give them more time to improve.

The issue many Academies face and which they are guilty for is that when they release players they are allowing them to drop back to the bottom level where the quality of players and coaches is not as high. Imagine if an advanced development centre could cater for players moving up and also moving down, this way keeping them coached to a high level. Too many players who “drop out” of Academies are thus lost and with that comes the reduction in the pool of talent.

The final step

Finally, if as a nation we improve the quality of grassroots coaches, implement changes in the format of youth football and improve the quality of physical education in schools, then we still need to amend the issues of the senior game, where players between 17-21 are being lost too easily and the step between youth and senior is not being addressed well enough. As the Premier League has improved, as the money has increased, so too has the influx of foreign players and the restriction of England’s youth players progressing from youth football to the professional game. When only 38% of players playing the league are English, then there are clearly problems for the development of the national side. When Germany and Spain have around 60% of national players playing in their leagues, then we must consider this a key issue to address.

This is the final step, and with the new A licence in 17-21, more quality and understanding at this age group can lead to more players going into the pro game and staying there. What must also change is the “home grown” rule in squads, right now that means any player developed in the academy system, regardless of nationality. In Germany the 6+5 rule means only players from Germany are eligible to play, this model enables the home grown players to play more, enabling more players to gain the necessary experience to improve and take their skills from their youth education into the senior levels. This will need changes from all bodies, notably the Premier League.

Ultimately the progression from grassroots football to the senior game is unpredictable and so it is difficult to assume that any player can make it. Thus, if we increase the pool of talent across the country and improve the quality of players who are capable of playing in the modern game, then we may allow ourselves to have more English players in the Premier League and more choices for the National team manager to select. It will take time and patience, yet what is key is that everyone works together to improve the levels and quality of players and coaching in the country.

An exciting time awaits and today is a landmark day for the future of England, yet the future is not all bright, there are many issues to sort out before we start producing a steady stream of world class youth players, the question is, can everyone work together to achieve these goals?

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Related articles

The Importance of Youth Development - click here
Why Germany is the best model for England to follow - click here
A crisis in the development of world class English players - click here
The need to change the culture of football in England - click here

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Why Coaches Should Be Wary of the Grassroots Show

9:46 AM | Labels: Coaching, grassroots, Youth Development

Youth development in football in the UK is the single biggest factor holding back our national game. As we see countries like Spain and Germany excel in recent years with a new generation of skilful, creative players, when we see quality constantly being produced from Argentina and Brasil and the impressive nations of Holland and France producing good quality young players, then questions must be asked of the job that we in England are doing when we fail to see improvements being in our grassroots.

This weekend there is the annual grassroots show, which is chance for adults and children to see expert speakers and coaches from the professional game. The grassroots football show this year will be the biggest football event of its kind in Europe.

However, having attended for the past several years I have to say that I have been disappointed in the overall achievement of the show and more worried about the impact the show has on our grassroots game.

In the past several years I have seen some ofsessions carried out by ex-England manager Graham Taylor, Iain Dowie, Les Reed and Alan Curbishley of which I have been quite shocked. These are men who have had relatively successful careers in football, they are understandably respected football people, yet they are conducting sessions with youth players, sessions which are aimed at youth coaches, with clearly no understanding of what youth coaching is in the 21st century.

England training session

Graham Taylor conducted a 1v1 drill where he did the “classic” one line shooting drill, where the players pass the ball to the coach, who sets it to the side and they then look to finish on goal. As Taylor wanted more “tempo” he then made sure the players were shooting faster and the turnover was quicker. It was a shame for the keeper therefore as he had not chance to get back up after making one save and drill, which was rather unsafe, became just a barrage of shots at the poor U10, who was according to Taylor “not working hard enough”. It got better though when Taylor wanted to introduce a defender; as I awaited the allocation of two teams and a simple but effective 1v1 drill being conducted, imagine my surprise when Taylor did the same drill yet became the defender himself!

