The Danger of Early Positional Specialisation

We are seeing a trend emerging where players who played in attacking positions as young players are thriving in different positions when they are older. Is this something to consider when we think about youth development?

A video was posted this past few days of a young Jordi Alba playing for Barcelona. In it you see a young Alba playing as a forward, sporting the No.10 shirt and captaining the team. In the video he is dribbling and scoring goals. 

Alba was predominantly a forward and left winger in his time at Barca however was apparently released for being ‘too small’ at 15 years old. He joined the neighbouring team Cornella before Valencia signed him two seasons later (a great lesson for young players released at U16!). He played for the reserves and then went out on loan before he finally brokethrough at Valencia, which saw his career fly. He would play as a left back and left midfielder in his time under Emery at Valencia. 

In 2012 and over 70 games for Valencia his old club came back in for him. 180+ games later, several La Liga titles and a Champions League, as a well winning the 2012 Euro’s with Spain and it’s fair to say Alba’s career has being a huge success. Of course it hasn’t been easy for him, ‘too small’ is a common thing heard in football, perhaps he wasn’t ready at that time and needed the several years of growth; both physically and mentally, to become the player he blossomed into. Fabregas had to leave Barca in order to develop and returned when he or the team was 'ready'. Ultimately a players journey is never linear or perfect, it has setbacks and ups and downs. 

But the key part of this story for me is the role he played as a youth player at Barca. Alba has become one of the worlds best left wing backs for close to a decade. But he wasn’t that when he was in his development years. The video we see is of a young forward, not a left back. He developed as an attacking player. And yet, how many players like Alba are being pigeon holed at a young age at left back and denied the valuable development lessons. Lessons and skills which they need to become professionals. Are we putting enough consideration into what players need at a young age or are we trying to put them into holes to fit into the team too early? Stunting their development?

The want to produce the next…

If you ask a young player who he wants to be he’ll most likely answer Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta. Young kids want to be their idols, want to replicate them. Raheem Sterling wanted to be Ronaldinho and practiced his skills in the school playground. Yet everyone is different, everyone has their own style, genetic makeup, personality. Do our environments allow this kind of freedom of expression? 

This blog has touched before on the restrictive nature of youth coaching environments, of coaches who destroy the skill and creativity from players, who produce functional ‘robots’. Now we are seeing a brilliant generation of young players emerging through our Academies so it's clearly improving. A lot of these players appear to have street football as a key part of their development, which is a great sign of more freedom and autonomy in their play. 

But what about positional development? You often hear coaches of young players talk about their desire to produce ‘this player or that’. When coaches want to ‘produce’ a Busquets, Pirlo or Carrick ‘type’ player what do they do? They play them in a holding midfielder position. Why? Because that's the player and position these players have excelled at as a senior player. But is that what got to them where they are now? 

This is the dilemma coaches of young players seem to have, that they seek to manufacture a player based on their thoughts and beliefs on a player they ‘see’ now. But they don’t appear to consider what that player looked and played like when they were the same age as the players they are developing!

Now we all know Pirlo as a world class regista and he has excelled in this deep lying playmaker role. Yet as a youngster and as he came into senior football he was a trequartista, a classic 10. He was a dribbler, the playmaker. How many know this? And does this change how you view the player you're attempting to turn into a Pirlo? Perhaps appreciating what Pirlo was doing as a youngster may be more relevant for your 13 year old player? Pirlo was never constrained as a young player, he was a free spirit, a player who expressed himself, who was skilful, creative and very, very good. He wasn’t the regista we know him as today.

Busquets was an attacking midfielder as a young player developing through the ranks at Barca. It was only when Guardiola took over at Barca B did he become the player we know today. He developed his skill-set as a young player to be able to succeed when he moved into a deeper position when older.

Michael Carrick played as a centre forward during his teenage years for Wellsend boys and was signed by West Ham in this position. In his time as a scholar he moved into midfield and became a deep lying playmaker as he broke into Spurs first team. He was a forward for the majority of his youth football career. See the trend?

One of the best right wing backs in the game today is Trent Alexander-Arnold. Yet he is only filled the right back role since an opportunity arose in Liverpool’s squad with injury to Nathaniel Clyne. During his time at Liverpool’s Academy he was a central midfielder. And due to the ability to master the ball, to be only to succeed centrally and have a 360 degrees understanding and awareness, he has excelled in a position which provides more space. However would he have become the player he is now by being put at right back earlier?

