More investment needed in grass roots football.

The FA wonder why the English NT is so shit but they neglect grass roots football so much. For the last couple months all the prem players have been getting their needed games to stay at a high level. Meanwhile people like me have not played a game since mid December. Where is the sense in that?

If we are ever going to compete with the likes of Spain/Brazil/Germany/Argentina we need to pump more money into getting more people playing football. Bigger talent pool = Bigger chance of finding better players.

So I think the FA should take the first step in installing under-soil heating in all parks in England.

Thoughts?

Shouldn't have bid for the Olympics and should have used the money to make leisure centres free for everyone and improved sport in this country. The Olympics will do fuck all for this country except add to our already massive debt.

People keep on saying that English youth development is on the decline, but I don't get it when I look at the current crop of youngsters they have.

This crop probably have the potential to be a lot better than this ageing, supposed golden generation. I'm not saying that there aren't any problems, as there are and some investment may be needed, however the problem doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bad as some think.

cheesy wrote:People keep on saying that English youth development is on the decline, but I don't get it when I look at the current crop of youngsters they have.

This crop probably have the potential to be a lot better than this ageing, supposed golden generation. I'm not saying that there aren't any problems, as there are and some investment may be needed, however the problem doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bad as some think.

The current crop are shit.

Theo Filippo wrote:

cheesy wrote:People keep on saying that English youth development is on the decline, but I don't get it when I look at the current crop of youngsters they have.

This crop probably have the potential to be a lot better than this ageing, supposed golden generation. I'm not saying that there aren't any problems, as there are and some investment may be needed, however the problem doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bad as some think.

The current crop are shit.

No they aren't. Players like Wilshere, Sturridge, Jones, Smalling etc all have the potential to be top players.

Theo Filippo wrote:

cheesy wrote:People keep on saying that English youth development is on the decline, but I don't get it when I look at the current crop of youngsters they have.

This crop probably have the potential to be a lot better than this ageing, supposed golden generation. I'm not saying that there aren't any problems, as there are and some investment may be needed, however the problem doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bad as some think.

The current crop are shit.

Not true. The U21 perform better than the A-team, the U19 perform better than the U21 and the U16 perform better than the U19. It is steadily on the rise.

my analysis is that while in younger group there are small improvement but they are still very selective process in coaching and not inclusive enough by which i mean, english syllabus for coaching is still only directed for the elite and not made for a broader ranger of players. there are higher quality individuals in young english teams, this is only normal. but there is not a good number, not enough and not a consistent production line

you maye deem 1 or 2 top quality talents to come out of each class of players but in some other countries this is considered not enough

cheesy wrote:

Theo Filippo wrote:The current crop are shit.

No they aren't. Players like Wilshere, Sturridge, Jones, Smalling etc all have the potential to be top players.

Nothing particularly amazing about this crop

There's a lot of potential for a team of top class players in there, unless you want to just say the generic, all English youngsters are overrated phrase.

mauro=beast wrote:my analysis is that while in younger group there are small improvement but they are still very selective process in coaching and not inclusive enough by which i mean, english syllabus for coaching is still only directed for the elite and not made for a broader ranger of players. there are higher quality individuals in young english teams, this is only normal. but there is not a good number, not enough and not a consistent production line

you maye deem 1 or 2 top quality talents to come out of each class of players but in some other countries this is considered not enough

True, the problem in that regard is the lack of specialist coaching for the truly exceptional. In Holland, Spain and Germany they determine far earlier what players will or will not make it. As a result the overall quality of each youth-academy is considerably higher than the average in the UK. It does however get better further down in the age groups though. the U16 teams consist of at least 20 players who are among the best in their age-group.

Theo Filippo wrote:

cheesy wrote:No they aren't. Players like Wilshere, Sturridge, Jones, Smalling etc all have the potential to be top players.

Nothing particularly amazing about this crop

They're some of the best young players we've ever had.
Also the English youth teams are slowly getting better over the years.

Don't see it much different as to when Ferdinand, Owen, Gerrard, Terry, Cole were all youngsters

Look to Germany.