The worrying thing is that I am sure you have all experienced this, by either doing it yourself or seeing coaches in youth football doing it. You may think it is a good drill for the players, yet take into account the realism of it. Why is there not an actual team mate playing the layoff, who then can run to look for the rebound. Or in a 1v1, why not use the players themselves? Why have a line of 10 players when you can use two goals and increase the turn over? This is the problem; it is being carried out by a man who has no real expertise in this age group or level of player, yet because he has a known name he is allowed to conduct an educational session for coaches. These coaches then see this session and copy it. It is no surprise to see this session do many times in youth football training sessions.

Taylor’s willingness to be “involved” and active in the session, assuming that this would show his quality of being a coach, was again another problem with his work. Having the coach be a “part of” the session instead of observing the session is a big problem we have in England. Coaches feel that it is their opportunity to be involved in the session, this is not the role of the coach at all. They are involved in the educating of the players, yet that does not mean playing in the session. It amazes me when I see coaches partake in the small sided games in their training; they need to consider who they are there for and why. A coaches role is to plan and deliver a session which will challenge the players and which seeks to improve their technical skills and decision making abilities. Too often though the coach makes those decisions for the players, often by shouting instructions telling the player what to or structuring a session which is very simple yet which looks “perfect”; believing that a “good” session is one where no mistakes occur, because if mistakes happen then the session is poor. It is these issues which need changing, the culture of grassroots coaching in the UK is too much Graham Taylor and the grassroots show is not improving standards, but continuing them.

The most worrying part of it all was when you see dozens, and at times over a hundred coaches, scribbling the session down on their notepads. For me, I dread to think of the following weeks which follow in which these newly “educated” coaches now go back into their clubs with this new ammo, which if it’s good enough for an England manager, then it’s good enough for me mentality. I cringe to think of the impact that these sessions are having on our grassroots game.

Zonal marking, with U11's

Another session with a group of U11’s incorporated Iain Dowie coaching zonal marking from corners. This was unbelievable! Not only was it a very poorly conducted session yet it was completely unnecessary in the context of youth development. For the 30 minute session the players barely touched the ball. It was classic case of an adult coach trying to coach children. His language, manner and obviously the theme, were too complicated and simply quite boring for the players. Was he able to put on a transition based game involving attacking and defending, which could be progressed from 1v1 to 2v2 onwards? It appeared not, relying on something which perhaps is not required till U15’s+. Another one of his was called “fun football”; now I am not sure what he means by “fun”, yet watching him play he has a distinctly different idea of the term than many, however this was session which was supposed to be fun was pretty much just carnage; Dowie kept belting balls into the oversized small sided game and when a player was hit he laughed it off and said “fun, ain’t it”. As I look around, I see the inevitable scribble on notepads and think, “oh no”.

Walking the dog

Finally, I went to see a session from Les Reed. Now this was one I was genuinely looking forward to. Creating creative players it was called and I was interested to see what Reed, who works at Southampton, one of the best academies in England, would be doing with the U12 players he had. What I saw embarrassed me. His take on grassroots football was aimed at 4/5 years old, which although the session perhaps would have been enjoyable for children of that age, meant that U12’s he had found it rather boring, immature and pointless. He conducted a warm up where to inspire their imagination, he had them walking their dogs (ball) and putting it on the lead (step on ball) and that if the park keeper (coach) found them without the lead on their dog, then they had to do some forfeit. It lasted 30 minutes, in which time the session didn’t progress past this elementary warm up box and where the players looked quite simply bored mindless.

Now if this was with 4/5 year olds I would have been fascinated to see how he would have worked the session, whether he would have progressed it and importantly, how he would have dealt with issues that arose from the players. Yet when he realised they were U12’s why did he not do a session which suited their age and ability? Surely he would have got more from them and coaches could have learnt something too. It showed me that Reed was not a good coach, because good coaches must be adaptable and ready for eventualities. I took nothing from this session which I was initially intrigued to find out how to create creative players.

These are anecdotes from the past and with new owners this year is apparently going to be one of the best. Yet this is heard each year. The main event this year will be Phil Brown, who by all accounts is a good coach, yet with adults. I could see the quality of Chris Houghton last year too, yet the problem was it was sessions which were suited for 14’s upwards. I have no problem with these men speaking about their experiences, about their views. But conducting youth coaching sessions? Well, they are very much of out their depth.