What about Philip Lahm? A central midfielder as a young player developing, excelled at right back but Guardiola brought more out of him as a midfielder because of his intelligence and understanding. Imagine if more coaches showed more willingness to experiment and stretch their players skill-set, at both young and senior levels.

  

Could we take this advice on-board in our academies and look to develop players for the modern game? In order to meet fluid game situations we need to develop players who understand how and when to change roles and who are able to play in multiple positions. We need academies and coaches who are willing to allow players and their teams to experiment and be creative, away from safe fixed formations and ‘results’ driven outcomes.  

  

The late left back bloomer

Left footers are a special breed of player. Perhaps I'm biased but I believe lefties offer something unique and special. Some teams seem quite classic in their use of left footers but just look at Man City and see the amount of left footers they possess and you see a team seeing value and quality in world class attacking left footed talent; Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Zinchenko, Mendy, Laporte, Ederson and Phil Foden. A wealth of talent across the whole team in terms of positions. Not just left backs (ironically Ederson was a left back when a youngster, who was moved to GK and excelled. Proof that a players position later in the game is not always the they begin with.

Just look at Aleksandr Zinchenko. He has become something of a revelation this year for Man City playing as a left back - City's version of this role is a little different to others of course. But this wasn’t his position when they purchased him from FC Ufa in Ukraine after impressing for Ukraine at Euro 2016. His position? An attacking midfielder, number 10 type. City have nurtured his development and integrated him within the philosophy of the team allowing him to become more versatile and adaptable. This is why he can succeed as a left back for one of the best teams in the world. However consider if Zinchenko had ‘just’ been a left back at a young age, would he have had the skill-set to succeed at the level he is now? And this is the point of this article. 

Brazilian 'full backs' like Dani Alves, Marcelo and Roberto Carlos are world class players. Predominately known and respected for their attacking skill and approach. Were they developed as just full backs as young players? It's doubtful. They have such attacking quality. When these players reach the very best teams yes they may fill a position at wing back and excel - but it's clear they have more to their game than being efficient in this position. They are world class footballers. 

A player I am big fan of this season is Ezgjan Alioski at Leeds. I went to watch Leeds at Villa Park over Christmas and was so impressed with what Alioski did in terms of his movement, intelligence and technical skill. Playing as a right winger he exploited Villa time and time again. In the end running out 3-2 winners. A creative and skilful attacking midfielder who shows the ability to play in different positions effectively. In recent weeks he has played at left back and excelled there. Why, because he has the skill-set and understanding from playing in attacking positions.  

Mo Salah was playing at left back in Egypt when he was 15, when his coach was impressed with how many times he dribbled and created chances for himself from that position that he moved him further forwards. Fortunately he saw something in the young Salah to play him as a forward, and as they say, the rest is history. That article can be read here.

I’ve written before how much I get frustrated by seeing talented attacking players playing at left back early in their youth careers based mainly on their ‘talent’ of being left footed. I just hope more coaches see the potential in their players and don’t see to restrict them positionally. 

When we talk about early specialisation of a single sport, and how the need for different sports is an important aspect of a young athletes all-round athletic development and potential. Could the same not be said about positional specialisation at a young age? Are we guilty of limiting our players by pigeon holing players too young?

The left back pigeon holing issue

English football has seen players like Gareth Bale and Ryan Giggs (granted both Welsh but developed in England) who have gone to become world class talents. Both excelled as left winger/forwards. And while Bale came in at Southampton as a left back, it was when he was pushed further forward as winger/forward where he went to the next level. Ashley Cole was a left winger before he became a world class left back.  

However overall in England the production of a quality left footer is ‘rare’. Could it have to do with how they are developed? The reason appears to be because from a young age having a left footer in the side is not common, perhaps only one player in the team is left footed. Thus these players are most often played on the left side, either in defence or on the wing. It is a limiting experience for creativity. 

