High praise indeed. However, if he wants to be seen as the greatest then he needs to build something rather than win things at a already established giant of the game.
One thing in there I notice about the English game and the American game ( something I am trying hard to help with the next generation) is building generations of players who understand the game, who think about the game, who have ideas on the pitch. Technical ability is right up there and the earlier you teach that the better but also have to use things such as "guided discovery" if you want the players to know what is going on. Less joystick/playstation managers and more who let the players think about the situations on the field. Practice sessions also need to reflect the game when possible and not always in isolation ( line passing for example, decent for a warm up but you have to kick on to a game related activity with it soon after).
thats grand but carra aint on a learning trip to apply stuff to his coaching career he's a journo on a junket... shame aint it? he is right about tehcnical flexibility and highlighting javi martinez. I've said for years he was the bees knees and nobody moved for him until bayern finally got him. Bluff you are right as well about training reflecting the real thing but most of all its "quality of touches" thats important. a kid in england will get many less touches of the ball at young ages playing 11 a side then his counterpart but more than that perhaps is the quality of those touches. you simply have to be on the ball more and be doing the right thing when you do. this is why small sized pitches and 5 a side etc is important. Here's the thing. look at coutinho. inately he knows where he is and the speed of his turn and movement is hugely quicker than say henderson or sterling. they look like buses truning compared to him. why is this... see above!
Thats all true and already in effect in this country as of about eighteen months ago. Obviously the benefit won't be instant, we won't see the effects for another decade at least.
we'll see. I think perhaps at an "elite" level it might be happening but i think theres an awful lot of kids playing on big pitches not seeing a ball for 20mins... who knows. I mean the thing about it is when we are seeing young lads turn up to play in the firsts they still can't bloody stand in the right position. you would think if they played 11 a side for say 8-10 years they might be technically weak but they'd know where to position themselves. who knows. all i know is it'll will indeed take a long long time to improve...
There's lots of ideas flowing around but let's not lose sight of the truth. Our players lack technical skills on the ball. Back in the 50s my Old man had me weaving in and out of tomatoes canes using both feet, trapping tennis balls - again using both feet and trying to get me to shoot with both feet (he failed there!). When I was at school none of that was practised. Training was built around stamina not drills. Nobody mentioned tactics. The match was played at 100mph and if you gave your opponent time to settle on the ball you were shouted at by both the teacher and your team mates! But some of us - usually the most skillfull or the slowest (me) stopped to look at what was actually happening and positioned ourselves accordingly. We just called it reading the game. I always lacked pace but compensated for that by my positioning. When playing midfield I moved into positions where I could influence the game either defensively or in attack. Not only was I slow but I could never jump but perhaps 2 of my most successful seasons were played at Centre Half - though with more than a little skulduggery! So yes lets get the kids to love the ball, play more 5 a side, applaud them when they want to take on the whole of the opposition single-handed. These kids existed in the playground and the street in my day but couldn't transfer it to the fullsize pitch with heavy balls. So make it right for them and by doing so allow them to learn to read the game they're playing.
yeah reading the game is i guess what its called... robinson for instance.. still can't believe a kid like him can't figure out where to stand
good read bluff, hopefully he will remember this experience and put it to good use when he comes back home and gives up the journo role we do have to improve the way we play the game in this country, but it is a climate thing as well to take into account, players, well when i was younger anyway, run around a lot to warm up as its so ruddy cold in this country, that takes up unnecessary stamina, its easier to play a passing game and get used to a style if you live in a warmer climate than a colder one where you dont want to be stood to still for long. be nice when we do pre season if we go to a country where it is so hot that it puts more emphasis on our passing game as its too hot to run around too much, for a team that wants to adapt the passing game, well makes sense to me lol. might make Allen and Henderson better players as well, think Alberto would thrive on it but he is behind those 2.
I don't buy the idea that practising a passing game is somehow passive and slow and you'll therefore get cold standing about!!
Agree with this, anytime I do any passing activities the kids are rarely standing around, if there is a line it is 3 players max and even then they are not standing long. Always look to give them thought provoking activities along with the basic technique. Also as I mentioned above, adding game elements to the technical skills so breed the competition, the correct climate of the training, and to make the transitions smoother. We also play from 7-10 6v6, 11-12 8v8, and 13 on is when they go 11v11.