Quality and expertise over a name

The problem with the grassroots show is that there is a distinct lack of quality of genuinely top level youth coaches at the grassroots show, which is major problem to a show which calls itself the “the Grassroots show”. I understand the marketing value of certain names, although would still argue that the attendance of these “quality” coaches is because they are out of work ex managers whose careers have gone into the safe world of punditry. The best manager I’ve seen at the show was Ian Holloway; he was actually excellent and was a great example for coaches of how to coach players, not just what to coach. It is a shame he won’t be here this year. Yet the best sessions are those done by youth coaches, the problem is, there hasn't been enough of them.

What the grassroots show need to do in order to make it a genuinely educational experience for youth coaches, is to bring in youth coaches from top academies in the country. These do not need to be top names, what they need to be able to do is show grassroots coaches sessions of which academies may use to educate their players. These sessions should then be age specific and coached by a youth coach who knows HOW to coach and not just WHAT to coach. Imagine a coach from each age group to U8-U16 from academies like Arsenal, United and Southampton?

The youth coach could actually learn new ideas about the age level they coach, they could also pick up the key factors in being a good coach; manner, language – verbal/non-verbal, progressions to challenge the players and keep them stimulated, and the ability to make a session easier. It may be that the same coach does a different topic over the day; what and how does a U12 coach from Arsenal do for passing and receiving, attacking and defending. A grassroots coach can then take so much from this experience instead of just seeing a name without any substance, without any expertise. What they would see is a session made for kids and not an adult one adjusted, it is completely different.

The FA are accountable

With the new St George’s park facility being built this year there is a real desire from the FA to improve coaching standards across the country. Peter Ackerley, The FA Senior National Game Development Manager, commented: “The FA is delighted to be supporting The Grass Roots Show 2012 in what is a particularly exciting year for grassroots football in this country.” I am intrigued and interested to see what the FA will be doing at the grassroots show, whether they will be doing their own Skills sessions and talking to coaches about the needs and requirements of grassroots coaches? For me the grassroots game is an environment which is significantly unmonitored, but is the one where the most amount of players are. Surely something here is wrong?

If the FA wish to improve the standards of the players in this country then they need to improve the quality of coaching. Too many willing volunteers are ruining the potential of young players because of their belief that they are a “coach”. Would you go to a school and carry out a maths session because you can do the times table? An extreme case, yet why do people believe that football coaching is for everyone? There is an art to it and it should be seen as a vocation. The lessons taught to youth players will define who they are as they develop, which means the influence a grassroots coach has on a child is huge.

An event like the Grassroots show could be a great way of educating young grassroots coaches in the ways that children develop and learn. In reality there should not be anyone who works with a group of players who does not possess a Level 1 in coaching and more importantly, who has not been on the new Youth Module awards. Too many volunteer coaches are uneducated in the development of a young child, yet alone a young footballer. And without understanding “how” children learn and understanding the right environment needed to develop positive, creative footballers, then the FA and grassroots game is doing a dis-service to the young children in this country.

It is terrible what is happening at many clubs and the FA must be held accountable for what is being produced. Shows like the grassroots show need to assess their intentions; is it solely business or do they genuinely care about the grassroots game? If so, then they need to change the quality of coaching being displayed and bring in expertise of the youth game to educate grassroots coaches.

A new generation is needed

As the new EPPP plans seek to improve the quality of coaching to Academy players, more needs to be done at the grassroots levels in order to increase the pool of talent of players which can be moved into higher levels of coaching. While the FA are anxious to develop a coaching culture, it will take time to improve standards. Yet the FA need to do much more to monitor coaching across the country. There needs to be more of a collective understanding of how to play the game, the win at all costs mentality is ruining many players and destroying potential. Creativity is killed because it may lead to losing the ball.

In order to produce the quality required to compete with top countries then we need a new generation of coaches who can educate and teach young players. More needs to be done to produce technical, skilful and creative players, it will take a combined effort of all bodies working together to achieve that goal, it will take time and much patience also.

