A crisis in the development of world class players

Do we have a crisis in developing world class defenders? 

 Why we don’t develop world class defenders.

After Wednesday night many questions are being raised regarding the captain, the manager and how we can solve the Rooney ban problem. Many questions have been raised yet this screams of the same short termism that has plagued this country for years.

The real issue that should be addressed is a crisis for the England team in defence. After the "golden generation" we have been left with a new generation who lack the necessary qualities and experience needed for top level football.

Lack of English talent?

In the Premier League in the past 5 years there has not been enough top quality English defenders playing for the big teams. You will say what about Ferdinand, Terry, Neville, Ashley Cole, Carragher and Campbell. Yet where are they all now? We have suffered from taking the same players to tournaments and continually losing and we now have a serious issue where we have not sought to evolve our national side.

Club teams have relied on foreign players or continued with the old trusted players without giving potential players opportunities. Players like Vidic, Vermaelan, Kompany, Agger, Carvalho and Kompany are all excellent defenders, yet why do the top teams in England feel they have to buy from abroad instead of bring through English defenders?

This has been the big problem with the golden generation; it restricted important opportunities for the young, up and coming players. For too long Terry and Ferdinand have led the line in the centre of defence resulting in many players not gaining the necessary experience to improve; Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott and Gary Cahill have all been around a long time and not being effectively bled into the side.They also have lacked the necessary competition of playing in the Champions League, thus stunting their development.

In tournament football we have failed to give players an opportunity to develop. It was Matt Upson who replaced Ferdinand in the World Cup and even Jamie Carragher was recalled from retirement, this was simply madness. Does this mean we over rely on the experienced players  or is there a problem with the quality of our defenders we are producing? We have a real issue in trusting new and young players to come on to the scene believing they don’t have the required experience. This is a vicious cycle where players don’t get the experience they need to become experienced.

Quality defending, cultural?

Who are the best defenders in the past 10 years? In my opinion they are Puyol, Carvalho, Nesta, Maldini, Cannavaro and Ferdinand. These players are regarded so highly because they possess the biggest attribute needed for top class defending; intelligence. These players had an ability to read the game, to anticipate and assess where the game and importantly the ball were going, thus allowing them to be in the right positions to intercept the ball and regain possession.

Is this ability of anticipation valued in England as much as in Italy or Spain. Have we had a player like Baresi, Nesta? I cannot argue against how immense Terry and Ferdinand have been for club and country. They possess the necessary attributes required to be world class; reading of game, excellent passing (Terry is very good), heading, tackling and positioning. These are key attributes for defenders and I wonder now that Terry and Ferdinand’s international careers are effectively over, do we have the quality to replace them?

In England we value hard work and determination overtechnical skill and intelligence. This is important to realise because what we value is what our children value. We value those last ditch and crunching tackles where the ball flies out of play. We love our defenders when they boot the ball into the stands. Do we consider that actually they could have controlled the ball and started an attack, perhaps, but we have a fear in England of playing too close to goal. Is the reason we are not developing world class players due to the way we view football?

What is needed to be a world class defender?

Ability to play

Being able to pass and receive effectively is essential for a top level defender; they must be able to start attack. Look at Pique at Barca; he is accomplished on the ball which allows him to drive out and be part of the attack. 

 If we require this as a necessary skill in our players then we cannot consider players who do not play this style for their club. Gary Cahill was not playing this style at Bolton, it was far too direct for what is necessary for international football. His pass completion rate this season is 74.4% compared to Terry (91%), Lescott (87.6%). 

Perhaps his move to Chelsea will improve this attribute, if not then he may not be good enough for top level football.  Top level football is different, it requires more from its players. People talk of Ryan Shawcross as a player for England, however he lacks the technical skills and composure on the ball to play out from the back. We could not build attacks with a player like him in our side.

And so is it important that more teams through all the leagues look to play and get the ball down more. The reason being is that if a player at a lower level is doing well then could they not look to move on to the next level? Chris Smalling is an excellent example as he possessed the required attributes needed for a top team. Imagine if this was the norm and not the exception? Too many players are suited to one type of football which restricts their chances of progressing up. If it is only the top teams developing top level footballers then this means the pool of talent is too small.

