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Rodfarts 9:17 Wed Nov 25
The demise of youth football in this country.....

Is based on the fact clubs are taking youngsters that are just gifted athletes and trying to turn them into footballers. The game at youth level has changed so much over the years that it's going to take a massive change of the way we think, scout players and develop them to change it and move forward.

Clubs are only interested in the fastest, biggest and strongest and although that also plays it's part in football I do not think it should be at the front of the list as to what is a gifted football player.



I've watched a few youth & development games this season and all I see is 100m sprinters many with a poor touch, poor end product and no football brain. I rarely see players trying to retain possesion or try to go past another player with a bit of skill or pick out a killer pass.


If German/spanish/Italian coaches/scouts came over and looked at our F.A youth set up they would laugh their bollocks off.


Look at the England team and you can see exactly which direction we are going.

It's all wrong IMO.

stewie griffin 9:19 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

The last England team I watched was the youngest England team since 1959, and they were more than useful.

I'd have agreed 5 or 10 years ago, but not so much now

wrighty 9:22 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

What level you coaching at rodfarts? You involved in an academy set up?

mallard 9:23 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Totallt agree, my mate's 10 year old son was dropped from Charlton Academy for being too short.
The kid is mustard, with superb ball skills and vision but apparently, low centre of gravity means fuck am these days

One McAvennieeeeee 9:47 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

This has confused me on so many levels.

young woody 9:48 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

One McAvennieeeeee 9:47 Wed Nov 25

Welcome back son, was getting worried about you.

Steve Bacons Lenscap 9:57 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

I'd say that farts has a point. The FA youth coaching pathway is good, the FA Youth Award is brilliant for very young players and grassroots. I think where it all falls apart is when kids get to elite level and the pressure is on the academies to deliver players for the first team squad. It's almost like there's a physical blueprint for the optimum footballer. You've also got things like birth bias towards winter-borns creeping into the grassroots game. There's loads of exceptions but generally the trend is towards physicality over the technical, in the hope the technical can be 'bolted on'.

Lee Trundle 9:58 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Rodfarts - What/who do you blame for not becoming the next Bobby Moore?

Rodfarts 10:30 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Exactly bacon

The Joker 10:30 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Well done for stating something people have known for at least 15 years.

Insightful.

Northern Sold 10:35 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Mate was telling us on Sunday looking at 9 a side now up to 16 years old??

* shakes head *

To be fair the kids football I occasionally watch now is pretty sub standard... the kids Rugby is a totally different matter and have heard a few stories of kids giving up football and joining a few local Rugby clubs

El Scorchio 10:36 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Good chance that a small, slight player like Lanzini would never make it through the academy/youth system in this country?

Rodfarts 10:37 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Reply
The Joker 10:30 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....
Well done for stating something people have known for at least 15 years.

Insightful.



LOLZ.....You joker.

young woody 10:44 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Northern Sold 10:35 Wed Nov 25

You and your bloody Rugby

JOHNNY V 10:55 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

I am 37 and it was no different when I was a kid, I was told at 14 I was to small at 16 I was over 6ft tall. I remember us going to tournaments in holland and we would be put 2 years above our age level as we we're to physical and at that stage the kids in Europe had not learnt to head the ball or tackle properly. Our coaches thought it was hilarious and that English kids we're miles infront of the rest of Europe, it alway struck me how I could see at 12/13 that technically they we're on a different planet to us but they couldn't. Nothing has changed it appears.

nerd 10:57 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Ban football teams from having academies till there 14. It is so detrimental, football is fun with your mates and should be for life. Most won't make it, but they should still enjoy it, how many carry on not many.the next gazza will have it drilled out of him which is sad.

i-Ron 10:59 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Fordstar, when you was a kid England flopped in 88, limped through some shit in 90, bombed in 92 and didn't even make 94.

This current England team is the youngest age we've had since I remember, and we've just come through unbeaten to make the Euro's despite having a shit manager, shit players etc.

This is the same old shit. It's always some cunt moaning about how much better it was in their day. It's bollox.

The biggest problem in football actually has nothing to do with the players in my opinion. It's a vicious circle of managers and chairman thinking only about the immediate future, so foreign markets are better value for money because as soon as someone had 5-10 good premiership games they're suddenly worth £20 million plus and priced out of a move in their own country.

stewie griffin 11:04 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

"The biggest problem in football actually has nothing to do with the players in my opinion. It's a vicious circle of managers and chairman thinking only about the immediate future"

In one.

Hugh Monteith 11:06 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Stewers 11:04

Hugh Monteith 11:06 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Stewers 11:04

gank 11:16 Wed Nov 25
Re: The demise of youth football in this country.....

Rodfarts, you're bang on with what you say, although there's a different perspective to consider.

The FA dictate how coaching and scouting and talent identification is carried out, this is fed down through CPD and bulletins.

They have great research and when they dictate how body shape should be considered, as well as other principally non-football facets, this is for a good reason. However, you're then assuming that the coaches who do this are all good enough to take a non-footballing Glen Johnson and make an International out of him. Ultimately, we don't have enough coaches in England and loads of those we do have aren't up to scratch. Even at West Ham we hear horror stories about our youth coaches! What chance do we have further down towards grass roots level?

The more this problem is compounded the more it is an attractive prospect to take young players from overseas. It used to be the paddies and jocks, then Europeans, now it's better to sign five kids from anywhere in the world than to invest all your time and money in thick athletes from this country. The more it happens at the top level, the easier it is to do so further down the pyramid. Eventually, a is now the case, there simply aren't enough top quality English young players competing for selection to the England team. Then we see the same old faces in the team and moan about that too.

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