As for the grassroots show, I am eagerly anticipating seeing what is in store this year, I have been disappointed for many years, yet if the new owners mean what they say then hopefully this year can actually be beneficial for the grassroots game. Although I am not holding my breath.

Please feel to discuss your thoughts with me, you can find me on Twitter @The_W_Address

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Youth development – a need for a change in the culture of this country

3:40 PM | Labels: Charles Hughes, Coaching, Germany, Graham Taylor, total football, Youth Development

Why English players have been ruined by a poor philosophy

They say football is a game of opinions. That is true. Yet when one man’s opinion about how to play the game was taken on board, a country was laid in ruin. The results were seen for years to come.

In the 1980’s Charles Hughes was the director of FA coaching for the English Football Association. He authored the FA's official coaching manual and put in place what was to be the biggest disaster ever to hit English development. Hughes was an advocate of long ball tactics, ideas developed and taken on by notably the failed England manager Graham Taylor. His concept was that more goals were scored from three passes or less, meaning too many passes results in less goals. This complete over simplification of the game has resulted in the stagnation and ultimate failings of the England national side.

The irony is that Hughes went against the style of football being played at that time; Liverpool were dominating Europe with pass and move football and Michels had created a style for Ajax and Holland which was described as the beautiful game. The Brasilans and Argentinians were playing excellent attacking football like they are renowned, yet the ball spent much more time on the floor with these teams than in the air. In the late 80’s Michels protégé Johan Cryuff took totalfootball to Barcelona and the rest they say is history.

Imagine what our players could have been like if we had developed a style like this? Total football requires technical masters, without which they could not have played this way. Possessing the ability to receive and pass with precision, to dribble and beat players 1v1 and to continually support and move for each other, these are the requirements for excellent football. The culture of Holland and now Spain, has been on developing technical players in order to play this way. A focus on technical development became their method of coaching.

What does have an English player possess?

English players have been developed based on Hughes' style. A style based on long ball; requiring a goal keeper or defender to have the ability to hit 60 yard balls into the opposition half, similar to trench warfare. It then required a giant of a man to take this ball out of the air, usually flicking it on and then it needed brave men to win the battle for the ball and hopefully, stick it in the net. Statistics show that 80% of long balls are intercepted., yet this was overlooked. It is crazy to think that this was taken on board and that this was the tactic employed by many managers.

Even more worrying was that young players were being targeted and developed based on these attributes. No wonder we have never been keen on small, technical players, they did not fit the requirements of long ball football. Thus, they have never been developed en masse.

There have always been excuses for the poorness of our players; the manager, the weather and even luck! Yet for all these there was one problem which was not addressed fully, a flawed philosophy which underpinned the poor quality of coaching in youth development.

The Dutch have always prized technical ability of all else and so they have continually developed players fit for the game. We now have seen Spain develop players capable of playing sublime football and winning. We have seen Germany develop technical, quick players capable of playing at the top level. And the South Americans will always develop technically quick players as their culture demands more than seeks this. And so now we have wokenup to the problems that have destroyed the English game for so long.

The FA

The FA has invested a billion pounds into the new Wembley. The new training centre at Burton cost £100 million. Would it not have made more sense to develop ten centres around the country instead of build Wembley? Something similar to that of Germany and France with their centres; their most famous being Clairefontaine. Surely if the FA had a real desire to improve the standard of players and coaching in this country then this would have been much more beneficial? This way improving coaches and players with state of the art facilities around the country and not just in one central location.

Why did we need to build a new Wembley? What a waste of time and money. We have these monuments as way to verify our standing in the world, yet fill it with mediocrity. In Germany there is no national stadium; games of the national team are always in different cities. This allows more people to see their team and allows more money to put in to key areas.

The FA will say that they have "skills schools" around the country looking to improve players. Yet The FA skills programme was initially set up to work with Elite players, in order to improve their technical skills. However a lack of funding prevented this Elite development from happening, instead Tesco funded an inclusive coaching network where all types of children are coached. This is great, but where is the original Elite level coaching required to take players to the next level?

