Greg Dyke made some interesting points about English football last week. A major concern must be the recent failures of English sides in tournaments and the apparent lack of young English players coming through. Mr Dyke mentioned that the FA would be looking at several areas, including quotas over the coming months. I don't see there being a "magic bullet" to solve the problems - here is what I think we should do: ⢠Quotas â I appreciate that applying a quota rule to our leagues would contravene European law, but I think itâs essential. Our young talent is being blocked by cheap foreign imports. I would implement a rule saying that at least 6 players in the starting XI of each game must be qualified to play for England. The rule to be relaxed for Welsh sides to be English or Welsh. This would be applied to all English leagues and domestic cup competitions). ⢠Regard the U21, U20 tournaments as being important to the development of our young players and take the strongest team possible - they learn how to play tournament football etc ⢠All England teams (all age groups) to play in a similar way (Southgate now oversees all age groups) ⢠Reduce the size of the Premier League to 18 ( at the same time restructure League 2 and the Conference to be League 2 North and South) ⢠Implement a mid-winter break (and ban teams from playing overseas friendlies during that break) ⢠Restrict the number of overseas players entering our Academies (max of 2 per club per age group) ⢠Coaching emphasis on youngsters to concentrate on technical skills ⢠Change of culture in identifying good young players which currently seems to be about size, pace and power (Messi, Xavi and Iniesta are not big!!) ⢠Small sided games/pitches to be extended to older age groups - 13-14 years. This keeps the emphasis on technique, not about who can kick it the furthest. ⢠Youth coaches to be encouraged to play ALL kids not just the best ones (you donât get better by sitting on the bench). ⢠Winning is not the be all and end all at that age â more important to teach kids how to play and enjoy it - and let them have the freedom to try things and fail ⢠More Premiership money to be ploughed into grass roots youth football â perhaps a FA levy which the FA could distribute to youth set ups that meet itâs youth policy criteria? ⢠Work with the Government to enhance school sports and improve facilities ⢠Train our coaches better, including making senior badges harder to achieve Liverpool have produced a fair number of players for England over the years - I would be interested to hear your views
For a long time I think the FA run with the mindset of 'all we need to do is get a great manager for the England team and we will win it all'. Taking no responsibility themselves. Sven Goran Erikson, the failed move for Scolari and Fabio Cappello's time in the job show this. But now they have gone for this keep it on the inside approach. Southgate, FA employee, crap manager, gets u21's job. Hodgson, friend of FA, gets England job. The FA need a director of football who over see's every thing and ties every thing together. Th main team, youth team, grass roots, whats happening at clubs, players abroad who could play for England. They will visit academies. clubs etc, talk to players, be the face of the England team and sell playing for England and supporting England as a great and positive thing, building a more united and positive view all over the operation. I want to see this guy do it: please log in to view this image I cant think of any one more perfect for the role. He has played and won things all over the world. Played with many great players. Over 100 England caps. 6 international tournments. Former England captain. Has a chain of top academies. Respected world wide. Great at promoting things.
Improve the quality of coaches - make coaching a job rather than a hobby, and reduce the cost of training for badges to help encourage. More emphasis on Futsal to improve technique. Better outdoor pitches or more indoor facilities to encourage players to play on the deck.
My lad played in a Futsal tournament last year and it's so similar to 5-a-side I don't see what all the fuss is about, yes it's good for kids to play these smaller court games but there's no difference between 5-a-side and Futsal.
My lad is at a level where he is trying to get into a full time academy at Cardiff he gets a trial and back into the development with the hope of one of these trials becoming a permenant move, so I'm seeing a lot of players from PL academies play and there are some talented kids out there. Unfortunately there is still a big emphasis on size, pace and strength a player who is physically strong or fast is more likely to make it and technically gifted players are overlooked. The problem is that if a player is faster and stronger than his opposition he stands out on the pitch at youth level but what happens when he gets older and everyone is big and strong? The day that this mentality changes is when football in the UK will improve. If a player has a great first touch is able to read the game and pass the ball and is most importantly coachable then develop that player not the huge fast kid that get loads of goals by running the pitch.
I played a lot of playground football with a tennis ball at school - when I played "proper football" everyone said I had great touch/technique - I'm sure that was because I played with a tennis ball, so there could be something in this futsal stuff
Not my experience of it at all, my lads team won the tournament, in the first game they were getting pulled around by movement and as you say flicks and tricks, they upped the aggression and work rate closing down the opposition and smashed every team easily. It was fun and I see the benefit of small court games but 5-a-side is the same thing imo and there are pros and cons for both. Futsal Pros Smaller ball no bounce so good for skills and control Smaller Goal so good for shooting accuracy Fast paced no breaks constant movement and concentration Everyone plays everywhere so no set positions 5-A-Side Pros No overhead to promotes ball control and skills Wider goal promoting accuracy and finesse shots Fast pace Set positions promoting tactical awareness Small court is important but Futsal is just a trend, personally a mix of the 2 would be perfect keep the futsal ball and interchanging positions keep the no overhead part and goals from 5-a-side.
Futsal has no walls either so you can't just knock the ball against it to beat an opponent. Might seem like a small thing but it makes a big difference. As others have mentioned, the ball is smaller and doesn't bounce as much - again, small differences but encourages players to play with the ball at their feet.
One of the tactics used was the keeper would throw the ball the length of the court for a striker to hold up and lay off. The no overhead thing really needs to come into futsal. I agree on the ball part it is better but for me a combination of the 2 would be better.
As you say Luv, it's about having a balance between different methods as no one method will teach you everything. However, having young kids grow up in a futsal environment will increase the chances of having solid technique which is quite difficult to acquire as you progress through your career. Build and develop that technique from an early age so passing, touch, control is second nature to you. Then when they get older, introduce them to bigger pitches and then work on the tactical side. In addition -the mentality of coaches is still outdated. I believe we are entering a cycle of new coaches and players who appreciate the technical side far more so it's only a matter of time where we'll see more technical coaches coming through. In order to expedite this, we need to encourage more coaches to get their badges. The FA need to ensure coaching is a proper job with good pay, but also make it affordable to obtain such qualifications.
Good point - I didn't actually know that. However, is that based on Futsal in this country or is it a tactic that is employed all over the world? I.e. do they do that in Brazil? I wouldn't have thought so but if so, it should be discouraged.
It is used throughout as there is nothing to stop teams doing that it is usually used when a team is plaing the "full court" tactic therefore boxing a team in and then its's back to on the floor when a team is playing "half court". The tactic has it's use though a it means you have a striker giving lots of movement to get free for the ball. Like you said though sticking to one form of play will just mean learning one skill set, the futsal trend is a good thing but should not replace 5-a-side where the subtle differences give players another skill set. Futsal is all set to replace 5-a-side and this is wrong imo there's room for both.
One of the things I'm very proud of is that my son wants to do his first badge as soon as he hits 16 next year as he loves the whole game and not just playing it.
Sounds like a good lad. Make sure you get him into cricket as well I actually give a **** about the England cricket team.