When we look at players like Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben, we see left footed players who play on the right, allowing them to come inside and play more centrally. At Ajax they seek left footed players to play in the creative positions of midfield, as they believe that left footed players tend to be more creative. Yet in England, left footed means playing on the left, and for a long time that was pretty much it. While playing out on the left side, many left footed players are not as involved in the game as others, they are restricted to the channel, go on the outside more. By sticking them in these positions coaches are denying them the chance to move inside and join the play. 

Right now there is a big hope that Phil Foden can develop into a world class talent, he appears to have the skill, creativity and an environment to nurture his talent. 

What if English youth developers sought to replicate how Ajax positon their left footed players, forcing their recruitment to find a balance between left and right footers? Perhaps English football could produce more creative players? Imagine if the left footer was placed in the centre of midfield or out on the right. Imagine how much more of the ball they would have, imagine what positions they could take up, where they could run with the ball.

Unfortunately too many academies will put their left footer at left back and appear to show a distrust of their skill and creativity. Perhaps they appreciate they are good players but see the need for a left back position more important than the players own development. This position can be attacking of course, but I've seen many talented left footed players put at left back and becoming functional and robotic. Our creative left footer fails to nurture the attributes which could help them become a great player. 'Nature' may give these left footers the tools for greatness, yet it is nurture which can enhance or deny them. 

If it is true that a left footer does possess more creativity and expression than right footed players then coaches and academies should be seeking to bring out the best of these players and not pigeon holing them into positions out wide, on the left of the pitch. It is England’s rigid style of football which has limited the development of these key players and which has ultimately stunted their development. 

This pigeon holing of left footers, denying them the chance to be more expansive and creative, to use their skill and ingenuity, has denied English football the development of true creative talent.

Hopefully English youth developers will seek to recruit more left footers and have the imagination and bravery to play them in varied positions. The time to think of left footers as left backs needs to end. If we wish to be a more creative nation in terms of football then we need to stop killing creativity at a young age by denying young players the chance to express and create. More imagination, innovation and creativity in coaching and academies will allow player development to flourish much more.

Perhaps a consideration should be made towards the formats young players are playing in. There is a rush to get players at 12-14 to get into 11v11 football. Why? If we look at the amount of players who emerge in the senior game by being more attacking in their positions, why not play smaller format games which provide players with more variety and attacking opportunities. Do we not see more attacking play in games? 11v11 can be restrictive at a young age. Less contact time, more rigid positions, bigger pitches. Why are 4v4/5v5 games not used more? Why don't 13's play 7v7 or 9v9 instead of 11v11? Is U14's still too early for 11v11 games? Could we do better with how we set out formats and not just rely on 11v11 games programmes to help develop players? 

I know Academies are doing a better job in this area, more small sided tournaments. We are certainly seeing a positive trend in the way Academies are viewing player development and providing more varied opportunities and experiences. That is pleasing. 

Judging and profiling too early

Unfortunately I've witnessed too many young players get written off or judged too early, without an appreciation of their developmental stage - either physiological or psychological. It seems many are too quick to judge and find it too easy to write off a young player. Instead of seeing potential and enjoying being a part of their development journey, it seems it's easier to dismiss and release than seek to develop and find solutions. 

Mainly it's the late births/late developers yet it can also be the face which doesn't fit or the type of talent which doesn't suit. This aspect of bias is hard to overcome when people are making decisions yet it's important to be aware of bias - both positive and negative - and assess if a bias is leading to a player's development becoming affected. 

Imagine if more players were provided with a position which allows them to excel and showcase their talent? Rather be a functional piece in the team? What about providing more players with the love, support and care which it seems only a select few appear to get? Wouldn't we produce more creative and confident players? Do coaches want to make this happen? Or is it easier to judge and criticise? Easier to put players into positions and have them stay there then seek to be more creative and varied in our approach?

This negative environment of critique and complaining only creates a negative cycle of blame and frustration. Which ultimately leads to a players regression in form and performance. And yet the blame is put on the player, when in fact the staff have played a significant role in affecting the players psyche. Reverse this, make it a positive experience for the player, provide an environment where the player is made to feel valued and loved and perhaps more players could excel? It's just a thought. 

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

Related articles

The Genius of Left Footedness

A Lesson in Greatness from Andrea Pirlo

The Lessons of Mo Salah's Development

Educating Decision Making

The Neglect of Technique In Modern Coaching

Something Special Happening for English Football