If we had invested more incoaching then maybe England would have already have more players of the required standard. More coaching schools could have produced more quality English coaches and managers and perhaps even more options for an English national manager. Quite simply The FA have failed the players for not investing in the right thing. New facilities are great, yet when the coaching is mediocre then what point is it?!

Why is talent in this country not being developed to a good standard?

Are English just not good enough or is the result of a highly marketed and highly financia league restricting the access required for English players to develop? Most English players are simply not good enough, and so questions must be asked of the academies who are producing these players.

Players in England are behind the levels of other countries. We develop athletes, putting too much credence on strength and speed and not enough on technical ability or intelligence. We restrict creativity and produce one dimensional players who are predictable and slow. We don't do enough in schools to develop movement, resulting in a lack of variability that footballers require in order to turn, pivot and change direction at rapid speeds.

Our players lack the key technical skills to cope with top level football. The modern player needs an impeccable touch with both feet and any body part. They need to play off one or touch and have the understanding of where their options are before they receive the ball. They also need to know how to protect the ball and how to beat a player. These are characterisitics of the greats today, Xavi, Messi, Iniesta. There is only a limited amount of English players with these abilities.

We lack the coaching skills required to develop technical skills well enough and instead look to develop technique in isolated practices. By developing skill in game situations players will be able to make better decisions in games. Isolated practice restricts players from being effective because they have not practiced under pressure and being faced with multiple decisions. Watch Michael Carrick when put under prolonged pressure, he panics on the ball and rushes his play. You do not see this with Spanish players. It is because they have been developed to deal with these situations, to make good decisions with the technical skills given to them through coaching. This allows them to adapt to a situation. They are a product of their development pathway, and at this time, their model is more successful and sustainable.

So why don’t we develop top players, those who have the necessary skills to play at the top level? It leads me to believe that we do not look to recruit or develop intelligent players. We develop players who are reactive, who rely more on the voice of the coach than their own brain. This results in slower reaction times, restricted anticipation and ultimately poor standards of performance. If a player cannot think quick he cannot make quick decisions, he cannot be improved further than his physical body allows. A smart player though is able to be taught the game, to understand about reading the game, anticipating the play. It is these players we need to find and develop; size is not the issue.

Academies, the best standard?

In academies now The FA are looking to implement the new youth modules in order to improve and produce expert teachers of the game. Firstly, they are charging for these instead of making them free, if they believe they are important then every academy coach should be given the courses for no charge. Secondly, they are not focusing enough on genuine technical development, instead they focus more on enjoyment. Now, I don’t disagree with this but at academy level the players are not being challenged enough to move to the next level. It is the foundation, grassroots coaches who need these modules more, they need to learn how to develop players, to teach them. Many coaches know "what" to coach yet do not know "how" to coach.

Perhaps academies are not producing players good enough for the team because the wrong coaches are working in these environments? The role of a youth coach is that of a teacher. Do these coaches possess the skills needed? Do they have the ability to bond, to be understanding to the players needs, to resonate with their feelings and emotions. Can they communicate the right way? Are they compassionate? Can they be positive and challenge their players?

These are the key characteristics required for youth coaches to develop all round individuals. Too many coaches are negative and authoritative, they lack understanding and compassion. This is why many kids between 12-16 lose the love of football and do not move to the next level.

Give English a chance

In the pro game in England teams have decided not to develop players but buy in already proven talent. The English Premier League has become so international, and so success driven, that it seems difficult to produce players through these teams.

What has been done to rectify this? The Germans realised they had a problem in 2000 andaddressed it, The English FA and Premier League have done very little to rectify the problem. There are no rules on how many English players have to play for teams in the league. This has resulted in only 38% of players in the league being English. By developing our own players teams would reduce costs as it is much cheaper to develop talent than buy it and our national team would surely benefit.

If we don’t give our young players the chance to develop up to the age of 23, then we are doing a disservice to our national side and to the development of English talent. Young foreign players are being brought over, especially by the top teams, at the expense of our own. This is simply not right. It is not right for the English players development and not for the foreign player; being moved to a new country at 16 and expected to adapt is not ethical. For all the Fabregas’ of this method, how many have been ruined by this vicious and soulless pursuit of the next Messi?

