It has not been the greatest of summers
for English football. Embarrassment in the Under 20 and 21 tournament
highlighted some serious issues that are plaguing the English game. We all know
the problems, which is a lack of opportunity for young English players in the
Premier League. This is single most important factor which is holding England
back. Yet why is this? Is it simply that clubs don’t want to use these players
or is it just the truth that these players aren’t good enough? I think we know
the answer.
When a talented English player comes around it is like we
can’t believe our luck. Rooney, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain are the best
products to come out of English academies this past decade, yet is this good
enough? We see Spain and Germany producing top talent every season and their
success, significantly Spain at youth level has proven their ability to develop
talent.
So what is to be done? Well, in my upcoming book The
Way Forward I propose many solutions to improve the standard of
players coming through the English youth system. Frankly speaking there are
issues at all levels which need addressing and the journey will take much
effort and cohesion to achieve success and produce more players.
The book looks at the role of schools, academies, clubs and
of course the FA. Ah, the FA. One of England’s most precious institutions and
one we should be proud of. Yet the truth is we are not.
The FA's priorities
It has been argued that a major problem with the FA is that
it has not been run by football people but by businessmen who value commercial
interests over their role as developers of the game.
The decision to invest in a new Wembley over the development
of England’s national training centre in the early 2000’s was proof enough
where the focus and interests lie. £900m which could have been spent on
investing in the future of players and coaches was instead put into a stadium
which in all honesty was not needed. A waste of money, time and resources which
could have gone elsewhere. Such a shame for England’s future.
Did we really need to build a new national stadium? We could
have followed the Germans, where there is no national stadium; games of the
national team are always in different cities. This allows more people to see
their team and allows more money to be put into key areas.
Imagine where that £900 million spent on Wembley could have
gone? If The FA were serious about improving the standards of youth development
we could have seen 80-100 ‘development centres’ run by the FA Skills programme,
right across the country, which would have meant more youth coaches and players
being developed.
That money could also have gone to subsidising coaching
courses which could have meant cheaper courses, especially the 'A' and Pro
licence which would have meant the development of a greater number of ‘quality’
coaches.
The FA cannot say they do not have the money, what they do
not have is the desire to make significant changes at the foundation
level. Too much money at the top trying to fix problems that need addressing at
the bottom.
Why did they decide to do this? The truth is that the FA are
ran by men whose primary interests are not about football. Those men who run
the FA are businessmen whose interests are in the commercial part of football.
Having the wrong men in charge of our Football Association has been the reason
for the continuing issues and problems of English football.
The new book from The Whitehouse Address is out in July
The FA's failed philosophies
Between the 1970’s and 1980’s English football was savaged
by two men; Allen Wade and Charles Hughes. They believed in direct football and
had the crazy notion that sides like Holland, Germany and Brasil were playing
football the ‘wrong way’. Their methods believed that the less passes it took
to attack meant the more chance to score, yet this was not a Jurgen Klopp
inspired Dortmund counter attack. No.
What is was was a horror show of giants lumping a football
high in the air. It was trench warfare and any idea of skill was not only
ignored, it was forbidden. This was English football and the development of
coaches, teams and future players was built on this idea.
Incredibly Hughes did not think to learn from Liverpool or
Forest, European Cup winning sides and coaches, no he believed his methods were The
Winning Formula. England has paid for these men’s beliefs since. It is
only now, in the past decade that gradual change has occurred, thanks in most
part to those ‘pesky’ foreigners who keep teaching us the way to play, train
and coach. If only they had come sooner.
The truth is English football and culture was damaged back
then and has never properly recovered.
The need for reform and change was required long before
Howard Wilkinson’s Charter for Quality in 1997 yet even key elements
to that were dismissed. Yes the academy system was set up yet it was
unmonitored and effectively for most players they still experienced old school
methods and coaches teaching the Hughes style of football.
Is it really any surprise therefore that we have failed to
produce enough quality of players through the system? Wilshere is the first
real product of Wenger’s Dutch/Barca philosophy and Southampton’s academy
philosophy was built on the methods of Wenger too. No surprise therefore that
these two academies are producing players who possess the attributes and
ability befitting the modern game. Compare their approach to player and
team development to the FA's and we see the issue.
Unfortunately there appears to be too many people afraid of
change at the FA and this has held English football back.
A need to modernise
Howard Wilkinson and Trevor Brooking have both been loud
proponents for change, for over a decade, yet their calls for change have
largely been ignored. The emergence of Nick Levett has brought positive change
for the grassroots game, yet it will not make a quick or significant impact for
many years. Yes the changes in pitches are a good step forward, so too the
youth modules, yet there are still issues with coaching and quality. Not to
mention a lack of a philosophy to educate these coaches.
The English FA needs to put down a philosophy that grassroots
coaches can implement and use with their players. Admittedly, in 2009, the FA
produced “The Future Game” – a book/document which pointed to what the modern
game would involve for players and teams. However, it was put forward as a
guideline, not a requirement.
