The State of English Football
After England’s premature exit from the World Cup following their abysmal performances in three of their four games the team could be compared to old used sofas for sale. It is worth considering what the state of English football will be in at the next couple of tournaments. Without doubt, it is time to look beyond the national side and figure out ways to bring new English talent into the Premier League. Too many teams look to foreign shores to bring in the quality they need to challenge for titles and silverware.
We should be making sure that the best teams in England want to have English players playing for them. Why should it be any other way? In Germany, most of the teams include German players. Sure, these players don’t go on to become world class superstars. But they are all excellent players and when it comes to playing for their national side, they know how to play with each other and they don’t have the same big egos that naturally get bigger when a footballer is declared a celebrity.
Looking at the state of grass-roots football in England, it is clear we don’t have the coaching pedigree or the right facilities to help young kids nurture their abilities. If we had these great facilities then we would be able to breed generations of great English footballers who would be able to slot into the best teams in the Premier League. We also need to change the way kids are taught. In Spain and Holland, kids play small 5 a side games until they are around 14 years old. This teaches them all the basics and increases their technical ability with the ball to a very high level before they learn how to apply that to an 11 a side pitch. In England kids of 10 years old are playing on massive grass pitches which has bred a kick and run game in this country for decades.
It is clear to anyone what needs to be done. I only hope we can use the recent disappointment in the World Cup to kick start these changes.
Comments are closed!