Would it not be better if young foreign players were not allowed to move abroad until they were 18, more in line with university age, where a player is now a young adult and not an adolescent.

I can understand why top level teams rely on foreign players now, because they believe that English players are not good enough. So more rules need to be implemented to improve the standards of coaching and give more English players a chance to gain the necessary experience in senior level football.

The Premier League, if they genuinely did care about the development of the national side, would make theteams use the 6+5 rule to play English talent weekly, resulting in a minimum of 6 English players playing each week. The current rules enable foreign players to be classed as home grown and allows teams like Arsenal to field non-English sides in the Premier League. How is this helping the national game improve? The future

From abroad we appear a shambles; pristine new stadia and a manager on £6 million a year yet possessing poor levels of coaching at grassroots and academy level. The FA build top down instead of bottom up and it shows everything that is wrong with England. Too much money at the top trying to fix problems that need addressing at the bottom. Our teaching standards are very poor, throughout all areas. The results of which we are seeing in our children through lack of skills and motivation, apathy and poor attitudes. We are not producing enough high skilled adults for the modern world and thus we are letting our current and future generations down.

So what is to be done? New plans have been put in place by the Premier League and FA to improve coaching and development of young players. They believe these plans will develop more players capable of playing at the top level. It is called the Elite Player Performance Plan and this where the next blog will focus.

Part two - The EPPP - Progression ordestruction?

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The Importance of Youth Development. Why the need for more quality coaching is the key for England to succeed.

4:54 AM | Labels: Coaching, England, football, Youth Development

Why a shortage of quality coaches is leaving England behind the rest.

The state of the English game is in turmoil, we are being left behind by many countries in terms of quality in regards to players and coaches and we don't seem to be doing anything about it. We have a serial problem that has not been addressed effectively which is the quality of coaching at the grassroots level.

We ask continually why we don’t have a large pool of talented youngsters and wonder what the problem is. The problem is the obvious; the teachers of the game are not good enough. This can also be applied to teaching in schools, where a level of mediocrity is producing uneducated and unskilled youths who are not able to contribute to society efficiently. We blame society and culture on the failings of the young generation and yet fail look at is the standards of teaching in schools and in sports. If you get the foundations right with anything then the structure will be stable and solid. We must blame ourselves though; we have allowed a culture of apathy which accepts poor standards. We believe that there is a problem with our children when in fact there is a problem with our teaching standards.

We are failing kids by allowing mediocre coaches to educate them. Between the ages of 7-11 a child’s neuromuscular development is 95% grown, this means that what they learn between these years will be fundamental to what they become as adults. This is the age where if the foundations are laid down correctly, with correct technique, skill and importantly values of how to play and of how to be a good person, a child will have a greater chance of progressing in their sport.

The most important age group for development is between 7-11; based on this you would assume that the best coaches should be working at this age group. Yet again and again you find there are less qualified coaches there. In Spain they have Pro Licence coaches working with the young players, PRO LICENCE! We have coaches with a Level 1 or 2.

Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association is right when he says, "there is a link between coaching and quality. How you do internationally is a proper reflection of your nation's youth development." And how often have we failed, how often have expected more and the players have not performed. Yet how often do we continue with the same way, Einstein famous quote is never more relevant to England; insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

We suffer from a distinct lack of quality coaches in this country, the stats are baffling compared to other countries; England possess 2.769 coaches who hold Uefa B, A and the Pro Licence qualification; awards which indicate a certain quality in coaching. Compare this to Spain where there are 23,995 and in Germany who have 34,790. The numbers do not lie, England has 10% of the quality that Spain and Germany has. Look at the results and one cannot doubt that they have better players.

So why is England’s pool of talent so small, why do we only produce a few real stars every generation and the rest are merely average? I believe it has to do with how we develop talent at a young age.

The quality of coaching at grassroots level is abysmal and it is here that we are destroying our potential stars. You would not get an enthusiastic volunteer to go into schools and teach English, Maths or Science just because he watches documentaries and the science channel? So why do we allow it with sports? In football we allow anyone to work players as long they don’t have a criminal record, this is amazing.