It will be difficult to change these ways, however we are seeing more football being played in the lower leagues. The results have shown that good football is actually a remedy for success. Look at Brighton, Southampton and Blackpool as great examples of good passing sides. Swansea are showing it in the Premier League and doing well because of it. The key is that the managers have a philosophy and bring in players who are able to perform a certain way and from this the top teams can look to bring through these players to the next level.

 

Ability to read the game

Normally in England the types of defenders who are memorable are those who often make last ditch tackles and clearances. However, making last ditch challenges suggests a poor reading of the game as they see the opposition’s attacks late. Surely a good reader of the game can prevent these attacks without having to resort to a last ditch challenge. Watch Thiago Silva play, he reads, knicks and stops attacks with ease. His Milan team are champions of Italy.

A good defender needs good positioning, composure, anticipation acceleration and importantly intelligence to read and understand the game. Is there a lack of intelligent English defenders in the league? Are our players reactive or proactive? A defenders ability to read and anticipate the game is critical. It restricts the number of chances the opposition could potentially have. So having centre backs who can effectively read the game is priceless; it gives them an edge over their opponents as they can foresee what their opponent is planning. Are we developing smart defenders or just powerful reactive ones?

The new partnership

And so we get to the present day, a time of definite transition and we wonder, who is going to be our defence in the Euro’s this summer and beyond? This question has made me consider if we have  neglected players in the past 5 years or if there is simply a lack of high quality English defenders.

Players like Jagielka, Dawson, Cahill and Lescott are not world class. They are defenders in their late 20’s who have spent their careers with mid table sides in the Premier League. Perhaps it is only Lescott who can be considered top level and this has a lot to do with his partnership with Vincent Kompany, who is arguably the best defender in the Premier League.

Now that Cahill is playing for a big side, it would make sense that Lescott and Cahill should be our defensive partnership, yet does this not worry you?

Could Lescott and Cahill be a good partnership?  Bolton have conceded 54 goals this season and Cahill was a big part of that defence, a club who have only kept 11.5% clean sheets this season is a worry. Man City have conceded just 19 goals this season with a clean sheet record of 46.2%, This is excellent and testament to the quality of Lescott along with Kompany. Of course they also have an excellent goalkeeper, midfield and forward line which occupies the opposition well and retains excellent possession. This is necessary for a top team.

For Cahill, people will expect him to stabilise Chelsea’s brittle backline. Not only this, Chelsea are expected to win every game and keep clean sheets. If Cahill costs Chelsea a sloppy goal or even the game, the pressure will well and truly be on Cahill as his mistakes will be recognised on a much wider scale. The real reason could be, as the stats show, Cahill is no where near the the top level defenders in the Premier League. Perhaps, Villas -Boas wants to give Cahill time to settle and adapt to Chelsea's style. Cahill’s application defensively should improve with the better players he now will immerse himself with around in training with yet there are still major question marks against him.

Let us look briefly at the ability this season after 19 games regarding tackling and interceptions. Interestingly, the best interceptor this season has been Laurent Koscielny with 67 interceptions. Koscielny is often subjected to many criticisms, but the reality is he is one the leading covering centre backs in the Premier League. The second highest interceptor was Chelsea’s John Terry with 47, third was Kompany with 46. Of our two England centre backs Cahill has 43 and Lescott only has 26 interceptions. Does this mean that Lescott lacks the anticipation required for top level football? Does he require a world class defender next to him in order to play better which Cahill is certainly not?

Interceptions are a good indicator of top level defending, however tackling is also a big part of the game. How do Lescott and Cahill compare to Terry and Kompany this season?

• Cahill has only made 14 tackles in 19 games this season and his success is only 71.43%, this is worrying considering Bolton conceded so many goals this season.

• Lescott has 29 tackles with a success rate of 93.1% which is excellent

• Terry has made 43 tackles with only 69.7% success, which is an indicator of  how porous Chelsea have been this season

• The leagues best defender in Kompany has made 43 tackles with 88.4% success

Is it any surprise that Man City have the best defensive record this season, they have two consistent tacklers who are able to read the game well. For Chelsea, Terry and Cahill may struggle together this season if they are turned as they appear to be poor at timing their tackles.

