English Football - How do we make it better?

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.

Here is what I think we should do:
• Quotas – I appreciate that applying a quota rule to our leagues would contravene European law, but I think it’s 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
• All England teams (all age groups) to play in a similar way
• 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 don’t get better by sitting on the bench).
• Winning is not the be all and end all at that age – more important to teach kids how to play and enjoy it
• More Premiership money to be ploughed into grass roots youth football – perhaps a FA levy which the FA could distribute to youth set ups that meet it’s youth policy criteria
• Work with the Government to enhance school sports
• Train our coaches better, including making senior badges harder to achieve

 

How about making the academies more attractive across the UK?

 

make English players reasonably priced is the simple answer along with a quota on foreign players

 

Trouble is a quota on foreign players would be discrimination and possibly restraint of trade under EU Law? Until European Law makes football or sport an exception to the principles of free movement of workers this problem isn't going to go away.

 

The first thing to do is identify the problems. These are:

a. inadequate coaching in the formative years;

b. premiership clubs buying promising English players and then keeping them on the bench while they watch the best in the world play.

Answer to problem one is easy - - reduce the fees for getting UEFA A and B licences by about 90% until we have roughly the same number of coaches with qualifications that Spain has.

The second isn't that difficult either. The problem is that English talent doesn't get game time because it is bought and warehoused by premiership clubs. Quotas won't work because they are legally unenforceable and also, in all markets, have the effect of perpetuating an inferior local product.

The solution is to pass a regulation that no player, regardless of nationallity, can play in the prem until he has played, say 3600 minutes of top flight football in a foreign league.

It would be legal because it applies to everyone.

It would also force all premiership clubs to ensure that there promising candidates played a season and a bit in Ligue 1, Serie A, the eredivise, etc, at the beginning of their careers. They would get game time and exposure to different footballing cultures. The English player's prejudice against playing outside England would be broken down. The best plaeyrs would be recalled to the Prem. The rest would follow careers on the continent rather than in Hartlepool.

This may or may not result in more English players palying in the Prem. It would hugely increase, however, the number playing top flight football somewhere - - a player good enough for the Man City, or even Newcastle, bench will be able to get a game in Belgium, etc. The pool of plaeyrs available for selection would increase as a direct result. If France can pick from players in Ligue 1, why couldn't England ?

I expect over 5 years it would in fact increase the number of English players in the Prem. Players who weren't good enough to get much game time in the Prem at 20 may turn into very handy players by the time they're 25. But the whole point is that it would break the uniquely English view that the only place to play and to selct players is its domesti league,

Problem solved

 

A quota would require all teams to have more English players. This would increase the demand for English players. This would increase the cost of English players. The two proposal can't go together

 

Agree. Stated my standpoint on this many times. One key aspect is for the FA to retake control of football in this country and put the PL back in their box.

I couldn't give a **** about EU Law. Other countries flout these laws without any sanction, I suggest we grow a pair and do the same. We do it now in other areas when it suits us.

There are ways and means too. Lets revisit the criteria for allowing foreign players to ply their trade here for a start. Lets make them stricter and press home the message of quality not quantity.

The single most important factor is coaching though. We have already begun this process of changing the way we coach and getting coaches better qualified. We must push this agenda and ensure it never slips back to the lazy attitudes of the past. The best coaches need to be working with the youngest groups too. By the time they hit the first team, they shouldn't need the basics being taught to them again if the system works.

Introduce a winter break and be done with it. The intensity of our football means this is a neccessity. I hate seeing our players rocking up at major tournaments and they look paggered. The medical analysis backs this up and it is all down to latent/cumulative fatigue (mental and physical). I love the pace of our game but lets stop pretending it doesn't have an effect and continue to bury our head in favour of the £ signs. I may not be keen on the media circus and advertising carnival that surrounds our league but I think it must be accepted. Again though lets not pretend this doesn't drain players and coaches mentally.

The other key thing we have to do is.......................show a bit of patience and common sense. When we fail at the next world cup and look a bit behind, ignore the fans/media clamour to sack the manager, start all over again etc etc. Show some balls for once and see the course of action through. Its not even the end of the world if the manager is changed as long as we press on with set up/commitments and so on.

 

1) Better coaching of junior and youth teams especially regarding technical ability.

2) Encourage British players to take the step of playing abroad not just dropping down the leagues when they find first team opportunities limited. To many players moan about limted opportunities due to foriegn imports, the truth is they find first team opportunities limited due to a better/more experienced player irrelevant of their nationality.

 

money will always talk unfortunately and as a result, the likes of Citeh will find ways round any new rules.
Just look at the way they got round FFP by effectively sponsoring themselves a world record amount for a stadium.

 

Largely what I was getting at.

The problem isn't too many foreigners in English football - - it's too few English players in foreign football. Encourage/force English players to serve a stint overseas.

As for European law, do you seriously think that in a claim before the Court of Sports Arbitration between the premiere league teams and the FA the FA is going to get away with saying it doesn't give a toss about European law ? All imposing a quota would do is result in a judgement against the FA which would probably bankrupt it.

The FA isn't a sovereign nation - - it can't just ignore the law and expect not to have damages awarded against it

 

We've spoken about the FA before, a job for the boys.

 

I think football is largely reflected in society, to be fair. In this country, there is a huge emphasis on education and tests, pushing through to a-levels and university, with little/no reasoning as to why so many individuals need to do so.

In other countries, mainly citing Germany, Russia and USA here, physical excellence is rewarded and encouraged. Basic education is offered out and expected in order to continue your sports coaching, but it's not the most important factor. Here we have no such system.

Does anyone know, for example, how anyone goes from being gifted youngster to a professional footballer? Or is there a wide assumption that it just happens, much like there's an assumption that going to university somehow grants you employment at the end of it? There doesn't ever appear to be any kind of targeted system for saying "right, this is what you're good at, these are your options, let's work it together."

It's also very cut-throat - old friend of mine used to be on the books at Chelsea. At around 14/15 he had a cruciate knee ligament injury. Chelsea immediately cut him from their books and he was on the NHS getting treated. Without specialists, his knee was never the same. Couldn't even do Saturday league.

 

Hi Guys - some really interesting points.

I don't think there is a "magic bullett" that can be fired to solve this, but we need a plan consisting of several spokes to get us to where we want to be.

Some things will see quick results, but others such as changing culture etc will be a long job.

I'm just pleased that someone at the FA wants to do something

 

What I find so utterly ironic is it's Greg Dyke giving the speech. What, precisely, gives this man the authority to even comment, let alone lead the charge?!

I have a weird connection to Greg Dyke. See if you can guess what it is....

 

Your last name's Dyke ?

And why shouldn't he lead the charge ?

 

better training of coaches is a good one. way behind our European counterparts