The Way Forward - The Importance of Opportunity

To play or not to develop, that is the question

Now the transfer window is officially closed we ascertain the fundamental issue which has come from the immense spending once again - a lack of English talent. In today's article The Whitehouse Address will focus on a fundamental problem for English football and the national team’s future success. 

This summer there was not one English player bought from one of the big clubs, in England or abroad. It begs the question as to why this is so in a world where teams are willing to spend upwards of £50m on players. As The Whitehouse Address will discuss, the issue of why English football is not developing world class players comes from a lack of opportunity and fixed mindset's.

The questions about why English football has struggled to compete for international prizes has baffled many people, yet action and solutions have been distinctly limited. For some the issue comes at the top of the pyramid; the Premier League’s vast wealth and restrictions on English players. Now this blog agrees with this and believes there needs to be changes at the top to allow more opportunity for young players. However if clubs don’t believe that English players are good enough then surely there is an issue at the foundation levels of English youth development.

A problem with English development

Since this blog has been going the theme has centred around youth development and coaching.  There is a fundamental aspect which is required to improve young players development, coaching or should I say teaching and education. 

In my book “The Way Forward: Solutions to England’s FootballFailings”  I look at the multitude of issues which are holding back young English players from progressing into top quality professionals. The reasons why are comprehensive and there is no single solution to the problem.

From physical education in schools, to standards and quality in grassroots and academy football, across the board it simply not good enough. This has led to young players who don’t have quality movement skills, who lack the confidence, mastery and technique of ball skills and who are not educated in the tactical elements of the game. What we are producing therefore are mediocre players who against each other may look good and competitive yet compared to players abroad they are distinctly lacking in the skills, intelligence, physical and psychological attributes required to become a professional. These failings which are taking place between 7-16 years of age are hampering the players ‘opportunities’ to progress to professional football. 

The influx of talented foreign players

As we know, at the age of 16 years academies can go around Europe and the world finding the best young talent out there. Now is this right? This blog would argue no, what should happen is that English academies should seek to develop English players and do their part for the national team, not just the selfish interests of their club. Yet we know that clubs first priority is the club, and only a few put any value on helping the national team. 

This is where the Premier League and Football League, if they truly care about England’s success need to put a quota on the amount of foreign players in English academies. Something along the lines of 4-6 foreign players allowed in the U18 and U21 sides would help promote the development of English talent through their later development years of 17-21 and would certainly give them the chance to continue developing. Right  now too many are discarded at 15/16 years of age and for most cases their careers end there and then.

However you can understand the objections to these kind of rules from clubs when they argue that the players they are being ‘forced’ to keep are not good enough for professional football. Keeping them in the ‘system’ they argue would be unfair on many of them. This point is understandable yet it begs the question that if these clubs have nurtured these players from the ages of 9-12 years up to 16/17 then why aren’t they good enough? This is why serious questions need to be asked of England’s youth development system and the quality which it contains.

The valuable years of opportunity

English clubs currently spend more than Germany each year on youth development, around £90 million per season, and put 10,000 boys aged between nine and 16 through a much-criticised structure designed by Howard Wilkinson in 1997. Yet, only about 1% of boys who join an English academy aged nine become professional footballers. This is not economical and clearly there is a problem which money cannot fix. 

The new Elite Player Performance Plan aims to improve standards across the country and help develop a better generation of players. It is ten years overdue and this is typical of the English mentality towards education and teaching. Standards have been allowed to drop and players have suffered dearly for it. A lack of care and commitment to monitoring and planning has led to the situation we are in now.

However, we cannot simply ‘wait’ 10 years for a new crop to come through. We must improve standards now and seek to give young players a chance to progress. This is where the Premier League is failing young players.

The lack of world class talent which English is producing is shameful, yet quite simply the Premier League does not allow the development of young burgeoning talent. Young players, and this applies to young foreign talent coming across in their teens, is being stunted because of a lack of opportunity, at a time when they need to be stretched and challenged and provided the opportunities to flourish. It is isn't surprising that we are not seeing talented young players develop into world class ones. Quite simply the route and experience needed to move to the next level is not there.

The talent is out there

Now I believe that there are some very talented young English players right now, those such as Ross Barkley, Adam Lallana, Nathan Redmond and Luke Shaw. At Liverpool we are seeing players like Henderson, Sturridge and even Jordan Ibe and Andre Wisdom excelling under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers. It does appear that under their managers this season they will all experience first team football and excel because of it.

However if they really perform in the coming years a move to a top club would be necessary for their development to continue further. Yet this is the issue which English players are suffering from. When they get to a top club, their chances of playing have become so limited that their development suffers.  

The problem for young players breaking through into the first team can be seen at clubs like Chelsea, Man City and even Arsenal. Players like Loftus-Cheek , Nathan Chalobah and Lewis Baker are all very talented yet their development is being stunted by their continual experience of youth team games. These players require regular first team football, something Chelsea seem unable to offer. How can this be viewed as development?

Unfortunately too many players are being wasted at this valuable age. Josh Mceachran is a prime example and example to future Chelsea youngsters. A player with such potential at 16 has not progressed these past four years because of his failure to be nurtured correctly.

At Man City we have seen the stunting of Scott Sinclair and even James Milner whose opportunities have been limited playing for one of the Premier League’s top sides.  We may even see the same situation happen with Wilifred Zaha and Nick Powell at Man United in the coming years. And this is certainly been the case for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain whose talent really needed to be nurtured these past two years yet whose opportunities have been distinctly limited in terms of game time. This is very worrying for England’s next generation.