Theo Filippo wrote:Don't see it much different as to when Ferdinand, Owen, Gerrard, Terry, Cole were all youngsters

And they were exception players in their primes.

Theo Filippo wrote:Don't see it much different as to when Ferdinand, Owen, Gerrard, Terry, Cole were all youngsters

I think both Jones and Smalling have the potential to exceed Ferdinand and Terry in the defence. Wilshere's more of a technically gifted player, which is what England need to focus on. He will probably be better than Gerrard. Owen was a brilliant striker, but Sturridge looks like someone who has a lot more to his game. He can score, but he can also play out on the wing and create. He's going to be a top all-round forward.

Plus, that's only a few players who I mentioned. You've got other positions in there now that look a lot better as well. In Hart, England have the best goalkeeper they've had in a very long time. Then you've got promising players like Oxlade-Chamberlain out on the wing, as well.

Jordo wrote:

Theo Filippo wrote:Don't see it much different as to when Ferdinand, Owen, Gerrard, Terry, Cole were all youngsters

And they were exception players in their primes.

Who failed on the international stage.

You need to work up, from the bottom, to the top. Unfortunately the FA seem to think it's the other way round.

They'd rather invest £500m on a new Wembley, before they even contemplated investing in grassroots football. Shame, mind.

We should be the best in the world.

cheesy wrote:

Theo Filippo wrote:Don't see it much different as to when Ferdinand, Owen, Gerrard, Terry, Cole were all youngsters

I think both Jones and Smalling have the potential to exceed Ferdinand and Terry in the defence. Wilshere's more of a technically gifted player, which is what England need to focus on. He will probably be better than Gerrard. Owen was a brilliant striker, but Sturridge looks like someone who has a lot more to his game. He can score, but he can also play out on the wing and create. He's going to be a top all-round forward.

Plus, that's only a few players who I mentioned. You've got other positions in there now that look a lot better as well. In Hart, England have the best goalkeeper they've had in a very long time. Then you've got promising players like Oxlade-Chamberlain out on the wing, as well.

Welbeck is better technically than Sturridge

Laurencio wrote:

cheesy wrote:I think both Jones and Smalling have the potential to exceed Ferdinand and Terry in the defence. Wilshere's more of a technically gifted player, which is what England need to focus on. He will probably be better than Gerrard. Owen was a brilliant striker, but Sturridge looks like someone who has a lot more to his game. He can score, but he can also play out on the wing and create. He's going to be a top all-round forward.

Plus, that's only a few players who I mentioned. You've got other positions in there now that look a lot better as well. In Hart, England have the best goalkeeper they've had in a very long time. Then you've got promising players like Oxlade-Chamberlain out on the wing, as well.

Welbeck is better technically than Sturridge

I wouldn't agree with that at all. Welbeck's a good technical player, but for me he's a lot stronger in the physicality department. Sturridge, on the other hand, is the much more technical of the two.

cheesy wrote:

Laurencio wrote:

Welbeck is better technically than Sturridge

I wouldn't agree with that at all. Welbeck's a good technical player, but for me he's a lot stronger in the physicality department. Sturridge, on the other hand, is the much more technical of the two.

Disagree completely. Welbeck has a much better first touch than Sturridge.

cheesy wrote:

Theo Filippo wrote:Don't see it much different as to when Ferdinand, Owen, Gerrard, Terry, Cole were all youngsters

I think both Jones and Smalling have the potential to exceed Ferdinand and Terry in the defence. Wilshere's more of a technically gifted player, which is what England need to focus on. He will probably be better than Gerrard. Owen was a brilliant striker, but Sturridge looks like someone who has a lot more to his game. He can score, but he can also play out on the wing and create. He's going to be a top all-round forward.

Plus, that's only a few players who I mentioned. You've got other positions in there now that look a lot better as well. In Hart, England have the best goalkeeper they've had in a very long time. Then you've got promising players like Oxlade-Chamberlain out on the wing, as well.

You are overrating Smalling and Jones massively especially Jones, Wilshere and Sturridge I agree on, looking at it at the moment our future midfield looks weak and so does the full-back areas.