The English FA should have been more forthright in their
approach to improving the national style and making sure more coaches and teams
across the country played and developed in a modern style.
In the 7-11 age groups the courses should be educating
coaches about the FA skills programme and what this entails and how you can
coach it. Considering this is supposed to be a major factor for developing
better players the absence of advice and information regarding skill
development is startling.
As for the 12-16 age bracket, this is where the FA need to
be educating coaches about themes, formations and roles of players. It is like
they just expect coaches to know these things, yet they don’t. Because of the
limited support and guidance which the FA courses offer many of these coaches
revert back to type and implement the safe and rigid 4-4-2 of which they were
brought up.
Effectively we see Charles Hughes football remaining because
the current FA are failing to re-educate coaches. Why is this? I believe there
is a concern that the FA don’t want to be seen as ‘telling’ coaches what to do
for fear of getting it wrong again or being too commanding of what coaches
should be doing. Yet their role is to manage the grassroots game and so they
must manage and educate the coaches much better.
The FA should say that at 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11 this is
what you should be looking to play, this is what the players roles are and this
is the emphasis you are looking to focus on. If coaches will only do as much as
Level’s 1 and 2 plus the youth modules (which is an extensive education and
outlay of money) then these courses better educate the coaches on what the FA
want to do in terms of developing better players. These 'concepts' cannot be
left to the 'A' licence course which fails to hit almost any of the coaches
which the foundation level requires.
More emphasis on individual skill, combination play,
creativity and flexible and fluid movements in attack allied with more focus on
counter attacks and transition are key for coaches to go away and understand
the game. And let us not forget the most neglected aspect of football,
defending. I’m not talking about lunging tackles but the understanding of
defending, as an individual and team. This is what England’s coaching courses
need to promote more of.
Yet will we see these kind of changes, at both the
grassroots and senior level of English football if the same people are running
the organisation?
If the foundations aren't right what do you expect?
For well over a century the English FA has been responsible for coaching and development standards. Yet, one could argue convincingly, their methods have failed to produce the necessary quality in home grown coaching and playing talent: a lack of vision, a disastrous philosophy, and poor planning illustrate how the FA has failed the country for decades.
The concern now is that many coaches feel they cannot ‘trust’ the English FA to put in place a philosophy and style which is conducive for English football to develop players and teams for the modern game. This is worrying.
Much hope is being put on Dan Ashworth to make the required changes and improvements yet is this not an underwhelming appointment to the biggest role in English football? I believe so. We need world class coaching and player development experts to guide and lay the foundation for England's future. Yet many will not take a role within an organisation which will not allow 'new ideas'.
What is needed is a change in the FA; the introduction of ‘football’ people leading the nations football institution is what is required if we wish to see the introduction of a national game style and philosophy as well as the coming together of the Premier League and Football League which for too long has been fragmented and opposed. A radical change at the FA may be the necessary change which English football needs if it wishes to make significant change across the English game.
A need for a 'fundamental overhaul'
There was recent criticism of The FA by the Sports
Minister, Hugh Robertson, who believes that “Football is the worst governed
sport in this country, without a doubt.” The report by the culture,
media and sport select committee wanted the FA to “restructure
its main board to assert its independence, overhaul the FA Council to make it
more representative, introduce tough new rules on financial regulation, and
increase the influence of supporters on how their clubs were run.”
The select committee importantly made a strong case to the
FA to ‘reform its structure’. As the committee says, “We urge the
authorities to be more radical and more urgent in addressing the problems faced
by the game because of the weaknesses in its governance structure, both at FA
and club level,"
They believe that a ‘fundamental overhaul of the FA council’
is needed to help the FA improve standards and modernise the English game. In
their opinion the council lacks ‘diversity’, which is not hard to understand when
you consider that council has 118 members, many of whom have served for more
than 20 years and two-thirds of them are aged 64 or over.
More 'radical', an 'overhaul'? Clearly they see the need
like many do to revamp and re-energise England's senior football organisation
which has grown old and afraid of change and modernisation.
For too long the same men have represented their county and
yet for too long the FA has failed to make the significant changes needed for
the country to improve. At this time the professional clubs have little respect
for the FA and its methods because there have been too many mistakes in the
past. Wilkinson knew that the clubs needed to take the power away from the
FA because he did not believe they could impose the necessary changes.
It is clear that the FA is in need of a change, performances
and comparisons with other nations highlight this. It is the same people
who have continued to control our national game, they were there during the
'dark years' are still there now. This is not progress.
Quite simply English football in the hands of the wrong
people. The FA needs a radical shakeup in order to improve standards and the
future of the English game. It is clear that the organisation, which is
such an important part of English culture, needs to be renovated. The FA
council needs to be brought into the 21st century and new members need to
be introduced.
This article has
taken extracts from the upcoming book from myself, Matthew Whitehouse, editor of
The Whitehouse Address on English football's failings. The book is soon to be released, more information can be found here & if you would like
to contact The Whitehouse Address email at thewhitehouseaddress@gmail.com
The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address
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