How many players are being ruined by coaches and by a culture which promotes winning over everything else and which importantly teaches kids that mistakes are not to be tolerated and that a mistake should never happen again? A positive learning environment is not seen on parks on Sundays and this is where the majority of players are, this is not a remedy for success. The pool of talent is diminished on a weekly basis by enthusiastic volunteers who do not understand how to teach.

What has been created are players who are fearful of making mistakes and so end up kicking the ball long or out, the worst thing to hear is not a coach being disappointed but in fact a rapturous round of applause for “getting rid of it”. Anger and intimidation have restricted and destroyed creative players, promoting instead physicality and fight then skill and creativity.

At Man Utd Rene Meulensteen was brought in to revolutionise United's Academy. He was a skills coach and his role was to improve players to be better technically, this was the emphasis. He is now first team coach and last season United's Youth Team won the FA Youth Cup. In Germany the Academies only take in players at U9 and they only 4v4, we play 9v9. We are failing our kids and getting our methods and our priorities wrong.

The FA need to stand up

The FA need to invest more into grassroots; they have improved facilities and have introduced the Skills programme, yet it is not enough. Academies are bringing in coach education experts from outside the FA as the FA are not doing enough. They need to invest in a large pool of coaches who will have the skills to work with young players; having the understanding, patience and talent to improve and develop talent. The amount of young players from Acadmies who are released between 16-18 should be looked at and should be put into coaching, the clubs and FA have a right to help these players and give them opportunities to stay in football.

Until the FA support coaches working with 7-11 players they are answerable to the poor levels of youth players in this country. They have funded a new Wembley and a National Football Centre at a cost of £1 billion. Is this money well spent? The NFC will not produce the amount of players required to improve levels in this country; it will focus on a handful of teams as before which does not address the root cause of the problems. I believe this money should have been spent on improving coaching, Spain and Germany have invested in coaching and their success is evident. Too much money is thrown at the tip of the iceberg which results in the same questions and problems arising. Imagine what investment in grassroots coaching could do for the game in this country?

The new youth modules for football are much better than previous courses as they seek to educate coaches on how to coach and how children learn instead of previous course which taught what to coach. There is a big difference to having a session plan and a bag of balls to being qualified to work with children. Until these are mandatory for every one wanting to work with children then our youngsters will not improve.

Schools are as much to blame as the FA for developing not just footballers but all round sports people. Why are there not enough experts at this levels, quite simply they are not paid well enough. The level of PE is drastically poor; the lack of expert PE teachers is creating kids who don’t have healthy lifestyles and who lack good movements patterns. Schools just aren’t developing children effectively, physical education is as important asother subjects yet the quality and time spent on this key subject is being reduced not increased. The government need to address these problems and act, funding is the key. Physical education needs to increased and implemented in all schools with expert teachers laying the foundations for future success. If we fail our children in primary school then we are hindering their development for the future.

In conclusion, coaching is the key. Experts will be needed at all levels of development; those who know the individual development requirements for a particular age, there is clearly not a one size fits all approach. The new EPPP plans promote more hours in Academies and more full time staff working with particular age groups. Yet as much as Academies can improve players, the pool of talent they have is restricted. A player should not have to be “saved” from grassroots at a young age in order to receive a better education, grassroots coaching should be as good as Academies. High levels of coaching should be common throughout all levels..

The FA need to act, need to give newly educated coaches work experience with grassroots teams in order to implement a way of playing and a style of coaching which develops creative, skilful players. Not every player will be a professional, yet with only 1% of players from Academies becoming a pro from a potential pool of 10,000 which comes from a pool of 2.25 million kids who play football on a weekly basis , then surely there is something wrong with youth development in this country. It won’t be overnight, it will take a decade or two, yet the FA need to do improve standards at grassroots level. The idea of coaching needs a culture change, it needs to be viewed as an occupation as that of a teacher not just a helpful volunteer. The FA need to do a lot to address this issue yet we also need to do something about it, we need to stop being apathetic to this crisis and stand up against poor standards which are ruining the players in this country.

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The Importance of Youth Development. Why the need for more quality coaching is the key for England to succeed.