Our foreign players are much better technically...

[thinktank]

...than our english ones.

That was patently obvious yesterday (and has been since the season started).

It's also the case in other teams where you see a huge disparity between the technical ability of the foreign players who seem to much more comfortable on the ball and more precise and more tactically aware and advanced.

There must be something wrong with training/development at the young end of the developmental spectrum here.

Something's missing.

Not surprised to see us with so many foreign players now; the best we can hope for is to use this as a method to build a great technical team and then blood youngsters in that environment and hope it rubs off.

 

[TaoistMonkey]

To be fair, Walker was doing some great skill yesterday. Never really appreciated how tricky he is.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Well we keep selling our good british players at their peak to be fair... Carrick, Keane, Bale etc...

 

[nidge]

Every age group's training has to be about having the ball and keeping it. They have to do as much ball work as possible.

By doing this it means that young player become more comfortable not in possession but also when they receive the ball. Too many times UK trained players still look afraid of the ball especially when receiving it in tight areas.

 

[Legacy]

Seriously? It's not just our English players being less technical than our foreign ones. English players in general are far less technically proficient than a lot of other countries. I thought that was a well noted thing?

Most technically gifted English player we have is Tom Carroll.

 

[annekcm]

It's the youth development of players. Youth football here still includes putting 9 year olds on full size pitches and full size goals with winning at all costs. Inevitably turns into who can kick the furthest and highest. No development of skill is possible when you win by hoofing. Holland has their kids playing on small pitches and smaller teams until they're 14( I think). Means when they are beginning their football, they are actually learning the fundamental basics of control, passing and movement.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

City had 1 English player in their team yesterday, Joe Hart.

Apart from the odd few the talent of English players just generally isn't up to scratch. Of course not all foreign players are technically gifted but how much would an "English" Paulinho cost? Especially when £20m buys you Jordan Henderson....

 

[DEFchenkOE]

It's the youth development of players. Youth football here still includes putting 9 year olds on full size pitches and full size goals with winning at all costs. Inevitably turns into who can kick the furthest and highest. No development of skill is possible when you win by hoofing. Holland has their kids playing on small pitches and smaller teams until they're 14( I think). Means when they are beginning their football, they are actually learning the fundamental basics of control, passing and movement.

To be fair, I think this has changed now. Maybe someone else with kids that age can confirm, but I thought that they have the kids playing something like 7 or 8 aside now up to a certain age.

I don't understand why they don't just let kids play futsal up to a certain age, you get so much more touches of the ball it's more enjoyable and helps with technique a lot.

 

[CJMurray]

Although I agree, I think the English players coming through our academy are just as good technically as most of our players. Carroll and Kane in particular have beautiful technique, Townsend also to an extent is good technically.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

To be fair, Walker was doing some great skill yesterday. Never really appreciated how tricky he is.

Really? He can run quick in a straight line but then normally just wiggles his foot over the ball a few times and gets dispossessed easily.

Naughton hasn't got the physical attributes that Walker possess but he is leagues ahead technically.

 

[ILS]

Something i noticed last thursday with Lamela and Eriksen is the same, is they want the ball even when there is little space around them or the defender is up their backside as they are very comfortable receiving it in these areas. The problem was on Thursday especially was Naughton would not use Lamela because of this and would turn and play a five yard backwards instead of moving the play forwards.

I think this stems from English players growing up with the mentality that if you marked, then you don't want the ball. It's something that is being worked on at lower ages, which we won't see the fruition of this in the national team until 10-15 years down the line.

 

[annekcm]

To be fair, I think this has changed now. Maybe someone else with kids that age can confirm, but I thought that they have the kids playing something like 7 or 8 aside now up to a certain age.

I don't understand why they don't just let kids play futsal up to a certain age, you get so much more touches of the ball it's more enjoyable and helps with technique a lot.

Maybe you're right, and I hope you are for the sake of the development of the game here. But either way, it's still 10 years or more behind the rest of Europe in setting it up and progress of the system. So we won't likely see the outcomes of it for 10 years to come.

It's also the reason why any English player is so much more expensive than foreigners. If having an Englishman that was just as good as their competitors from Europe wasn't such a rare thing, then there would be a wider range of English players suitable for buying and drive the cost down.

 

[Misfit]

Although I agree, I think the English players coming through our academy are just as good technically as most of our players. Carroll and Kane in particular have beautiful technique, Townsend also to an extent is good technically.

Yep. The one we signed from elsewhere maybe not but most of them have been here long enough to have improved anyway.

It does stand out at times though. Not that they're unable to do what is needed technically but sometimes there's a hesitation. A little thinking time whereas with these Carlos Kickaballs just do it without thinking.

Except Sigs obviously. He's AIDS. The bad kind.

 

[Turbo]

The FA have and are continuing to change youth football at the moment. This season has seen the change at the younger ages (U7 & U8) to 5 a side on smaller pitches from 7v7. There has also been the introduction this year at U11 of playing 9v9 on smaller pitches using 16x7ft goals instead of the 21x7ft goals previously used. Next season it will be mandatory that U11's and U12's play 9v9 then U13's and above will be the only ones playing 11v11.