Theo Filippo wrote:

cheesy wrote:I think both Jones and Smalling have the potential to exceed Ferdinand and Terry in the defence. Wilshere's more of a technically gifted player, which is what England need to focus on. He will probably be better than Gerrard. Owen was a brilliant striker, but Sturridge looks like someone who has a lot more to his game. He can score, but he can also play out on the wing and create. He's going to be a top all-round forward.

Plus, that's only a few players who I mentioned. You've got other positions in there now that look a lot better as well. In Hart, England have the best goalkeeper they've had in a very long time. Then you've got promising players like Oxlade-Chamberlain out on the wing, as well.

You are overrating Smalling and Jones massively especially Jones, Wilshere and Sturridge I agree on, looking at it at the moment our future midfield looks weak and so does the full-back areas.

Wilshere, Rodwell, Gosling, McEachran, Barkley, Morisson (if he gets his act together) and Coady are all pretty good for midfield.

Laurencio wrote:

Theo Filippo wrote:You are overrating Smalling and Jones massively especially Jones, Wilshere and Sturridge I agree on, looking at it at the moment our future midfield looks weak and so does the full-back areas.

Wilshere, Rodwell, Gosling, McEachran, Barkley, Morisson (if he gets his act together) and Coady are all pretty good for midfield.

Hendo?

Cam wrote:

Laurencio wrote:

Wilshere, Rodwell, Gosling, McEachran, Barkley, Morisson (if he gets his act together) and Coady are all pretty good for midfield.

Hendo?

I'm not convinced yet.

Theo Filippo wrote:

cheesy wrote:I think both Jones and Smalling have the potential to exceed Ferdinand and Terry in the defence. Wilshere's more of a technically gifted player, which is what England need to focus on. He will probably be better than Gerrard. Owen was a brilliant striker, but Sturridge looks like someone who has a lot more to his game. He can score, but he can also play out on the wing and create. He's going to be a top all-round forward.

Plus, that's only a few players who I mentioned. You've got other positions in there now that look a lot better as well. In Hart, England have the best goalkeeper they've had in a very long time. Then you've got promising players like Oxlade-Chamberlain out on the wing, as well.

You are overrating Smalling and Jones massively especially Jones, Wilshere and Sturridge I agree on, looking at it at the moment our future midfield looks weak and so does the full-back areas.

I don't think I am overrating them. Smalling already looks like a top defender, and is competent whenever we play him there. Jones has been a liability in the defence this season, however it's clear that he has a lot of talent. If he can sort out his positional game, I think he'll develop into a top class centre back.

Your midfield doesn't look too weak. Wilshere is the standout player in there, but there are plenty of others who still have a lot of potential, as Laurencio pointed out.

But your convinced by Gosling?

I don't really rate many of them as highly as you do but none of those are near to Wilshere in quality other countries can produce players like Wilshere easily.

Theo Filippo wrote:But your convinced by Gosling?

I don't really rate many of them as highly as you do but none of those are near to Wilshere in quality other countries can produce players like Wilshere easily.

Convinced would be a strong word. He's got certain qualities that make him a good destroyer though, which is always useful.

"easily"? As far as I'm concerned there's only a handful of youngsters on par with Wilshere at the moment, and two of them are the best midfield prospects in the world (Oscar and Thiago).

Laurencio wrote:

Theo Filippo wrote:But your convinced by Gosling?

I don't really rate many of them as highly as you do but none of those are near to Wilshere in quality other countries can produce players like Wilshere easily.

Convinced would be a strong word. He's got certain qualities that make him a good destroyer though, which is always useful.

"easily"? As far as I'm concerned there's only a handful of youngsters on par with Wilshere at the moment, and two of them are the best midfield prospects in the world (Oscar and Thiago).

Gotze and Reus

Theo Filippo wrote:

Jordo wrote:

And they were exception players in their primes.

Who failed on the international stage.

For different reasons.

They are a bunch of thugs and the national team in their primes reflected that. If Beckham was a few years younger, I would like to see how the national team would do.

Laurencio wrote:

Cam wrote:

Hendo?

I'm not convinced yet.

But you put in Coady and Morrison?