If we consider Cristiano Ronaldo when he arrived at Man Utd we see the importance of being given opportunity and time to improve. He became the player he is because of the opportunity afforded to him by Ferguson. Wayne Rooney was the same. Ferguson gave these young talents years of playing time to develop their skills and understanding and it was this which propelled them to the levels they have reached. Without those early years would they have become the players they are? I would have to say no.

Yet these top clubs still don’t learn, they are obsessed now with getting players younger yet appear unwilling to truly develop them or give them the opportunity to improve. It would be best for these clubs to allow these players to stay with smaller clubs while they are still developing and allow them to continue play. 

The truth is that if we don’t give our young players the chance to develop up to the age of 23, then we are doing a disservice to young players, both domestic and foreign and unfortunately the big clubs and many of the Premier League sides appear to be selfishly ruining players careers by denying them opportunities. Surely it would be better that they allow these players to leave the club and let them sign for sides who will give them the valuable opportunities needed to take their game to the next level.

A solution - move abroad

England does have ‘some’ talented players, yet this is minimal when compared to the amount of Dutch, Spanish and now German players coming through. Because of the culture of the leagues and nation, and because many clubs don’t have the money of the English clubs, the need to develop and nurture their own players is a necessity. This model therefore benefits the national team and helps the clubs financially too (they don’t need to buy players, wages are lower and there is the chance of selling their young talents and making significant profit).

Just look at what Belgium are doing and the players we are seeing being produced. Well it comes as no surprise to see that they changed their whole foundation and structure at the grassroots and academy level, putting emphasis on coaching and philosophy and that they are reaping the rewards now. This helped develop more talented and skilful players which we are seeing today. Yet what helped these players was the fact that their players were given the opportunity to play regular football at a young age. 

The national team has excelled because of their experience at a young age of top level football for players like Fellaini, Dafour, Lukaku, Witsel and Benteke who all progressed while playing in Belgium during their teens. Eden Hazard developed and progressed in France for Lille, honing his skills and being afforded time and opportunity to do so. 

These players were not wasting away on the bench or playing for the reserves, they were playing senior, competitive football which brought the pressures, expectations and environment which the reserves or youth leagues fails to offer. Without this valuable experience during their late teen years we would not be seeing these players at the top levels right now. It was all about nurturing and experience, and the opportunity they were afforded.

Just take Zakaria Bakkali at PSV. As a young teen he was spotted playing for Standard Liege and taken to PSV. This season he has become a revelation under Philop Cocu and Bakkali will undoubtedly be given the licence to play and develop which he simply would not do for any of England’s top clubs. He is 17 years old. The coming years will be give him the development required to become a world class player. Do English coaches and clubs provide that kind of development for their young players? I would have to argue not.

Therefore we need to see more and more English players playing weekly. Personally I don’t necessarily agree with the idea of resting youngsters, if they are good enough they should play. To deny talented players the opportunity to play at the ages of 18, 19 and 20 is detrimental to their development and will hamper the quality in the national team in the coming years. 

Quite frankly these young players should be playing regular football and being immersed in the competitiveness and pressures of senior football. Of course they are still developing as players and people yet the hours accumulated in these environments will be invaluable for their ability to excel in future years. By denying players of these valuable years of opportunity and experience clubs are preventing these players from developing into top players.

Is there a solution? Well it is simple really. These young players need to be playing, not wasting away in the reserves (now the Under-21 teams) and therefore need to leave the nest in order to play. For some the only option is to go to the Championship and play there. This is not a bad thing yet what about more players exploring other options? The solution should be for talented young English players to move abroad and get the valuable experience required.

Now is there a correlation between the lack of top quality English players moving abroad and England’s lack of success in international football? Would some of England’s better players have improved their game if they had moved to Italy, Spain or Germany? Would many of those young players, who are playing in youth sides and not getting their chance in the first team, benefit from playing abroad? 

It does appear that English players often display an unwillingness to take their career abroad. Why is this? Why don’t players move abroad and seek to learn new things; experience different cultures and new styles of play. Why should English players limit themselves to playing in England only? The game is becoming increasingly globalised. It will increase the number of English players playing and may actually enhance the quality of the talent pool.

For me, there have been too few English players who have given themselves this opportunity. Whether for reasons of contentment or fear, players have decided to stay in England and see out their careers. 

For young players surely it is better to move abroad for two or three years and play than stay at home and be on the bench and in the reserves? You would think so wouldn’t you, yet unfortunately the issue of why English players aren’t progressing to world class levels may be because of their mindset and a fear of the unknown. 

Too many young players are fearful are leaving friends and family or simply scared of what a move abroad may mean in terms of culture and language. This negative mindset is hampering the development of many players. 

Too many would prefer to pick up their generous wage packet in the reserves, drive their fancy car and be treated like some celebrity in their local town, than leave and attempt to progress as a player and person abroad. 

Yes loan deals to clubs in the Championship and League One may allow players to develop and improve, yet when you see a player like Tom Carroll at Spurs choose to go to QPR over Ajax then you really do need to question the desire of players to progress to the next level over the feeling of security and safety. We need players to move away from the fixed mindset and embrace the growth mindset, perhaps then we can see our national team excel .

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

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