Full back positions

Ashley Cole has been excellent for England and is one of our only real world class players, perhaps we haven’t valued him as much as we should yet we should be worried as he gets older. We have had Leighton Baines, Kieran Gibbs and not long ago Stephen Warnock challenging Ashley Cole for the position. Is this good enough? Simply, none of these players are good enough for top level international football. They lack the consistency in possession and their positioning can be poor also.

And this opens another issue, his fee. Baines is a £10 million player, yet will be quoted at £20 million; this is detrimental to Baines and to England. The issue of inflated figures restricts the movement of potential stars to move to the next level. Without the quality of competition, experience around them and quality of coaching a player will not get better. Quite simply more of our English players should be playing for sides playing Champions League football. If we want our national side to improve then this is essential.

At right back we believe we are blessed with talent however when we look closer it is plain that we have three similar players who are a cross between a winger and a full back, where unfortunately they are not great in either. Looking at the attributes of Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker and Micah Richards one cannot question their athleticism; speed, strength and spring. However they all appear to lack the defensive mentalities; positioning, anticipation, discipline and understanding required to be considered world class.

At Man City have you noticed that Mancini trusts Zabaleta in certain games, especially European games. Zabaleta is smart, disciplined and can be relied on to give security to the defence. Richards was touted as a potential England centre back, yet he lacks the necessary mental skills to be accomplished in this position. And the more we assess the new generation of England players; Jones, Smalling and Cahill, they all lack the real qualities to be world class defenders, they do not lack the physical skills, it is their mental abilities.

The future?

In the under 21’s last summer Phil Jones and Chris Smalling had an excellent tournament even if the team didn’t do well. Of those who came out with any credit was these two. It appeared the future looked very bright. Especially as they both play for Man Utd and so their exposure to quality players like Ferdinand and Vidic would be a key asset for their development.

This season however they have shown that they are not there yet; Jones in particular has shown a naivety in his positioning and lacked the necessary concentration and anticipation for top level football. However he is 19 years old and is under the best guidance in England with Ferguson. Perhaps playing at right back and midfield has helped him get the pace of the game, although I would not be surprised if Ferguson does not trust him at this time in that key central defence position. He has made mistakes, which is natural, yet a team like United cannot afford to make regular mistakes. 

We cannot rush these two players, they are not good enough yet to be considered starting players for England, yet these are the types of players who should be bled through, playing for the 21’s to develop their leadership skills. These two may be the future, yet they will need time to develop and we must give them that.

How do we develop more? The key is talent identification. 

So why do we not have enough players of the required quality for the top teams. Why are foreign players considered better than our own? As always it comes down to what are doing at the youth levels. The fault lies with the type of players developed at academy level. There is too much of a reliance on strength, speed and power over everything else. Watch these players, they are reactive, not proactive, they do not read the game, they react to it.

At a young age when they are the quickest and strongest they can get away with poor positioning and a lack of concentration because they can recover. Yet when others are fully matured they may not have the advantage of recovery speed.

How we identify talent needs addressing. Physical attributes are a major part of football; speed, strength, spring and stamina will be more essential in the coming years, yet what is also important are the mental skills of intelligence, anticipation, composure, decision making and positioning. I don't believe we look for this in young players or do we coach it enough.

Have you been to a youth game? Notice the differences? Scouting in England is one of the most superficial practices in football; he’s bigger, stronger and faster than the rest, so he must be the best. Scouts are seeing players who are literally dominating games and it is this emphasis on physical attributes which has restricted the development of world class players. Often these players are not smart enough to be coached to become top level players. 

We need to be coaching the art of defending and developing readers of the game, it is essential that they possess intelligence. I believe we are overlooking and thus missing out on players who may be excellent yet who lack the physicality which propels average players forward. This needs addressing. 

 What is issues really affects the England national side? I believe it is a mixture of coaching, talent identification and development of intelligence and technical skill over power and speed. If we fail to sort out the root of the problem then will not produce world class players.

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