http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19877716# As the new England centre opens today in Burton some excellent points made by Gary Neville about how vital youth coaching is. Never liked Neville as a player but have warmed to him as a pundit. Always talks a lot of sense.
I still think it will be years before the Great British football supporting public really understand the huge change we need to make at Grass roots football and then implement it.
Totally agree with you on this.. Neville is very intelligent as a pundit and i too think talks alot of sense.
We need to copy and innovate at the same time, starting with the German and Spanish model of youth coaches and actually paying them well and valuing them .
I agree with gomarchingin The key to it is the mentality of the parents and the coaches. I am not a "it's the taking part that counts brigade member", however the biggest issue in our grasss roots football is that most parents and coaches wnat Little Johnny to win the league. This makes us teach kids to knock it forward to the big lad and chase after the next goal and the next win. We must focus on developing technique and speed of technique and thinking on the pitch. Small er pitches, smaller goals, smaller sided games is the only way to go. Some steps have been taken, but not enough.
Good points FLT! Go to watch my son play school matches and some of the comments coming from other parents are unbelievable. It's win at all costs!
I don't remember the age group, but a friend went with a good youth side to play a practice match against a Saints academy side. He said that it was obvious that the Saints lads were discouraged from running with the ball...a few steps then they must pass. They were threatened with being subbed if they tried a glory run. The Saints team won 11.0.
Didn't say he wasn't a good player Joe I just didn't like him or many of the United players at that time come to that. He's surprised me with how well he's adapted to TV work.
Schmeichel, Irwin, Johnson, Stam, Neville, Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Beckham, Cole, Yorke Best and most likeable team in my lifetime I reckon. Honorary mentions for Solskjaer, Sheringham, Butt, Blomqvist and Berg as well. Loved that team.
Funny how your memory plays tricks have to admit a grudging admiration for some of those. Solsjjaer and Irwin. No time for Keane clearly a top player but IMO not a top bloke.
can't think of that line up (I knw Taibi not Schmeical) without thinking of Pahars stabbing the ball through Stam's legs at Old Trafford and putting us 1 nil up; I was sat in the Stretford end on my own!
Hope you managed to contain your excitement. Reminds me of that Jasper Carrot sketch about the neanderthals! Back to the coaching and I have to saty that the new centre does look top notch http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19881116#
Anyone know how many "mini pitches" there are? I know there are 12 full size pitches, but if there are no mini pitches, then they've missed a trick.
I remember reading that Spanish and German academies play "so many more hours" (with some properly ridiculous stats) than the english youth. However it also said that education was not compulsory, now I don't know about you but I'd rather have a generation of children with intelligence than an England world cup win...