Mini soccer was introduced a few years ago with U7-U10's all playing 7v7, and U11's and above playing 11v11 sometimes on full size pitches. A chap called Nick Levitt at the FA is promoting the changes and has been working with grass roots clubs and leagues for the last couple of years to get a buy in from grass roots as a whole. I'm involved with a local club (youth chairman) and think the changes are all positive. In fact this season there has been a mandatory "retreat line" at the youngest ages where teams have to retreat to the half way line at goal kicks to encourage play from the back and not penalise goal keepers at the age of seven who can't kick a ball very far.

If interested then take a look http://www.thefa.com/my-football/player/youth-football/youth-development-review

The FA agree we are behind other countries as most European countries have been playing small sided stuff for years, but there has been a fair amount of reluctance from 'old school' people who consider the game in the only true content being 11v11.

 

[waresy]

To be fair, I think this has changed now. Maybe someone else with kids that age can confirm, but I thought that they have the kids playing something like 7 or 8 aside now up to a certain age.

I don't understand why they don't just let kids play futsal up to a certain age, you get so much more touches of the ball it's more enjoyable and helps with technique a lot.

I read something somewhere (nice and vauge sorry) that there was a trial going on where under 10's were playing a rule that made the defensive team drop back into their own half for goalkicks, allowing the goalkeeper to play it short and get the attacking team comfortable playing it out from the back. This was on smaller pitches too. interesting way I thought.

Until the FA and probably more importantly supported by the Premier League, get a full plan for youth development like in Holland & Spain we will see more and more of a gap between quality of English players.

It is very noticable the number of English players playing abroad is and has been negligible for years where as the Premier League has lots of nationalities which frees up space in their top leagues for youngsters to come through. Ours end up on loan in the championship

 

[walworthyid]

It ,ight be

I read something somewhere (nice and vauge sorry) that there was a trial going on where under 10's were playing a rule that made the defensive team drop back into their own half for goalkicks, allowing the goalkeeper to play it short and get the attacking team comfortable playing it out from the back. This was on smaller pitches too. interesting way I thought.

Until the FA and probably more importantly supported by the Premier League, get a full plan for youth development like in Holland & Spain we will see more and more of a gap between quality of English players.

It is very noticable the number of English players playing abroad is and has been negligible for years where as the Premier League has lots of nationalities which frees up space in their top leagues for youngsters to come through. Ours end up on loan in the championship

I was actually thinking about this recently and it might be an idea to play without goals all together for the younger ones. It could be done on number of passes etc. When I used to play in an african league (mostly nigerians) we always used to play with tiny goals in training and shooting was frowned on. It was all about keeping the ball and moving it around until you made a chance for a tap in. In England we don't really understand possession football and until that is sorted we will continue to fail at international level.

It also isn't that the players are technically poor, I've played with loads of pros, ex-pros, apprentices and academy players and they are technically great. What Modric, Eriksen etc have is not just technique, its awareness of space and composure. Now I'm not saying you can really coach it as such, because if you could Modric wouldn't now be playing for Madrid as they would simply coach one of their own youngsters to that level, but what you can do is teach players to look at their options before they get the ball. Scholes is english and he is as technically good as nearly any player I have ever seen, but what he did was use his eyes and his technique to give him the time to pick the right pass. English football is all about getting to the opposition goal as fast as possible and blasting it into the top corner, hence the game is always rushed, players feel uncomfortable not really going anywhere in possession. When walker gets the ball on the wing and charges forward we all cheer, when Eriksen gets the ball and just stands there waiting for a pass we don't. Its in the mentality, not just the technique.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

I've been saying for years that English footballers are years behind the Spanish, German, Dutch and French and even some smaller European teams.

English footballers all seem to focus on pace, power and attack.
It simply doesn't work in a world where the midday successful teams are more than happy to make 30 short passes in their own half to a) wear the opposition down and b ) draw them out.

I always attribute it to young boys dad's yelling "Av I'm soon, kick it in the mixer" etc etc etc.
Just watch England and watch how many times they lose the ball trying to get forward at every moment they have it. It's almost pathetic to see tbh.

 

[michaelden]

To be fair, I think this has changed now. Maybe someone else with kids that age can confirm, but I thought that they have the kids playing something like 7 or 8 aside now up to a certain age.

I don't understand why they don't just let kids play futsal up to a certain age, you get so much more touches of the ball it's more enjoyable and helps with technique a lot.

This game is what made Ronaldinho great, Holtby learnt playing it and it is key to youth development in most Latin countries

 

[Gassin's finest]

Yep. The one we signed from elsewhere maybe not but most of them have been here long enough to have improved anyway.

It does stand out at times though. Not that they're unable to do what is needed technically but sometimes there's a hesitation. A little thinking time whereas with these Carlos Kickaballs just do it without thinking.

Except Sigs obviously. He's AIDS. The bad kind.

"Wouldn't wash me car wiv it!"

 

[Wardy]

This basically sums up what the FA are trying to do, with regards to the national team